Monday, May 01, 2006

Will it float?

This was our weekend to act like Dave Letterman on the Late Show, when they throw stuff in a tank and guess if it will float. Much like that bit, we picked up “Offshore Bites” from Heritage Towers and dropped it in the big tank (a.k.a. the Atlantic Ocean). The answer is a resounding yes.

We left the Flemington area around 6:00 AM and made it to the Bree Zee Lee marina by 9:00 AM, which was just about high tide. We followed Capt. Randy and Ruth down; they were towing the “Just One More” down to the marina. Randy, Ruth and Jim dropped the “Just One More” in and got her in the slip, while Bill and I went over to pick up “Offshore Bites” from Heritage Towers. They didn’t get a chance to put the radar arch on this past week, so they’ll be putting it on at the marina.

When we got back Randy and Jim helped me unload the boat at the boat ramp, which went fairly smooth in my opinion. Then Randy, Jim and I took “Offshore Bites” out for a little spin in the bay, while Bill and Ruth went over to the slip with the new docking lines. Capt. Randy did most of the driving, I messed around a little. We wanted to get a feel for how the boat handles before trying to maneuver it into the slip. The wind was blowing pretty good, and we knew we needed new lines in the slip. Capt Randy got her backed into the slip. Then we spent a while adding and adjusting the new docking lines. While we were adjusting the lines another guy named Dave stopped by and introduced himself, I think he’ll have the slip next to me.

I've added a lot more photographs in the photo gallery section of the Offshore Bites website.

After getting the boats settled in the slip we went over to the Harbor View for lunch. We ate upstairs and had a nice view of the harbor. I guess that’s why they call it the Harbor View. After lunch we went back and took “Offshore Bites” for another little spin. We went up the inter-coastal heading towards Wildwood. We didn’t go too far, and then we turned around and headed back in. I did most of the driving and got a better feel for the boat, but there is still a lot to learn. I thought about trying to dock her, but with the wind blowing I decided to let Capt. Randy handle it.

From a fishing report perspective we heard from Capt. Dave M., he was fishing for Striped Bass over by Tussy’s Shoal. I don’t think he had any keepers. We did see a few guys cleaning a few nice sized drum and stripers over at the fish cleaning table, but we don’t know where they were fishing.

We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up the boat. Then we headed back home. The question now is will it still be floating when we go back?

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