Last Lobster Run for 07.....
was a bust ! Took my 18' Bayrunner skiff for one last shot at the bugs; thought I try 1 trap straight off the jetty kelp in 80' of water but the current was so strong 100' of rope would barely reach the surface @ low tide. It was so tough to pull out of the kelp i had to tie it off on a cleat and head up current to clear it. Then back to my normal spots that have been OK south of OB Pier; set 5 hoops and pulled the first 2 with 3 shorts in one and maybe 11 shorts in the other with one real close to making it. When I tossed the second trap back out my Mariner 40 outboard suddenly died while idling. I tried to restart but it wouldn't fire off. I had just switched fuel tanks so I cleaned my water separator and re-primed the line, still no go. Dropped a mushroom anchor off the stern in 26' of water 300 feet south of the pier and tried to get Vessel Assist on 16; couldn't raise anyone. I could receive the weather stations though. Anyway, called info on the cell and got 3 numbers; then they said use the 800 number for emergencies. Meanwhile I'm not sure if my anchor is holding. I set a waypoint on the GPS to measure travel. Finally get ahold of dispatch, it's almost 9PM, and then we play 50 questions. I calmly ask if he can get a Captain dispatched first but no we must complete the paperwork. After a 5-10 minute Q&A period he gets hold of a Captain and states they will be there within 25 minutes and keep my cell phone handy. Fortunately they also called the Mission Bay Harbor Police and they actually came out to check on me within 15 minutes; they left after we determined my anchor was holding and the situation was under control. VA showed about 15-20 minutes later and promptly put me back on my trailer. After securing the skiff on the trailer and pulling off the electronics, I drove over to my marina and uncovered the DOGHOUSE , fired her up and went out to retrieve my 5 traps; all shorts except for one which was legal but too close to even chance it with the night I was having. Finally hit the sack cold, wet, and tired @ 1AM.
Cleaned up the skiff at home today after work and checked the fuel and plugs; found out no spark to either cylinder. Did some snooping inside the center console to check the wiring harness connections to the ignition switch and noticed the lanyard to the kill switch was missing along with the key. Evidently the lanyard must have got caught up with the buoy line when I threw out the last checked net and that's when the motor died. Oh well, at least I didn't have to pay a mechanic $250 to tell me that, thank God they said they were booked and couldn't get me in until mid April.
Told my 23 year old son what he missed out on last night and he had a little confession to make; the last time he took the skiff out he forgot to lower the antennae and hit a tree damaging the end of it. So now I know why the radio wasn't up to snuff either.
Kids and Boats, don't you just love them?
