Then, on the way back to the docks, I would get to
help the first mate “gut” the fish for the customers
and we would feed the remains to the seagulls flying
overhead.
It was from my parents I gained my love (and
respect) of the sea, fishing, and all that goes with it. In
fact, I even got the chance to take my own boys years
later, ages 7 and 10 at the time, out deep sea fishing
for their very first time with the very same captain.
Yes, 25 years later we sought out Captain
Wayne, and although he was no longer chartering
his own boat out of York, he was captaining
a boat in Ogunquit, Maine for half-day
trips.
My mother had passed on since our old fishing
days, so it was extremely sentimental and
exciting for me to be able to take my kids out
for their first time with
Captain Wayne as I had done as a child. They
especially enjoyed watching me help other fishermen
take their fish off because they were too
squeamish themselves to do it and hearing the
stories Captain Wayne told them about “when
your mom was little ...”
But yet here in sunny Florida four seasons of
tarpon fishing, at least six trips later, still no
tarpon (although, I did catch a great-looking
snook during one trip, but unfortunately it was
not snook season, so we couldn’t keep him).
Four years ... no fish ... no luck: I almost didn’t
participate in 2018 when we got a captain again
for Ladies Day to represent the Boca Beacon. I
had convinced myself that I just wasn’t feeling
lucky and tried to give my seat up, but they were
all pretty adamant that I needed to go and try
again to lose my “virginity.” They were not letting
me give up.
So I left the office Friday evening thinking,
“Okay, I’ll give this one more try.” With Sunday
being Mother’s Day, maybe Lady Luck would look
down upon me and I would finally get that elusive
tarpon, once and for all.
The tournament arrived Saturday and we
boarded our boat “Tsunami” with Captain Chad
Bombenger at the Pink docks. If you have been
to or celebrated a “Ladies Day” tournament in
Boca Grande, you know that a lot of the ladies
enjoy jazzing up the festivities with matching
outfits, crazy hats, team songs, slogans and more.
The poster theme for this year’s tournament
was “Rosie the Riveter,” a cultural icon of World
War II, representing the women who worked in
factories and shipyards during World War II.
So our team of four – Caroline our sales rep,
Lynn our office assistant, our writer Sue and
myself – joined the masses and dressed as Rosie.
Photo above: Circa 1978 just getting back from
trip on the Porpoise out of York Harbor, Maine.
Age 12, watching the catch get counted and
weighed to see who won biggest fish prize
of the trip.