Tuesday, July 10, 2007
This weeks forecast looked good for boating so my dive buddies, Jack
deVilliers and Rick Pinegar made plans for a day of offshore
spearfishing. The trip would include J.D. Ellington and myself.
My best friend, Jack, offered to come pick me up and was in my front
yard by 0730. We stopped by a service station, topped the boat
off with fuel and grabbed a cup of coffee. We were back on the
road to Dauphin Island in no time.
Rick and J.D. were there waiting at the boat launch when we arrived,
gear at the ready. We loaded the boat and set our coordinates for
some submerged bridge spans 20 miles out. The weather report
called for 1-2 foot seas and I had been dreaming about a slick ride out
to our destination all night but as my luck would have it, a smooth
ride was not in order. The seas turned out to be more like 3
feet, which in a 22' boat can be a little bumpy; and it was.
Partly due to a south wind meeting us head on.
Once on the dive site, we threw the anchor and suited up... well at
least Jack, Rick and J.D. did. I chose to sit this one out and
deck hand due to a strong current and the fact we were diving on bottom
structure and it is hard to stay on a wreck while freediving.
Every time you dive down, the current takes you off the structure and
it is too much work to regain your position (unless of course we are
tournament diving). We were out here to have fun and relaxing
dives.
Meanwhile, the three SCUBA divers were down on bottom blowing some
bubbles. We were in 102' FSW so they couldn't stay down that
long. In about 30 minutes they start popping up. Reports of
good visibility were given and Rick hands up his gun with a amberjack
in tow. Jack surfaces and is fuming. "My dam gun fouled when I
pulled the trigger" he was exclaiming. He was unhappy to say the
least. J.D. was just diving and had a great time. Everyone
got onboard and now had to make some surface time to allow the nitrogen
to vent off. Jack asked which rig I wanted to go to. "The
closest one" was my reply. With that he motored over to the
nearest rig and I baled all by my lonesome. So at least I
thought... I had made a couple of freedives and was seeing hundreds of
barracuda and lots of bait fish. As I was coming up from my first
or second dive, I could see some game fish (mackerel) at the outer
range of my visibility. I swim to intersect when I hear a sound
like a sewing machine getting louder and louder. I look over my
shoulder and there's Rick with his sea scooter smiling and
waving. I wave back thinking "get out of here, you're messing up
my fishing". He must have been thinking the same thing because in
the next few minutes he was gone.
I made two or three more dives to about 50' and on the way up
intersected with a couple of schooling spanish mackerel. This is
an exceedingly swift, strong swimmer that is always active. I
line up my shot and hit it perfectly on the lateral line. The
fight it put up was no match for my gear and soon it was in the
boat. I made a couple of more drops in the area but wasn't able
to find another. I climb back into the boat and we move on.
The next spot was another piece of bottom structure in 100' FSW.
Everyone geared up and headed down the anchor line. I got my gear
on and followed suit. As I was getting ready to jump in, I could
see a 5' barracuda right under the boat where I needed to get in.
I gave it about 5 seconds to vacate the premises and jumped right in on
it. It barely moved as I righted myself in the water. It
looked at me like it was going to protect the territory; that is until
I aimed 4' of stainless steel spear shaft in its direction. At
that point it yielded and moved over to give me room. I continued my
dive.
I made the swim in to the current until I was over the structure and
dived down. More barracuda was all I saw. I made three or
four more dives when I looked over and noticed Jack at the anchor rope
with a large cobia in his possession. Below him was a big
barracuda sizing up his fish. I swam a little faster in case I
needed to shoot the predator if needed. "Mike!" I heard Jack
yell. "Right behind you!" I responded. "I need you in the
boat" he ordered. I knew what had to be done and swam back to the
boat to play deck hand. He handed his gun up, then the fish, a
beauty. I estimate it to be 45 pounds at least. With the
fish and gear onboard, Jack was to follow.
Rick and J.D. were right
behind. Rick hauls in a nice red snapper and J.D. with another
dive under his belt.
The ride back in was a lot calmer than the ride out and we were back at
the dock within 45 minutes. We drive to the service station, top
off the fuel tanks and settle up on the cost. Everyone's happy
and now going home. Both Rick and J.D. live on Dauphin Island so
their drive was short.
Jack and myself head north and about 10 miles from the island, Jack
looks in his side mirror and says "we have a problem". No sooner
had we made a left turn in front of local fruit stand, than a trailer
wheel falls off. Yes, falls off the axle. By a stroke of
luck, we are able to pull to the side of the road before it comes
completely off. We are now effectively "dead in the water"!
WHAT TO DO???
Having recently had the trailer axles completely rebuilt, he called the
company that did the work and explained our dilemma. After a
short conversation he gets off the phone and says "well that takes care
of that". "What's up?" I asked. "They are coming out to
back up their work". Wow! Unbelievable!
Since we were at the fruit stand, we wander over and make small talk
with the owners. They are very hospitable and offer us a
beer. We decline since we have some Captain Morgan in the
truck. They have a small area out back of the store with some
lawn chairs around it. Buddy, the owner, tells us to make
ourselves comfortable and we do. In a little while he brings out
a flat of hot boiled peanuts for us to enjoy. GREAT!!!
Buddy sharing a beer with Jack
Within the hour, the trailer repair men show up with all the
necessary tools to fix the wheel.
Myself, Jack and Paul kick back and have a drink and eat some
peanuts while they work.
While we are sitting there, a couple of people that recognize the boat
stop in and see if everything is okay. We give them the short
version and invite them to have some freshly boiled peanuts and they
do. One friend of Jack's, Paul Hill, stays with us until the job
is complete.
My phone rings as we are sitting around and I answer "Hello?"
"Hi, is this Stickman?" "Yes it is" I reply. "This is
brother Chit Chat". "I'm calling about the Free Masons Riding
Club, I just joined". "Congratulations brother, we are happy to have
you" came my response. He asked what lodge I was a member of and
told me of his. We talked about the "Heart of Dixie" Chapter and
I invited him to join which he inquired as to the process. I
talked him through the Bull Board and he found our state patch logo and
was pleased. I think we are growing some more. We spoke for
a while before having to go and I am looking forward to riding with our
new brother.
By 5 o'clock the trailer was road ready but we were having so much fun,
we just continued to sit around and socialize. Before long, the
fruit stand closes up for the evening. We hang around another 10
or 15 minutes and decide to go home.
Jack pulls up to my house and Robin is home by now. I had called
her earlier and told her of our predicament so as not to worry.
She had cooked some delicious chicken gumbo and invited Jack to stay
for dinner. He did and we looked over the days pictures before he
left for his own house.
All things considered, it turned
out to be a great day.
