Friday, April 3 – After a lazy morning featuring a French Toast breakfast, Pam & I headed off with her cousin, Sean to set some prawn traps. The plan was to go about seven miles up the inlet to an area that had been very fruitful last season. The day was overcast with a hint of rain. Wind made the ride a little choppy but in about 30 minutes, we reached out destination. The depth finder was acting up, but began working just as we reached our target area. Prawn trapping is best in about 250 feet of depth, so we patrolled around until we found optimal conditions. We baited the traps and put two traps on a line about 10 feet apart and then lowered them into the water. About halfway through the third spool of 100’ rope, we hit bottom and declared victory. The spot was marked with a couple of floats to facilitate recovery later in the evening.
As we went to move to a second spot, the engine died. We tried a few times to get it started again and then decided to get the second set of traps dropped before trying again. The challenge was, that we didn’t have the depth finder and the tide was pulling us into shallower water. We grabbed two wooden oars and began paddling the 18’ Bayliner to deeper water – not an easy task given her size, the wind and current. Eventually, we got far enough out and using marine navigation apps on a phone, we felt we were close to deep enough. Two-plus spools of line confirmed the depth.
Once the traps were all set, we turned our attention to getting the engine started again. We likely spent another 30-plus minutes fidgeting with the carburetor and trying to turn the engine over. As the rains started and winds picked up, we decided it might be time to get help on stand-by. Cell service was limited, but we were able to text message back to the house to get the smaller boat in the garage ready for a potential rescue mission. Just after getting the confirming text that our message had been received, the engine cranked over and we were able to call off our rescue. Good thing too, as the smaller boat had not been readied for spring use and would have taken 2-3 hours minimum to prepare, launch and make its way up to our location.
We arrived safe and sound back at the marina and decided to put off checking the traps until the next day.
While we had been out floating hopelessly on the water, Sean’s wife had cooked a turkey; their son, Spencer had baked a pumpkin pie; and Karen had made all the other fixings for an early Easter dinner. By the time we reached the house, it smelled heavenly!
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