Bunny Clark Fishing Update

Written & Edited by Tim Tower

Tuesday, January 21, 2020, 5:30 AM EST

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Three Big Cusk on a Marathon Trip in Early September

The digital image above was taken on September 3, 2019 during the annual Larry Reed (all Maine) Marathon Trip charter. The picture shows Eric Richards, left, holding his 14.5 pound Maine state trophy cusk next to his father, Rand Richards, right, who is holding his 16 pound Maine state trophy cusk and his other Maine state trophy cusk weighing 14 pounds. There was also a 17 pound trophy cusk caught by Victor Andrews and a 13 pound Maine state trophy cusk caught by Matt Mocciola that day. All five trophy fish were caught on the same spot. Victor's fish was the largest fish of the trip while Rand's was the second largest fish caught on that trip and Eric's cusk tied for third place with Ryan Richards who caught a 14.5 pound pollock. These were nearly the last big cusk that were caught on the Bunny Clark last season. We did catch two others, a 16 pound Maine state trophy cusk, caught by Kevin Viel (NH) on October 1, 2019 and a 13 pound Maine state trophy cusk caught by Joe Columbus (MA) on September 19, 2019. There hasn't been enough scientific work on the cusk to know exactly how old these fish are. But cusk seem to be territorial. Very rarely do you ever catch a cusk that big on a spot that is fished frequently. For the season, Victor's cusk tied for our tenth largest, Rand's (and Kevin's) tied with another anglers for our twelfth largest, Eric's came in at eighteenth and Matt's came in tied at number twenty-four. In order for a cusk to become a trophy in the state of Maine it has to reach a minimum size of 12 pounds.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Happy New Year!!!!!

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 32°F, the sky was very clear with the hint of a cloud here and there, the wind was blowing out of the west at twenty knots, pretty much, sustained and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The sky stayed mostly clear all day with a bright sun. The wind blew out of the west all day with an average wind speed of twenty knots. The highest air temperature that I observed was 39°F. The visibility was excellent throughout. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 43°F with a low of 36°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 37°F (with a low of 30°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 40°F (with a low of 32°F).

The focus for today was cleaning up my Pan-Mass Challenge web site for 2019, thanking individuals who's mobile phone numbers I retain and getting all the figures set and finalized. I basically took the day off, except for that, my day being centered around the Leicester City/Newcastle United English Premier League football game. I watched the game at a friend's house in Kennebunkport, riding my bike up there and back. Afterward, I took Gill for a three mile run on Ogunquit Beach.

And so ends the 2019 edition of the Pan-Mass Challenge. I want to thank all of you who have supported me in this project. As I mentioned, this years donation total was the largest I have ever been able to generate. Without you, of course, I would be nothing. I appreciate you making me look good in the eyes of the Pan-Mass Challenge organizers. I will be starting the 2020 phase in the next couple of days with my Pan-Mass Challenge web site altered to reflect the new year of fund raising. My sister, Meg, has already donated $2,000.00 toward this new season. She likes to be the first to donate every year. So she writes a check and gives it to me a week in advance to make sure. She is usually my biggest donor every year as well. So thank you, Meg. I think it's too much money to give me but it is for a great cause and I appreciate it more than you know! Onward and upward. Here's to hoping huge strides will be made in cancer research in the coming year because of our efforts! Thank you all, again, for a wonderful fund raising season.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 31°F, the sky was essentially overcast, the wind was blowing out of the west at twenty knots, more or less, and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The sky ranged from mostly cloudy to clear and back again. It never rained but at times it looked like it would. The day ended with very clear skies in the afternoon. The air temperature gradually rose to a value over 40°F. It may not have been much over 40°F. But it was certainly over. The wind blew out of the west southwest at fifteen knots, more or less. The visibility over the ocean was very good to excellent all day. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 49°F with a low of 34°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 41°F (with a low of 23°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 41°F (with a low of 30°F).

This was really the first working day of the winter for me. I had a lot to do. But the first thing I had to do was be at a doctor's office in Portsmouth by 8:00 AM. My GP wanted to have a test done just in case, an age related potential problem.

I was home by 9:30 AM. The rest of the day until 7:00 PM I spent at the desk, on the phone, on the computer, texting, emailing and working into every facet of my winter work load. This is the most stressful time of the year for me. I have to think about who I will have as a deck hand, write up the new schedule, work out the way we are going to do reservations this year, write up the work order for the Bunny Clark, order materials, write the Guestletter, renew permits, etc. etc. etc. The list just goes on. And it's not like all this goes along flawlessly. I should have gotten out of the house to do something today but I did not.

Friday, January 3, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 37°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the west southwest at twelve knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind was strongest before sunrise and slightly after with gusts as high as fifteen knots. After that, the wind seemed to hover around ten knot or less. The wind was directly out of the southwest from noon on with wind speeds of six or eight knots and a calm ocean along the shore. The sky remained overcast all day. There were some holes in the clouds, later in the afternoon where it almost looked like the sun was going to come. It did not. There were other times when it looked like it was going to rain. But that didn't happen either. We did have some light rain at 7:00 PM. But that didn't seem to last. The highest air temperature that I saw was 43°F. The visibility remained excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 52°F with a low of 44°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 41°F (with a low of 29°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 46°F (with a low of 35°F).

Most of the day was spent working on this web site. At 8:00 AM, Captain Ian Keniston, Deb and I sat down and decided the schedule and rates for the upcoming season. That took a little over an hour. By noon, I had the new schedule and rates posted on this site. The rest of the afternoon was spent working on my 2020 Pan-Mass Challenge web site, the Bunny Clark work order for this winter season and the Guestletter. I was done by 7:00 PM.

I did take a break to run with Gill, our dog, on Ogunquit Beach at sunset. Two days ago we did the same thing and ran the same distance, 3.5 miles. Two days ago I felt light as a feather and Gill ran, tethered, the full mile and a half before putting the breaks on. I felt good, Gill stayed on pace, albeit, slower than I run on my own. All was good. He even stayed within sight the whole run back off the leash. This time when I started to run, I felt like I had just finished a marathon. I was heavy and plodding. And Gill did not want to keep up, even at the slower pace I was running. There weren't as many dogs but the dogs that were there were spread out and seemed much more interesting to Gill. We had frequent stops on the way up. Three times I had to coax him to keep going. This consisted of talking to the dog, pulling on the leash and then, in desperation, pushing him from behind. Reluctantly, he kept going. But before he would start again he would give me that look, as if to say; "Really, Tim?" At the seventh house he refused to go any further. Try as I might, I could not get him to go. So I let him off his leash and continued up the beach on my own, plodding along. I never lose sight of him. So I ran for a bit and then turned to go back. He was plopped down in the sand waiting, looking at me coming with his ears cocked and stock still, as if waiting for a herd of sheep. He kept up for the ride back. but I was also a half minute slower per mile than normal. And when I stopped, I was sore. Funny, you never know how you are going to feel when you start. Granted, riding the bike has something to do with the way I run. But older age tells on you in ways you never even think about when you are young. Below is a shot of Gill and I before we started running and before I realized I was going to feel so sluggish. In other words, the picture was taken when I had high hopes of a run like we had on Wednesday.

By the way, Betsy, if you are reading this, good luck in the Bills game tomorrow!

Saturday, January 4, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 39°F, the sky was overcast, it was drizzling rain, there was no wind and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind stayed light in the morning as an easterly wind direction was established. The easterly wind started to increase around noon. By mid afternoon, easterly winds were blowing at fifteen to twenty knots. Winds backed out of the northeast after sunset. At the start of the Patriots game, the northeast wind had backed off, somewhat, to about fifteen knots with a few higher gusts. It rained pretty much all day. The rain was light from beginning until the end. The sky remained overcast. The visibility was good at best for most of the day over the ocean. The air temperature high that I saw was 43°F in Ogunquit. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 57°F with a low of 40°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 38°F (with a low of 31°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 41°F (with a low of 34°F).

Except for driving to a friend's house to watch an English FA Cup (soccer) game between Leicester City & Wigan Athletic at noon (until 2:30 PM), I spent my day renovating my Pan-Mass Challenge site to accommodate the new year. I worked until 6:00 PM on it, not quite finishing it. I will continue on it tomorrow morning and, hopefully, have it up before noon.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 33°F, the sky was overcast, it was snowing lightly, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at almost twenty-five knots and the visibility over the ocean was good in light snow fall. The snow didn't last. The snow was only part of a few flurries that went by anyway. And there wasn't enough snow, after it was all over, to cover even a tenth of the ground plain. The sky stayed overcast until 10:00 AM when we saw our first bits of sun. By noon, the sky was mostly clear. The northwest wind blew at twenty-five to thirty knots all morning but started tapering off by noon. By 2:00 PM, the northwest wind was blowing about twenty knots with gust up to twenty-five knots, occasionally. By sunset, we had fifteen knots of northwest wind. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature never really got very high today. In fact, I'm not sure what the high temperature in Ogunquit was. The highest air temperature that I saw was 36°F. By 2:00 PM, it had dropped to 34°F but the air temperature was probably around freezing in the shadows as there was ice in the shade on the streets. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 41°F with a low of 32°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 33°F (with a low of 22°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 35°F (with a low of 21°F).

I didn't anything today but work on Pan-Mass Challenge stuff. I updated my Pan-Mass Challenge for the 2020 donation season, I signed up for my fourteenth Pan-Mass ride and I cleaned up all the loose areas so I could put the 2019 fund raising season behind me.

I was going to go for a bike ride at 2:00 PM thinking I would have clear unfrozen roads. I got suited up, got on the bike, got about a half mile from the house, ran into a patch of ice on a corner, didn't go down and decided that discretion might be the better part of getting through the day without spending part of it at the York Hospital ER.

I got some good news about fishing on the grounds where the Bunny Clark fishes. The Eastman Docks fishing fleet are catching quite a few pollock, including some in the larger sizes, and quite a few haddock, limiting out in a lot of cases. And the haddock have been as big as 10 pounds. If you want to go fishing right now, I would say that these are the boats to fish on. I would go myself if I had time. They are sailing through the week.

And I received my second donation sponsoring me in this years Pan-Mass Challenge two days ago. The donation was in the form of an "eGift" off the PMC site for $120.00 from Joe & Paula Amato (NH). Joe & Paula have been sponsoring me for many years. They don't usually send me a donation this early in the season - but I will take it! Thank you both so much for your support, generosity and thoughtfulness. You know I appreciate it! But there are others who may never know you who will appreciate it even more!

Monday, January 6, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 18°F, the sky was partly cloudy, the wind was blowing out of the north at eight knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. By sunrise, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at eight knots, more or less, mostly less. The wind became light and variable in direction after that with the ocean remaining calm along the shore. After noon, we had continuous very light snow flurries. Even after three hours of these flurries, you could barely see any snow on the ground. Where there was salt on the road, the light snow made the roads wet with the only snow discernable off to either side and not enough to cover. The air temperature got up as high as 31°F. I might have been higher than that but I didn't see it. The visibility was good, no better than that, during the flurries. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 41°F with a low of 27°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 28°F (with a low of 15°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 26°F (with a low of 14°F).

I spent the early part of the morning working at the desk. By 8:15 AM, I was in Exeter, New Hampshire putting in a slider (rear window) in the back of my truck. This had broken during the middle of December and my appointment to replace it was today. Afterward, I went Portsmouth to start the process of getting a new mobile phone. Mine is about four years old and dying. It took over an hour to complete the process. Afterward, they didn't have a phone with enough memory available there. So I had to have the phone ordered. The phase was picking up supplies. This took me until about 1:00 PM or lunch. The rest of the day was spent home at the desk. Not a very interesting day to write about.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 26°F, the sky was overcast, there was a patina of snow on the driveway, the wind was blowing out of the west southwest at fifteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. At dawn, the clouds had disappeared, completely! The morning saw sunny skies with clouds creeping in after noon. By 2:00 PM, the sky was overcast again. The sky stayed overcast into the night. At times, it looked like it was going to rain or snow. But it did neither. The wind blew as much as fifteen knots out of the west in the morning. But no more than that. Mostly, the wind was out of the west at ten or twelve knots. By sunset, there was no wind. The highest air temperature that I saw was 37°F. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 42°F with a low of 33°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 38°F (with a low of 18°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 38°F (with a low of 19°F).

I spent my whole day scheduling and completing the work order for the Bunny Clark. We always have about seventy-five items that need to be addressed before we can launch her again in the spring. Some of the items are cosmetic; they appear in the work order every year. Some items are repairs. Still other items are new ideas, electronics and systems. I'm never really satisfied with the way we left the boat in the fall. The Bunny Clark gets well used. Things break. Things get old. Things need to get replaced. Ian Keniston takes the lead on this with Dave Pease working on the more technical aspects. They are, of course, invaluable to me.

It amazes me how much time it takes to organize work, schedule appointments and set up dates to get things done. When I look back on what I did today I think; "I should have been able to get more done!" But it really takes time. The fact that I have to re-learn this every winter season is disconcerting. Maybe I'm just in denial. But it just confirms in my mind that the time when both restaurants are open and the Bunny Clark is running are the best times. I like being in the routine.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 30°F, the sky was overcast, the roads were dry, the wind was blowing out of the north at eight knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind wasn't much of an issue today. By sunrise, the wind direction was northwest and not much of it. The wind hauled out of the west before noon with speeds of about ten knots. Westerly wind increased in the afternoon to about fifteen knots, more or less. After sunset, westerly winds increased again to almost twenty knots and, then, over twenty knots at 6:00 PM. At the same time we had a snow squall come through which heralded the arrival of a front which brought the wind up even higher. It had been sunny all day (after sunrise). Until the snow squall, the visibility over the ocean had been excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw was 40°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 45°F with a low of 29°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 38°F (with a low of 22°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 39°F (with a low of 27°F).

I spent the morning until 9:30 AM, working in both offices, at the Cove (Barnacle Billy's, Etc.) and at home. I had a meeting at the Cove at 9:00 AM, which didn't take long. I headed to Portsmouth afterward to pick up supplies, get a new cell phone and to stop at the Bunny Clark to work on a few things. I got back home at 2:00 PM, where I spent the rest of the day at the desk.

We had a fox in the yard this morning. I was able to get pretty close to take a picture. This digital image appears below. We have a lot of foxes next to our house. There have been two litters of "pups" in the last two years. I don't pay enough attention to it to know more than that. I don't know as I have ever seen the fox shown below.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 17°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the west northwest at thirty knots, more or less, and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. At noon, the air temperature had only risen to 19°F. Closer to sunset, I saw that the air temperature had risen to 23°F. It could have been higher later as I didn't check it at mid day. The wind continued to blow out of the northwest favoring the westerly quadrant. twenty-five sustained with higher gusts was the norm until we got to 10:00 AM. By then, the wind dropped to a sustained twenty knots. After noon, we had, at most, fifteen knots of wind and almost no wind just after sunset. The sky opened up after dawn and was sunny most of the day until late afternoon. We had overcast skies before sunset and on into the night. The visibility over the ocean was excellent all day. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 33°F with a low of 22°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 23°F (with a low of 12°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 29°F (with a low of 16°F).

I had a completely filled day today mostly centered on Bunny Clark upkeep and repairs. At 8:00 AM, I had a meeting with David Pease and Ian Keniston at the Bunny Clark concerning the work order, detailing specific parts that needed to be done and then highlighting the areas that I would like to see finished if there was time. The more major of the projects centered around a new dual fuel filter system, replacing the old one that I have had in there since the 1980s, replacing the windows, revamping our automatic engine shut down system, rebedding the trunk house hatch in a better way and addressing minor leaks (water, oil & air) around the boat. What I call "more major" are not all that major. And the research I completed after our meeting solved two problems right off the bat.

The rest of the work concerns the cosmetic aspect of getting the boat ready. The painting, the bright work, cleaning the engine room, looking for chaffing, electrolysis and barrier coating rusted areas in the engine room and lazarette. This is the normal stuff we do every winter. I always get a kick out of the patrons who come down for the first few trips of the season. Several people always remark; "Hey, the boat looks brand new this year!" Answer: it looks like that every spring.

So the rest of my day was spent tying up loose ends, Bunny Clark winter research, answering emails and re-writing the work order to bring back to the boat tomorrow. I was done by 6:00 PM. I was glad to get this day out of the way.

I did watch a little of the Bruins game but not enough of it to keep me up past 8:30 PM.

Friday, January 10, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 24°F, the sky appeared overcast, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at twenty knots, more or less, and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind blew out of the southwest at twenty to thirty knots in the morning and, then, started to back off for the rest of the day. By sunset, we might have had fifteen knots of southwest wind, probably less. The sky was overcast all day and remained that way. There was never a hint of rain. The highest air temperature that I saw was 43°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 53°F with a low of 29°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 43°F (with a low of 14°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 43°F (with a low of 16°F).

I worked at the desk until I had to go for a doctor's exam in Portsmouth at 9:00 AM. This was a follow up exam after some initial concerns from two previous visits. Those concerns were nullified today. Most of the rest of the morning was spent picking up supplies and visiting the Bunny Clark. At 11:00 AM, one of the managers and I had a meeting at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. with a tech who is helping set up a new phone system at the two restaurants. Not only will this save us a lot of money but we will able to have an answering machine. The first priority of this machine will be to alert patrons to the fact that we do not take reservations. Ninty percent of the calls in the summer are calls for dinner reservations. There are many other helpful features of this system. We were done by 1:00 PM.

The rest of the day was spent in the office and, later, on the road bike.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 41°F, the sky was mostly clear, there was no wind and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. Before sunrise, the wind started to blow out of the southwest. By sunrise, the wind speed had already picked up to twenty knots in gusts. The rest of the day we saw southwest or west southwest winds of twenty to twenty-five knots with some higher gusts. This wind continued on into the night. The air temperature soared. It was already 50°F before noon. But by 2:00 PM, the air temperature reached 65°F in Ogunquit. It might have been even higher as that was my glimpse alone twice. The sky was partly clear in the morning and mostly clear in the afternoon. The visibility over the ocean was good in haze and large seas. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 70°F with a low of 49°F). Yesterday's high temperature of 70°F in Boston breaks the previous record high of 62°F set on this date in 1975. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 61°F (with a low of 35°F). Yesterday's high temperature of 61°F in Concord breaks the previous record high of 58°F set on this date in 1980. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 38°F). Yesterday's high temperature of 63°F in Portland breaks the previous record high of 54°F set first on this date in 1983 and, then, tied in 2017.

Today was a day off centered around the Leicester City/Southampton Premier League football game. I rode my bike to meet a bunch of cyclists who, after the ride, were to gather at one rider's house where we were all going to sit around the TV, hoping that Leicester would win. After the game, I rode home on my bike alone. The morning ride was very wet. I was soaked when we arrived at our TV destination. Thankfully, our host had radiant heating in the floor near the garage where I took my clothes off. By laying all the riding clothes on the floor, they were dry before it was time to head back. And our host provided me with a clean pair of shorts to wear during the game. It was a disappointing game and another wet ride home. However, it was also 65°F. I was, of course, way over-dressed but I managed to get most of the extra gear off and stowed in such a way that I could keep riding. It didn't matter how wet I got then with the air temperature being so high.

I did a small amount of prep work for tomorrow's work day after I had some lunch.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the south at twenty knots sustained and the visibility over the ocean was good at best. It started raining lightly shortly after 5:00 AM. The rain had stopped by 5:45 AM. After sunrise, you could see the clouds moving quickly and breaking up. I could see no clear sky but it did look like it was clearing. A look at the weather made me think we were going to get more rain before it was all over this morning. After 9:00 AM, the clouds opened up and we had a pouring rain for ten minutes or more. We had a few sprinkles after that. The rain was all done by 11:00 AM. After sunrise, the wind hauled out of the north. Gusty at first with readings over twenty-five knots when it first showed up on the scene, the northerly wind settled in at fifteen to twenty knots for most of the rest of the day. The sky cleared at 2:00 PM. The sky remained mostly clear for the rest of my day. The visibility turned to excellent by 1:00 PM. The highest air temperature that I saw today was 50°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 74°F with a low of 40°F). Yesterday's high temperature of 74°F in Boston breaks the previous record high of 61°F first set on this date in 1913, tied in 1975 and tied again in 2017. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 67°F (with a low of 27°F). Yesterday's high temperature of 67°F in Concord breaks the previous record high of 61°F set on this date in 1885! The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 52°F (with a low of 29°F). Yesterday's high temperature of 52°F in Portland breaks the previous record high of 51°F set first on this date in 1980 and, then, tied in 2014.

I spent all morning working at the desk here at home. Most of the day was spent on the Guestletter. I wrote the first two paragraphs, which always seems like a milestone. I worked on this until 1:00 PM. I took the rest of the day off after that.

Monday, January 13, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 29°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the northeast over ten knots and the visibility over the ocean seemed very good. By sunrise, we had a northeast wind of ten knots or less. This northeast wind increased a little bit but remained at about ten knots more or less. After noon, the wind hauled more out of the north and increased with gusts to fifteen knots. Winds remained out of the north after sunset with only about ten knots velocity. The sky remained overcast. Starting around 9:00 AM, it began snowing. The snow was very light. But it remained snowing for most of the day. We had less than an inch after it was all said and done. The visibility remained good over the ocean. I never did see an air temperature reading that came close to broaching the freezing mark, contrary to the National Weather Service prediction of a high of 35°F today. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 43°F with a low of 36°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 29°F (with a low of 26°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 29°F (with a low of 24°F).

My day started at the office and ended at the office. I left the house before 8:00 AM to check on a dentist appointment that I didn't have. From there I went to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to put together a new fuel filter system for the Bunny Clark. The system is a more modern version of the same Racor system I have in there now. This new system has alarms for water detection that I don't have in the present system. Also, parts of the old system were wearing out in several areas. After I gathered all the materials, I drove to the Bunny Clark where I loaded all this stuff into the shop so we could install this later in the winter.

From there I went to office at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. where I had about forty-five minutes of work to do there. I finalized a date with my sister, Cathy, for the fire inspection of both restaurants next week. The rest of the day was spent in the home office where I worked on the Guestletter.

I'm redesigning the Guestletter so that it isn't so long as it has been in the past. I'm leaving out things that I used to keep as reference points for me which should drop it back quite a bit. These items are still available in past Guestletters that I keep on line. I will, therefore, be able to reference statements by looking back at those. The part of the Guestletter where I abuse my patrons will remain. I hope to have it completed by the beginning of next week. We shall see.

Assuming the Guestletter is completed just after the weekend, it will not include the new regulation proposals put forth by the Recreational Advisory Panel meeting on January 21st. Having said that, I can't believe there will be any proposals that will negatively effect our upcoming regulations. At worst, I believe we will have the same regulations for the 2020 fishing season as we did last season. The new fiscal fishing year starts on May 1, 2020. So our regulations, by law, will stay the same until that date or until the new regulations are approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

I stopped working at 5:00 PM.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 30°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was light out of the north northeast and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind was predominantly out of the east today. Winds were light along the shore. I never recorded a wind speed higher than ten knots at the house while the offshore buoy reports were generally giving easterly wind speeds up to twenty knots in gusts with four foot chops as a high wind/wave period (7:00 PM). The sky was overcast all day. It started raining lightly at 4:00 PM and continued for an undetermined time into the night. I never did get a look at the air temperature although I knew it was above freezing. The visibility was excellent until the rain came. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 42°F with a low of 37°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 38°F (with a low of 28°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 36°F (with a low of 28°F).

My day centered around working on the Guestletter, the longest project I make for myself every winter. I also had a fire inspection on both boats that I had to attend to. Along with that we had a project with a floor drain going on at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. as well as working on getting ready for the fire inspection at both restaurants slated for Wednesday next week.

Normally, this time of year, we let things go at the restaurants that are better addressed in March, just before we open. For example, things like batteries in emergency exit signs/lights that need to be changed aren't completed until then. The problem with this is that they don't pass inspection. Likewise, neither does the building. So we get approved pending. It's an in-town thing. So the fire department trusts us to compete all these things. But this also means that I have to check with them again when all is completed. So this year I'm trying to stay ahead of the game and get this all done before inspection so we can be done with everything as soon as the inspection is over.

We do have a couple of electrical issues that can only be solved by a licensed electrician. I made some calls to arrange to get those things addressed before the week is out.

After I reached a saturation point on the Guestletter, I went for a run with Gill, our border collie, on Ogunquit beach. I have been avoiding running because last time I had some soreness in my left groin. I'm sensitive about that area because I developed a condition there some years ago from over training for triathlons. So I stopped for a week. It was better today so I thought I would give it a try. I didn't feel it at all running 3.5 miles at a 9:00 minute pace. In fact, I felt light on my feet, wanting to push harder. My mind told me no! I'm glad I listened to myself. The wind was out of the east which Gill does not like but the wind wasn't hard enough to prevent us from running together. He balked three times on the leash on the way up. But I was able to convince him that it was in his best interest to continue. So he did. He's always happiest on the way back when I take him off his leash. I put a cylume light on him since it was well after sunset when we finished. These are expired lights that we use on our life preservers (PFD's) on the Bunny Clark. They expire after three years but are fully functional for years afterward. It seems a waste as they are used once and then discarded. Who knows what kind of chemicals are in these tubes. I was surprised how far away I could see Gill with this light attached to him. The lights glow green. I can't imagine they would be as visible on a human in the rough waters of the Atlantic at night. Below is a shot I took with my phone of Gill with said light.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 35°F, the sky was overcast, there was no wind here at the house and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. After sunrise, I noticed that the wind had picked up from the northwest and the sky was cloudless. I swear it was overcast in the morning unless I'm becoming more blind than I think I am. The wind remained out of the northwest all day. Wind speeds varied from eight to fifteen knots. The sky was mostly clear for the entire day with a few clouds moving in during the afternoon. After sunset, the sky started to cloud over. The visibility was excellent all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 45°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 52°F with a low of 39°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 46°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 30°F).

Today was too nice to stay inside. But stay inside I did. The whole day was spent working on the Guestletter. But I need to qualify that. I did have to make a couple of trips to the office at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. And I did have someone come down to look at a floor drain area (at the restaurant) that needs to be re-tiled. And I went back and forth on emails as well. But I am at the half way mark on the physical part of the Guestletter and about a third of the way time wise.

I stopped working at 3:00 PM so I could jump on the bike for forty miles. This is probably the last chance I will have to ride outside for a few days with the bad weather predictions and the colder than normal temperatures expected. Tomorrow will be raining or snowing all day so I will spend most of my day tomorrow on the Guestletter.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 35°F, the sky was overcast, it was raining, there was no wind here again at the house and the visibility over the ocean was good in precipitation. We had light and variable winds for most of the morning. The ocean along the shore was calm. It rained for the first half of the morning, not very hard. By mid morning, we were seeing light snow. For the rest of the day it was mostly rain with some snow mixed. The air temperature seemed to hang around 34°F for most of the day. Even at 5:00 PM, we had the same air temperature. Any precipitation had stopped by 4:00 PM. After noon, the wind hauled out of the north and started to blow over fifteen knots by 1:00 PM. This wind increased to twenty-five knots with higher gusts by 5:00 PM. The sky was cloudy all day with some clearing by 7:00 PM. The visibility over the ocean was excellent after 4:00 PM. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 47°F with a low of 30°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 38°F (with a low of 24°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 32°F (with a low of 19°F).

Everything today revolved around the Guestletter. It was a milestone day. It always is when I finish figuring out who the FY-'19 (fisherman of the year) is. It took some time this year because the top two anglers were too close, within twelve points of each other. The old rule, and still remains the rule, was that if they are within thirty points of each other, I take the trips where the two fished together at the same time and double the points each one attained on those days. By comparing the extra points, I can get a differential that could change the results. But it did not change anything this time. The angler who was ahead gained two extra points after all that was completed. It took me about four hours to figure the whole thing out from start to finish. I love doing it because I relive a lot of the trips that I was on. The two anglers in question were on some of my favorite trips last year.

At noon, I got a call from the electrician who said he had some extra time to fix some overhead lighting in the kitchen of Barnacle Billy's, Etc. and replace an emergency light in the lobby. So I ran down there to let him in and help (watch) as much as I could. That took about an hour. I was also in the phone for a total of an hour working on different future projects.

I gave up at 5:30 PM. Having done no exercising I decided to go for a run. Normally, I would take Gill, our dog. But it was too dark. And I thought I might lose him if I ran on the beach. Plus, I know he wouldn't have wanted to go with the wind so strong out of the north, running right into it for the first mile and a half. And it was a good thing I didn't bring him. Not only was the wind a problem but the sand was so soft that it was hard even walking on the beach. I got about a quarter of a mile up the beach and turned around. I ended up continuing to run but going around town instead for a total of 3.6 miles at an 8:00 minute pace. I was very comfortable which is always a danger sign for me. Whenever I have felt too comfortable, I always try to run harder and end up pulling something, a calf muscle, hamstring, you name it. It's hell getting old!

Friday, January 17, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 16°F and getting colder by the minute, the sky was crystal clear with a half moon hanging high over the southeastern horizon, the wind was howling out of the northwest at twenty-eight knots sustained with higher gusts and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind and the cold were the salient features of the day. The wind blew out of the northwest so hard it dispelled any idea of playing outside today. Wind speeds were thirty knots more or less all day. The air temperature was not horribly cold but I never did see it get above 18°F. It may have been over 20°F. And it probably was. But I never did take a look at the thermometer at a time when it could have been. The visibility was excellent over the sea smoke in the morning and over the ocean in the afternoon. The sky stayed clear all day with some clouds. The sun was brilliant. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 30°F with a low of 16°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 22°F (with a low of 10°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 16°F (with a low of 7°F).

After I got done editing this report, I worked on the Guestletter for the rest of the morning. At noon, I drove to Canvasworks to have berth cushions made, the side curtains repaired and hangers made for them when they get reinstalled on the Bunny Clark. From there I drove to DSM Fabrication where two lobster cooker tanks and their covers had been repaired and were waiting to be picked up. From there I drove to Portland where, at Power Products, they had a starter waiting to be picked up. I had changed out the old one in the Bunny Clark last fall. I had replaced it with the spare. Now I needed a new spare. It had been there for three weeks but I was waiting for a time more convenient to pick it up, when I had other things to run for. From Portland, I drove to Sanford where they had a new baffle for my pellet stove. I had ordered it a couple of weeks ago but it had only arrived there yesterday. The baffle in the pellet stove we were using had cracked and needed to be replaced. I suppose I could have got another week out of it but that would have been it.

The rest of my working day was spent off loading the lobster tanks and working on the pellet stove.

I would have liked to have gone for a run on the beach with Gill. I left the house at noon without eating lunch. During my running around I hadn't found a convenient place to pick up something for lunch. So at the very end of the my journey, I stopped at a MacDonald's to grab two fish sandwiches and a medium fries. I knew it was wrong but I was hungry. What a mistake. I felt horrible for the rest of the day. So when 4:00 PM rolled around, a run with the dog was out of the question. Not only would I have revisited the fish sandwiches on the run. But my desire to run was gone. I felt bloated. I will not do that again any time soon. I fall for MacDonald's food a couple times a year. I admit, it tastes so good going down. But I always feel horrible afterward.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 7°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at ten knots and the visibility close to the ocean was marred by sea smoke. The sunrise gave us a very red/orange sky with clouds moving in. High thin clouds were followed by increasing overcast skies. By noon, the sky had become overcast. It started snowing at 4:00 PM. It was very periodic, starting and stopping. And it was very light. After sunset, it started to snow. By 9:00 PM we had a little more than two inches on the ground. The wind was light all morning. Northwest at first, the wind had hauled out of the northeast by 9:00 AM. There was so little wind you could hardly detect a direction unless you were walking the beach. By mid afternoon, the wind had hauled out of the southeast. After dark, it went directly out of the with wind speeds increasing to fifteen knots. The visibility was excellent until the snow arrived. The highest air temperature that I saw in Ogunquit was 22°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 33°F with a low of 14°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 16°F (with a low of 4°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 19°F (with a low of 3°F).

My day was spent working, again, on the Guestletter. Saturdays are great because no one is hounding me and I can concentrate on the work I have to get done. I had a few distractions as it's a big sports day and I was in contact with a few of our customers but I did get a lot done.

My work day ended at 4:00 PM when I took Gill out for a run on the beach. There really wasn't much wind at the time and the tide was well out so we had plenty of hard sand to run on. We covered 4.15 miles this time. And Gill was very active and seemed to enjoy himself.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 18°F, the sky was overcast, we had about four inches of snow on the ground, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at fifteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. By sunrise, the sky had cleared and the day became beautiful again with snow covering all the trees, light winds to keep it there for a while for all to see and temperatures warming, taking us out of our last two days in the deep freeze. From daylight until nearly sunset we had light and variable winds with a calm blue ocean along the shore. By 5:00 PM, a northwest wind became established that increased in velocity as the night progressed. By 8:00 PM, the northwest wind was blowing a sustained twenty knots. The wind increased even further later. The sky was clear all day. The visibility was excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw was 36°F but I didn't pay much attention to the thermometer today. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 45°F with a low of 24°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 39°F (with a low of 9°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 37°F (with a low of 16°F).

Most of my day today was spent writing the Guestletter, which I finished at 5:45 PM. I still have to add digital images, fill in the tables, edit the content and check for misspellings. But, essentially, the hardest part is done. It's a labor of love. It takes a lot of time. But during this time, I get to relive all the last years experiences, formulate opinions on the state of the fishery, get a laugh out of the funny things that happened and it gives me a common sense look toward the future and all it's aspects. I've made it a bit shorter this year, taking out paragraphs that I used to carry forward and eliminating paragraphs I didn't think were that enjoyable to read for most. And I shortened others.

I took a break to watch the Leicester/Burnley Premier League game on NBC. That took two hours. As the game went on I had a four way comment sessions with three other viewers here and in England. My team, Leicester, lost despite my having a Leicester scarf on the whole game. I will not critique the game here. I don't know enough about English football and I'm sure no one who reads this missive is much interested in my soccer opinions.

After another hour and a half of writing (and, no, I did not watch the Bruins game - the outcome was exactly as I figured it would be), Gill and I took to the road to start shoveling out everywhere. I waited until this time because they hadn't even plowed the driveway yet. And I certainly didn't want to shovel areas I had already shoveled. The areas I shoveled included our house, around the restaurants at the Cove and on the deck at Barnacle Billy's, Etc.

In the process of cleaning up the snow, Gill was exploring. He wanders off at about the fifteen minute mark. He just disappears. So every ten or fifteen minutes I would have to take a break and round him up.

I took the digital image of Gill (above) in the parking lot across the street from Barnacle Billy's, Etc. At the time, I was shoveling out the back of the truck. It gives you an idea of the amount of snow we got from this last storm.

Monday, January 20, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 16°F, the sky was mostly clear with a crescent moon low on the eastern horizon, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at twenty-three knots (more or less) and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind continued to blow out of the northwest at twenty-five knots until sunrise. After that it backed off a bit to hang around twenty knots sustained until noon. By 1:00 PM, the northwest wind had dropped to fifteen knots where it remained, more or less, until it dropped to about ten knots at 4:30 PM. The sky was partly cloudy during the first half of the morning and mostly sunny after that. The afternoon sky was clear. The high air temperature that I saw was 25°F but I looked early and probably missed the highest value of the day. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 30°F with a low of 19°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 22°F (with a low of 10°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 27°F (with a low of 7°F).

I had, hopefully, the last dentist appointment of the winter this morning at 8:00 AM. At 9:00 AM, I attended a CPR/First Aid/AED class with all the top Barnacle Billy's brass and Captain Ian Keniston. That lasted until around 2:00 PM. After a late lunch, I worked on the Guestletter until 5:30 PM. Other than taking Gill for a four mile run on the beach and answering a few emails about job positions at the restaurant, that was about all I did today.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 5°F, the sky was clear, a sliver of a moon was hanging low on the eastern horizon, the wind was light out of the north and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. More later.

Also, Anthony Palumbo gave me his notice on the last day of the season. He is going into cabinet making on a full time basis next year. So he will not be available as a full time deck hand. So, as of right now, we will be in need of two deck hands, possibly one, a full time position and a part time position. Anyone taking the position needs to understand that a pre-employment drug test is required as well as being enrolled in a random drug testing program. You can call 207-646-2214 if you are interested.

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