Page 52 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2020

SPORTS & OUTDOORS BLUEWATER
FISHING
52 | February 2020 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
gone bad
I’ve had the good fortune to fish numerous new and older sportfish boats. Offshore fishing boats are generally well maintained since typical trips involve running out 20- 100 miles or more. Having been on dozens without incident, I have come to take this for granted – until recently.
fished the boat before. I probably should have left right then.
An out-of-state charter captain reached out wanting us to film a bluewater episode of our show, Find Your Outdoors. He proposed to run 100 miles offshore, spend at least one night, and fish for Mahi-Mahi, Tuna, Wahoo,
The weather forecast had been spotty, so
as we headed offshore with the sun setting it was no surprise that the seas were running four to six feet off our beam and the boat rolled heavily. With seven passengers onboard, the bridge was full of crew and the cockpit filled with an enormous cooler, two automobile batteries, and the broken fighting chair with upturned bucket footrest. My daughter Brittany and I were relegated to the salon. Here, a household-type box fan moved the air in a futile attempt to make up for the failing air conditioner, which did little to ease the heat.
and maybe even snag a Marlin We weren’t familiar with the captain or his 45-foot custom boat, but he seemed knowledgeable and from the photos his older boat appeared to be in solid condition.
It seemed that nearly everything on the boat was inoperable. While most problems were mere annoyances, I wondered, “How bad is the condition of the engine room’s fire suppression system? The fuel filters and Racors? The radios and safety equipment?” For the first time ever, we were seriously concerned for our safety.
When the endless night was finally over,
We arrived to find the boat was not at all as expected. The window in the transom livewell had been replaced by a giant, unfinished raw fiberglass patch. The mate couldn’t install the footrest on the fighting chair due to missing bolts and the captain’s solution was to use an upturned bucket in its place. I also learned that the mate had never