Back for the 2012 Shrimp Season

The gang is back for for the 2012 shrimp season. The stone crab research is over but the taste for crab meat has not faded. So, we will be setting some traps out for our personal consumption.




Over the off season Josiah and I ( Capt Dad ) worked on the boat ( Dirt Claw'd ) rebuilding the cabin area so that Kimberly and Sarah have a nice, clean place to sleep off seasickness. And, we changed out the console with mahogany after adding a new GPS plotter and DSI ( down scan imaging ) Monitor.


While I worked on the electronics, Josiah concentrated on the wood work. He has grown into an excellent helmsman, deck hand, woodworker, and all around mature young man.





Along for our maiden voyage of the new season, was our friend David. Although the seas were rough ( 4 ft swells / 5 second period / 12 mph wind ) I thought we could do well. I was wrong. Very wrong. I made a critical, all-be-it rookie mistake. I didn't soak the doors. Soaking helps add weight to the doors so that will sink more quickly. The lighter, more bouyant doors kept getting flipped over by the waves.

" let the lines out, watch waves flip the doors, pull back in 70 ft of line, flip the doors back over, let the lines out, watch the waves flip over the doors, pull back 70 ft of line, flip the doors back over, let back out ....." We didn't catch any shrimp, but we all got a good upper body workout.

However, we did have fun! Fellowship! And David got some good video of dolphins jumping and wrestling around in the water. Looked like they were having fun as well.