July 15, 2011
4th of July Weekend in Port A
Island Moon
On The Hook Running to the Rigs
By Captain Arthur Helmsteadt The 4th has come and gone and we all survived. Surprisingly the water was relatively quiet on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There was a massive amount of boats on the water but everyone seemed to behave themselves nicely. Usually, there are a ton of groundings and broken down boats to be dealt with on high traffic weekends. Kudos to everyone for sharing The Island with such grace. I was lucky enough not to have to work on the 4th so Sarah and I decided to take “Akula” our Ranger offshore. Her father and stepmom happened to be in town for the holiday and they decided to come along too. It was obvious by watching the gas stations that just about everybody else had the same idea. We broke the jetties at about 9:45 with intentions of hitting a spot about 30 miles out. Those plans changed quickly after glancing back at the stepmom. Despite a good dose of sea sickness meds. and great offshore conditions, all was not well. The white color in her face was a good indicator she had fallen victim to motion sickness. Instead of running any further out and compounding the problem, we made the decision to stay around the near shore rigs. At least we could jump back in Packery fairly quickly if she got too uncomfortable.
Back Porch Jenny and her little bro
A 13
Calling the Dinosaurs I understand the agony of seasickness all too well. In the right conditions even I get motion sickness. I’ve never “Called the Dinosaurs”, but I have gotten wicked vertigo on certain boats in bad sea conditions. The kind of seasickness I get makes everything around me spin, I never seem to get sick to my stomach though. The best remedy for any kind of motion sickness is pretty straightforward. Make sure you get a good night’s rest. Eat a good meal before going out, just stay away from greasy junk food. AVOID GAS STATION FOOD AT ALL COSTS! I once saw a guy lay a good 100’ diameter slick offshore after
eating gas station pizza, it was impressive. Studies have shown that a reasonable meal before engaging in activities that cause motion sickness can actually “occupy” your stomach and reduce the likely hood of encountering discomfort. Lastly, keep your face in fresh air. Enclosed cabins and engine exhaust are the biggest causes of seasickness. Back to the Fishing
I wasn’t particularly excited about staying in so close. I didn’t think we would catch much of anything as I had always been told the inshore rigs were fished out. Man was I wrong. We certainly didn’t load the boat with meat but we did catch an amazing array of species. It was especially nice considering Sarah’s parents hadn’t really seen any of the species we were catching before. We brought in lots of Red Snapper, Atlantic Spade fish, two gag grouper, a soapfish (in the grouper family), a juvenile Ling (Cobia) about 13”, several Gray Triggers, a Kingfish roughly 36”, a Bluefish, several Skipjacks, and a ton of Lane Snapper. There was also a small fish which was silver with yellow spots and resembled some kind of snapper, not sure about that one. We have plenty of fish in the freezer so we decided to release everything. In any case, we had a blast. It never ceases to amaze me how much life is out in the Gulf. Sarah and I do a lot of diving all over and we’re still hard pressed to find the diversity we have right here in our backyard. Folks, don’t let that green water fool ya, you don’t need to hit blue water to take the family fishing offshore. Hopefully the wind will continue to lay as we move further into summer and we can get offshore more often. Until next time, keep the water on the outside!
Girls Night Out. Photo by Miles Merwin Island in the Son United Methodist Church will have a “Christmas in July” Arts and Crafts Sale on Saturday, July 30, 2011 from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to “shop ‘til you drop” among the great selection of unique items for sale. Some of the featured tables will offer original matted photography, custom fishing tackle, Tervisâ Tumblers, specialty bags, jewelry and much more! There will also be silent auction items to bid on while you’re here, as well as a food and drink concession. If you are interested in being a vendor (space available), you can contact Patty Baker at 361-9493276 or mbaker10@stx.rr.com. Island in the Son UMC is located at 10650 Highway 361 on Mustang Island.
Van and his dog ‘D.O.G.’ surrounded by friends at the Gaff. Photo by Miles Merwin
Above: This young lady took her puppy along with her to the Tarpon Ice House. Left: Geologist Leon Hrncir (Eddie) brought his telescope to the Island House to view Saturn last week. Eddie specializes in planetary geology and hosts public star parties. Photo by Mary Craft.
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