It's been awfully quiet here without YKW to kick around. Let's try to
fix that before the group shrivels away to oblivion. Spring is here,
even in the northern climes, so there must be some stories and project
reports out there, maybe even a trip or two.

As most of you know Mrs B and I have been cruising the Bahamas for a
few weeks now. One of the big changes in the last couple of years is
the availability of data service (internet) over the Batelco cell
phone system. If you have an unlocked GSM phone you can buy a BTC sim
card with a 2 GB data plan for less than $40. That gives you a local
phone number and your own tethered WiFi hotspot. That's a huge
improvement over past years where we were always looking for an open
WiFi system that we could connect to. Cell service itself has
improved enormously also. There are now towers on just about every
populated island.

Correct about the techno-changes in guidance/navigation systems in the past few years. Paying wireless int'l calls couldn't have been cheap.

Speaking of island hopping, are you getting in on some good fishing on your cruise?

On Sat, 16 May 2015 19:14:00 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

Correct about the techno-changes in guidance/navigation systems in the past few years. Paying wireless int'l calls couldn't have been cheap.

Speaking of island hopping, are you getting in on some good fishing on your cruise?

===

I fished briefly on the last half of our Gulf Stream crossing but
nothing to show for it except a stolen lure and badly bitten up mono
leader. Must have been something with sharp teeth. Conventional
wisdom is that Mahi mahi will not bite on wire leaders so not much
choice unless you're after the really big stuff.

We've been in relatively shallow water ever since and conditions
offshore have been fairly rough.

On Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 7:36:18 PM UTC-7, Wayne. B wrote:
On Sat, 16 May 2015 19:14:00 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

Correct about the techno-changes in guidance/navigation systems in the past few years. Paying wireless int'l calls couldn't have been cheap.

Speaking of island hopping, are you getting in on some good fishing on your cruise?

===

I fished briefly on the last half of our Gulf Stream crossing but
nothing to show for it except a stolen lure and badly bitten up mono
leader. Must have been something with sharp teeth. Conventional
wisdom is that Mahi mahi will not bite on wire leaders so not much
choice unless you're after the really big stuff.

We've been in relatively shallow water ever since and conditions
offshore have been fairly rough.

Gnawing on a leader in such fashion is an indicator of Shark or Barracuda?

On Sat, 16 May 2015 20:51:09 -0700 (PDT), Tom Nofinger
wrote:

On Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 7:36:18 PM UTC-7, Wayne. B wrote:
On Sat, 16 May 2015 19:14:00 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

Correct about the techno-changes in guidance/navigation systems in the past few years. Paying wireless int'l calls couldn't have been cheap.

Speaking of island hopping, are you getting in on some good fishing on your cruise?

===

I fished briefly on the last half of our Gulf Stream crossing but
nothing to show for it except a stolen lure and badly bitten up mono
leader. Must have been something with sharp teeth. Conventional
wisdom is that Mahi mahi will not bite on wire leaders so not much
choice unless you're after the really big stuff.

We've been in relatively shallow water ever since and conditions
offshore have been fairly rough.

Gnawing on a leader in such fashion is an indicator of Shark or Barracuda?

===

More likely a shark in my opinion. I've caught barracuda on mono
leaders a number of times but once saw a shark grab a live bait fish
on mono with barely a twitch of the pole.

Wayne.B wrote:
On Sat, 16 May 2015 20:51:09 -0700 (PDT), Tom Nofinger
wrote:

On Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 7:36:18 PM UTC-7, Wayne. B wrote:
On Sat, 16 May 2015 19:14:00 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

Correct about the techno-changes in guidance/navigation systems in the
past few years. Paying wireless int'l calls couldn't have been cheap.

Speaking of island hopping, are you getting in on some good fishing on your cruise?

===

I fished briefly on the last half of our Gulf Stream crossing but
nothing to show for it except a stolen lure and badly bitten up mono
leader. Must have been something with sharp teeth. Conventional
wisdom is that Mahi mahi will not bite on wire leaders so not much
choice unless you're after the really big stuff.

We've been in relatively shallow water ever since and conditions
offshore have been fairly rough.

Gnawing on a leader in such fashion is an indicator of Shark or Barracuda?

===

More likely a shark in my opinion. I've caught barracuda on mono
leaders a number of times but once saw a shark grab a live bait fish
on mono with barely a twitch of the pole.

Maybe a wahoo.

On Saturday, 16 May 2015 22:27:56 UTC-3, Wayne. B wrote:
It's been awfully quiet here without YKW to kick around. Let's try to
fix that before the group shrivels away to oblivion. Spring is here,
even in the northern climes, so there must be some stories and project
reports out there, maybe even a trip or two.

As most of you know Mrs B and I have been cruising the Bahamas for a
few weeks now. One of the big changes in the last couple of years is
the availability of data service (internet) over the Batelco cell
phone system. If you have an unlocked GSM phone you can buy a BTC sim
card with a 2 GB data plan for less than $40. That gives you a local
phone number and your own tethered WiFi hotspot. That's a huge
improvement over past years where we were always looking for an open
WiFi system that we could connect to. Cell service itself has
improved enormously also. There are now towers on just about every
populated island.


The activity level in here just reinforces my observations a day or so ago. Most of the regulars have little interest in boats or boating. When was the last time you saw any boating content from John Herring, FlaJim, Dan Kruger, Scott Ingersoll...and we won't even mention the newsgroup pervert from St Thomas, Ontario. Most are here to instigate, agitate and irritate. Tim and I are somewhat similar with long off seasons and a short boating season..
Seems like we only got rid of winter so I'm just now getting the urge to take the winter shelter down and prepare my boat for it's first launch this year.

On 5/17/15 11:25 AM, True North wrote:

The activity level in here just reinforces my observations a day or so ago. Most of the regulars have little interest in boats or boating. When was the last time you saw any boating content from John Herring, FlaJim, Dan Kruger, Scott Ingersoll...and we won't even mention the newsgroup pervert from St Thomas, Ontario. Most are here to instigate, agitate and irritate. Tim and I are somewhat similar with long off seasons and a short boating season.
Seems like we only got rid of winter so I'm just now getting the urge to take the winter shelter down and prepare my boat for it's first launch this year.


Hey, Don…

Got back an hour or so ago from a nice trip to Connecticut, mainly to my
old “stomping grounds” in Milford and Branford and points in between.

It was great to see and stay again with old friends from my grammar,
junior high and high school days. It's hard to believe I'm still
"hanging out" with friends I've known since the third grade at Davis
Street Elementary School. Sadly, a couple of the old gang members
died over the winter. What was that line from the old Star Trek
movie..."Time is the fire in which we burn..." It sure is.

Went fishing a couple of times out of Woodmont, a little beach town
between Milford and West Haven. One of my oldest and dearest friends
retired to a beach house there and keeps a 14’ dory for boating and
fishing. Long Island Sound is still damned cold, but we managed to
rustle up a few guys to carry the boat from his garage to the water’s
edge and attach his Honda four stroke outboard. Fifteen minutes later,
we were catching porgies and what we used to call “snapper blues” (small
bluefish) on live sandworms off one of the rock outcroppings, just like
we did 50+ years ago.

Another buddy has a Bertram 25’ (or maybe a 24’?) he spent a couple of
years restoring, including removing the I/O drive, rebuilding the
transom, attaching a platform at the stern, and repowering with a 250 hp
Yamaha four stroke. The Bertram was pretty much a hulk when he bought
it. He had some “professional help” along the way. Anyway, he keeps it
in Milford Harbor, and we borrowed it for a day trip east on the Sound
to the Housatonic River, which we “explored” for a while.

Oh yeah…food. Went to New Haven a couple of nights for “the best pizza
in the world,” and to a couple of shore joints for lobsters and a
variety of seafood a couple of other nights. Drove over to Providence
with a bunch of buddies one night for a look-see and to eat dinner at
Hemenway’s, which is still a terrific restaurant.

Hang in there...Spring *will* reach you. Maybe.

On 5/17/15 12:07 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 5/17/15 11:25 AM, True North wrote:

The activity level in here just reinforces my observations a day or so
ago. Most of the regulars have little interest in boats or boating.
When was the last time you saw any boating content from John Herring,
FlaJim, Dan Kruger, Scott Ingersoll...and we won't even mention the
newsgroup pervert from St Thomas, Ontario. Most are here to
instigate, agitate and irritate. Tim and I are somewhat similar with
long off seasons and a short boating season.
Seems like we only got rid of winter so I'm just now getting the urge
to take the winter shelter down and prepare my boat for it's first
launch this year.


Hey, Don…

Got back an hour or so ago from a nice trip to Connecticut, mainly to my
old “stomping grounds” in Milford and Branford and points in between.

It was great to see and stay again with old friends from my grammar,
junior high and high school days. It's hard to believe I'm still
"hanging out" with friends I've known since the third grade at Davis
Street Elementary School. Sadly, a couple of the old gang members
died over the winter. What was that line from the old Star Trek
movie..."Time is the fire in which we burn..." It sure is.

Went fishing a couple of times out of Woodmont, a little beach town
between Milford and West Haven. One of my oldest and dearest friends
retired to a beach house there and keeps a 14’ dory for boating and
fishing. Long Island Sound is still damned cold, but we managed to
rustle up a few guys to carry the boat from his garage to the water’s
edge and attach his Honda four stroke outboard. Fifteen minutes later,
we were catching porgies and what we used to call “snapper blues” (small
bluefish) on live sandworms off one of the rock outcroppings, just like
we did 50+ years ago.

Another buddy has a Bertram 25’ (or maybe a 24’?) he spent a couple of
years restoring, including removing the I/O drive, rebuilding the
transom, attaching a platform at the stern, and repowering with a 250 hp
Yamaha four stroke. The Bertram was pretty much a hulk when he bought
it. He had some “professional help” along the way. Anyway, he keeps it
in Milford Harbor, and we borrowed it for a day trip east on the Sound
to the Housatonic River, which we “explored” for a while.

Oh yeah…food. Went to New Haven a couple of nights for “the best pizza
in the world,” and to a couple of shore joints for lobsters and a
variety of seafood a couple of other nights. Drove over to Providence
with a bunch of buddies one night for a look-see and to eat dinner at
Hemenway’s, which is still a terrific restaurant.

Hang in there...Spring *will* reach you. Maybe.





Forgot to add:

We had one really stormy rainy day, so eight of us did exactly what we
did when we were kids at the beach: we had an all-day, multi-table
Scrabble marathon.

On 5/17/2015 12:31 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 5/17/15 12:07 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 5/17/15 11:25 AM, True North wrote:

The activity level in here just reinforces my observations a day or so
ago. Most of the regulars have little interest in boats or boating.
When was the last time you saw any boating content from John Herring,
FlaJim, Dan Kruger, Scott Ingersoll...and we won't even mention the
newsgroup pervert from St Thomas, Ontario. Most are here to
instigate, agitate and irritate. Tim and I are somewhat similar with
long off seasons and a short boating season.
Seems like we only got rid of winter so I'm just now getting the urge
to take the winter shelter down and prepare my boat for it's first
launch this year.


Hey, Don…

Got back an hour or so ago from a nice trip to Connecticut, mainly to my
old “stomping grounds” in Milford and Branford and points in between.

It was great to see and stay again with old friends from my grammar,
junior high and high school days. It's hard to believe I'm still
"hanging out" with friends I've known since the third grade at Davis
Street Elementary School. Sadly, a couple of the old gang members
died over the winter. What was that line from the old Star Trek
movie..."Time is the fire in which we burn..." It sure is.

Went fishing a couple of times out of Woodmont, a little beach town
between Milford and West Haven. One of my oldest and dearest friends
retired to a beach house there and keeps a 14’ dory for boating and
fishing. Long Island Sound is still damned cold, but we managed to
rustle up a few guys to carry the boat from his garage to the water’s
edge and attach his Honda four stroke outboard. Fifteen minutes later,
we were catching porgies and what we used to call “snapper blues” (small
bluefish) on live sandworms off one of the rock outcroppings, just like
we did 50+ years ago.

Another buddy has a Bertram 25’ (or maybe a 24’?) he spent a couple of
years restoring, including removing the I/O drive, rebuilding the
transom, attaching a platform at the stern, and repowering with a 250 hp
Yamaha four stroke. The Bertram was pretty much a hulk when he bought
it. He had some “professional help” along the way. Anyway, he keeps it
in Milford Harbor, and we borrowed it for a day trip east on the Sound
to the Housatonic River, which we “explored” for a while.

Oh yeah…food. Went to New Haven a couple of nights for “the best pizza
in the world,” and to a couple of shore joints for lobsters and a
variety of seafood a couple of other nights. Drove over to Providence
with a bunch of buddies one night for a look-see and to eat dinner at
Hemenway’s, which is still a terrific restaurant.

Hang in there...Spring *will* reach you. Maybe.





Forgot to add:

We had one really stormy rainy day, so eight of us did exactly what we
did when we were kids at the beach: we had an all-day, multi-table
Scrabble marathon.

Enchanting story. Tell us more.

--

Respectfully submitted by Justan

Laugh of the day from Krause

"I'm not to blame anymore for the atmosphere in here.
I've been "born again" as a nice guy."