DAY II
Got up around 11AM on Saturday. The winds were at 20 knots and a storm was approaching...I wondered when it would be here and how bad it would be. The fishing was hard going, as Vinny and his brother would say..a pick here and there...60 & 80 pounders.
As night came, the winds began to sing...not my song...not anybody's song! Steve was thinking, how long? The sun disappeared in the clouds, as night came on at 7 PM. Fishing came to a stand still and the waves were at 6 feet and better...and the winds were now at 30 knots. By 9 PM the Captain put it to a vote that at midnight we would leave.
Some were grumbling, saying it wasn't so bad...if only they knew. Another tuna was on at that very moment, a 90 pounder, and all were fishing hard. Not yours truly, I was getting my gear inside...the hair on the back of my neck was up and Mike's dog was getting nervous...smart dog!
The first wave of rain came around 10:45 PM...all hell broke loose...the winds were howling...the seas were pissed off and we were leaving now. The rain was coming horizontally at 60 miles per hour and better.
We were in the ride home from hell! On the one had it's pretty exciting, on the other hand...who are we kidding...no one was complaining about leaving now! We started playing cards as the boat rocked and rolled. As soon as we got over the wall of the canyon, it got worse.
Well, let's put it this way...with the Viking and Capt. Steve, you're in good hands. Fifteen foot seas and 68 miles an hour winds, thank you very much. I slept threw the worst of it...
DAY III
The next morning, Vinny was joking about how to write this story...we all laughed about staying away from all the cliches, but they were all there. We played some poker and wrote it off. Steve was happy to be home and safe for another day at the office. My friends Jim Tynan and Jim Otis had a hell of a trip and lots of stories to tell their kids later on.
It happens...it's all part of fishing...the good, the bad...the UGLY! You take it with stride...you have no choice! Well listen, this is not the norm by far. The tuna are there...go get them and tell them that Dave sent you. Good night Walter Cronkite...it's time for this boy to go to sleep!