OIYC: Travelin' Man... - OIYC

Thunder and Lightning for a Travelin’ Man Ahoy Crew! Now Hear This! It’s a remarkably calm sea out on the ocean right now. Foxy and his crew took his fishing boat, “Ocean Jem”, out to pull fish pots on the North side of Jost Van Dyke this morning. (They really don’t like going out when it’s rough and windy. Can't blame them.) There are a lot of storm clouds moving around right now and the thunder and lightning have been very active the last couple of days. It gets my juices flowing! It’s been a month or so since I last wrote a “crew letter” and I’ve covered a lot of miles in that time. No, not by sailboat, as the “Deev” lies on her mooring in Majuro Lagoon under the watchful eye of some good friends, but on the big bird which covers the miles very quickly from 30,000 feet above the earth’s surface. From the San Juan Islands on the Canadian border with Washington State to St. Thomas. St. Thomas in the USVI to Jost Van Dyke in the BVI. Back to St. T and then to upstate NY and back again to the Caribbean. Whew! All in a little more than a month. Today is Sunday. The weather is calm though noisy. The tourists have fled the Caribbean with its Hurricane Season and the beach bars and restaurants are all but shut down. There is not a single charter boat or bareboat in the harbor. Just the way I like it! There are no pesky tourists to bother me as I paddle my kayak around Great Harbor! The first thing on my itinerary when I arrived in St. Thomas was to hang out with my friends in the boatyard. What can I say, once a boatyard rat, always a boatyard rat... From the boatyard I eased on down to the docks at Red Hook where all the Blue Marlin fishing action takes place. Every year from July through September the number of Blue Marlin that move into the waters of the North Drop in the Virgin Islands is huge. The pre-eminent pioneer of this fishery was the legendary Johnny Harms who almost single handedly put this place on the map. One of his mates was a young fellow by the name of Jimmy who resides here still although perhaps he is not as young as he used to be! (None of us are.) Jimmy Loveland is the Tournament Director and primary organizer of the Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament. This year marks the 39th running of this tournament which is considered by many to be the "Superbowl" of Atlantic Blue Marlin tournaments. I participated as a Tournament Observer and rode on a different boat on each of the four days of the event to monitor that the fish were caught and released according to the rules of the tournament. In four days of fishing 107 Atlantic Blue Marlin were caught and released by 20 boats. The start of the tournament was used as a venue to honor the holder of the Women’s All Tackle World Record holder, Maudi Lopez, who caught her “Grander” back in the early 1980’s right here on the North Drop aboard her then husband’s boat the “Prowess”. The record still stands today and a replica of the fish was raised over “A” dock in Red Hook. (See the attached photo.) I knew Maudi and Joe Lopez in those days and I can testify to the fact that Maudi, an Aussie lass, can still drink me under the table! Good on ya, Maudi! Moving on to the British Islands I rejoined my friends on Jost Van Dyke with the Preservation Society to help on the construction of their 32 foot Island Sloop replica “Endeavour II” one more time. I have been making this pilgrimage annually for the last few years when time and finances allow me to work on this project. It looks like this year will be the year that the boat can be put in the water and taken to the boatyard to complete the rigging and engine installation. “Splice the mainbrace! Rum drinks for all hands!” Upon arrival to JVD I was honored by the arrival of Hurricane Irene. She was a small storm when she passed over the Virgin Islands and the Puerto Rican Islands but many of you will remember her for the billions of dollars of damage she caused to the East Coast as she slammed it from the Carolinas to New England. Flood damage was extensive to say the least and millions were left without power for days. Irene hit Upstate New York on a Sunday and I arrived the following Wednesday on family business. It was shortly after Irene’s arrival that the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee added to the destruction with more flooding. It’s been quite an active year, weather wise. Some of my friends cringe when they hear I’m coming and begin to batten down the hatches. Come on now! The weather is not my fault! At least I don’t think so… I’m back on Jost now. The weather is rainy and wet but the seas are remarkably calm. By the way, Foxy just pulled in with a fine haul of Grouper and Snapper. The conch horn was blown and the locals are lining up at his boat on the government dock to buy his fish. All is well on Jost van Dyke. Carry On! Chuck Handy/ Jost Van Dyke/ British Virgin Islands