Bunny Clark Fishing Update
Written & Edited by Tim Tower
Sunday, November 29, 2020, 6:30 AM EST
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At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 43°F, the sky was overcast, it had been raining earlier, the wind was blowing out of the north northeast at ten knots and the visibility was excellent.
The wind was light out of the north when we headed to the fishing grounds. The ocean gave us a one foot chop, this mostly because it had been blowing harder earlier in the morning. The wind almost let go before we got to the fishing grounds. Just as it looked like it was going to, the wind hauled out of the east. Easterly winds were about five knots, at most. It was about that time we arrived. The air temperature was in the mid 40s, the visibility was excellent and the sky was overcast.
On the fishing grounds, the wind was blowing out of the east at five knots. This wind dropped to nothing, leaving the ocean flat calm. When the wind came up again it was out of the southeast. Five knots was all I saw, not enough to raise much of a chop. With the southeast wind, the visibility deteriorated. We had, at most, five miles in haze. The last half of the fishing gave us a light misting rain. This lasted for the rest of the fishing and the whole ride home. The air temperature reached a high of 49°F under the shade top. . The sky was overcast all day. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 54.5°F.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 51°F with a low of 44°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 44°F (with a low of 38°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 42°F (with a low of 38°F).
The fishing was very good to excellent. The catching was very good or, maybe, better than that. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull today was a bit different. We still saw a bigger average size. But there were more small ones. Twenty percent of the haddock we caught were too small to keep. Legal landings also included sixty-four pollock, fifteen redfish, five cusk, five mackerel and fourteen red hake. Released fish included a blue shark, three dogfish, eight cod of 5 pounds or more, seven sub-legal sized cod, fifteen sub-legal redfish and three good sized haddock. We drift fished all day. The drift was perfect. All terminal gear worked well
Charlie Harris (MA) was the fisherman of the day. He was high hook with the most legal fish and he won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12 pound pollock. He caught the second largest haddock of the trip at 4.5 pounds. Some of Charlie's other fish that I weighed included a 9.5 pound pollock, an 8 pound pollock and a 9 pound pollock.
The second largest fish was an 11.75 pound pollock caught by Kyle McNamara (ME), right near the end of the trip. I took a picture of Kyle with his wife, Emily, celebrating the fun of fishing and his great catch. This digital image appears on the right. Dani Gelinas (TX) caught the third largest fish, an 11.5 pound pollock. She caught this pollock as part of a double that also included an 8 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time.
Other Angler Highlights: Moriah Mahala (ME) caught the largest haddock of the trip, weighing in at 4.75 pounds. I took a picture of Moriah holding her haddock. This digital image appears on the left of this entry. Dave Harris (MA) was second hook with the second most legal fish of the trip. His two biggest fish were a 10 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock. Emily McNamara (ME) caught an 8 pound pollock. Ted Harris (PA) caught a 10 pound pollock and a 10.5 pound pollock, his two best fish. His son, Terrell Harris (PA), caught a 9 pound pollock and a 9.5 pound pollock, his two biggest fish. C.C. Calder (ME) landed the hard luck award for catching few fish and for getting the most tangled lines!
I received $25.00 from Carlton Calder today sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge. The event was done as a virtual ride which I didn't participate in. This because I look at the PMC event itself as a two day vacation where I can ride, relax with like minded friends and take in the whole experience as a gift to me for the fund raising I do. Without the event, it is fund raising, which I am very much into over everything the event has to offer. I haven't generated as much money as I have in other years but I met the threshold I was hoping to attain thanks to people like C.C. and so many others. Thank you so much, C. C., for your support. Enjoy the t-shirt and think of us every time you wear it!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 42°F, the sky was clear with a nearly full moon setting high in the western sky, the wind was blowing out of the west at ten knots, more or less, and the visibility was excellent.
We had a following chop on the ride to the fishing grounds. The wind was blowing out of the northwest at ten knots with seas in chops of a foot or more. Down the channel, I kept the moon over my right shoulder. After I left the gate behind, I could no longer see the moon. The clouds have overtaken us. The air temperature was in the mid 40s for the first half of the ride out. The air temperature increased later. The visibility was excellent.
On the fishing grounds, the ocean flattened right out. The wind had been dropping the further we went to get out there. Once there, we had no wind at all. The ocean was flat and glassy. The ocean stayed flat calm all day with light and variable wind or no wind at all. The wind came up out of the north northwest for the ride home. Wind speeds were about five knots or a little more. The air temperature reached a high of 52°F under the shade top. . The sky was overcast all day. A light rain started to fall after 2:00 PM. The rain continued for the ride and on into the night. The tide (current) was moderate to light. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55°F.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 49°F with a low of 44°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 45°F (with a low of 36°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 47°F (with a low of 34°F).
The fishing was excellent. The drift was perfect, there were no dogfish, there were relatively few tangles, no shark attacks and the surface water conditions were perfect for fishing. The catching was very good. Landings were good to very good, overall. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was about seventy-five percent legal. Legal landings also included forty pollock, eight redfish, six cusk, fourteen white hake and ten red hake. Released fish included the sub-legal haddock, ten small pollock, six small cod, eleven cod of 5 pounds or more and seven small redfish. We drift fished the whole day. All terminal gear worked well.
Ted Harris (PA) was high hook with the most legal fish. He won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 21 pound white hake. Ted also caught an 18 pound white hake and a lot of haddock!
Ken Fowler (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 24 pound white hake. I took a picture of Ken holding his big hake. This digital image appears on the left. The third largest fish was a 20.5 pound white hake caught by Paul "Gus" Carter (PA). Gus, too, caught a lot of haddock. He also landed the hard luck award for losing three jigs!
Other Angler Highlights: Terrell Harris (PA) caught a 14 pound white hake, his biggest fish. Leonard Walker (PA) caught the best haddock double I have seen in a long time. The two haddock weighed 4.25 pounds and 3 pounds, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. His biggest fish was a 12.5 pound white hake. Steve Haskins (PA) caught a 15 pound white hake, his biggest fish by far. Erik Grove (ME) caught a 14 pound white hake, his biggest fish. He also caught the Bunny Clark's largest pollock of the trip at 13 pounds. Another pollock of Erik's that I weighed was a 10 pound pollock. Joe Columbus (MA) did well fishing by himself in the bow. Joe always does well! His two best fish were a 17 pound white hake and a 15.5 pound white hake. He caught mostly haddock. Don "Manly #12" Stancil (PA) caught a 20 pound white hake, the fourth largest fish of the trip. Don caught quite a few haddock.
I received a few donations sponsoring me on my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge, for this year's fund raiser, today. Those donors and their donations included: Joe Columbus for a generous $100.00, Ted Harris for $50.00, Ken Fowler also for $50.00 and Don Stancil for a generous $80.00. Thank you all so very much for the support you have given me through the years and for your thoughtfulness and the generosity you displayed today. I do so appreciate your help in the endeavor.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 37°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the north northeast at over thirty knots and the visibility was fair to good over the ocean. By 8:00 AM, the air temperature had dropped to 33°F, it was snowing lightly, the wind was out of the same direction but had dropped to twenty-five and thirty knots and the visibility was fair in snow.
We had spitting snow for most of the rest of the morning with an accumulation of snow that amounted to a patina of white on rocks of the stone wall out front. This light coating of snow lasted about an hour before it melted away. Noon saw the precipitation die away for the day. The sky remained overcast for the rest of the day until the moon started to rise out of the ocean. The sky wasn't clear at that time but you could see the moon through the thin overcast, making me think it was going to be a clear night, later. I believe I saw a high air temperature of 38°F today in Perkins Cove. It most certainly would have been lower had we not had the influence of the warmer ocean water with the wind blowing over it on to the coast. The viability turned out to be nearly excellent by the end of the daylight hour. The wind blew out of the north northeast for the morning with wind speeds over thirty-five knots at times. These higher gusts disappeared by mid morning. At noon, we had northerly winds of twenty to, maybe, thirty knots. Later in the afternoon, northerly wind speeds were fifteen to twenty knots. The northerly wind picked up again to twenty and twenty-five knots into the night. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 44°F with a low of 30°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 39°F (with a low of 22°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 38°F (with a low of 25°F).
I spent the morning catching up on desk work after three days of fishing trips where I could do nothing else. I was at the restaurant for the rest of the day where we saw very little business. Despite the Covid 19 restrictions, we couldn't have done any better today had it been a normal year. In fact, having the both restaurants open today would have been a huge loss in revenue. It did give me a lot of time to get things done. But the business didn't warm my heart with thoughts of seeing many of our regular patrons for the last weekend.
Rumor has it that with the spike in Covid cases in York County over the last couple of weeks that our Governor Mills is looking to close parts of the state back down again. I'm not sure how true this is.
We could be on the eve of losing Susan Collins as our Federal Senator representing Maine to a girl from Rhode Island who's name is Sarah Gideon. You can say what you want about term limits but Senator Collins has put herself in a great position to be the lead Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee. This would be a wonderful thing for Maine. That committee writes the Federal budget. Maine will drop back to zero with Mrs. Gideon. And it will take a long time to get to the position where Senator Collins resides. I've worked with Senator Collins directly or indirectly over the years on fishery issues where she has been extremely helpful to recreational anglers and commercial fishermen alike hamstringed by Federal fishery regulations. She has been the perfect leader in this regard. She has also been an objective observer and knows when to get in and get out of certain situations. And if you see those fake ads on TV against Senator Collins with Bath Ironworks in the background, making you think that she hasn't helped Maine get the Federal money for certain projects. All bull. She has kept the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Bath Ironworks going, providing family jobs and prospering for many years. To me, Maine values start at the top of the state and work down. Senator Collins is from Caribou Maine, the part of the state where business is still done with a handshake. Where honesty is the best policy. Sara Gideon is from Rhode Island, grew up in Rhode Island, went to school in Rhode Island and got married in Rhode Island. Then she moved to Freeport, Maine. I don't think she has been here for ten years. She doesn't know my Maine. And I'll be willing to bet that she doesn't even know what a pollock looks like. I have been proud of what Senator Collins has done for us in Maine. I certainly hope she stays there. Good government works best when we have checks and balances. I know that there will probably be more liberal politicians elected to Congress and the Senate. Senator Collins would be a good one to remain if this happens. I'm a Democrat but I'm for Susan Collins all the way. Sometimes you just have to do what is right for the state.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 27°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the north at a steady twelve knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good to excellent, as near as I could tell. The day turned out to be a beautiful fall day with a cloudless sky and light winds. The northerly wind petered out before noon and gave us calm seas along the shore with no wind at all. That lasted for about an hour. By noon, the wind had found it's direction out of the southwest. Wind speeds got up over ten knots by mid afternoon and then up over fifteen knots after sunset. The sky was cloudless all day which gave us a good view of the full moon rising up out of the ocean. The visibility was excellent all day. The air temperature labored out of the freezing mark and finally broke free at 10:00 AM. After that it seemed to rise sharply to a value over the 40° mark. By 2:00 PM, the air temperature had risen to 46°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 42°F with a low of 28°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 44°F (with a low of 16°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 45°F (with a low of 21°F).
The morning, again, was spent getting both offices in order at home and at Barnacle Billy's. I was almost caught up yesterday. So, today, I finished the job. By noon, I was back working at Barnacle Billy's restaurant. The nice thing about today was, with closing weekend, I saw many of our regular patrons who I so greatly love to see. I do hate the fact that this is going to be all over tomorrow night. But it's also great to see the regular faithful at the tables. Looking from the garden patio at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. to the deck at Barnacle Billy's, you would think that it was a warm summer day with all the tables filled and the sun shinning down. But the tables are so spread out now that one has to be reminded that we are running only a quarter capacity and have been running a quarter capacity since our season got into full swing in June, two months after we were supposed to be open under normal circumstances. We never got close to the numbers we wanted to see. Nor was it expected. We should be good enough to get through the winter with the elimination of my improvement projects and help from the bank. But if we have another year like this one, I don't know what we are going to do. We will just have to play it by ear and Governor Janet Mills!
At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 37°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the west northwest with an ambient wind speed of ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. Ashore, it sprinkled rain for the first half of the morning. The sky was overcast but periodic very light rain showers came and went. This ended at about 10:00 AM and was followed by some clearing. The clearing was short lived as the sky was overcast again by 2:00 PM. By 4:00 PM, it had started to rain again. This time, though, the rain was constant and steady. Light at first, the rain picked up in volume going into the evening. We never had a downpour; just a steady rain. The wind, light in the earlier part of the morning, established a south southwest direction and started to pick up speed around 9:00 AM. Wind speeds were gusting to twenty knots before noon. Wind speeds remained over fifteen knots going into the night. The highest air temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove was 51°F. The visibility was fair in precipitation. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 50°F with a low of 37°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 50°F (with a low of 27°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 50°F (with a low of 30°F).
Today was closing day at Barnacle Billy's restaurants today. Regulated to fewer people in the dining room at Billy's and only a small window of opportunity on the deck today, it wasn't a typical closing. There were many regular patrons but not the craziness associated with the larger groups of the past. This made it much more relaxed but with much less business.
I had been looking at the weekday forecast all weekend to get a read on the wind for our last day fishing, Tuesday. I finally relented and canceled the trip. That was at 4:00 PM. This time of year it's always windier than they say it's going to be. And I didn't want anglers driving all the way here only to find that we weren't going.
As is traditional, at 6:00 PM, Deb and I joined our best friends, Hez & Jo Haseltine, for the last meal at Barnacle Billy's. We ended up closing the place without staying too much later than the closing time. A bitter sweet experience. Or I should say, a great experience but feeling bitter sweet about closing.
Now we have ended both the fishing and the restaurant seasons.
In the meantime, our governor, Janet Mills, came out with a statement saying that by November 4th, we are going back to 50 people per dining room in restaurants. If the room is small the number of patrons will decrease according to the table distancing. If it's a huge dining room, you will be limited to 50 people. A bit strange but that's what it has been like for most of the summer. She also delayed the opening of bars. Also, there will be no free travel from New Jersey, New York or Connecticut. Covid tests and quarantining will now be enforced. This will also mean that our daughter, Halley, may not be able to come for Thanksgiving because her hospital will not let her visit a red state, like Maine. This because she is a nurse there. I will get more of the details on this later.
At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 38°F, the sky was cloudless, the wind was blowing out of the west at twenty to thirty knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The salient feature of today's weather was the wind. The wind blew out of the west or west northwest twenty-five to thirty knots until about noon. After noon, wind speeds increased to thirty and forty knots (in Perkins Cove) with some slightly higher gusts. Things blew down, like trees, that I never would have expected to see. And things blew around in Perkins Cove that I didn't expect either. The sky was clear all day. The visibility was excellent. I never did look at a thermometer to determine the actual air temperature in Perkins Cove. I did look at the high air temperature in Portland but, as of this year, Portland can no longer be trusted for the day's high temperature when the sun is out. I don't know if their thermistor is in the sun or what the problem is but they definitely have a problem. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 44°F with a low of 33°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 43°F (with a low of 31°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 47°F (with a low of 30°F).
My day was wrapped up in the restaurant and the Bunny Clark. For the restaurant, I spent the morning organizing, talking to our vendors who have been so good to us last season and getting product moving out, stored and picked up. There is always a lot to think about at the end of the season.
In the morning, I had Skip Dunning come down from Power Products in Portland to adjust the valves in the Bunny Clark's engine, check out an oil leak and flush the coolant out of the engine and put new coolant back in. He found the oil leak but did not have the parts to complete the job. So, once he has the parts, he will be back.
The day ended with a much larger list of things to do than when the day started. I'm not crazy about the end of the season.
At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 37°F, the sky was cloudless, the wind was blowing out of the west at twenty-five to thirty knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind blew out of the northwest and increased to twenty-five to thirty-five knots for two hours before noon. After noon, the northwest wind dropped back to twenty-five and thirty knots. By sunset, the wind was still out of the northwest at twenty to twenty-five knots, not a great day to be offshore fishing. Seas offshore were seven to ten feet depending on how far I wanted to push it. The sky was nearly cloudless all day. The visibility was excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw was 44°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 43°F with a low of 32°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 42°F (with a low of 24°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 42°F (with a low of 26°F).
My day was filled with running around, working in both offices but mostly concentrating on Barnacle Billy's (restaurant) items. The wind and cooler air temperatures made it hard to do much outdoors. So most was concentrated indoors. A lot of the day was spent thanking our delivery drivers, as was the case yesterday as well. And some time was spent trying to get set up for repairs that we need completed before the next season starts again.
I did go for a run on Ogunquit beach before the work started today. I was going to take Gill, our border collie, but, from past experience, he balks when running on the beach with high winds. So I ran alone. Not too far. Just three miles to get the blood flowing before work.
At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 34°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the north but it was just strong enough to get a wind direction and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. There was very little wind for the first half of the morning. The ocean was mirror calm at that time. Later in the morning (it must have been close to 11:00 AM), the wind hauled out of the southwest and, then, south. This wind seemed to air on quickly. By 3:00 PM, the southerly wind speed had increase to fifteen and twenty knots. The wind speed stayed up until sunset. I never paid any more attention to the wind after that. The sky stayed clear all day with few clouds. The visibility remained excellent for the day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 47°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 54°F with a low of 33°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 51°F (with a low of 28°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 45°F (with a low of 29°F).
I spent the whole morning working at the restaurant. Most of the time I was crafting an entry for "Billy's Journal" on the Barnacle Billy's website. I did also spend a fair amount of time on deciding what the opening date will be and structuring the next years restaurant season as if the Covid thing were over. I know that there is a good chance that things will be back the way it was at the end of this year. But I am optimistic. And I have to plan for a normal year. I can always change it to cope with continuing state restrictions later. There were lots of other office chores I completed before leaving the office at 12:30 PM.
I had planned on getting fifty or so miles on the bike in the afternoon. I had planned the whole day around this. In a way, I'm much more efficient if I do this as I know I have a limited amount of time to get what I need to get done. So I press for every minute to do so. Plus, getting on the bike gives me the break I need to feel good again. Maybe it's the endorphines. Maybe it's just the fact that I am not working. But something about the bike gives me the time I need to recharge. If I can have this time, I never feel like I need a day off, which I rarely get anyway. And, in my position, you never really get a full day off anyway - as much as some might think I do.
Just before the ride, I learned that Senator Collins retained her seat in the Senate, representing Maine. I was really so happy about this. I know from working with her and her staff over the years that she is a great friend of Joe Biden's. Assuming Joe wins the Presidency, which it looks certain that he will, it will be great to have someone as bypartisan as Senator Collins to work with him. My feeling for those who didn't vote for her were that they were selfish, putting their own interests ahead of the needs of Maine, were not from the State of Maine, were too narrow minded to see the big picture, couldn't understand the position that President Trump put her in and that they truly didn't know her and know that she represents true Maine values. She has been good for our state and, because of her tenure in the Senate, is in a great position to really help Maine from the federal level. I never thought that Senator Collins would have a problem holding her seat in the Senate a year ago. But it's amazing how a third of a billion dollars of money from outside the state can effect things. I'm just glad it didn't have the effect that outsiders wanted. I don't know about you but I'm sick of having Senators and Congressmen from outside the state representing us.
I spent the day organizing, firming up the perceived restaurant schedule for the 2021 season, assuming the best circumstances, and getting things set up for near future work and repairs. There was a lot of at the desk time and a lot of phone calls. And there was a lot of year end stuff for both my fishing business and the restaurants that I am still working on.
Captain Ian Keniston is doing well after his surgery in early October. The doctors were surprised to find that Ian didn't have as much pain as they expected he would. But it didn't surprise me. Ian is a very physical guy who has had to endure much pain in the work he did on the boat this last season. He was constrained by his injury in just the normal tasks he had to do on a regular basis while on the Bunny Clark. There were some tasks that were always tough. Like hauling the anchor. So it didn't surprise me that he didn't have as much pain. And it might be more a case of tolerance than lack of pain. Regardless, Ian is following the physical therapy sessions to a "T", that "T" in no way associated with me, pun intended. He is also progressing well and in good spirits. His arm remains in a sling. He has no thoughts of compromising his recovery. But he is a bit bored that he can't work. I'll keep you updated on his progress when I can.
Today was another catching up/end of the season routine type of day today. I spent a significant amount of time at the office at Barnacle Billy's, Etc.
At 10:00 AM, I took a break from the office and attended a Zoom meeting with Senator Collins where she thanked some of us for our help in her election campaign. I was one of seventy-nine guests on this platform. I didn't keep track of the time but it didn't take long, maybe a half hour. Maybe a little more? Senator Collins was very gracious and thankful and the good person I have known her to be and as she has been for the twenty years. She is very good for Maine. Maybe in the time she complete's this next term there will be other Mainers coming up through the ranks to take a federal position to represent Maine. Maybe it could be someone as honest and forthright as Senator Collins. Maybe someone like Senator Collins with a bipartisan streak and an objective view.
Taking advantage of the great weather I jumped on the bike for three hours before dinner. I have a very understanding wife in Deb!
After posting this update, the work for either business stopped for the day. I took the day off. My aim was to spend the day with friends riding my road bicycle and to get a hundred miles on it in the process. By 2:00 PM, I had completed just shy of one hundred and thirteen miles. It might have been my tenth "century" of the 2020 riding season. And, with my work load, I'm amazed that I could fit that many in this year. I owe a lot of, most, credit for the support I get from Deb. After the last crash, she would rather I not ride at all. But she also knows that it's a tremendous release for me during a season or a life that keeps a lot on my mind constantly. Amazingly I shed a lot of these mental challenges when I ride, particularly with friends. Today was no exception. And it's because of these friends that I was able to get as many miles in as I did today.
After I got home, I spent the rest of the day with Deb watching the election results.
I took the whole day off today.
As you know, we couldn't start the Bunny Clark season when we wanted to. We started a month late as our Governor Mills wouldn't allow us to take passengers with the Covid-19 virus very much on everyone's minds. When we were able to start on May 15th, a month late, we could only take a maximum of ten anglers. But you could have an unlimited number of deck hands (mates), which never made sense to me. We only take one deck hand, normally. In June, our governor allowed an increase in passenger count so that we could take our full complement. We stayed under by five people on the full day trip which normally takes thirty. Even then some anglers would come down to the boat, think it was too crowded and decide not to go. We didn't debate these anglers and refunded them without question. This didn't do anything to the extreme day trips where a full boat was twenty people. Nor did it effect the marathon trips where we only take eighteen anglers. So the rest of the season was nearly normal. We basically lost two months in the beginning and a half a month at the end of the season when the virus/restrictions were ramping up again. During that whole time we never had one person get sick from Covid-19. None of the crew got sick. If passengers got sick on the boat, I was never informed of it. Very few masks were worn during a fishing trip. There were some who wore a mask all day, there some who wore them periodically and there were some who arrived with the mask and then kept it off from the start of the trip until the end. It worked out. There were times when social distancing rules had to be enforced. And there were times when masks were asked to be worn when close near the helm.
Thinking back, I have never knowingly gotten sick from anglers on the Bunny Clark. Something about the fresh air that tends to slow the spread, I guess. I have gotten sick from being ashore and then captained the boat to take a trip. But I can't remember a time when a sick customer gave me the flu or anything like it. So being in the open air definitely helps with transmission. Also, the Bunny Clark is really more of an open boat than it's larger counterparts. Maybe we were lucky as well. Maybe, because of the state's restrictions allowing fewer Covid cases across the border helped. I don't know. For whatever reason, I felt really good about the way the season went in regard to Covid.
At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 45°F, the sky was very hazy clear with a crescent moon hanging to the eastern side of overhead, there was no wind and the visibility over the ocean was poor in fog. The fog hung around all morning and into the afternoon. By 2:00 PM, the sky was clear and sunny and the fog had back to a mile offshore. The fog could be seen as a bank ready to come back in. It did not, to my surprise. There was no wind in the morning. After noon, the wind was very light out of the southeast. The wind became light out of the west by sunset which prevented the fog from coming back in. The sky remained clear through the night and the visibility became excellent. The high temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove was 68°F under the canopy top of the Bunny Clark. This reading was most probably affected by the side curtains, the sun on the top of the canopy and working on the engine below it. By the time I got home from working on the Bunny Clark at 5:00 PM, it was 52°F at our house. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 62°F with a low of 45°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 75°F (with a low of 36°F). The high temperature in Concord of 75°F breaks the previous record high for this date of 74°F last set in 1945. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 65°F (with a low of 41°F).
It was a hectic day today with a lot of catch-up work early in the morning at Bunny Clark Central and the office of Barnacle Billy's. By 9:00 AM, Skip Dunning from Power Products, Portland, had shown up at the Bunny Clark to continue working on the engine. Last week he drained the coolant and replaced it with new. This week I wanted him to fix an oil leak that he found was coming from the upper timing case cover at the back of the engine under the air filter. I also needed a new key switch and I needed to have a hose replaced.
I spent the morning between the helping Skip with the engine and working in the office at Barnacle Billy's getting things straightened out. The digital image on the upper left shows Skip above the engine with the timing case off, getting things back together. After noon, all this was completed including the hose replacement. Skip and I worked on replacing the key switch and then the engine was started so we could run a sea trial. By running the engine on the open ocean, we could tell if the cooling system was as it should be and all systems okay to run the boat.
The ocean was calm with a light southeast wind when we headed out the gate at Perkins Cove. The fog bank was still out front. We ended up going into the fog as part of the sea trial. I did take a picture from the boat of the fog bank ahead and spreading over Bald Head Cliff in York, Maine. This digital image appears on the right. When not in the fog, the day was beautiful.
The sea trial went very well with all systems as they should be. After I bid Skip a farewell, I continued to work on the engine, changing the oil, lubricating oil filters and cleaning up around the engine room. By the time all was done, it was 5:30 PM.
I spent the early part of the morning in the office here at home working on Bunny Clark stuff and then transferred over to the office in Barnacle Billy's, Etc. by 8:45 AM. I spent a good part of the morning in the office on calls and end of year stuff (scoping out future repairs). The last part of the morning was spent cleaning up the Bunny Clark. After lunch I was in the engine room changing the reverse gear oil and filter.
The good weather is allowing us to get many more things completed around the restaurant than we thought possible. Today all the tables and chairs were moved to Barnacle Billy's, Etc. for winter storage. There were many other jobs completed that I thought would not get done by now.
Today was a busy day at the restaurant and on the boat. There isn't much to say about today's events at the restaurant, except that much got completed with the warm weather, including the whole kitchen ventilation system at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. The fan there collects much grease despite the filters that remain in place while working. And we clean the filters regularly as well.
The afternoon was spent working on the boat, setting up Tyler Hebert to start work cleaning and bringing Ian Keniston into the picture so that Tyler could be Ian's hands while getting the Bunny Clark ready for haul out. I also did the last few things I needed to get done on the engine before haul-out as well.
I spent the early morning at the desk, as usual. I had an eye exam after that. I was earlier than I was supposed to be. So I had to wait another forty-five minutes. I don't know if it was my mistake or theirs. But it didn't matter; that was the way it was.
After lunch, I had some end of the year stuff I had to finalize with our book keeper in the office at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. I was there for a couple hours before going home and working in the office there. Not a crazy day today.
At the same time, Captain Ian Keniston and Tyler Hebert were working on the Bunny Clark, trying to get enough done over the next few days so that we can haul the boat out early in the week, next week. I'm so glad I have Ian with me; you can't possibly know how valuable that is.
The work today centered around Barnacle Billy's restaurants. At the same time, Ian Keniston and Tyler Hebert were dismantling the Bunny Clark, getting closer to her being ready to be hauled out.
I took another Saturday off. Some of this day off was spent shopping with Deb in the afternoon. We have not had time to get the essentials we need at the house. It was good to get that out of the way.
At 8:30 PM, anticipating below freezing air temperatures, I went to the Cove to make sure that Barnacle Billy's was safe from a freeze-up in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
I took the morning off. During the afternoon, I worked on Bunny Clark stuff. This included running a storm line from a piling to the bow of the Bunny Clark. With possible wind gusts to fifty-five knots out of the southeast, I didn't want to take a chance compromising the Bunny Clark and the float she is tied to.
I received a very generous donation sponsoring me in this last season's Pan-Mass Challenge. Connie Griffin (ME) was the donor. The donation gift was a very generous $600.00. She and Michael Harris have been donating to my fund raiser since I first became involved in 2007. It's hard to believe that that much time has passed. It didn't seem to take that long! Thank you so very much, Connie, for keeping the tradition going. I know you know that it means very much to me. But you also have seen how much good it has done. And I certainly appreciate your involvement.
The early part of this morning was spent finishing this update and making a list of all I wanted to complete before sunset. I met Ian Keniston and Tyler Hebert at the Bunny Clark at 8:00 AM. We discussed my plans for the boat at that time. By 9:00 AM, I was heading to Portsmouth to get the truck serviced. That took a while so I didn't get home until 12:30 PM. The rest of the day was spent organizing the Bunny Clark haul out and all that goes along with that and making sure that times and dates worked for everyone involved.
I spent some time talking about future restaurant plans with one of my managers, Matt Pedersen.
I worked at the office at home for the early part of the morning. At 8:00 AM, Ian Keniston and Tyler Hebert worked on the Bunny Clark, cleaning the boat for a final time and gathering materials to be stored for the winter. I met them in the afternoon to work out a game plan for tomorrow. Later, I worked on the Bunny Clark to get her ready for the trip to Kittery Point Yacht Yard, where she will be hauled, the bottom cleaned and, then, taken over the road for winter storage.
I spent a significant time on the Guestletter today. Mostly it was making charts, running databases and spread sheets. I always like to know how our box count compared to other years, the number of haddock, cod and wolffish and angler achievements. It seemed like a long day today.
At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 29°F, the sky was hazy clear, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at twenty-two to twenty-seven knots with regularity and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. By 7:00 AM, the wind hauled out of the north northwest and was blowing about fifteen knots or so. Later, the wind was more directly out of the northwest than any other direction. Wind speeds increased slightly and included gusts up to almost twenty-five knots. By sunset, the wind velocity had dropped somewhat and had been dropping slightly. There was very little wind at 8:00 PM. The sky was clear all day with cumulus clouds dotting the sky. The visibility was excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw in Ogunquit was 33°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 35°F with a low of 23°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 32°F (with a low of 13°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 33°F (with a low of 17°F). The record low for this date in Portland, Maine is 16°F set in 1956 when I was five years old. I worked on this update early this morning and did a little work in the office at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. Mostly, I was concerned about getting the Bunny Clark over to Kittery Point Yacht Yard so I could haul the Bunny Clark out of the water for the winter.
At 6:30 AM, I was working on the Bunny Clark, starting the engine and getting her ready to sail by 7:00 AM. Ian Keniston and Tyler Hebert met me down at the boat at 7:00 AM. By then the engine had warmed up enough to move her off the float, down the channel and out the gate to the open ocean. Since the wind was principally out of the northwest and we were close to shore on our journey to Kittery, we had about a one foot chop. The air temperature on the ocean was 32°F. The visibility was excellent. I really didn't need much in the way of electronics as all the landmarks could be clearly seen. Plus, I've done this route hundreds of times. I used to go closer to shore on this route when lobstering was part of my daily life. But I have forgotten the little ins and outs needed to make a safe passage that close to shore. Tyler Hebert was with me the whole ride while Ian had taken my truck to meet me at Kittery Point Yacht Yard.
It took us less than an hour to get to the float we would be temporarily be tied to before hauling began at 11:00 AM. As is normal at KPYY, the hauling was flawless. I had started winterizing the engine as Ian and Tyler were dismantling the parts of the Bunny Clark that get stored for the winter. I was almost done with the engine by the time the BC was hauled. Tyler and I continued working on the engine while Ian and KPYY power washed the hull to perfection. Afterward, the BC was moved to a position in the yard where we could take boat stuff and load it into a truck to go home. Things like the anchor, anchor line, davit, tools, boat lines, etc. were handed to me in the truck by Tyler. I took a shot of the Bunny Clark right after she was hauled out. This digital image appears on the left.
Independant Boat Haulers showed up at 1:00 PM in order to pick the Bunny Clark up and haul it over the road to her winter home. Ian had already left to attend former deck hand, Anthony Palumbo's, (wedding) rehearsal dinner. Ian is Anthony's best man. Tyler and I got a quick lunch and met the Bunny Clark and transport at the "Barn". The rest of the day was spent putting the Bunny Clark in place and on stands, driving back to Ogunquit and putting materials away until needed again. I said goodbye to Tyler around 4:00 PM and spent the rest of my time until 6:00 PM sorting & storing.
I think I felt more tired today than if I had ridden a hundred miles on my bike! Writing of which, my shoulder still hasn't healed from the crash I had on October 12th. So twisting, turning and trying to prop myself up on that arm where my shoulder got damaged (while in the engine room) was painful. And I know that this is nothing compared to what Ian has suffered this year.
The day of work centered around cleaning things up, putting things away, writing on this page and getting to the winter normal I've come to expect but where I don't, particularly, love. I love routine. The winter is anything but routine. I have a list of items that seem impossible every year to complete but, which, always seem to get done. This year the mountain of things to complete seems even larger. In fact, I need a telescope to see the summit. And there are other things to consider on top of all this. The Covid thing being at the top of the list. What will we do if we are still in semi-lock down at the beginning of next season? Last season was hard enough. So much was going through the old brain today as I was going through the motions.
I received a generous $100.00 donation supporting my passion for fighting the good fight against cancer with the Pan-Mass Challenge from Bruce & Sheila Wilson (FL) today. It was totally unexpected and truly appreciated. Thank you so much. There was a time when I was worried about breaking the $10,000.00 donation barrier. Now I'm hoping to reach $24,000.00 before this season is over! Thank you so very much, Bruce & Sheila. As long as I don't die from Covid or some other related disease (or bike crash), the fireworks cruise will go on with you aboard. Let's plan for a Covid free July 4, 2021!
At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 44°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at twenty knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The sky stayed overcast for almost the whole day, clearing by mid afternoon and remaining clear into the night. We had very light rain starting at 9:00 AM and continuing very occasionally until noon, when it stopped for the rest of the day. The wind blew out of the southwest at twenty to almost twenty-five knots and gradually decreased for the rest of the day. By noon, we only had fifteen knots of southwest wind in gusts. By 2:00 PM, there was no wind at all. By sunset, we had southwest wind of less than ten knots. The southwest wind picked up over ten knots after 8:00 PM. The air temperature rose to 48°F by 9:45 AM. At 2:00 PM, the air temperature was 56°F, a wonderful air temperature after the last couple of days. The visibility was excellent to very good as the day progressed. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 64°F with a low of 45°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 60°F (with a low of 33°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 56°F (with a low of 38°F).
This day was much like yesterday where I was trying to get things put away and getting things organized for the long winter ahead. The details of which would be boring to write about.
On the other hand, something that isn't boring came to mind today. Steve McGrath, previously known as Captain Steve McGrath who used to own and run a very successful dinner cruise boat, the M/V Kearsarge, on Sunapee Lake in New Hampshire, gave Captain Ian Keniston and I a wonderful gift. Steve has been fishing with me for years. He started when I was the sole captain of the Bunny Clark and progressed through some of my other captains until Ian became my number one. Steve enjoyed a great relationship with Ian over the years. Steve's son, Corey, also fished with us, introduced by Steve at an early age. Corey since has been working at New West Knife Works in Victor, Idaho. When Steve decided to fish with us this fall he brought with him the gift of a wonderful fillet knife from he and his son, presenting one to me but also giving one to Ian as well. I have never seen such a sharp knife before. In fact, it's a wonderful thing to hold. It was too good to put on the boat so I brought it home to use in the kitchen for thin slicing and protection. It's a perfect knife to thinly cut a roast or any kind of big bird. At any rate, I was able to get a picture of Ian holding the knife and a closer look of the legend that Steve and Corey placed on the blade. It is a hell of a blade, so much so, that I didn't feel I really deserved it. Of course, Ian does, which is why I procured the picture of him. This digital image, taken by Steve McGrath appears in the upper left of this discussion. I also expanded a digital image of the knife at the lower right. Steve and I have enjoyed many wonderful conversations about sailing on Lake Sunapee and working with the public. I'm glad he has remained a good regular angler. Thanks, Steve.
I did some minor work today including editing this page. Most of the day I took off. Getting time off is becoming addicting!
On Friday, yesterday, former deck hand, Anthony Palumbo married Darlene Ercolani in a wonderful celebration in Salem, New Hampshire. Deb and I were supposed to go. But neither one of us felt comfortable around so many people. I was disappointed that I couldn't make it. I had really been looking forward to it. I just don't want to get sick. There is too much going on in my life. Ian Keniston was Anthony's best man. My son, Micah, was there as well with his girl, Steph. Everyone had a great time. I certainly hope Anthony and Darlene have a wonderful life together. I don't know Darlene very well but she seems a wonderful individual. I would have loved to have been there. Last year's deck hand, Captain Ally Fuehrer was also there. She has just come back from Alaska. I can't believe there is a better looking second mate on the west coast. She took the time to send me a picture of Captain Ian, Anthony and, herself, Ally, at the wedding. I took the shot and worked it around a bit. This digital image appears below. As most should know, Ian appears on the left in this shot.
I worked at home for part of the morning. It was all Bunny Clark stuff. I took the most of the morning and the early afternoon off. For a couple hours in the evening, I worked on Bunny Clark items. That was it for my work day.
It was a good thing that the rain continued all morning as I had much to do and no distractions from wanting to take advantage of good weather and no perceived time constraints to satisfy my desire to go for a run or ride off into the sunset on my bicycle. The whole morning was consumed in getting the things completed that I had waited to complete all weekend, when most places were closed. I had to work with my mother's finances for a bit - end of the year stuff mostly. I spent two hours in the office at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. I met with the two managers from Barnacle Billy's. I went over future plans with our plumber who was draining the fresh water system at Barnacle Billy's. The water is off now at Billy's.
The later part of the morning was spent cleaning up year end stuff for the Bunny Clark. Trophy cards were collated and spread sheets were printed to send to Maine's Department of Marine Resources recreational fishing division. I made a few more inroads to the beginning of Guestletter research. And I was detail oriented in finishing up other Bunny Clark office items.
The afternoon was spent running around tying up loose ends, a flu shot (the higher dose for old guys) and dropping my bike off to fix a broken derailleur pulley I had rubbed against for 300 miles last week (that was a workout). I finished by 5:00 PM.
This day was spent getting "things worked out". There are still many organization issues to be resolved and year end stuff to complete. I was on the phone from 8:00 AM until 1:00 PM once I completed the morning's desk work. The afternoon was spent organizing all the Bunny Clark materials that were taken off the boat before hauling out. This included cleaning Jonathan Griffin's lunch bucket and storing all the stuff he left on the dock after his last trip. I also had a few fish totes of gear that was taken off the boat that I needed to separate, clean and store. Other items had taken precedence until today. I stopped working at 5:00 PM.
I received a $75.00 donation from Debbie LaPerche (MA/ME) sponsoring me in this year's Pan-Mass Challenge. Her donation was in the form of an "eGift" through the PMC website today. Thank you so much, Deb. As I said in the email, this hasn't been the greatest year for securing donations. So, if possible, donations this year have been appreciated even more, if that's possible!
The only real significant part of today's work day was meeting with our carpenter at Barnacle Billy's to go over a few issues that need to be addressed before the season starts next year. Most of my day was spent organizing and tying up loose ends.
With the rainy weather and this day being a national holiday, I spent the working hours at the office here at home continuing to clear up end of year stuff and planning for the winter. There is so much that I leave behind at the start of the season that I have to pick up at this time of year. And there are still quite a few house cleaning (business wise) items that need to be completed still. My work day was done at noon.
After lunch, Deb and I got ourselves ready to visit two of our best friends who had invited us over to their house for turkey dinner. Both of these wonderful individuals could be noted chefs if they wanted to be. Plus, they are very very good friends. It was a wonderful evening.
All the work today was at the desk and delegated via text or phone. It was a low key work day.
I received a generous $100.00 donation toward my cancer research efforts with the Pan-Mass Challenge from Edson "Ted" Setzer (NY). The event itself is an 190 mile bike ride spanning over two days. This event happened virtually. I did not participate. My whole focus is the fund raising to help find the cure for cancer. I love the event. But, without being with the wonderful giving people who ride, it is not the same. And I ride enough anyway. Thank you so much for the support, Ted. As you know, your help means a lot to me and to those who need the hope and the medical finesse to live. All the best and have a wonderful winter!
After some desk work, I gave the rest of the morning up to ride bicycles with a gang out of Kennebunkport. After noon, I worked on Bunny Clark stuff until 6:30 PM.
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