Somebody's Going To Get Hurt

[the fisherman]

For it's size an Albacore Tuna is a very fast and powerful fish, they generally will school up according to size. Last Wed. we noticed that ther were bigger fish laying under the school fish we were fishing on, so we rigged up some leaded jigs and started catching quite a few larger fish, a good thing, however if one of these fish tears off the hook the jig can come back at you like a deer slug fresh out of a 12 gauge, there is a right way and every other way to handle em'. Well we made it through the rest of the day with out a problem, with me nagging the boys on deck to try to handle the fish the way I showed them. The next day we had the same fish but now 25 to 30 knots of wind so if one of these fish pops off while the boat is sliding down a swell the force is multiplied two or three times. I watched the boys fish fo about 45 minutes, Dam it don't these deck dummies ever listen to anything I say,down onto the deck I went, get out of my way, so for the last time I can show you how to do this without killing yourself, I landed a couple of fish no problem, on the third one the fish way big and he wanted off, spit the hook on the down side of the swell, there have beenmore the one broken cheek bones and eyes knocked out when this happens not to mention teeth. Well on instinct I put my right arm over my face, the result was surgery yesterday for a badly shattered elbow with more to follow before crab season. For me it was a costly demonstration, but i'm pretty sure I won't have to mention this again, but from what i've heard today they're not going to let me forget this. There will be no further demonstrations. So I told em' THE BEATINGS ON THIS VESSEL WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES

 

[Tomas Tierra]

Sorry about your accident there skipper....At least you got your hand/arm up there to protect that mug

 

[chnlisle]

Wow Salty I guess you're proof of Americas most dangerous porfession. I hope you're on the mend and feeling better. Please take care.

 

[the fisherman]

Murphy's Law

This would have been no big deal, except for the fact that I looked like a total Putz after all the ranting a ravin' I did about what they were doing. They say you have to go fishing, but you don't necessarily have to come back.

 

[Tomas Tierra]

Eat More Fish!!!!!

 

[DLN]

Sorry to hear about the elbow, hope all mends well for you, best of luck.

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

This would have been no big deal, except for the fact that I looked like a total Putz after all the ranting an' ravin' I did about what they were doing. They say you have to go fishing, but you don't necessarily have to come back.

Thank God for men who lead from the front, be they putzes in their own eyes or not.

Let's all pray that the fisherman's recovery is complete and timely.

 

[SunMan]

Wishing you a speedy recovery El Pescador!

 

[the fisherman]

Ok, The Whole Story

First off, thank you all for the kind words, all i'm gettin' around here is '' not this again'' In 1979 I fished Salmon on the Cal. Ore. coast, had a real nice wood double ender named the Compagno, always fished the boat alone. One afternoon I anchored up in Fort Ross Cove, above Bodega Bay, it's a very small anchorage, just a spot behind a couple of big rocks. I was the first boat in, which meant I would be the last one out in the morning, well morning rolls around, everybody behind me leaves, I go to the bow of the boat to pull my anchor, the chain comes up loaded with slimy purple kelp. I was running the winch control with my left hand, and trying to clean the kelp off the chain with my left hand. As I was about to learn, this was a bad idea. My left fore arm went under the chain, I am now pined upside down between the winch and the front of the wheelhouse, the pressure relief valve on the winch is screaming in my left ear, the boat is now drifting, I know I heard a couple of loud snaps, was that my arm? Man, how did I get into this mess. About then I felt the keel bump a rock, but i'm upsidedown, can't see where i'm going, and I can't get free of the which because my body is laying on the control, I can't shut the thing off. It was really my lucky day, the boat drifted free of the anchorage,I could hear my vhf deck speaker, a friend of mine calling to see if I had a problem, roger on that I got a problem alright. About 45 minutes later they came to the rescue. They will all tell you I looked pretty weird when they found me. The arm didn't do so well, broken in three places, must have been those snaps I heard, also shattered that elbow. So you can see this problem started a longtime ago. To add insult to injury, in 1986 I was cutting a piece off glass, the glass pooped and drove a 3 by 4 inch shard into my right wrist and severed all the tendons, That was the worst of the lot, in a cast with my wrist cocked at 45 degrees while the tendons healed, four months, everybody wants to know, whats with the right arm, how about a leg or something? TAKE IT EASY DUDE, THERE'S STILL A WAY'S TO GO

 

[chnlisle]

EverytimeI do something and in my head I'm saying I shouldnt be doing this this way I'm proven right. I hate when that happens.

Power tools, boats, vehicles are painful teachers. Oh yeah women!!

 

[craig333]

At least you can still laugh and tell the story

 

[EdoHart]

I've said it before...

I'll never complain about the price of seafood, ever. Though it's not my style to complain unless it can accomplish something.

I'll be praying for a complete and successful recovery for your current, past and any future injuries, Fisherman. On the top of the list will be a prayer that you and your crew don't suffer anymore injuries.

 

[Tomas Tierra]

Wow Salty I guess you're proof of Americas most dangerous porfession..

It sounds so cliche.....but, it happens to all of us..

100 lb. hatch cover to the back of the head yesterday for me..10 stitches and a neck ache is all I got out of the deal..lucky,it coulda been game over quite easily..

I still love my job...a traffic accident on the 101 would be worse

 

[the fisherman]

You Got Nicked

Sorry to hear dude, but this might make you feel better. If that happened on this boat where we are, you ain't going to the doctor. It would be about a forty hr. run at 12 gals. an hr. it's not going to happen. That means that Dr. Jon is going to sew you up, and the thought of that makes everybody real careful. I have gotten better at it though, i've sewed up more than one hand in my time. If going to hurt yourself, do it bad or not at all. I saw somewhere that Consumer Reports rated comm. fishing the most dangerous job, I can't remember what was second but a pilot was third. That means that when I was working crabs in Alaska in the winter and flying up there, I was really taking my chances. I know I'm lucky to be here, I've only had to come home in a helecoptor once,I know a guy who has come home that way three times, and he still does this s%&t. You can go ahead and tell the forum the new generic nane for Viagra, there's a lot of older guys here who might be interested, who knows down the line it might save somebody some money. I don't think it's fair that you just told me.

 

[chnlisle]

TT get well soon and knock that $h!t off.

 

[Tomas Tierra]

Viagra to me is like golf...it doesn't apply to my life. (yet??)

 

[DLN]

TT,

Sorry to hear about your injury, but glad all is well now. I don't even do dangerous work these days and still manage to create new scares on my head from just not paying close enough attention. Must be getting old or is it lazy, I can't remember.