Stone
Contributor
Date: 18 Jun 05
Wx: Total overcast early and a little rain. Winds N at 15 kts then SW about 10 kts. 72F in the morning, high 80s F later
Seas: Less than a foot, then like a lake as the wind changed. Sea breeze picked it back up to a foot in the afternoon.
Temp: Still warming up Thermoclines are very noticeable.
Buddy was Candy. I started loading the boat at 0530 and we got underway a little after 0600. The belt that gave us problems on the last trip started to squeal, but it stopped right away. Unfortunately it stopped squealing because it broke. We only made it to Postil Point before the engine temp went through the roof. Of course I had to take another belt off to put the replacement belt on. Fortunately, Candy found my socket extender that morning and brought it to the boat. Took about 45 minutes to complete the job. The broken belt does not even look like it was the right size.
The forecast called for a light northerly wind. I think it was a steady 15 kts. We decided to stay inshore until the wind died down.
Dive One: Reefex tank. Nothing special. . . a few triggers and short red snappers. Candy shot a trigger. Viz was 15-20 ft.
Dive Two: Wreck. Candy shot 7 triggers and a red snapper. I shot 2 triggers and 2 red snappers. I had gun issues. I took the sawed-off magnum which I thought I had fixed, but under the load of heavy bands, the trigger mechanism would lock up after each shot. Vis was 25-30 ft.
Dive Three: Wreck. More triggers. Candy shot another 7 triggers and I shot 3. Another gun problem: this time I took the big magnum, but the tip broke on the first shot. I recovered the tip and it has a manufacturing defect (just like the last tip I broke). I shot 2 more triggers just using the shaft. Vis was 25-30 ft.
Dive Four: Wreck. Many red snapper and some were sows. I shot a nice gag as soon as I left the anchor line. The tip didnt come out the other side of the skull, so I wasted a lot of time banging it all the way through and trying to pull it out. Thats when a 20 lb sow was within pokey pole range. I shot 2 more triggers and Candy shot another snapper and trigger. The wreck was incredibly silty and covered in monofilament. Both of us had to cut free a couple of times. Vis was 25-30 ft except when the fish started stirring up the silt.
Epilogue: We had a nice tail wind on the ride home and managed 18-19 kts. Pass was a little rough due to outgoing tide and SW swell, but nothing like the 6-footers we saw 2 weeks ago. Total trip was about 65 nm, and we were back in port by 1800. I needed help to load the fish cooler in the car.
Wx: Total overcast early and a little rain. Winds N at 15 kts then SW about 10 kts. 72F in the morning, high 80s F later
Seas: Less than a foot, then like a lake as the wind changed. Sea breeze picked it back up to a foot in the afternoon.
Temp: Still warming up Thermoclines are very noticeable.
Buddy was Candy. I started loading the boat at 0530 and we got underway a little after 0600. The belt that gave us problems on the last trip started to squeal, but it stopped right away. Unfortunately it stopped squealing because it broke. We only made it to Postil Point before the engine temp went through the roof. Of course I had to take another belt off to put the replacement belt on. Fortunately, Candy found my socket extender that morning and brought it to the boat. Took about 45 minutes to complete the job. The broken belt does not even look like it was the right size.
The forecast called for a light northerly wind. I think it was a steady 15 kts. We decided to stay inshore until the wind died down.
Dive One: Reefex tank. Nothing special. . . a few triggers and short red snappers. Candy shot a trigger. Viz was 15-20 ft.
Dive Two: Wreck. Candy shot 7 triggers and a red snapper. I shot 2 triggers and 2 red snappers. I had gun issues. I took the sawed-off magnum which I thought I had fixed, but under the load of heavy bands, the trigger mechanism would lock up after each shot. Vis was 25-30 ft.
Dive Three: Wreck. More triggers. Candy shot another 7 triggers and I shot 3. Another gun problem: this time I took the big magnum, but the tip broke on the first shot. I recovered the tip and it has a manufacturing defect (just like the last tip I broke). I shot 2 more triggers just using the shaft. Vis was 25-30 ft.
Dive Four: Wreck. Many red snapper and some were sows. I shot a nice gag as soon as I left the anchor line. The tip didnt come out the other side of the skull, so I wasted a lot of time banging it all the way through and trying to pull it out. Thats when a 20 lb sow was within pokey pole range. I shot 2 more triggers and Candy shot another snapper and trigger. The wreck was incredibly silty and covered in monofilament. Both of us had to cut free a couple of times. Vis was 25-30 ft except when the fish started stirring up the silt.
Epilogue: We had a nice tail wind on the ride home and managed 18-19 kts. Pass was a little rough due to outgoing tide and SW swell, but nothing like the 6-footers we saw 2 weeks ago. Total trip was about 65 nm, and we were back in port by 1800. I needed help to load the fish cooler in the car.
great report as always.
