Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
Posts: 1148
Registered: 8-26-2003
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Boys Will Be Boys...
Well?Barsam and John, two of my best fishing buddies, were headed to Bahia de Los Angeles last week for fun in the sun and some extended fishing. The
creeps, while I?m here working and fretting.
?You should use my boat.? I told them. ?It?s already there and all you need is gas.? So they planned their trip and were off, out of touch for the
week.
About four days later I get an e-mail from another friend in Bahia who tells me my friends have picked up the boat and are using it.
?Great!? I?m thinking. ?At least someone gets to.?
Then, a couple of days later I get a second e-mail from the same friend. He tells me that the boat was returned, but the outboard wasn?t on the
transom. I figured it maybe had problems and my pals took it in to have Sammy look at it.
?Not even.? Mary Ann tells me. ?You know how those two are always pulling your chain. They?re just kidding with you.? I hadn?t thought of
that. I never think of that. Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football. So I was now convinced that all was well and that Bar and John had
conspired with my BOLA buddy and that in reality my boat was still in stock. Or so I thought?
Last Saturday, Bar calls. ?What?s up with the boat?? I ask him.
?Well?? He clears his throat. ?When we picked it up the motor was loose on the transom and when we tightened it we needed a small piece of plywood to
get it secure. But it worked fine.? All the while I?m listening to him and waiting for the laughter to erupt and the truth to come out that
everything is OK. But he continues?
?On the second day we caught a west wind and we were headed out from La Gringa to Horses Head and La Ventana. We?d had a good catch there the day
before and were hoping for more. But the wind was making good sized swells and we were quartering into the sea. There was one bigger-than-usual
swell in the channel north of La Ventana and we hit it and the boat shuddered and I heard a funny sound from the outboard and when we looked back it
was completely free from the transom and 6 feet in the air.?
?Yeah, sure!? I?m waiting for the laughter.
?No, seriously.? Bar sputters. Now he?s really getting into his story. ?After the outboard fell into the water behind the boat, we figured it would
be secured to the boat by the fuel line. But it was too heavy and broke the line and sank.? I figure the depth of the bay there is about 200 feet,
but regardless, because I still know they?re pulling my leg. I?m still waiting for the real story to surface.
?We don?t know what happened. We hit that one big swell so maybe that was it. Or maybe the piece of plywood we had inserted to tighten up the
transom had added to the problem. We just don?t know.?
Barsam and I talk about their trip and all the yellows they caught and canned and I was off the phone and still scratching my head in confusion and
the phone rings and it?s John. At least now I?ll hear his side of the story.
?Well,? he says, ?it all started when the Federales confiscated the motor because we didn?t have papers.? I hadn?t thought of that. He goes on and
on and blah, blah, blah and then he?s telling me that he?s just kidding, that they had spent the rest of their time, after the accident inventing
various stories about what they could tell me really happened. Sure! In the end, John ended up confirming that the motor had come loose and sunk.
So now, to this day I still don?t know whether my motor is stashed back on the boat safe and sound, or whether it?s resting peacefully in a watery
grave 200 feet down somewhere between the small islands of Horses Head and La Ventana.
Oh, well. It can?t be too important. Either way it makes a good story. Even if worst comes to worst we?ve created an improved habitat for a number
of tiny fish and I?ll get a new motor out of the deal.
It may be some time before I actually get to Bahia de Los Angeles to determine the truth. But that?s OK. It gives me more time to develop a slick
scheme to get back at Barsam and John. Hang on buddies, here we go!
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GeoRock
Nomad
Posts: 329
Registered: 3-7-2003
Location: Mammoth Lakes, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Always have one
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Hey Mikey, it sounds as if your buddies drive the same as you do!!!
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Santiago
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3500
Registered: 8-27-2003
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Did they mention the blue/white Salas I had tied to the tiller?
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
Posts: 1148
Registered: 8-26-2003
Member Is Offline
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Jim,
They brought back the lure and your letter, but they live in L.A. so I'll get it the next time I go to JPL.
Thanks. Take care.
Mike
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4baja
Super Nomad
Posts: 1339
Registered: 9-4-2003
Location: morro bay ca
Member Is Offline
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i allmost lost a moter up here but i had a chain attached to it and saved it. now everything is bolted and the only way its going down is with the
boat. thats a bummer mike!
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
Posts: 1148
Registered: 8-26-2003
Member Is Offline
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Steve,
it is truly a bummer. But when garbage S**t happens you just make the best out of it. I feel badly for my friends who drove up from LA Saturday to
help resolve the deal, to help me, aided with the advice of nomads and Fred's board, think things through. I feel as badly for my friends as they do
for me and we are all scrambling around trying to do the best for each other and that in itself is a wonderful experience and a custom with these
amigos. With respect to my poor maintenance record, we're thinking that this will be a boat we pull out after each use. Live and learn and thanks
for caring.
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