I began
volunteering to help restore Skipjack Kathryn in January 2013 as a father-son
project. The details of my lifelong
passion for skipjacks, the last sail-powered commercial fishing fleet in the
U.S., and my connection specifically to Kathryn are described in earlier blog
posts. Briefly- we were right next to
her when she almost sank during the 2011 Labor Day Skipjack races at Deal Island,
so when the opportunity to be part of the group restoring her became available,
we just had to do it. And now, 2.5 years
after we joined in on this project, Kathryn is finally returned to the water
where she belongs. I would like to thank
Kathryn owner Stoney Whitelock for inviting the public to be part of this. And I would also like to thank master
shipwright Michael Vlahovich for patiently teaching us the skills necessary to
contribute to Kathryn’s rebirth. I’m
estimating to have put in between 5-6 weeks (40 hour weeks) of time on Kathryn
over this journey. It was the most
backbreaking uncomfortable work I have ever done, much or most of it lying on
the ground underneath of Kathryn. I lost the tip of my right index finger, but
hey- I have 9 other fingers, right? My
reward has been the education of how skipjacks are built from the bones-up, as
Kathryn’s re-work was total and comprehensive.
I know understand how skipjacks are planked, how they are framed, and
exactly what a knee, rib, and worm-toe are.
I learned skills of planing, fair lines, how to thicken epoxy just right,
how to make a butt-board, and a million other things that I can apply to other
areas of my life. And I also experienced
the joy of working alongside inmates- glad to have the opportunity to emerge
from beyond the confines of their prison walls for short periods of time. So, seeing Kathryn float again for me was huge,
and it was emotional.
Summer of
2015 has been rather spectacular in terms of bottom fishing in Tangier Sound. From middle of June on, I caught a LOT of
fish and never had to work really hard doing it. And, the fish were sustained better quality
than in the last 5 years or so. As I
vacuum-sealed my filets at the end of this last weekend and shoe-horned them
into the freezer, I realized that my freezer was indeed full and enough was
enough. Also, the telltale signs of this
particular style of fishing slowing down for the year were starting to appear. This weekend, I fished Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday in order to accommodate some family members that joined me. First up was oldest son (now 24) Brooks. We had not fished together in probably 10
years. Brooks never really got the
fishing bug, but rather seemed to tolerate it when he was younger. I continued my exploit of the area ~one mile
north of buoy 12 and on the west side of the channel- why mess with success. The winds were light and blowing out of the WSW,
and we were nearly smack in the middle of the outgoing tide. Squid continued to be effective, and we
picked up fish mostly from 40-50 ft depth, with one surprise fish at 67 ft just
prior to moving. I put 12 fish in the cooler,
Brooks just 1, so I have to say that his little sister has the edge on him
here, nearly matching me fish for fish a few weeks ago. What was remarkable was the size- I caught
the biggest fish of the year at 15 inches, and there were several others at 13,
by far the nicest size fish in quite awhile.
The next day
I repeated the effort, fishing solo and just a little bit later in the
day. Conditions were similar, maybe just
a little bit hotter out at upper 80’s (water temp a steady 80F throughout the
weekend). The result was 9 fish in the
boat including one Spot, with the largest at 14 inches and several at 13
again. Sunday I took my brother Ross and
his 9-year old son Owen. This time, we
were aligned with the beginning of the outgoing tide, but wind was straight out
of the south and I never could get our drift going the way I wanted. Unfortunately, the fish seemed to care less
and we were plagued by lack of fish, crabs on the line, and toadfish. In fact my brother seemed to be a master at
hanging toads and crabs. A hungry 9-year
old ordained an early conclusion to our trip, and we returned with 5 fish in the
cooler, including one small kingfish.
This was by far the least productive day on the water since early June,
and perhaps the expected sign that the incredible bottom fishing off Deal Island
in 2015 is running out of gas.
Since it
will be at least another 2 weeks before I return and my freezer is full, I will
turn attention to the shallow water fishing surrounding the islands in quest
for rockfish, speckled trout, and maybe a drum.
I am starting to hear rumblings of a few specks and rock being caught in
these areas.
