9/6/2010 - point sur with the catalico family

[alantani]

9/6/2010 - point sur with the catalico family

i've met some tough kids before, but never any as tough as these.  that toughness extends to the entire family.  you'll see what i mean. 

marbel catalico is a pharmacist like me.  he actually graduated from UCSF a few years after i did, he lives down the street, his kids are spread out a little more in age than mine, and they even go to the same schools.  i've been wanting to get them out fishing this entire summer, but our schedules just did not mesh until this last monday.  all during the weekend, there were brisk winds and moderate to heavy seas.  the forecast was favorable.  monday the winds were supposed to drop off to nothing.   figuring the seas would follow, i decided to take a shot at point sur again and get marbel and his family out on the water.  note to self - it's better to fish the day before a storm than the day after.     

4am.  all prepped and ready to go. 



the entire family came by the house the night before and was fitted with boots, foul weather gear and pfd's.  we got to the monterey launch ramp, got everyone geared up, got the boat into the water and we were underway in no time.  meet marbel, davis, julia, helena and jason.



a thick blanket of fog had settled down just outside the harbor.  thank goodness for radar. i had jason stand watch to port and davis to starboard.  marbel found a comfortable seat and enjoyed the ride.  this was the last time he smiled until the end of the day.



we rounded the point and the winds were down, but the seas were still up.  not a good sign.



we got down to point sur easily because the chop was at our backs.  when we arrived and started fishing, we still had big swells to deal with, and my crew was starting to turn green. 



ok, so we were a bit short on smiles, but the kids never once complained.  i think they were so stoned on dramamine that it was all they could do to just keep their eyes open. 



tough crew, though.  they quickly fell into a routine.  catch one, hurl one, catch one, hurl two....



catch one, hurl three or four.....



catch a big one!



as predicted, it finally started laying down.



ok, now we can get everyone to smile!



final count, two lingcods, three vermillions, and 30 assorted rockfish.  undoubtedly, the kids were on facebook all night.  i can just imagine the conversations.  "like, dude, i never puked so much in all my life!" 

[broadway]

Good Job Alan!  It's always fun to pass on your knowledge, respect, and passion... even if some chunks fly.  Kids somehow bounce back and handle seasickness way better than adults.  I guess it's like when I go have a snowball fight with my niece and nephew for 2 hours, their hands are blue, and they still wanna continue...when my hands turn blue I'm DONE!  Great to see the smiles... it doesn't fill the tank, but it fills the heart.
Dom

[alantani]

Great report. I don't know why, but I've always gotten a kick out of watching people vomit. I've noticed that everybody has their own method of pucking on a boat. You have people that will resist until the bitter end. Other's will just start hurling at the beginning stage.

Here's my vomit stage.
1) They stop talking.
2) They want to sit or lay down.
3) They get the cold sweats.
4) They close their eyes. (this is when I go to the other side of the boat)
5) They will stand up and make their way to the rail.
6) They take deep breaths and knell down on the deck.
7) They look like chipmunk's. They will have a mouth full of vomit with   
    mouth closed and lips squeezed tight. They will swallow it until the explosion. At this point, they pray that no   
    one is paying attention to them.
The explosion begins. Projectile style is very common. Most try their best
    to keep it quiet. Very few will make loud noise at this point.
9) They hurl until they think they are finished and then sit or Lay down.
10) The second round is my favorite. Very violent with lots of noise. They
     don't care who's watching or the amount of noise they make. They just
     want it to end.

Now, the second interesting thing to me also is how the other members of the boat handle it. Anyone that was on the verge of stage 2 or 3 will just get up and quickly begin stage 8 or 10. This chain reaction will continue until everyone on board that is feeling bad at all, will go empty the contents of their stomach.

This is when the hecklers come out. I admit, I used to give people a hard time, in fact, I would purposely make the boat roll running in the trough's  while talking about sea sickness and taking bets on who's going to be the first one to blow beets. That's really pretty mean and I don't do it anymore. During the hurling episodes you will get a lot of finger gestures while they are bent over if you continue to heckle them.

no truer words have ever been spoken!

[Bucktail]

At least they all survived.  And you're right,  I bet they are busily telling their friends all about it now.

[Dave Bentley]

I suffer from the "burts" unless I take the appropriate drugs. (prescription of course)

As they say, for the 1st 4 hours you think you are going to die, after that you wish you would!!!!!

[Bryan Young]

Wow, those were some big swells down there as usual.  I'm glad that it layed down a bit, but looking at the catch, it looks like all will be forgotten.  Like I'm never sick when I'm hooked up.  After and before is a different story.  The trick is how to keep them hooked up all of the time.

Thanks for sharing.  Always fun to ready your posts on your trips. 

[BigT]

I'm starting to really get a hankering to go fishing in California (Not sure my little runabout would make it from Australia though ).  Those Vermillions might be 'bread & butter' fish for you, Alan but your days chasing them look like great fun.

With the consistent burley trail behind the boat, I'm surprised you didn't have a bait out under a balloon for sharks

Thanks for the fun report as always. Glad the kids all got some fish and had a good time in the end.


Cheers, T

[Alto Mare]

Great fishing report Alan, I'm  enjoying  it, Thank you! Is that a Grady-White?

[alantani]

thank you, yes it is!

[Alto Mare]

Niiice!