REPORTS FROM THE RIP

The crew

The past week has been a whirlwind. We departed Ocean Reef on monday after a low key weekend there. As we left, We picked up Kurt Theodore and Tim Brundage( the Nator) in Miami. We then made our way across the gulf stream past Bimini to the Great bahama Bank. The seas were relatively cam so we stopped off on a few spots that I have found over the years. I put Tyler and the boys in the water on these spots and they did quite well shooting Hogfish, Mutton Snapper, and lobsters. It was a cool way to break up the trip to Nassau.

A few of the fish the boys shot

Nice tag team on this mutton

Day two was awesome. We dove some coral heads south of Nassau that I have done well on in the past. The boys got some nice sized lobsters. The water was extremely clear and the temps were perfect with the air temp being 81 and the water 78 degrees. That night we pulled into Staniel Cay in the Exumas and had an incredible meal of Lobster chunks Snapper and salad. Yes I am striving to eat better. Everything tastes better with Butter but The doc says I have to cut that crap out.
Day three was a toss up. I could go to Flyingfish marina on Long island 140 miles south or to Riding Rock Marina on San salvador 105 miles to the South East. As soon as we stuck the nose of the Blue Heaven past the rocks on the east side of the Exumas, It was clear we were not going to go to the South or very far. It was not tall and terrible ,mind you. but it was just shitty enough. So we fished our way over to San Sal. Along the way the fishing was slow, But we did manage to catch Kurt and Tim each a nice big wahoo.
Upon arriving in San sal, Tyler and I looked at each other and said the same thing. Man it is weird to be here with no boats. After spending time here last summer when the marina was full its just kinda like a ghost town now. But then the locals showed up. Kevin and Michelle stopped by then low and behold Miss Peaches showed up carrying a monster tray of her world famous Bahamian Mac and Cheese. A few others stopped by and we share most of our days catch with them all. The last to Arrive was Pops. He had his guitar over his shoulder and sang us a song to bring us luck in wahoo fishing.
This past few days have been so nice. Normally on a trip like this, we are just running and putting miles behind us. Its been nice to just stop and smell the roses. Over the next two nights we will be anchoring out. ( if the weather holds) I could make the Turks and Caicos in a day of solid running, But I think we are going to anchor out at a few small islands along the way. Were going to just fish our way to the Turks and Caicos. It will save the boss a lot in fuel and we will continue to sniff the roses along the way.
On day one, I told our buddies as they got on the boat that there are certain rules. Most of the rules are concerning safety. But other ruler are concerning rules of engagement for pranks. The four of us are very similar in our enjoyment of humor and pranks. So one most keep on their toes which friends like us. One example is " no Messing with someones sleep at night, BUT if you fell sleep during the day, Its game on. Tim made the mistake of napping on the back deck. He was rudely awaked with a bucket of cold water." Video will follow when we get better internet speeds.
It has been such a great time having these two guys with us. To be able to share what we do and the places we go with them is a chance of a life time for them. (Hell just being in MY presence it a privilege for them.)