Riptide Charters

7/19 Live to Fish Another Day!
Today we were slated to run back to Block with Dan C and crew for a canyon charter. The forcast was right on the edge of should we stay at the dock or should we go. The crew was solid and had plenty of offshore time, Mike C was mating and he's a solid as they come so with the "It's gonna be bumpy" disclaimer we decided to go.

Dan and crew arrived at Falmouth @ 0300. It was breezy but the forcastwas still 3-5's @ 10-15kts. Lumpy but very do-able in the new rig. We splashed and hammered down the sound. Ruge and the Finchaser crew were running out of Bourne to meet us at the Gay Head. Just as we met up they had an overheat alarm and were going to turn back on one motor. It ended up being a plastic bag on the water intake so they fixed it and continued a bit behind us.

The seas were 3's with the odd 4' out along Nomans' and to the Claw. We were making a smooth 35 kts as the guys were chillin' in the bean bags. When we got past the Claw things spread out a bit but got a little bigger. Still no issue, we backed it down to 30 kts to keep the props in contact with the water and pushed on.

When we hit the lanes things started to go south in a hurry, everything but us. The seas swells were running in the 5' range as forcasted, but the wind was up to 20kts and that put a 2' chop on the water. My math is a little fuzzy but every 1/4 mile fate would put some of those 2's on the to of the 4-5's and that gave us stuff we were looking up at. we were making 20-25kts with limited bumping, but it was getting wet due to the tabs I had to dig in to keep the ride smooth.

Things got progressivly more sloppy throug the lanes, not so much bigger, but more confused and tighter. The crew was still game but with 35-40 miles to go our trip time was getting way longer than we had hoped for. At the far edge of the lanes I slowed up to grab a drink, take a quick break and re-evaluate the seas. We started a mock troll without rods to see how the trolling conditions would be and how viable fishing in this would be. Two of the guys gobbled down some chow, the other sent some back up. Although the crew was still game I made the command decision to pull the pin and abort. It was on the edge of fishable and with a crewmember already feeling the effects of the seas it would have been a long way for a VERY long day especially when your not feeling 100%.

So I plugged in a course for the Hooter to get a better angle for the ride home. With the seas at our backs we were able to get back to the 35kt range and made asmoking ride home, smooth and dry.

Final tally, 179.9 gallons burned, zero fish caught, and a deeper satisfaction in how my boat eats up water that is just plain nasty. Also a comfirmation that bean bags are a must for this open boat to the edge fishing. The guys in the ESEA Riders napped the whole way home. It's almost disturbing how comfy they looked in the slop we were running in at the speeds we were running at.


Overall it's better to run away and to fish another day! Sucks we had to run that far for nothing but better a safe ride home.

__________________
Good Luck,

Capt. Terry Nugent
Riptide Charters
www.riptidecharters.com

seaclops

Those decisions are hard to make, when running that far responsible for
other people in conditions like that you made the right call. I would rather
fish with people with brains instead of balls any day. Hey its early in the season go get em another day.

Riptide Charters

It truely sucked having to pull the plug 35 miles from where we hammered fish just 48 hours ago. But the safety of my sports and my crew is paramount. With an older crew we may have pulled up sooner, but these guys are mid 20's and have time offshore. They area ROCK SOLID crew. So we pushed on. It was my call so it was my $$$ on the line. They were nice enough to toss me some $$ towards the fuel bill even though I made it perfectly clear that it was completely on me! I really appreciate that and when we get the next shot with these guys, I am certain we will hammer the fish and I'll keep them out as long as they want. They did right by me and I'll return the favor.

I'd rather eat $800 in fuel than hammer the YFT and have a sport take a slip on the deck and get hurt. We fish hard and we run in the slop to get it done, but at the end of the day they guys safety and comfort trumps everything else. The fish are still there and I know had we pushed on we would have slayed then today, but no fish is worth an injury. The next weather window the report will be a midnight start and a long day of crushing fish with this crew. They are ready for it and as soon as Mother Nature drops her guard we are on the edge!
__________________

__________________
Good Luck,

Capt. Terry Nugent
Riptide Charters
www.riptidecharters.com

fishcounterbob

Those eseariders are the bomb. I would hate to go offshore without them having had shoulder surgery and cant hold on overhead. Should become sop to have a couple on board.