Last year's 8-day in Sep on the Intrepid was my first LR trip ever. I had such a great time, I knew I was hooked. A few short days after me and my buddy, Bob, got back we were thrilled to hear some of the folks we'd made friends with were already booked on the Angler's Choice trip and asked us to come along. Like many, this is a once a year trip, so anticipation was high as we arrived in San Diego on Friday, 17 July with a Sun push off. Saturday was spent at the docks watching a few boats unload, then we swung by the airport to pick a friend I connected with on BD when he found out we were on the same trip. Being retired from the Navy, I have plenty of friends out in SD and managed to connect with a few; one for lunch then a couple more in the evening and over dinner. I also have a cousin that just moved to Oceanside I hadn't seen in almost 15 years that came down and met me for breakfast Sunday morning. Great catching up, he's turned into a great man.
The Intrepid was back early and it was good to see the cast of characters that we were to spend the next 6 days with. Jesus was going to be the first, plus there was Sam, Chad, Ethan, and Jack on deck, with Perry and Scott, a relatively new addition in the galley. We loaded up, swing by the bait recievers and picked up a great load of bait acccording to Jesus. We cleared the point at 1:00PM headed south. Chad gave the safety/orientation brief and said Jesus would be down later to talk over the game plan. Around 4:30 Jesus came over the loudspeaker and asked everyone to assemble in the saloon, for what we assumed was a talk about said game plan. As we are waiting on him, I feel the boat heel over and we come about 180 degrees, as I wondering out loud why we are turning, speculating that maybe we ran over a huge school of tuna. Well, the first words out of Jesus' mouth quelled that notion --- "There's no way to sugar coat this." Well, shit that doesn't sound good at all. He proceeded to let us know an oil line feeding a gear box had blown and we would have to head back to San Diego. He had no idea how long the repair might take as he just wasn't sure what the issue was. A mechanic would should up at first oppotunty and give us the word. We made it back to SD around 10 that night, and after a pretty admirable manuvering job on one shaft, Jesus tied us up to the pier to await our fate. The mechanic showed around 7:30 and sealed the deal. Several days were needed to repair the issue and the trip was scraped. FUCK!
So here comes a lesson in relationship building. Remember those folks we met the year before? Well, one of them has been doing this for years and starts scrambling. He and his party numbered about 12 with many first time long rangers. Feeling a bit responsible to find a solution, he concocts a plan to salvage the trip with a 3.5/4 day on the Invicta, and he says he wants us to join them. In fact, an old deck hand/Captain from the Intrepid was running the boat -- Nicky. I was a bit bummed to hear he'd moved on when we boarded the Intrepid, but it looked like I would get the chance to fish with him again afterall. Richie would be the second, and I was trilled when I saw him as I fished with him on the Polaris Supreme when they put together two 3-days when a 6-day canceled on them in 2009, and Tommy R. let Richie take the boat out for the first time by himself. Perry and Scott were also nice enough to come along and cook for us. Hats off to the owner of the Interpid for allowing them to do that along with filling the Invicta's bait tanks with what the Intrepid had loaded up on Sun.
We spent the next few days chasing tuna and managed a nice catch north of San Dog catching a mix of YFT and BFT, probably about 10 of the latter. We also had a 10/11ft hammerhead that chased a few of our hanging fish around for about an hour. All within eyeshot of the coast. We had breezers most of Wed morning and it felt great to be on the water, pulling on fish. I can't say enough about Nick, Richie, Ethan (used to work on the Invicta and joined us from the Interpid), Joe, and pinhead Kegan.
A huge debt of gratitude goes out to the fellow we met last year that put the trip on the Invicta together and footed the ENTIRE bill. I will never forget his generosity and giving nature for inviting me and my buddy to come along and treat us like family. He salvaged my vacation, plain and simple. I'll snag a few photos and put them up in a bit.
Regards,
Chris
The Intrepid was back early and it was good to see the cast of characters that we were to spend the next 6 days with. Jesus was going to be the first, plus there was Sam, Chad, Ethan, and Jack on deck, with Perry and Scott, a relatively new addition in the galley. We loaded up, swing by the bait recievers and picked up a great load of bait acccording to Jesus. We cleared the point at 1:00PM headed south. Chad gave the safety/orientation brief and said Jesus would be down later to talk over the game plan. Around 4:30 Jesus came over the loudspeaker and asked everyone to assemble in the saloon, for what we assumed was a talk about said game plan. As we are waiting on him, I feel the boat heel over and we come about 180 degrees, as I wondering out loud why we are turning, speculating that maybe we ran over a huge school of tuna. Well, the first words out of Jesus' mouth quelled that notion --- "There's no way to sugar coat this." Well, shit that doesn't sound good at all. He proceeded to let us know an oil line feeding a gear box had blown and we would have to head back to San Diego. He had no idea how long the repair might take as he just wasn't sure what the issue was. A mechanic would should up at first oppotunty and give us the word. We made it back to SD around 10 that night, and after a pretty admirable manuvering job on one shaft, Jesus tied us up to the pier to await our fate. The mechanic showed around 7:30 and sealed the deal. Several days were needed to repair the issue and the trip was scraped. FUCK!
So here comes a lesson in relationship building. Remember those folks we met the year before? Well, one of them has been doing this for years and starts scrambling. He and his party numbered about 12 with many first time long rangers. Feeling a bit responsible to find a solution, he concocts a plan to salvage the trip with a 3.5/4 day on the Invicta, and he says he wants us to join them. In fact, an old deck hand/Captain from the Intrepid was running the boat -- Nicky. I was a bit bummed to hear he'd moved on when we boarded the Intrepid, but it looked like I would get the chance to fish with him again afterall. Richie would be the second, and I was trilled when I saw him as I fished with him on the Polaris Supreme when they put together two 3-days when a 6-day canceled on them in 2009, and Tommy R. let Richie take the boat out for the first time by himself. Perry and Scott were also nice enough to come along and cook for us. Hats off to the owner of the Interpid for allowing them to do that along with filling the Invicta's bait tanks with what the Intrepid had loaded up on Sun.
We spent the next few days chasing tuna and managed a nice catch north of San Dog catching a mix of YFT and BFT, probably about 10 of the latter. We also had a 10/11ft hammerhead that chased a few of our hanging fish around for about an hour. All within eyeshot of the coast. We had breezers most of Wed morning and it felt great to be on the water, pulling on fish. I can't say enough about Nick, Richie, Ethan (used to work on the Invicta and joined us from the Interpid), Joe, and pinhead Kegan.
A huge debt of gratitude goes out to the fellow we met last year that put the trip on the Invicta together and footed the ENTIRE bill. I will never forget his generosity and giving nature for inviting me and my buddy to come along and treat us like family. He salvaged my vacation, plain and simple. I'll snag a few photos and put them up in a bit.
Regards,
Chris
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I'm on 2 more 8 day intrepid trips, next month and Luc's in sept. I understand the 2 couples on the trip have jumped on Luc's 8 day for the same price which is a great deal!!!!!
