This was one of the more interesting charters. Upon arrival, we noted a generator on the deck.. unusual, but we took no special note of it. The vessel appeared to have a below average amount of maintenance, but it was seaworthy. The captain seemed friendly enough.
We were advised that due to a storm the night before, we would need to fuel up before getting under way, and that we would not be doing so at the marina (the captain apparently only wishes to spend money on the slip and nothing else at the marina due to high fees). As we fueled, the captain mentioned causally that one of his engines had given him a little trouble the day before but that he was sure it was ok.
Next, we stopped about 10 minutes out to fish for bait, as the vessel had very little aboard and "there was none available at port".. Not unheard of, I guess, but so far, we were hearing "no gas, no bait" on a charter that wasn't booked at the last minute or anything.
Next, just after the first bait stop, the trend continued. The captain approached us and stated that one engine was indeed not functioning and that he would refund our money and return to port or continue on on a single engine, slowly. Like anyone who wants to fish, we elected to carry on.
Within an amazingly quick few minutes, the captain "discovered" that his electronics package was tied to the compromised engine and that "it sure was lucky" that he conveniently had the generator aboard. The generator was subsequently fired up and remained running for the entirety of the journey. My guess is that this is not the first time the generator was "conveniently aboard" to run the electronics, which is why I bring it up.
The mate was eager to please, but seemed unprepared. Inasmuch as the vast majority of our trip was evidently going to be at 6-7 knots, I asked if he had some ballyhoo rigs or other trolling bait and he said he did. After almost 45 minutes he had a few lines out. My experience has been that the folks that make a profession out of being a first mate have their rigs ready to go before the charter, unless they're crazy busy, in which case, they're usually made up before the first stop. This was not at all the case here. It is also my experience that most of the better captains tend to work together to a degree.. the whole "there are fish here" call that you hear on the radio. Or the "we hit limits.. anyone want a fish?".. These are typical of the recreational fishing industry, and a lot of good captains (and more to the point, their customers) have benefited from such mutually exchanged information. This did not occur on this charter. The radios stayed exclusively tied to the general channel, and there was none of the usual banter that I've seen on other charters. This may have contributed to the results of our efforts (or it could have just been a slow day, but it would have been nice to see and hear some effort on the part of the captain).
We had time for about an hour and a half of actual fishing before beginning the long journey back. During the return trip that captain mentioned that if he'd had a few gallons of oil we would have had two engines on this trip, but that Walmart was closed when he stopped by there, and oil was just too expensive at the marina that he only pays for his slip at.
Upon our return to the marina, we were reminded vigorously that "the mate is extra" (we planned on this, but it was a 5 minute reminder, thus worth mentioning). I indicated that we understood and were waiting for the mate to finish with our single catch.
The mate took almost 30 minutes to cut a single cobia into steaks, partially because he had a knife that was as sharp as a stick, and partially because, in his own words, he doesn't generally keep fish. he always catches them and throws them back.
All in all, the party is where you bring it, and our group had a good time and the crew was friendly enough. The reality, however, is that when we arrived, we had a poorly maintained vessel with no fuel, inadequate oil, a probably known mechanical issue, no bait and a mate that had not prepared any trolling rigs. It was the last boat available for snapper season, and while we will be getting together once a month to fish, it won't be on this vessel read more