Fishing Dad - What Floats my Boat

2012-01-10T21:12:00.001-08:00

My son bashed his head open again while skate boarding. Again we get to visit the emergency room.

Quality family time.

Ha.

Trivia of the day - Noosphere

2012-01-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

Maybe you or I can use this new word in Scrabble someday.

Word of the Day... noosphere

PRONUNCIATION... (NOH-uh-sfeer)

MEANING... noun: The sum of human knowledge, thought, and culture.

ETYMOLOGY: From French noösphere, from Greek noos (mind) + sphere. Earliest documented use: 1930.

USAGE:
"This avalanche of information is threatening to swallow us whole, to waste our days and to overwhelm our own thoughts. Essentially, it's the noosphere on steroids."

Frank Bures; Digitized to Distraction; National Post (Canada); Nov 15, 2008.

Ha. This leads credence to this sticker I saw...
the quote said... "The Internet makes you Stupid."

Less time on Facebook may save me from myself. Now to accomplish that. How to pull myself away from the tempting titillation of the noosphere?

I post about my dog. About the sunset. About stuff. Isn't my life's trivialities a riveting topic for everyone else? Oh boy that works for this blog too. How true is that.

Will make a post next about my New Years Resolutions. Will I include Facebooking less? Let's see.

More later.

Keith

First New Years Resolution

2011-12-31T09:40:00.000-08:00

My first New Years Resolution...

I will try to say "Twenty Twelve" for the new year. 20 12 will be a very profitable year.

Keith

Merry Christmas and Looking forward to a very good 2012

2011-12-30T09:40:00.000-08:00

I think this is the best Holiday Card for this season.

Hopping you all had a nice holiday filled with family and love. Now as we look at the new year we turn to 20 12 with aspirations for a very profitable year.

I think the new year is going to be very good. This video is a great summery of The City this holiday season. I can really relate to it. Luckily I stayed out of the heave traffic. But the shots of the fireworks on the beach was when I was in the MDR Boat parade. So I was up close and personal with them when that shot was taken. Extra cool.

Enjoy...

Snow Globe Los Angeles from All Cut Up Films on Vimeo.

Nice! Right?

Keith

Upcoming holiday notes...

2011-11-18T09:19:00.000-08:00

GIVING THANKS
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

A few years ago we did a family trip to Florida for a Thanksgiving Holiday. Ended up at a sports bar in Datona Beach where they were having holiday dinner of a big turkey leg and all the fixin's for a rather affordable deal price. We all had a nice vacation and toured the new places.

What will this next Thanksgiving be...

I'll remember the important things and be Thankful for my life and the blessings around us.

I have a new Grand Niece.
I have a Son in College. ( Boise State )
I have a Son on the Water Polo team ( Venice H S )
- and likely the Baseball and basketball teams as well.
I have some good friends
I have a supportive family.
- Mom, Sisters, Brother etc.

Just a few of the things I'm Thankful for.

Keith

Emerald Bay - Oct 2011

2011-11-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

Nice little "Guys" boating weekend to Emerald Bay at Catalina with DRYC and to play at the Boy Scout Camp. Thanks to the help of the DRYC cruise coordination we got to use the camp and play as if we were kids again.

Thomas and I took Thomas' friend Daniel and his dad Steve to spend the weekend on the boat. We got a nice inside spot not far from the pier. The crossing on Friday was smooth. The boys spent much on the time on the helm. Thomas has a great boat sense and I trust him on the helm.

What a nice change to relax and visit in the salon while the young men are up on top with sharp eyes out for float-sum and tanker ships. Steve and I had a good visit below. Relaxing.

The activities on shore stared Friday with a tour of the Eco Station and the aquariums. There is a very nice science center at the location. Good for kids and future science majors. There was one big sea hare in the touch the sharks tank that was able to scoot along fast until he was disturbed. Very interesting.

Saturday was nice camp experiences. Shooting... 22's, Arrows, Shotgun (trap style), 22's, pottery, Canoe races, hike about. We got much better on the targets the second time at the 22's. The shotgun shooting was fun. Typical 5 rounds each turn. Just enough to figure it out.

The lark was the Canoe races. I started to challenge a few folks to a $5 side bet on the Canoeing. Little did I know I started to pick a Lot of interest. We eventually filled every canoe that they had with 2 man teams. Thomas and Daniel were confident that they would beat their dads. Little did they know it takes a bit of skill and practice to effectively maneuver a canoe. Steve and I have the background of having mastered this in previous (more youthful times) canoe experiences. We smoked them all.

Steve and I in the foreground. Thomas and Daniel in the blue canoe.

Luckily we got paid by a few of the race competitors. We even accepted the souvenir shop coupons. So Steve and I wet up to the shop and bought a souvenir and the proceeds go to the scout camp.

After the race Thomas and Daniel went to rescue a fellow DRYC boat form a prop that was wrapped on the Sand Line. I'm very proud of his water skills and confidence. Using snorkel only they got the line off. It was wrapped 7 times or so. Good going.

The last day we tried to fish a little but were having a hard time of it. eventually Steve managed a nice sheepshead and we called it a victory! Then we headed for home.

Fish Wish Granted. Nice Weekend at the island with my son.

Fishing Dad,

Keith

Turning the big Five Oh

2011-09-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

Had a nice Birthday weekend the last weekend of August.

If anything can make turning the big 5 0 less painful it is good friends comming out to day Happy Birthday. And they had to make a journey to get there. We partied it up in Avalon. My happy place.

Night one was a nice dinner on the boat. Friends who came all the way from Monterey were able to joint us our on Ramblin and Mutual Fun for Thursday nights dinner.

I was so happy to share the sights and the Avalon experience with Kevin and Joanna. They seemed to love it up.

Friday we set up for a nice Beach BBQ and dinner out at Pebbly Beach with the help of Rocky. The food was terrific as rocky had his BBQ and Smoker going.

Then on Saturday after a nice day of relacing on the water side we went further ashore for a fabulous high end eating experience at the Catalina Island Country Club.

I will always remember the welcome I got as I walked up the hill and the gathering came out on the balcony and sang happy birthday as I arrived. Very touched by that. Thank you to all of you.

It was a magnificent experience to have such goof food and such good company. Wine flowed and good conversation went around the table from all corners.

And we ate. Then Ate. Then ate more.

One of my oldest friends Kevin was on hand.

Half of my friends who came out to my birthday party in Avalon a few weeks ago gave me various bottles of beer for my B-Day gifts. So very darned nice of them to appreciate my love of beer. Maybe they noticed it in all my Facebook posts and in my hand in so many of my fishing photos.

Sunday a few of us got in some golf. Here Thomas and I are preparing to tee it up on number 8

Sunday night we were more mellow. Having been moved to a choice 30 foot mooring we relaxed on the back of the boat.

We sat on the back of the boat and took in the views. Nice Yes?

Fish Wish Granted.

Thank you to those who came. Thank you to those who remembered with a card or a call.

Sincerely,

Keith

Wolf Pack Trip on My Susy

2011-08-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

4 DRYC fishermen on the 70 foot My Susy had a long fun ride out for Tuna. On board was Marty S. (captain), Richard S., Larry G. and myself.

One of the reasons we went is that Marty wanted to run his boat to San Diego. And to be part of the Wolf Pack to share fishing info between friends boats. Unfortunately none of the fellow boats in the DRYC Wolf Pack wanted to go the distance to find them down south. So we were a pack of One!

Sunday...

We all arrived and stocked the boat late in the evening. Barely boarded in time to pick up bait at the docks before they closed at 6 pm. Left MDR as the last light faded. Marty set us up a Night Run from MDR to the fishing grounds. I had the 3 am to 5 am watch. I forced myself to go to bed early. Did not go back to bed at my watch end, went aft to set up and sort the tackle. Had too much to choose from and many options to be worked out. Marty had a wide array of rods, reels, lures and terminal tackle. Fun.

Monday...
We fished at the Butterfly Bank. Nothing in the flat waters in the early am. Then when we turned for Ensenada (for tele-com repairs) we eventually came across the area with fish. As reported these fish had Lock Jaw. Very boat shy. It was so frustrating to see tuna breaking the surface (more than once near the boat) and no bites! Not on the troll or live bait. Saw whales, dolphin, tuna, bait. - nice day on the smooth water.

Tuesday...
Todos Santos area south of Ensenada. No yellowtail. No good bites on the local bottom fish. We tried and Larry only landed one good keeper red rock fish. the various Ling Cod were all successfully released. I've got the opinion that Ling Cod with their toothy head look very prehistoric. AND are more trouble to clean than they are worth.

Night Run from Todos Santos to the fishing gounds and the tuna.

Wednesday...
Once we got down to the numbers over the "Airplane Bank" we did find the fish. The first fish came over the rail around 7:50 am. I had it on the troller. Larry put out the live baits. Then we switched it up and Larry boated a trolled fish or two. Next we put Richard S on a few of the Trolled Tuna. Marty wanted his on live line and tried a few casts as we stopped for a tolling stop. Marty did however spend a lot of time keeping the boat aligned so the boat did not get in the trough. He is a good boatsman. However the waves and wind built up fast and we had to give up and turn for home with only 11 fish on deck from 13 to 20 lbs. Weds 08-17-2011 we fished the area 150 miles south of San Diego at 166 degrees. A long run up hill from there in big seas got us very salt encrusted. Even in the top most decks of the boat got the spray. Wow.

Richard and I get a quick pose after we weighed them up.

Nice to catch them.

Thursday...
We overnighted up (set more watches) and eventually drifted in the lee of the Coronados Islands until the sun came up. We needed the rest. We fished some there with little baits and lures. No bites at all. Then we moved up over the 9 Mile Bank for a few minutes of marlin trolling. I think this was just a small detour that Marty did to satisfy my itch. Smooth and glassy water made it easy going and we found kelp paddies to cast on. No yellowtails at Coronados or on the paddies. So we eventually turned in for the customs stop in San Diego and docking at the SDYC. Nice evening. We cleaned up and ate at the club. Sweet.

Friday...
It was a lazy day in the harbor. Richard and I walked the docks and the amazing SDYC facility. We really got an eye full of beautiful boats. We redocked the boat at a location where My Susy could stay for the longer term. I dove home. Tired. Feeling rewarded to have Tuna to go into the freezer. Looking forward to my next trip out to Catalina for a family and friends vacation. No hard core fishing for a few days. At least until the marlin tournament(s).

Special thanks goes to the Crew and Captain of the My Susy. Good guys to boat with.

Fish Wish Granted. It went well.

Keith

Friday morning thoughts...

2011-08-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

Lately I have had some big ups and downs.

Then this thought crossed my mind. "Savor small joys."

So I made this post of Facebook:

Small joys need to be savored. The hug form a child. A fresh razor blade to shave with. The first cooling sips of your 5 o'clock margarita. TGIF to all you FBook friends.
BTW, What small joys did you savor this week?

As I get to experience a nice little this and that. I must savor it. Find a way to savor the marrow of the every day experiences or I will drive myself crazy. This after finally putting on a fresh razor blade this morning?!?!?

I visited with some family last night. Reconnected with my sister. She is in town with her grandson Luke. I got a few hugs from him over the last couple of days. He is 4 years old. Not even in kindergarten yet. He loves cars. He and my 14 year old boy went to Lego Land on Tuesday. Thomas stuck with Luke and was a good cousin.

My sister and mom shared tales of how responsible and kind my big (high school freshman in 3 weeks) son was with the little 4 year old. Playing with Lego. Waiting in long lines with Luke. Not taking the time to ride any big kids rides at all. Preferring to hang out and make sure that Luke had a good time.

I'm proud of him. My son Thomas.

BTW I took him down to the docks last week (July 26th) and had him come with us as a Fishing Mentor with a bunch of kids form Mychals Learning Place. he worked with the special needs kids to help them experience a bit of fishing. Part of the MDRAnglers youth fishing program. It was cool that he helped. He did well. I did have to sneak it up on him. He would not have volunteered to do it as he does not enjoy fishing like I do. But he did say he was OK with it after the fact.

Thomas on the far right with the kids. It was a very good day of fishing and of catching.

But that leads to another story about the fishing.

The small joys. Time spent on the water.

Seeing your son blossom into a caring individual.

Sharing.

Fishing Dad is very happy about that.

Keith L.

Wow

2011-07-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

One of the top predators in the sea... Swordfish

Spotted in an unusual place.

http://youtu.be/6YU_h-DiQ0U

This is a lucky photograph/Vid moment.

KL

Sunday on the Santa Monica Bay - Jeffery's Big Day

2011-06-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

Out on the Ramblin' and got into some great fishing action on Sunday. 6/26/2011

We Got Em'! We were very lucky. We got very big fish. Jeffery was the lucky angler and he got 2 monster fish! Maybe it’s a payback from over tipping the bait guy.

We left Marina Del Rey harbor at the same time that the New Del Mar was making it out of the Breakwater. Headed south. We metered some good looking marks just north of the fleet of boats off of Redondo Beach. So we set up and fished. It was a while but we all got into the groove. Then Jeff hooked up. He gingerly worked it for a long time. It came up slowly. Then we saw the nice halibut and decided quickly to switch from net to gaff.

Jeffery's morning Halibut

I gaffed it and brought it over the transom through the aft door. Would have been smoother if Carl had not looked over my shoulder to see the fish. I bopped him in the eye with the gaff. Ooops. Sorry Carl. Hope the ice helped.

We relaxed a bit. Most of the fleet moved off to fish other areas. We stayed. We relaxed and kept at it. Then moved in tighter to where the fleet had moved from. Carl again picked a spot to anchor next to some good meter marks.

A few other fish came up for us. The Rays teased us with visions of WSB in our heads. Then Jeff got his second one. Jeff was on it. It had hit hard. A major bendo'. He followed the fish forward up the rail. Following the fish Under the anchor rode on the bow. Carl followed behind to hold his belt when transiting the narrow parts and to back him up if the boat rocked. Eventually Carl even gaffed the fish on the bow.

Jeffery's afternoon White Seabass

We kept only these two fish. However these beasts are worth braggin' about.

We got Halibut, White Seabass, Barracuda, and Rays within sight of the blue whale wall in Redondo Beach. The Barracuda and misc fish were released. I missed my chance to get one. It came unbuttoned with a bit of the fishes jaw attached to the hook. It had been in the rod holder and was too tight of a drag while we fooled around with the fresh one on deck.

Jeffery was the definitely the hot stick. All three of us DRYC guys on boat were blanked on the elusive White Seabass. My brother Carl. My dock mate David of the boat Top Dog. Carl, Jeffery and I are active members of Marina Del Rey Anglers. Carl and David are members at the Avalon Tuna club. All of us can and do get fish. It was just Jeffery's big day.

We headed in around 4 pm. It was a fine blue sky day with really nice weather and not any problems with the swell.

At the Marina Del Rey Fuel Dock

Unfortunately the Del Rey Fuels fish weigh-in hoist was not rigged with any lines or pulley. So we were out of luck to get an officially weighted in weight slip there.

Then we used a scale at Del Rey Yacht Club on their hoist. Since Jeffery and I had a bet as to the real size of the Halibut we needed an accurate scale. Carl just happened to have one.

Here are the Proof in the certified scale photos! First the Halibut.

When we got this one it measured out at 44 inches. I was sure it was closer to 36 lbs. Jeff was sure it was a 40 pound fish. Jeff won as it came in at 39lbs.

Then the Beast of the White Seabass

Jeffery had cared for the fish nicely in ice and careful to not bruise the meat. When it came out of the kill bag it still looked great. What do you think of this photo?

Only problematic issue with such big fish is you need a lot of ice and a lot of time to clean and package the meat. We felt like we were butchering a full cow it was so much work. In order to have a nice space to work on the fish we went over to Burton Chase park to the Fish Cleaning station in the park. It was a great space to do the butchering. We saved the WSB head for the research program.

In the end, my Fish Wish was granted… We had some fun!

Sincerely,

Keith
skipper of the Ramblin'

PS Thanks goes to Philip Friedman for his Facebook and Patch.com posts. His reporting helped me get my brother and some fishing buddies out on the water.

PPS WSB Fishing Tips...
Look at the tide charts and fish AM or PM hours during the best tide swing. Use a very light dragg on the pick up. Always have the freshest bait. Try not to ever leave the rail. Once hooked never let your rod lose it's bend. Speak up once hooked, tell your fellow fishermen to move as needed. Over or under as needed to follow your fish around the boat. It will take some time to bring these big fish to the boat! Cooperation is a must.

Fishing for White Seabass at Santa Barbara Island

2011-06-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday the 14th the news was White F'n Open on White Seabass at Santa Barbara Island.

I got my work done and booked a passage on a sport boat. few can take midweek days off and go with me on my boat. If I'm on my boat I'm stressen' a lot of issues. Tide. Bait. Lines. Fuel calcs. Food and galley issues. Navigation. Captain. Gally Guy. Gilligan clearing lines and tying knots. Simple stuff like worrying about the health of the bait and where to anchor up is enough to tax the weekend warrior like me. I wanted to relax and fish!

So with the help of a fellow MDRA member steve Santin we picked the Toronado out of Peirpoint landeing in Long Beach. Had to wait until Friday. Hoping the bite had not ended by then.

Here is my Fish Report for the Friday, 6/17/2011, fishing on the Toronado. Left Pierpoint after 10 pm on Thursday and they went to my favorite target for WSB of SBI. A bit damp and misty but not that this would stop me from being out on the deck to tie up my rigs. I brought 5 rods (and used all 5)

I had an iron w/ glow paint rigged & ready on a spinner for casting as we arrived and was casting hoping for the first fish. Tossed that in the dark as we set up and anchored. The WSB did not show until much later when the chum brought them around around sunrise. I got one on the dropper loop in the middle of the bigger of the first two good runs of bites. It went approx 12 1/2 lbs. Very Tasty.

Then most of the AM they would breeze through and pop up as a 1 or 2 fish hook up. One short woman angler was always under the boat with a squid and got her 3 fish limit. So it was not the casting that mattered.

On the second big run of fish a 14 lb fish got on my line and the crew gaffed it at the corner and pulled in the fish and several lines to be freed up after we got the WSB on the deck.

One guy (Tennyson) worked it with long casts and finesse on the reel to hook and pass off several fish and also landed a 30# fish to take a big healthy jackpot. ($380) I look forward to seeing him again around Avalon for the marlin tournaments this season.

Special Note... The Crew and Deck Hands of the Toronado were helpful and cheery and fun. (some were noting the pleasant change here) I was happy to be on a open charter boat with good people. AND it seemed that the customers were very cooperative. No one tried to "own" the corner and most were very cooperative on over and under to follow the lines. Maybe that was because it was a week day and the folks on this trip were all there because they knew WSB limits had just changed to 3 fish. IE. There were folks on this boat who get it.

End Result... 26 fish for the boat. 2 for me. Fishing was good. water was calm and pleasant. Trip was relaxing and Fun. Fish Wish Granted. It was a very good trip to SBI to get White Seabass.

Tight Lines,

Keith

PS - Steve got blanked on the WSB like I did last year on a simular trip. ouch.

Golf Day

2011-04-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

Spent yesterday playing gold and then high times in the “Old Place” OMG this was so cool.

First we had a round of 18 holes of great golf as a foursome at Malibu Country Club. It was great weather and hot but not too hot. The golf was fun and the betting of skins was merciful light. Jeff, Nick and Brooks were good fun company. I did my fair share of good Drives and Putts. Yet I did burn through a few golf balls. The course is narrow for us duffers. If you have an inopportune hook or slice just leave it to the snakes in that wild rough.

We had many great shots by each of the golfers.. Nick has the best come from behind put on from the fringe that dropped in after a 30+ foot roll down hill and kept Jeffery from going up another skin. I had several long tee shots that landed on the green for a chance at "Greenie" side bet wins. And I got one! This doubles the winnings on that hole.

Then after the round Jeffery and I did a second 9 holes in a fresh golf cart (it is a long course with lots of hills). They even made us a deal on the price of the play as it was getting very late in the day. So Brook and Nick headed home. Jeff and I went on to play a bunch more holes and basically had the course to ourselves.

Delightful cool air and nice lingering light left us out there for a long time. It was so invigorating we kept at it for a long time. So fun.

I’m feeling a bit whooped from a total of 31 holes of golf! Jeffery then took me to get a steak dinner. A super cool place. The wine and steak and beer and banana bread pudding we had last night at the Old Place put me back in shape some. He knew what he was doing. He had been here many times before.

I was impressed with how much fun it was. Wine, Beer, Clams and STEAK. A short menu. Really fun modern update in an OLD western bar that has been there for YEARS.

http://www.oldplacecornell.com/

Dear Reader... Road Trip Tip: If you visit Los Angeles I suggest you rent a convertible so you can drive up the coast of Malibu on a sunny day. And then back via our little bit of “Out Back” of the Santa Monica Mountains. Drive home a back way up Kanan Road and some via Mulholland Hwy. A serpentine snake of a road that will be fun in a convertible and when you have no timetable to have to keep. Then do stop here. Drop out to the Freeway 101 down to 405 and home.

Weekend Warrior Fishing Tournament

2011-04-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

Fished in the MDRA Weekend Warrior Jackpot Tournament and Chili Cook Off.

I'm pleased to say I had a great team 4 of easy going fishing friends. 3 are newer members of MDRA. For a total of 5 fishermen on board if you count me, the captain. Yep I even get to wet a line.

Darrell was the anchor man who had me down to get bait the day before. And has an eye on a spot we wanted to work hard. He has been watching the area and the birds diving on bait in that spot for some time. John S. was the ace in the hole and cook. Penelope, now a second year member, also did a bit of cooking to add some spice to the chili. Jose G. the newest member of the MDRA Board of Directors was also on board to round us out.

Here we are picking up a bit more bait to make sure we have plenty.

Darrell and Penelope on Ramblin'

It was a steller day. Blue sky and smooth water. Also comfortable to fish in. Not too hot.

Here is a nice view we had in the harbor. The Coast Guard Cutter was out. The Betty-O was moving to go pick up her passengers for the day. The sun was up and the Harbor was ALIVE!

Fish Wish Granted: I/We had a great day on the water with some fun people. All happy crew!

We even got half the jackpot for our Chili contribution!

Sincerely,

Keith L.

Below is the area we Rambled about...

View 2011-04-16 Fishing on Ramblin' in a larger map

April - name of the month finally figured out

2011-04-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

There was this cute chick that Cesar Whatchamacallit was really sweet on...

and her name was "April" so to entice her into his parlor Cesar named a whole month in her honor.

He lavished a Month of celebrations called April and had parades for her.

It didn't work but she had a nice shopping spree on his charge accounts.

His mistake was the parades with all the hunky young men dancing before her all day.

She took 10 of them home instead to her new mountain retreat. She lived long and happily having multiple men satisfy her every day.

April is a Happy Month. The Ladies typically get their man/men in the Spring.

Recalling the best fishing prank ever pulled on me.

2011-03-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

In a Marlin Tournament Long ago I had a fishing prank pulled on me.

Riding on a 55 foot Hatteras I think. Owned by a Doctor. MDRA member a long ago. (before my first boat)

The owner hooked up a bucket onto a trolling rod... Reel screams! They are yelling to me that it's my fish. I'm in the top of the tuna tower. Scrambled all the way down to the deck and fought it until I saw the white bucket roll up. Doha. Good for Smiles all around.

I was young and green enough not to realize that I was being played from the get go as you never leave the cockpit area when you are "On" and are the next up in the rotation.

But I was brought along for my young and good eyes not for my fishing smarts. There was a paid captain and a paid deck hand aboard for the thinking and tying the knots.

I was delivered sandwiches by the owner who did tinker tasks and galley work for the fun of it. He sure had a lowered stress level once on the boat like that. He was as mellow as any boat owner on the water I have ever seen. But he loved to win when the fish came tight!

Good memories. Just one of the many marlin boats I've had the pleasure to be on.

Thanks for the Fishing Memories.

Sending our best thoughts for strength to Scott and Jean

2011-02-19T12:27:00.000-08:00

Our good friends boat has been captured by Somali Pirates. We are praying for them.

"officials said they are considering a response " Hope so. Hope that they get them back soonest.

They are good sane people. They were now on the the leg of a vacation of a lifetime that heads up to the Med. They were well aware of the situation and are very capable sailors.

The flotilla they joined was supposed to have some support to help avoid this.

Their many friends are all pulling for their safe return.

They were not taking bibles into the middle east. Some things are way overdone in the news and of course in the stupid blather of reply posts.

Many of the DRYC members are being very cautious as to what we say to any public media. We do not want to be part of the story or to inflame any of the nut-jobs out there. The US State Department will do it's best.

Pulling for the safe return of our friends.

Key To A Happy Marriage-and Life: Think Like an Economist

2011-02-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

I am very appreciative of the points made here in this article...

Key To A Happy Marriage-and Life: Think Like an Economist

Now that I have reached 20 years of marriage I feel the need to figure this out as I am sliding into the second 20 years of this roller coaster. We have traded PMS for Hot flashes. We have the moodiness of two teen age boys in the house. Not to mention I have my own issues and a home office and some work that needs to be done. (I'm always behind with more to do than can be done) - but I digress... This article about the economics of married life is good.

I read that article and it got me thinking. (see above link)

- Recalling the time I was summarily dismissed from doing laundry since I was not doing it right. I therefore give no credence to her nagging that she has to do the laundry.
- It is unreasonable for "her" to badger "him" (nag/harangue/torment) when having attempted to be participatory and helpful was told NO.

Similarly it can be just the same from "his" viewpoint, when he works and "she" does not, for him to have to do dishes. Seems fair to him when she does not help him do his dirty work like doing his filing.

Allowing for the economic sharing of the good stuff (Love/sex/intimacy) also needs balance in appreciating how much each in his/her own way each shares the drudgery of respective work and chores.

Life in a partnership is hard. Hard choices need to be talked about fairly. If putting it in the framework of Economics is the way to get it to make since to your partner. Hoot. Maybe some marital harmony is achieved.

KL.

PS I was alone on my wedding anniversary so I had time to read. Trish is in Hawaii. I sent her flowers. She left me a store bought card. with "Open on Feb 9th" on it.

PPS Special thank you to Ainahua Florals in Kamuela. The arrangement that was delivered to the The Fairmont Orchid where Trish was staying were lovely.

MLPA fight - Fight for openness and public access

2011-02-07T22:43:00.000-08:00

If you know what MLPA stands for you are likely a fisherman or an ocean environmental activist.

That seems to be the two sides. But there are a lot of Californians in the middle that is drowned out by the two sets of extrema.

Partnership for Sustainable Oceans is bing misrepresented on
http://www.somethingsfishyaboutpso.com/
As if PSO is some front for money grabbing foreign corporations.

We really need to set up much better duologue with the other side of this issue.
The Brown Act violations are there for all to see. (See WONews articles)

Now if the legal thing works... we will need Fair and Balanced board members to redraw in a public way with ALL input considered fairly.

Hopefully the next set of board members will be inclusive. All users of the states natural resources need to be represented. And balanced with reasonless given to the economic and practical impacts to the fishing community. But in the end the goal is the enduring health of the ocean.

We all can agree to that last part. Both the environmental protection types and the Fishermen (conserve and protect while still usable / conservationists).

OK? "Can we all just get along?"

In the last round of the Enviro's running rough shod over the fishing interests it seems like we fishermen took that Rodney King like beating. But the failure to follow the rules of fair play is there as if on video tape.

Can we say Brown Act violations?
SECRET MLPA MEETINGS - on W O News
and
Coalition Exposes Secret MLPA Meetings - Indybay.org

etc.

We want to be nice to mother nature.

But we do not want the system to abuse those who want to go out and enjoy the fun in the sun on the water.

IMHO

Keith

PS more edits on this will be coming over time.

Super Bowl Commercials

2011-02-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

How'd you like the Snickers commercial folks?

Did it work for you? I did not know the actor playing the chain say guy out of sorts.
“just not feeling it…”

Did You like seeing the other worker in Rosanne persona get flattened?

Some may have really laughed at that. Funniest part is that I did not laugh at all.
Must have been the employer side of me seeing the CAL OSHA law suit that results from that hit. And I felt anxiety over the pain suffering and law suit that results. That was odd. Not happy or funny at all.

As I am a big Snickers candy bar fan I would have hoped for a better advert. But this one will not affect my buying habit so it is moot for the manufacturer.

What one of the commercials Will affect your buying tendencies?

Keith L.

homework is tough on parents too

2011-01-18T13:01:00.000-08:00

Wow. Getting the kids to do the homework is not easy on us parents.

Thomas does not do it willingly. Ouched myself pounding on the desk to make a point. 2 hours after my deadline to have it done by or loose your cell phone. (which he had back in his pocket by the time he was off to school - as Mom required for her convenience. ) Now I need to get my head around this. Algebra is hard for all of us. Putting it off does not make it easier. How do I get Thomas to see that. Looking for help.

Just watched this Ted - about the future of education and that we need to work for.

And saw an interesting one on math. Well on point for me and Thomas today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIIWzEEC64A
it is 16 min long. But worth it in the end.

Keith

Mammoth short Ski trip - January 2011

2011-01-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

Did a little sking with family on the first week of January. We were rewarded with blue sky's and nice snow.

The mountain has lots of snow. The signpost on the top is so thoroughly covered...

This post is Tall. Look how small it is now!

Mid week skiing is the best. Short lines. Enough room on the slopes for me to get in the high speed runs I crave. Took some great runs.

I flew home on a Horizon Air flight out of Mammoth Lakes to get back to work. The plane was a Bombardier Q400. Wow was I impressed. Liked it. Would happily fly up or down from Los Angeles to Mammoth Lakes again in that plane.

Snapped a shot of it. Then sent it on to my sister in law in Idaho. Hope she got a laugh out of this.

The flight was smooth and pleasant. Now that I know they can toss a lot of skis in the back it will be a highly recommended option for skiing friends.

Keith L.

Jets v Sharks

2010-12-31T10:37:00.000-08:00

We went to see West Side Story at the Pantages Theater. Matinee, on Dec.30th.

A good outing that the Holiday spirit enabled us to decide "what the heck let's spring for it" and get a set of 5 tickets. The show was excellent. Such great casting and fine performances. Hoping that Thomas and his middle school stage crew experiences are giving Thomas a good wide eye experience here.

Ryan says he liked it a lot. Did not get the camera out. Darn it. And they both looked so good.

Then Dinner out for some Sushi. Nice. Fun.

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

It was good. It was Cozy. Everyone got a Stocking. Even the Dog liked his Christmas Stocking stuffers!

Santa did his thing and put the Stockings out for the boys in the morning. The boys forgot to leave out a milk for Santa. Will have to give them a reminder to do so for next year. Santa and Mrs Santa put in lots of extra time to get the stuff under the tree on Xmas Eve. Need the nourishment.

Thanks to a visit form Trisha's brother we had extra love in the house. We even made the journey out to Malibu to see the rest of the family later in the day. Not quite Over the Hills and Through the Woods but a nice little vehicular drive. Ryan used his new license to take his Chevy out and show it off to his cousins. Both of whom were suitably impressed.

In the end. Smooth Sailing. Happy Christmas memories. Many of the best gifts were clothing not toys. We are all older now and appreciate the best gift of all. Each other.

Lots of Love was Shared!

KL

(PS one of the side items was Thomas getting the fixi rims he just had to have on Xmas Eve. He really is enjoying his fixed gear bike. A fun bike that takes bike riding to a new level. Fwd or Backwards.)

Let it snow

2010-12-23T21:29:00.000-08:00

OK so we get our plans together. Arrange a place. Drive up in wild weather. Spend three days skiing in Mammoth with the biggest dump of snow all season landing on us. What? Do it again?

Yes we would. We had a great time.

I almost posted to my Twitter account a stupid line like "A snowflake went up my nose and I liked it" just after this photo was taken. The snow started to fall hard and Big Flakes too. We had to retreat indoors to finish the beer.

My new ski boots (merry Xmas to me) were great. No bind or pinch. Fit great. Thanks to Doc's Ski Haus in Santa Monica and to a break in run at Virtual Snow with a break in routine that Bob Salerno recommended. My boots worked great. New Atomic Hawx. Like the new flex grooves in them.

Next Xmas is new Ski and Bindings.

Special "Thanks" to the Santen family who let us join them in their cabin/condo.

It was a good vacation. Thomas on his snowboard did more skiing than Ryan on his skis. Wow was he doing good. Carving it up. Will have to make a video of that part.

Steep and Deep. Just like Trisha likes it.

Ski Wish Was Granted. A good vacation.

Keith

Merry Christmas to all.

2010-12-16T10:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays from the Boaters of Marina Del Rey...

As shared by Keith and Trish down at the docks.

It was a very fun evening. "Just messing around with boats." is a famous quote that comes to mind.

And best wishes for a terrific new year.

Keith

Fishin' on the Freedom

2010-11-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

Was hearing that Santa Barbara Island was providing some very respectable action on Yellowtails. Wanted to go. Not enough prep time for my boat (and to set up people to split fuel cost with) so I decided to go on the Freedom out of 22nd Street landing.

A good choice. Good boat and good teamwork from the crew and the mostly cooperative fellow paying passengers. We got to enjoy the very smooth water and mostly the weather was sweet for fishing.

The Freedom had plenty of bait and chummed up the fish needed. However I was not one of the lucky ones to pick up a White Seabass or a Yellowtail. there where 14 Yellowtails for the 29 anglers on board. I did get the first fish of the day. A whitefish of respectable size. But not worth a photo.

We had a few boats near us at SBI

I took this self portrait hoping to get a view of the rocks (behind my hat) so I could return to the spot next time I make the run to this island. I've got it in my mind. And Cesar on Killer Instinct was there right behind us getting some just down current from the chum we were dropping into the waters.

I pulled out my little hand held radio and tried to hail him. No luck as he never replied on any of the channels I tried. It did get the attention of the boat crew and captain. They were thinking I was a spy or FBI or worse. I took much ribbing. He noticed my hail on the radio and that the RDF showed the radio call coming from his boat. Then he had to come out and look for me. We watched as Team Killer Instinct boated fish.

Out luck was good in the morning. The downhill current was strong. The fish were tough. Some got away. 14 eventually were successfully brought aboard. The bigger ones were in the 30 to 35 pound class.

My little also ran fish were not of note or of quality to justify photos. Whitefish and rock fish etc. BTW some really nice quality Sheepshead also cam aboard. One angler of note was a very tenacious and successful 7 year old angler. The lucky ones got to pose with the Yellowtails.

Thanks to the boat crew. Nice fishing trip. I rested. I relaxed.

Fish wish of a good fishing trip was granted. No rain. Lovely sunset.

Next time... I'll catch a big one.

Keith <"><

Sunset Cruise

2010-11-06T10:10:00.000-07:00

Friday evening... What to do to make it fun.

We went for a harbor sunset cruise. The water lately has been flat. Very Flat.

So flat that we could call it Lake Santa Monica. Wow was the water smooth.

We had a lovely little run out to in front of Santa Monica and back. The sunset was very nice.

Trish an Theresa enjoyed the show and served up plenty of appetizers.

A nice little run on the Ramblin'.

Keith

Holloween tips to pass along...

2010-10-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

Just in case you have forgotten the rules for a safe and Happy Halloween.

1. When it appears that you have killed the monster, NEVER
check to see if it's really dead.

2. Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a
joke.

3. Do not search the basement, especially if the power has
gone out.

4. If your children speak to you in Latin or any other
language which they should not know, shoot them
immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the long
run. However, it will probably take several rounds to kill
them, so be prepared. This also applies to kids who speak
with somebody else's voice.

5. When you have the benefit of numbers, NEVER pair off
and go it alone.

6. As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open por-
tals to Hell.

7. Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt.
This would apply to any other house of the dead as well.

8. If you're searching for something which caused a loud
noise and find out that it's just the cat, GET THE HELL
OUT!

9. If appliances start operating by themselves, do not
check for short circuits; just get out!

10. Do not take ANYTHING from the dead.

11. If you find a town which looks deserted, there's pro-
bably a good reason for it. Don't stop and look around.

12. Don't fool with recombinant DNA technology unless
you're sure you know what you're doing.

13. If you're running from the monster, expect to trip
or fall down at least twice. Also note that, despite the
fact that you are running and the monster is merely shamb-
ling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up
with you.

14. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit un-
characteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for
blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on,
kill them immediately.

15. Stay away from certain geographical locations, some
of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Tran-
sylvania, Nilbog (you're in trouble if you recognize
this one), the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in
Maine (or Alabama).

16. If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road,
do not go to the nearby deserted looking house to phone
for help. If you think that it is strange because you
thought you had half of a tank, shoot yourself instead.
You are going to die anyway, and most likely be eaten.

17. If you find that your house is built upon a cemetery,
now is the time to move in with the in-laws. This applies
to houses that had previous inhabitants who went mad or
died in some horrible fashion, or had inhabitants who
performed satanic practices in your house.

Family - Recent Wedding

2010-10-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

My Nephew Joe... Is a source of Pride to the Family.

My sister Rosemary has a son Joe.
My sister Shelly has a daughter Michelle.
My brother Carl has a daughter Kristen.

All of whom are great kids and have made the family Proud. However Joe went to the Navel Academy and has had a very successful career diving navy ships. And many tales have come from his experiences.

Taking my two boys to visit him when he was an officer at Annapolis was a special memory for Ryan and Thomas as well as for me (Dad and Uncle)

Well I missed being at Joey's recent Wedding this summer. I sure would have loved to have been there. Thinking back on it I really would have liked to have been there. Ryan and Thomas told us after the fact that we should have sent them and stayed home to save money. Could have been just me. Nope. Just the boys. Nope. All 4 of us or none. Did not work out for us all to go. Missed it. But These shots are cool.

**They are low res. Get the full sized ones or prints via...
http://www.pictage.com/client/event.do?event=914502

the Family

Joe and Cassy

Joe with Lyle and Rose

Joe with Lillie and George

Love that Family shot. Wishing I was there to add my arm of the family tree to it. Keith, Trish, Ryan & Thomas would have filed that out to the last level of our branch of the family.

Family gatherings are important. Proud of them all...

AND

Congrats to Joe for his wedding this Sept. 18th to Cassy.

The Bells up in Avalon.

2010-10-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

I liked this...

Youtube.com Video on the Bell Tower of Avalon

Family Trip - Memorial Day weekend of 2010

2010-09-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Did I forget to post about the Family trip on the boat to Catalina!

We had fun. We used the new Generator. And had a new head installed. Both were installed in the last 72 hours prior to leaving for this big first trip of the season. Wow that was fast. Good Job to Karl of C&C Marine in MDR. Thanks.

We side tied up with a future commodore. Jim is a fun guy to hang with. Here is Thomas in purple.

And Thomas Driving us in the Dingy. We are off to shore for food and entertainment.
Thomas and Ryan did very well. Trish enjoyed nice hot coffee from the new power source.

Does that look like a Happy and Content mom. Lunging on the back of her boat in the early morning sunshine. By this time I think the boys were out riding on a jet ski or maybe still sleeping in. Whatever it is their vacation too.

We had fun. They had fun. Did a little fishing too. Taught a Sailboating member how to get some great tasting sheepshead. Now I'm having second thoughts about showing him my "secret spot" outside of Cat Harbor. he he he.

Fish Wish Granted... We all had a good time.

My new "Pet Peeve" at the docks - Water Hose

2010-06-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

OK so care on the boat is taken to keep things clean and ship shape. Lots of stuff to look into and clean.

No boat owner would put bad oil into their engine. But by being slack with the garden hose on the dock they may end up putting bad and polluting stuff into the drinking water system.

We carry fresh water. We have to refill it often at the dock. So the hose needs to be a clean hose!

If you leave your hose out with no end on the hose stuff can get into the hose. Not good. If it is allowed to dangle into the ocean water the many sea creatures will take up residence. There is not anti-fouling paint on that hose lining and the many little sea creatures will set up shop in HOURS. Leaving the hose end dangling like in this photo just overnight will be enough to potentially pollute your full fresh water drinking system if you use it to fill your water tanks.

This is how a water hose on the dock gets hosed. Wrapping it around the Dock Box seems OK. It makes it tidy. But for how long. It is not safe to leave a hose with a free end that can get dropped into the water. It needs and end to keep it safe or to be put away inside the dock box.

Here is the rub... we do not want to leave hose spray nosels on the end as the many dock washers steal them, take it to the next job or whatever. How annoying.

So what are you going to do about it? Post your reply.

What is your plan to keep your drinking water aboard your boat SAFE!

Keith

Fishing with club on the Betty-O

2010-06-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

I went out with my fishing club, the MDRAnglers, on a local fishing trip aboard the Betty-O. Wow. Nice Weather. Nice fishing. Good time on the water. Several of the drifts were productive. The variety was good. Calico, Halibut, Rock fish etc.

The nice evening was a treat. The Betty-O served up good Burgers to order. Had plenty of cold drinks and warm drinks on hand.

Look for a few photos on the clubs Yahoo Group in the album called: 2010-6-9 Betty-O fishing trip. If you took a photo you can add to the album. Thanks to MDRA member Tom Jonynas for taking these shots.

I made a few new friends last night. I reconnected with a few fishing pals. I shared a few hearty laughs and many minor humorous incidents. Like when we tried to remember new knots we thought we had learned.

Fish Wish Granted. I had a nice night out fishing!

Sincerely,

Keith L. <"><

the "Joe Miller" fishing knot -

and the other one I needed to review was the ... ? Darn! What was it?
used to put a Fluorocarbon leader to the Spectra loop

Did not find it at...
http://www.netknots.com/html/fishing_knots.html

Fishing trip to Catalina - WSB Tournament

2010-05-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased to have been in the Western Outdoor News White Seabass Tournament for the second time. We went to Catalina on Friday May 14th and got a mooring at Two Harbors (aka The Isthmus). The event was Saturday and Sunday. Starting and ending with a group event on the beach at the grandstand.

Saturday morning was a Casting contest and Captains meeting and Raffle.

Hard core fishing all of Saturday afternoon - evening - night and Sunday morning. All back at the dock by noon Sunday. We fished most of the back side from near Little Harbor to Ben Westin Pt to the V's to Church Rock. No fish to brag about out of all that. But a very fun trip none the less.

Thanks goes to my team of Matt and Tim and Steve. Well done guys. I am eager to fish with them again.

Photos are worth a thousand words so here is the few photos and vids we took.

2010-05-15 WSB Tourn

In the end we saw some really nice fish and very nice prizes given to the other anglers who did get lucky. Congrats to each of them. Next year it will be Team Ramblin' on that podium.

Fish Wish Granted. We had a good fun trip.

Matt (who came down from Monterey) says he got refreshed and recharged from the trip out their with good guy time and away from the cares of the mainland and the work life. So there is a big success to be recognized.

If you were out there for the WSB recently please reply with your fish story.

Sincere wishes for tight lines,

Keith Lambert
---------------------~ <"><

Boat is being fixed up more.

2010-04-19T15:36:00.000-07:00

All boats take tender loving care. And this year we are finnaly finishing the painting started 3 years ago. Now the boat is wearing a complete new skin form top to bottom of Oyster White with a deep blue boot stripe and the classic Uniflite slash on the side of the house.

Our last section of hull was done this spring. A very big area. If anyone needs a high end painting service I cannot recommend anyone better than Prestige Boat Maintenance of Marina Del Rey. A real artist. Thank you to Luciano and crew. From the radar arch to the non-skid and on down to the water line. Great care.

The first step this season was to haul out and do a bottom paint job with anti-fouling paint. And to service the prop shafts and the strut bearings. Then we got started in the yard to prep the boat. Now it is done.

Feeling good about it. So now I want to get out and use her this season.

New "Fish Wish" is for lots of fair weather days for happy boating in 2010.

Keith L. <"><

New Commuter bus - Pier to Pier

2010-04-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

Malibuites will love this next time there is a mud slide or a fire. But would they use it to go see a play or to go to the opera downtown?

"Proposed new bus service from Malibu Pier to Santa Monica Pier will save many commuting hours for Malibu residents. Cool new boat bus design uses hydrofoil technology to efficiently get commuters into the city fast. With the new Boat Bus and the termination of the city metro rail line in Santa Monica at Colorado Blvd it will be possible to park at Malibu Pier and travel to Downtown Los Angeles!"

Got to love the Japanese design. Form and function match if you ask me.

Keith

Big day for Father & Son - Ryan's first Car

2010-03-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

What can you say... It is a big day for Ryan and a pretty cool one for Dad as well.

Helping my son with the purchase of his very first car. It is a event we have been working up to for some time. Test drove a clunker or two. Searched Craig's List and other online sites. Worked to get Mom on board to the idea. Setting expectations for what responsibilities he will have to live up too. Very important stuff.

Ryan found this car on his own with the help of a cousin who is local. It was a repetitively decent cared for vehicle that Dominic had recently picked up for a great deal. Then Dom wanted to move up and offered it to Ryan. He likes it a Lot.

Ryan loves the bigger cars and the classic American steel. Dad had planted the seeds for that long ago. When we were in Datona at a car show he liked an old original 1968 Pontiac the most out of many cars there.

Well the car is a full sized 1990 Chevy Caprice Classic. A nice body and a V 6 for enough power but not a gas hog of a V 8. No major dents. Plenty of shopping cart and parking lot dings. Original everything but the stereo and speakers. (Special thanks to Dominic) It has that very important new feature... An Ipod jack on the stereo! All the kids now days use the things as their personal jukebox.

Ryan has now had it for one day now and has given it a good bath. Vacuumed with the help of a good buddy. He is wearing a big smile that does not go away.

I'm happy for him. Luckily his boss at Virtual Snow called and said to come in and work today. He will need the money for the auto insurance. He has that responsibility. The ongoing costs of insurance and fuel etc.

Fish Wish Granted. My boy got a good car.

Keith <"><

New year - New season - New Bottom

2010-03-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

A friend said recently "nothing beats a beautiful rear end"

I think they got a point there. So We are making the bottom beautiful again. The M/V Ramblin' is getting bottom pain this week.

This week is off to a very busy and packed week of many shades of work and life activity.

Wow.

More on the next post.

Keith

Mammoth Ski Trip number 4

2010-02-08T22:01:00.000-08:00

Drove up on Friday the 5th. Skied on Sat. the 6th in snowy conditions. Skied Sunday the 7th until Superbowl time. Ryan and I staked out the prime spot to watch the game in front of the big screen TV at the main lodge bar called Tusks. And skied some in Sunshine on Monday the 8th.

4 days including travel. 2 and 1/2 days on the slopes. Lots of fresh snow to play in. And skied in 4 to 8 inches of Fresh Powder!

Very Nice. Glad we went.

Mammoth-Trip4

Ampted to to to to Go Again

2010-01-15T10:06:00.001-08:00

Working my stuff to get out to Mammoth again. Skiing with Thomas and Trish and the Lamperts.

So many interruptions. More items to get done than can do...

15 to 18 inches of fresh snow up there and we plan to be on the road today by 3. So why do so many new people need my time to wine about this stuff.

Fish Wish if for Calm to descend on me as we gain altitude to the mountains.

Keith <"><

Mammoth again Skiing

2010-01-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

First Week of January skiing trip. Nice way to start the new year. A terrific Ski Vacation with family.

Mammoth Mountain is a good destination. Especially with 4 of us. Have to drive there. Flying somewhere with kids is a pricey extravagance. Going skiing is an extravagance on it's own. So we Drive for 6 hours. This can be hard on the nerves.

Did ski our buts off. I skied each of the three days we were there.

Day One was a blast with Ryan. We skied mightily. From top to bottom in fast runs all day. The photo is Exemplary of how this first day with for us. We are on our way to the top in the gondola. Hoot!

Day Two was me and Thomas to ski slowly on the lower stuff as Thomas is rebuilding his Snowboard skills. (Trish was with Ryan at the med clinic as a sickness made its round of Ryan then Trish then even Thomas)

On Day 3 I took a spill on the bottom 1/3rd of Cornice. Turned into a bit of a "Yard Sale." Both my skis came off and I got a bunch of snow in my pants. Got some cheers from those that saw the show. I was being very aggressive on the hill at the end of the day on tired legs and crossed a tip. So down I went. After a bit of a skid I flipped myself over and dug in my toes to stop my decent. ( I did mention it was a steep hill ) then looked up to see both my skis about 70 feet above me. No problem. Started to climb up for them... A nice snowboarder came over and cut the trek up the slope in half. She had a complement on the crash. Heard me coming and looked up to see the whole thing. LOL Big grin for her. I was cutting a nice line before I came apart. So I was not embarrassed. It was a reasonably soft landing and nothing hurt. So All is Good.

I had to build a shelf to put my skis on. Then skiied the last of that top section with happy gusto. Then had a good rest. That is when I evaluated just how much snow got in. This cooled me off for the run down to the bottom and a needed rest to get a beer.

More photos are on the Web Shots page I have for family to see. (email for link)

Keith

PS we had a very good condo at Horizons4
This made the time being IN very comfortable.

PPS I eventually came down with the gastronomic thing about 2 hours after getting the car into the driveway at home... It hit me too. It took us down 4 for 4. Sorta a Montezuma revenge type of thing.

Happy New Year's - 20 10

2010-01-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

Welcome to twenty ten!

We all say good by to 2009 with a relief of having gotten it behind us.

The new year had a very good start for me as it was rung in with a dinner out with a little dancing and even watching some of the fireworks in MDR at midnight.

With Optimistic and Resilient attitude I welcome the new year. Looking forward to 2010.

Keith

New Year's Eve Golf

2009-12-31T20:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Tradition...

Finish the old year with a round of Golf!

Thanks to my brother Carl for calling and suggesting this. What a terrific day on the green park with all those silly flags. We took a LONG WALK out in the green and lush Los Angeles countryside. (Uptown)

It was great. Those greens at the country club are killer even with the help of a caddy to give you a read. After playing all the city public courses your not ready for the FAST roll on the really professionally maintained private courses.

But it was fun. And I got my buddy Jeffery to tag along with us. It was a good Guys Day Out for me. Good for the heart and soul.

No wonder Trisha's brother is always out playing golf. Over Christmas I heard about how he plays 27 holes of golf 3 to 5 days a week or more!

Thank you Carl. Thanks for your company Jeff.

Loved the day with both of you.

Keith

A very 'In-laws' Christmas

2009-12-30T09:11:00.000-08:00

Ho ho ho

We had a good time. Mostly with my wife's side of the family.
It was a good simple homestead Christmas filled with helpful hands of Trisha's brother and sister. This made Trish very happy. It was good and warm hearted.

Thomas got the item he really wanted from Santa. How that happened I do not know. ;-)

We all got to share some grins and basically had plenty of good meals at the family dinning table. Very pleasant.

Hope you all found the joy this holiday.

Keith

Merry Christmas

2009-12-21T10:21:00.000-08:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

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Fox on the Golf Course.

2009-12-20T15:21:00.000-08:00

I played a little golf yesterday at Penmar. It is a local City of LA 9 hole course.

We were very pleasantly surprised to see a fox sitting by the first green. He successfully staked out a squirrel hole. Very cool that such wildlife is able to thrive in the city.

BTW a special Thank You, shout out to my buddy Jeffery, who called and got me to come out and play. We had some fun and it got me out of a dreadful funk from work and stresses of the holidays etc.

And at the end of it we went to see the new movie Avatar on the big 3D IMax screen. Thomas and I loved it. Jeffery thinks it will be a big cultural event like Titanic was not so long ago. Or a big event like "Gone with the Wind" when it gets to the Oscars etc.

K

Happy Holidays

2009-12-15T12:54:00.000-08:00

Here in our area we have some cool holiday traditions. There is a Boat Parade out in the Marina Del Rey harbor that is fun. But at night hard to get a lot of good photos. It was cold and raining. And Trish and I were a little under the weather ourselves. So we missed it. Our friend were out in it and won some nice prizes. congrats to Keith Guyot and the "La Vouca Reys".(sp?)

In Venice on the canals there is a similar parade but on the smaller scale boats.

Here are some photos to share. ( Thanks to YoVenice.com )

Bla bla bla - stuff this past 2 weeks

2009-12-11T08:17:00.001-08:00

Have not been out on the boat since Thanksgiving day.

I did get the first strand of the Xmas lights up. (last weekend)
We did get a Tree and have it ready to bring into the house.
Thomas did have a Flag Football playoff game. (Thurs)
MDRAnglers did have it's holiday party and meeting. (Weds)

MDRA was interesting. I did win the raffle. I was elected to the Board of Directors of the club. Now I am struggling with whether or not to toss my hat in the ring for the president position.

Enough about that... I need to stop and get back to work.

Keith <"><

blog post "apropos" to Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T08:03:00.000-08:00

Just posted to my Facebook, my La La Land blog and to my Westside Income Property blog.

So the thought here is apropos of getting words out.

Words
as slippery as smooth grapes,
words exploding in the light
like dormant seeds waiting
in the vaults of vocabulary,
alive again, and giving life:
once again the heart distills them.

-Pablo Neruda, poet

See my Income-property blog
or my La La Land la-real-estate blog
and look for my
related Thanksgiving Thoughts post for this 2009.

I could rag about spending yesterday in court on a subpoena for a case 13 years old. or that I have too much work to do for my vacancies in apartments... or that my spouse is not having more family in for Thanksgiving dinner... Or that there is not enough fish. Or enough Snow on the mountains.

I really am Thankful for many good Tenant Applicants.

I really am Thankful for the fun of spending time with my son Thomas as his flag football team won first place.

And Thankful Ryan's high school water polo team won 4th in the region recently.

I am Thankful to be a fully employed and happy and proud Dad.

Fish Wish Granted. Thank you Lord. <"><

Keith

House on 18th Street, Santa Monica,

2009-11-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

833 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA | Powered by Postlets

So what do I do to make this house rent? New Blinds?

Adverts in ...

All tips welcome.

Keith

LA Times Letter to the Editor

2009-11-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

My letter to the editor was published in the LA Times today page A 26, Letters, under "Not Enough Fish in the Sea". It is my reply on the MLPA news story describing the "Blue Ribbon" panel's recommendations being not strong enough for the enviros and too strong for the fishermen. So what do we infer from the reporters story... that it could have been worse?

My letter was edited far shorter than my original letter. But most of the point is still there. So I feel for the original writer of the LA Times story who did not have the space to fully describe the results.

I wanted details and results and Maps. None were offered.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/ for my letter online.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fishing-ban for the news story on Nov. 11th.

Hoping we do not get aced out of Point Dume in total. But fearing they are going to take it from us fishing and scuba divers. Will it be look but don't touch only from 2010 and thereafter for years to come?

Went out and Rambled around some... Fishing

2009-11-08T10:18:00.000-08:00

Hey there, It was just so good to spend some time on the water.

We went out on Saturday (yesterday) and did a little fishing. We tried a new rock near shore and then some reef areas. Did hook a little hungry calico on light line. Not much happening inshore.

So we moved out to deeper water and got to load up on rock fish at the short banks. They make good fish-taco meat. Gary got the big fish award. Dennis who had good luck inshore was challenged out in the deeper water.

It was the best guy time I have had had since marlin fishing. It turned out I was with the same guys who were my marlin team. We had a really nice relaxing time. All three of us.

Fish Wish Granted. Good day on the water. Not bad on the catching. Even if the water in the bay has turned over and gotten colder.

Keith

slaving for my fishing club.

2009-11-03T23:03:00.000-08:00

Just finished the Full Scoop newsletter.

Slaved on it from 6 pm to now. 11 PM.

Learned new software. That ate up some of the time.
Had to crop all the photos in one program and move them over.
Then had to type up a lot of content. Luckily I ran out of room.

Therefore I got to stop typing. Yeah.

Emailed out a 4MB pdf file to the anglers I know.

Now just need to burn it to a disk and find a printer to do the job.

Keith

Today’s Ares 1-X rocket from Cape Canaveral

2009-10-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

From a facebook post… about today’s Ares 1-X rocket from Cape Canaveral

You may like this... Planetes
http://www.mangafox.com/manga/planetes/c001/
When you have time to read for entertainment.

The Space Program needs a real destination. I like Mars....

To really go long distances the invention needed is a constant boost engine. Fire in one direction half way (accelerate) and fire in opposite direction (decelerate) the second half of the trip. Then the time and distance and weight of the Life Support needed can be worked out.

Need that next invention. Not a solar sail. A constant boost. Then we can go anywhere.

IMHO Keith

What do you think?
if you have an opinion hit Comment

Attended the United Anglers Dinner

2009-10-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Trish and I attended the UA Dinner with a few Marina Del Rey Anglers friends.

It was good. A friend, Paul Simon, was honored with a perpetual award to be named after him to be aworded to the top conservation volunteer each year.

The raffle was pretty good. I got lucky and won two very cool items. A nice Calcutta reel (I'll use it for light line) and a new Promar lobster net. Hoot!

Now I'm ready to get back to Lobster hoop netting and Get Some!

Keith L.

Fathers and Sons fishing

2009-10-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

There are some Bonita in the bay. And I heard that there is no Top Youth winner yet in the club fishing awards yet. So I called a fellow member and asked him if he wants to take his son out with Thomas and I. To see if we can get the boys onto some worthy fish.

We went out on Jon's boat Playspace. His son Buck and my son Thomas are pals so they were game. We trolled up a few small Bonita but for all our efforts on the troll and drift fishing live baits we did not get any fish worthy of a weight slip. I saved the fish as they will make good Lobster Hoop Net baits for later.

Not to worry. We had fun! That is the point of going fishing and boating.

In the end a very good father and son fishing trip.

Keith L. <"><

Lobster season is open and

2009-10-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

Why, oh Why am I not going out Hoop Netting! See what the other guys are getting!

Well there was the kids and the dinner party (Fiesta) last night and my toe that was hurting bad and there were the many other things I had to deal with. i.e. Life.

My toe is now feeling better and was not a bad Staph Infection as was the worry. May not have been a broken toe as it is doing much better now. The medication seems to be helping. Had a nice visit on Friday with the local walk in urgent care place in MDR. My contribution to the health care debate is now going to be more informed.

With the little bit of rains that just came through I wonder, would need to put the Lobster Hoop Nets in deeper water? Or would the lobsters ignore the fresh water and go up on the beach for the sand crabs anyway?

What to do? And when to do it? That is the lobster fishing question.

MDRA appreciation party

2009-10-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

A special Thank You party was held on Sunday evening for those who volunteered to be mentors in the Youth Fishing Program.

Jeffery, my fishing buddy, set up the trips and got groups arranged so that we ended up with 28 trips on 14 days with a load ranging from 28 to 45 kids per trip.

And the Mentors spent their time teaching them. Very often One on One with the child. The supervising staff from the organization that brought them would sit and watch the scenery. A special Shout out to Terri who organized al the mentors for the past couple of years. You go Girl! (she is going to Africa for a big safari vacation and we need a replacement. hint hint)

It was fun. It takes dedication. It is rewording.

Special efforts by Richard Summers got this dinner party going. Some MDRA members volunteered the Fish and Jerry N of course did the cooking. Most of the mentors got to mix and mingle and bring out our spouses for a bit of social time. Very cool.

It is nice stuff. The reward to those who give is the Smile.

On the tables were many of the letters of thank you's from the kids.

I like to go on the Blind kids trip and the Special Needs trip especially as those kids rarely get this type of experience and they appreciate it so much.

Learn more at www.MDRAnglers.com

Fished in La Paz Gold Cup

2009-10-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

Had a fabulous time fishing in the La Paz Gold Cup.

More photos are on Webshots.

2009-09-27 LaPaz Gold Cup

The trip was more fun than these photos show. This is because there are no photos of the two marlin that came up to play. We were too busy to take photos at those moments.

Sincerely Keith L
-<"><

BTW some do not want you to know how good this is as a vacation destination.

Marlin Trip - Number Two

2009-09-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Marlin fishing trip to get in on the local hot bite... One More Time.

We were out there off of Church Rock on Friday. No hook up in that area. Plenty of hook-ups for those fishing in the Pescadores fishing tournament. Ask about their silly radio chatter sometime. Wild goofy guys and gals in that "Pesky" group.

Jeffery M. and David F. and I snuck out late on Thursday and anchored in Cat Harbor to be close to the hot marlin spot off of Catalina Island at first lite. It was a very foggy morning as we came out of Cat and moved to the hot marlin area beside the island in an area near Church Rock. It did not pan out for us after much trolling and watching the water temps.

When we moved over to Avalon Bank and to the Shipping Lanes. We did have a good hook up and a basic Fire Drill / Cluster F~#& situation when the first man into the cockpit forgot all that he was supposed to do then we had to have a swimmer cut off a lure from the prop. All the while the fish was taking line… Now that I am back on shore it is a bit more funny. ;-)

Therefore: (Too much line out) + ( Monster big head shake side to side ) + (Too much slack due to my reversing faster than the angler could retrieve) = Lost fish.

Lessons learned: Retrieve the lures with boat in one engine Fwd so that we do not put out as much line on the fish being played. Do not reverse to fight fish until ALL Lures are INSIDE THE BOAT. Coach the Newbie’s more than once and practice. Ask them if they recall what was told to them. Jeffery acted like a newbie at the moment of truth. But he rectified his problem by boldly jumping in with a knife and getting the prop free. Lost the lure and chock it up to experience.

My favorite excitement moment was with two marlin up in the lures right behind the boat. Hot! The Ramblin’ can raise fish!

Next time...

B-Day Golf with Carl

2009-09-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

I called my brother and suggested that he be nice to himself as it is his birthday. One of the ways to be nice to himself for example would be to go play some golf. I offered to throw myself on that grenade and to accompany him, if needed, for 9 holes etc.

He did find the time (make the time) and asked me to meet him at his club and play. We did a full round of 19 holes of golf. It was good just to be with Carl. Not a stressful thing about it. The score was the score and no head games or betting took place at all. Just a long afternoon on the green grass and good company.

We did talk for a moment about our Dad and that was good.

Love my brother. Happy Birthday to you Carl.

Tight Lines,

Keith -<"><

Fishing in the 2009 King Harbor Marlin Tournament

2009-09-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

The Ramblin’ fished in the KHMT. Also a fellow MDRA boat, Big Momma, did their best to find and boat fish in the event. I have been going to fish this event for years. This is the second time I’ve been in it on my own boat.

It was a good event for us this weekend. Ramblin' had a knock down and zip (run for 20 to 30 seconds) just 4 or 5 miles off of the East End. Then the fish jumped after coming off the jig and thumbed it's nose at us. It was a really big and That set the hearts of the team racing and made us redouble our efforts. Dennis Bly was very impressed byt the jumping fish and his excitement was contagious. Gary and I were primed for the next one to come our way.

A little later near the 277 we had a knock down on the same starboard outrigger with the dark head mean joe green lure and we were on for a good 20 minute fight that resulted in a successful release. And again we saw more fish. Tossing live baits to tailers added to the action. When trolling up closer to home port we witnessed a fantastic display of jumpers just shy of the Avalon Bank. It was an exciting day one.

Ramblin' did a lot of driving south on day two when most of the fish were home in the back yard. First fishing from the Island (lures in at 6:30 am just 4 miles off the slide) heading southeast to the 277 and then even heading further south towards the 209. While underway we heard a few extra fish reports form other captains on the 209 who said it was dead. We diverted back up. We headed northwest and found the fish right next to the island. Eventually running over one tailer just 3 ½ miles off of Church Rock on the East End. We slowed the boat and put out 2 live baits. The baiting worked. The one from the bow (or one of his pals) popped up in the lure pattern. It was very exciting to feed live bait back to a fish right behind the boat in the lure spread. It was again a Hook up but the rough seas and big strong fish made this a different fight.

This time the angler was Gary Downie. Since the marlin took the bait presented on the 20# dacron line rood/reel setup it was sure to be a longer battle. The rough seas made it hard on the angler and the boat. At times we had white water over the head of the angler and leaderman in the cockpit. It was salty work. After a few times of showing itself and even getting within 20-30 feet of the boat it got really hard to budge. In the end it won the battle when the line parted after 1 hour and 30 min of our best efforts to bring it to leader.

Shortly we returned to calmer waters just south east of the island and continued our search. Even past the 4 pm Stop Fishing time for the tournament. Then back to Avalon for a swim and getting ready for the fun KHMT awards banquet where the team was equally lucky in the Raffles. Very cool.

Big Momma on the other hand held back on using up its luck until Sunday morning when they found and hooked and caught a nice marlin. Then feeling triumphant made the return voyage home. We crossed paths with them at the San Pedro fuel docks.

Other MDRA boats were participants in the Catalina Yacht Club Marlin Tournament. One friend, Richard, on Wavelength was hooked up multiple times but as it happens when fishing marlin they came unbuttoned before the leader reached the hands of the leaderman. Tough luck on that, but still fun and plenty of excitement.

I am still really eager to go to Cat Harbor and run out beyond there for a bit of trolling between Ribbon Rock and the East End... It’s the best odds of a hook up in years.

Tight Lines.

Keith L.
Captain of the Motor Vessel Ramblin’

Labor Day weekend is in our FACE

2009-09-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

I gotta get this done and that done. then make sure the Jet Ski runs. and then...

Hopping for a smooth and relaxing weekend at the Commodores Cruise. Trish is on it to pack the boat etc. My busy day today. Work and Boat Preparations.

Wishin' I was Fish'n but hanging out at the harbor is what I'm going to do for the next 4 days.

We come back an then the boys are in school. Funny how parents look forward to that return to structure.

Keith

PS Fish Wish for the weekend... Nothing to break so the Marlin Trip is OK.

Marlin team practice

2009-08-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

On Sun 23rd we got 4 of the team together. (one back up)

Reviewed procedures and then did a small casting practice ride.

I spent part of the day just rigging lures. Very healthy day off for my head.

Sailing for charity

2009-08-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

A friend at the club talked me into being part of the crew on G-Rated for Saturday. it was a nice experience. Just gotta love getting out on the water.

Celebrity on board was Zac Sunderland the young man who set a new record as the youngest person to solo circumnavigate the world recently.

Here Thomas is taking in the view while Zak was on the helm.

We came in first in our class. And raised cash for the Jennifer Diamond Foundation that provides libraries for cancer patients. A very worthy endeavor. It was nice to meat such a worldly and well rounded young man. And to introduce him to my sons.

So a special thank you to my hosts the Lamperts.

Keith.

Calico trournament at Cat Harbor

2009-08-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hosted by DRYC this was a Charity event where the Calico Bass has to be released alive in order to count. Charity event for the benefit of the Two Harbors community.

Many local MDR clubs compete. This year there were boats from about 5 different clubs. DRYC, MDRA, CYC, PMYC. And I forget the other one.

I was helping a friend with his boat and anchoring system tryout run when it became apparent that he needed another hand and I was not going. Matter of fact the DRYC Calico event was not on my radar at all. My focus was on the bigger fish shoing up in the counts down south just a 1 & 3/4 day run out of San Diego for a full freezer of quality fish. Richard asked me to go with him. So I saved my big boat trip for later and decided to go on this "fun" little trip. (not that the big fish are not fun too)

The boat the Wavelength is fast and a sweet ride. I was happy to be aboard. I was happy to pull the mooring and run deck runs. We had a young boy on board that was the same age as my son. 12 years old. I took to calling him Gillie and teaching him all the deck hand tasks that a boy can learn. Knots etc.

Here we are at departure. And we gave Matthew a welcome noogie to make him feel welcome.

Out at the island Friday night was a dinner and captains meeting at the DRYC shore facility in Cat Harbor. It was very cool to see many old fishing club friends. Many of them I've known via MDRAnglers for a lot of years. Boat loads from Bait-n-Switch, Bali Anne, Big Momma for example.

On Saturday morning our third man aboard switched to his fishing ride and even lightened our load of some Live Bait for his boat Three Flags. That live bait could have come in handy for us. Many boats ran out this day.

On the day of fishing we headed out to the area between Ben Weston point and Little Harbor and made a few anchoring attempts to get set just outside the kelp line. It was a hard set as there was a strong uphill current that sometimes put us in the trough and pushed us sideways to the kelp line. A bit frustrating. We stuck with it all day long. A few fish came and went. A big bat ray for excitement. A big shovel nose shark for Matt. And then a really nice halibut for Richard. I opened the swim step door and as Richard brought the fish in softly ... Was able to do a smooth gaff job and land the big flatty with no problems. One smooth swoosh.

This was a good money fish for the side bet that we all put in the extra $5 for. With Richard as the winner it could not have gone to a nicer gentleman fisherman. Shortly after that when we were nearing our "do we go home now" stage I casted out up current a bit further than usual and got a big bite. A really nice 3# calico bass. He looked like a contender in the target species to me. (having be so few caught) So not I had a maybe in the running fish. Not first be maybe a 2nd or 3rd. Especially since the fishing had been slow.

We pulled the hook and ran fro Cat Harbor. Hoping that the fish did not die from the bendz as it did not like being up on the surface after I pulled him out of 70+ feet of water.

Then wrangled to get our fish weighed ASAP and released. it swam down fast once over the side. But it was only 2.8 lbs on the events scale. On the other hand it gave a reading of 26# for the big halibut. It was big enough that it could have weighed much more. It was skinny. But still enough to win the Jackpot side bet handily.

The event was keeping the participants in the dark as to the winning fish to build drama for the dinner party and awards ceremony. The event was catered and we ate mightily. But in the end the true winner was Team Big Momma with Wayne Pecot having weighed in a massive 8 lb bass!

We had a very pleasant trip back home after a little morning fishing at west cove. It sure is nice to have a boat the blasts across at 22.8 knots!

Thank you to Richard. The Halibut was delicious. We shared it with friends and had a fiesta. With a little help from Jeffery on the grill we fed a bunch of ladies having a fun time making a party of it. Fed eight of us!

Ramblin' report for August trip number 1

2009-08-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

Just back on shore after some deep sea fishing. Ramblin' was out on the open sea from Sunday Aug 9th to Tuesday Aug 11th. We were hoping to get a bit of yellowtail on some drifting kelp patties or a first marlin. No luck. 3 days at sea. 2 nights of Avalon. Good water conditions. Great trip.

Fished 277 and almost down to the 209 on Monday. Plenty of patties holding bait. No yellowtail or Dorado or marlin. Did find 70.8 degree water and plenty of whales etc. The El Nino has not brought them up here yet. But sometimes you do the Exploratory trip anyhow. How else do you get on the trophy that says First!

Not often that I get to go deep sea fishing with my wife, Trish, along for the whole ride. Trish's sister, Karen, was down from Idaho and brought her fishing boyfriend, Vern, along. He was a knowledgeable Southern California boater that was as eager to fish as I am. Karen too was hot to find some of the right kind of fish. 5th person was my son Ryan who did a great job as my paid Gilligan for the trip. Ryan was spot on with deck hand chores and mooring and Dinghy and tending to business for the trip.

Now I have to hand it to Ryan... He was a great Gillie. Good company. And together we had a good trip. Thomas was up at a YMCA camp for the week. Unfortunately Thomas had to come home early. He got a bug of some kind. The poor guy. Now he is home and plugged into a video game. Hard to have sympathy for that.

"Fish Wish Granted" in that we had good company and really nice outing. Life is good.

Keith <"><

Words for Today...

"gillie" – noun Scotish origin:
a. a hunting or fishing guide.
b. a male attendant or personal servant to a Highland chieftain.

Boaters example: "The name Gilligan was made famous in the TV Show of Gilligan's Island as the captain of the ill fated USS Minnow was Scottish supposedly. "

"fug" - noun
a. Stale, humid, and stuffy atmosphere, as in a crowded, poorly ventilated room. ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from fogo (stench).

Boaters example: "In order to avoid a fug one must wedge open the cabins hatch with a shoe before going to sleep."

MDRA Youth Fishing Trip

2009-08-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

Wow. I rarely see such a nice day on the Santa Monica Bay and I go out there often.

The kids on our boat today had the best views and some of the best fishing. The young man I spent the most time with today was a hot stick in that he caught the first and last fish. Fellow mentor Jerry N. hooked the last one and passed it off to him. He got to reel in a big bass in the 15 to 16 inch catagory. Waiting for the photo.

Fun and very few kids got seasick. (did have some swell)

Feeling very proud of the MDR Anglers fishing trips and the program that this year has the benefit of my good friend Jeffery Morris and other friends like Stan, Bob, Jerry, ... ... ... I could go on.

Keith

Guy time with Thomas

2009-08-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

Thomas and I got out and had some guy time with a few new friends.

We watched Rally cars at the X Games.

2009-08-02 X-Games

Then Thomas played some instruments at the X Fest. The older boys gave a try at the Navy Seals training and qualification course. They did well on the Sit Ups, Pull Ups, and then worked hard on the Rope Net Climb.

We all had some fun.

Special Thanks to Keith Guyot and the Guyot family for having us along.

Keith <"><

Party in the park

2009-08-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

Here we are having a good time in Marina Del Rey.

2009-08-01 Music in the park

CYC event

2009-08-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

Ramblin took 3rd.

Noooo Face Book has sucked me away

2009-07-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

Ok I admit it. This site has lagged as Facebook has gotten the posts and photos for the last several Boat Outings. Not good.

Must make catch up posts. But first to do the work I need to do on the office side.

Nose to the Grindstone lately.

Keith

Last weekend at Paradise Cove

2009-07-17T15:30:00.001-07:00

2009-07-11 Paradise Cove

Trish, Thomas and I spent the night on the anchor at paradise cove the night of Saturday July 11th. Just one night. Just a one hour run north of MDR. And a fun night out on our boats for a bunch of us.

We visited and had music and fish tacos at the raft up of Wavelength/Unreel/Bait-n-Switch. This was the gathering point for a bunch of us. Then we went back to our boats for dinner later.

We got an invite to a bigger boat for dinner. And had a very pleasant evening on the Playspace. Even the Bait-n-switch crew joined us for some of the fun.

Special thanks to Richard Summers for putting it together.

Some odd-ball stories will come of this. Ask about it. Inquire about the Tacos or the Jetski or the really big Crab. It will fill the time with funny stories while we share a beer or two.

Keith L.
Capt of the Ramblin'

4th of July Cruise

2009-07-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

2009-4th of July Cruise

Went out on Thursday July 2nd to Cat Harbor with the Yacht Club. Moored up on H4 with one side tie on Thursday of Timmy Sea. They took me out fishing on Friday. When we got back the other side tie of Top Dog was on my starboard. So Timmy Sea tool the Port. Little Ramblin' had the mooring line and two side ties through the high winds! We did OK. Some other boats pulled moorings over this weekend.

The Fireworks were on Sunday evening at Two Harbors so we had a great excuse to stay an extra day. And the winds died out on Sunday night. So the Crossing on Monday wan a beautiful and smooth water day! I even got in a little trolling.

A great family trip. Just the four of us. Making new friends and having fun.

Fish wish Granted.

Keith

Cruise for 4th of July.

2009-06-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Out on the water last weekend. Fun. Little bit of Fish Caught. Need bigger trips. "Great fish come from Great Waters." Means I gotta go out to the Islands more!

So looking forward to Catalina trip... Trish is loading us up now. Boat is dialed in and ready. Big Grins.

K

Out Ramblin' Around - A fine day on the water -

2009-06-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday June 28th - Did go out fishing on Ramblin’ with a few friends. It was a nice day of fishing out on Santa Monica Bay. We searched through the large amounts of bait we metered and did not entice any meaningful fish to take a hook. We worked the 90 foot line from MDR to SM Pier where Larry (bait dock) had reported some local White Sea Bass having been found. I tuned in the fish finder and was pleasantly surprised as to how much the bait showed. But with that much bait the target species is fat and happy. It was a good first try. That area as it was close and easy to work.

Eventually we tried the "Star of Scotland" wreck and that seemed promising. That gave us some excitement with a few little bites. Bigger baits like little mackerel even took our hooks. Then we went to try a deep water rock I had a mark on in 145 feet of water. It was a small rock and once located did have some fish marks but was not easy to get on. Several short drifts and we abandoned this for the Short Banks. This produced a few very nice sized fish. Bocaccio and copper or vermilion rockfish. So there is some nice fish for dinner.

The afternoon breeze was perfect for sailors but too much for us without anchoring up and we decided to call it a day. But not without giving “The Pipe” one more try on the way. No luck, but I must say I’ve rarely seen so much life in the fish finder. The local party boat New Del Mar was on the spot and it made it tricky work to keep away from him and fish the rock structure upwind.

A big "Thank you" for your company to… Gary D., Jeff M. and Stacy T. Gary had the biggest one for the day. It was a nice day our on the water and I appreciate you all for your contributions to the fun of going fishing. Fish Wish Granted. We had a nice day fishing.

Keith L. <”><

A first... Not one photo taken.

Gererator working! - Can go fishing now.

2009-06-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

Two items repaired/upgraded and now the Generator is working. Hoot!

Needed new fuel pump. Needed new solenoid on the top. I used a quality local mechanic to get the work done right.

No fuel flow was the real problem. Not an easy one for me to fix by clearing a filter. There was a bit of a story about the repair diagnostic but to make a long story short it was the right guy with the right tools that found the power to the fuel pump problem fast and solved it so that the right parts could be applied for a swift and complete repair. Changed the fuel pump to a smaller more efficient one ($75). Rerouted some fuel line. Key was the change of the old oil pressure solenoid that controls the power to the fuel pump. It was not sending power to the pump. (And yes we checked the pump with direct power) So that cleaned up some of the wires on the top.

The old solenoid may have been bumped (crushed) in the battery system upgrade. But the fuel pump was and had been going for some time.

Thank you to C & C Marine of Marina Del Rey (over on Fiji Way )
The owner Karl sent over a technician (Scott) who showed up when appointment was set, knew what he was doing and had parts with him. Nice.

Now need to get that shut off pull worked out. Mounting will be a fun/interesting.

We are now looking forward to a full summer of Catalina cruising starting with the 4th of July Weekend.

Keith L,
Captain of the M/V Ramblin'

Marina Del Rey - County vs Public Use.

2009-06-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

The Department of Beaches and Harbors and The County of Los Angeles is trying to Over Build and will mess up the Marina if we do not get involved. The Public will loose access! Those of you who care... I hope that includes a lot of you... We need to speak up. The County and Dpt of Beaches and Harbors is hoping that we do not.

Reprint... From Nancy Marino of "We Are Marina Del Rey"

Hi, All,

Attached is the sneak "end run" that the County pulled at the Coastal Commission on June 11. It was not agendized as a separate item, but was in the Deputy Director's oral report only (not in the written report attached to the agenda. The Deputy Director's report purportedly covers only "exemptions, waivers, emergency permits, immaterial amendments and extensions."

This proposal would fast-track seven projects (not 6, as the County claims) through the Coastal Commission WITHOUT doing the comprehensive LCP update the CCC recommends in the LCP Review.

It includes seven of the eight PUBLIC PARKING LOTS the County proposes to convert to private use:

Parcel GG (at Dock 72 on Fiji Way)

Parcel 49R (the Public Boat Launch Ramp)

Parcel 49M (next to the visitor center at Admiralty/Mindanao - entrance on Mindanao)

Parcel OT (next to the Oxford Basin on Admiralty Way near Palawan)

Parcel NR (across from Mothers' Beach on Palawan Way)

Parcel IR (at Mothers' Beach)

Parcel FF (at Via Marina/Marquesas Way)

This proposal is an egregious attempt to facilitate major land grab by large developers without any opportunity for public participation in the decision to CHANGE the LAND USE of the parcels, most of which are currently zoned for PUBLIC USE ONLY. It covers a majority of the twelve existing public parking lots. Our current LCP states emphatically that only a park or parking shall be allowed on an existing public parking lot.

Please note: this proposal includes a mega-project for the boat launch ramp and Chace Park expansion parcel (Parcels 49/77), which it claims is "in the pipeline" but has never been presented or described in public. It would more than double the amount of proposed NEW commercial/retail in the Marina, plus up to 26,000 sq. ft. of office space and 255 new residential units, located on the boater facilities that will be increasingly needed as the County continues to pursue the elimination of many hundreds of small boat slips from the Marina.

This is BAD PLANNING by the County.

This is NOT a public process regarding the basic decisions about land use.

Please join the call for a master plan NOW. Call 310.306.4275 to help us circulate the petition for a Marina del Rey Master Plan to your organization or around the community.

Together,
We ARE Marina del Rey,

Nancy

www.wearemdr.com

This is important for a lot of reasons. Not just the loss of the boat ramp and parking while going fishing on the Betty-O. Access to "Mothers Beach" for launching small boats and Kayaks etc. Wind will be cut off for the youth sailing programs. parking will be reduced in the area. Water views will be reduced. Traffic and health concerns for all of us and the animals in MDR.

Please check into it. Speak up!

Keith L.

Wishin' I was Fishin'

2009-06-25T10:21:00.000-07:00

Maybe... gotta get the boat in shape for the 4th of July cruise to Catalina coming up fast. But after hearing that there are big fish biting and action is hot out there at the far end of my boat's range... Oh the agony of having to be hard at work.

Good news is I have work and a few Real Estate clients to work with. I even got offered a bigger slip at the club. Not a better one. Just bigger. E921 is a longer walk and a bigger 35' by 12'4" slip may be nice for docking but will it make things better by enough to justify the long walk and increased cost. I'll save the $ and use it to pay for fuel.

A parking place for a boat is a fun thing to talk about. Those who have this as a topic can get into it for way to long. Unless a proper drink is in your hand and then it is just the proper entertaining discussion while doing the more important thing of drinking.

Speaking of the more important thing... I want to go fishing!. Maybe Sunday.

Now must go back to paperwork so I can go play later.

Fish Wish - Nice water & weather for fishing on Sunday.

Keith <"><

My Online Life... and kids cell phones

2009-06-16T08:21:00.001-07:00

First comes Chat Rooms, Blogging and MySpace.
Then add You-Tube, FaceBook, Linked-In and Twitter.
Are we at Overload Yet?

A few Bloggers have hit the money tree with lots of traffic and a few adverts converting to clicking customers. Mostly it is nice to have freedom or speech. I use one for family history. This is the one. Then I have two for business. La La Land and Westside Income Prop. None of my Blogs make money on advertising. I do receive a few leads from the Real Estate Blogs.

I have a MySpace page to keep an eye on my kids. I have a Twitter account so I can say I know what it is and how it works. I like FaceBook to do the combo of what MySpace and Twitter want to be.

I like that Conan O'Brian joke in his bit on The Tonight Show... "In The Year 3000!"

In the Year Three Thousand the web sites MySpace and Facebook and YouTube and Twitter will combine into one super time wasting web location now known as You-Twit-Face.

So, yeah, this stuff does suck a bit of time away from me. But I think it is fun. And in a way a Time Capsule of this day in my life. Hopping it does not bore you.

I'm confident Twitter will go by the wayside as it is not money producing in a meaningful way. And only the youth with Phone Texting Addiction can keep up with it. To what end? I do not think we need to know when the Tweeter is out for coffee or a yogurt or a smoothie. Overload of useless info. Then today I see RevTwt. A way to turn Twit into a ???

Speaking of Texting...

Both Thomas and Ryan have now lost their cell phones to the warm and bubbly waters of the new hot tub. Thomas is now almost 2 weeks with no cell phone. Ryan is on day three today. And School is about to let out. How will they adjust to not being able to Text and be able to call on Mom or Dad to do whatever at whenever???

When I was in 6th grade... A LONG TIME AGO. The home TV went out. (Yes we only had one back then. AND Yes it was color.) Mom decided not to have it repaired right away. This was a good thing for me. I got Out of the House. I made a new friend a bit further afield then normal. He turned out to be one of my Life Long Best Friends. (Matt G.) And on top of that we got out there and Did Stuff. We roved across wider areas and learned to do things.

Hopefully while Ryan and Thomas are without Cell Phones they will learn a new skill. Being timely and communicate with Mom and Dad before leaving the house? This would be a good thing. A good change from "I'll call you..." slam goes the door.

My thoughts and Ramblin' for today.

Sincerely,
Keith <">< - that is a fish.

PS feedback and comments on how long Ryan and Thomas will last with no cell?

Weekend

2009-06-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to go fishing on Sunday. Not much was pulled up by the boats that did go out so I will not brow beat myself to much. Did spend time doing those Honey-Do items that had stacked up. Then went to watch the Lakers final game.

Down at the club we did install the new Dart Board. Steve Pokras, aka Alta builders - Cabinetry expert, did the backboard construction and together we did the installation on Saturday. Steve did a fabulous job. And the Cork backing he contributed make this look and function great.

On Saturday during the Lakers game half time we threw the first ceremonial dart at the new board. The Game Room is now back to being a Game Room at the DRYC.

Yeah! Bring your Darts and lets play.

2009 Penmar Angels

2009-06-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

My son Thomas had his last game of this season in his Little League Baseball. They played better and better all season long. Thomas played Catcher and Third and Shortstop. We had fun.

I tried to be helpful with the team as a Batting Coach and gave encouragement. Then once in the playoffs I backed off some to let the boys just go after the ball. It helped some of the boys get much better at getting the bat on the ball. I was hopeful to get more hits. At the Brentwood game last Tuesday we won 6 to 1. It was our first playoff game.

PenMar Angels 2009

We played with the Penmar park team of the Angels. LA City Parks and Rec. did a good job of getting nice volunteer coaches and making sure all the boys had a chance to shine.

BTW Special shout out to all the umpires. "Thanks Blue!"

2009-06-03T20:38:00.001-07:00

Winzer dog fell in the water at the docks today. LOL funny in a way. Luckily I had him in his life vest for the walk onto the docks so it was easy to retrieve him from the water The life vest is a great handle. He weighs 85 pounds dry.

I made an effort to not spook him and not get anxious or seem worried by the incident. It was different from the first time he went in were we got excited and may have spooked him about the water. This time I remained calm. Easy to do when he has that handle on the back. It was a big effort bot get him up but not to hard. Must remember to get low and left right.

Did not see the incident take place, so I do not know if he as chasing a fish or a bird or an oops occurred. Last I saw of him he was on the docks eagerly awaiting me to get off the boat and go. I turned around to get a few more things and when I got back on the dock he was in the water at the bow of the neighboring sailboat. Plenty of room to move about. But no way for him to climb out. Really no way for a man (or woman) to climb onto the docks for that matter. So it was good that I found him quickly. He was a little pumped up and animated in a good way once out.

Took him into the showers to wash off the salt water. Now have to keep him out of the house.

Just another day of fun stuff. Like this Blog for remembering the interesting parts.

Sunday out on the water with Carl

2009-06-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

Had a very nice day of fishing with my brother on Sunday. Just the two of us which was a pleasant surprise. Hooked into a Thresher for a fun 15 min. I had to move to the bow and Carl followed the big brute for a bit. I got some nice action and a few big runs on the 14# test line. Would have taken a long time to bring this one to boat for a release. Maybe next time. Other fish were very scarce. No White Seabass, the target. Did find a spot to load up on Sand Dabs. Not much else biting (except the seals that mauled your bait)

We ran up to Point Dume and fished within sight of Carl's home for most of the day. They could see us out on the water from there. Called via Cell and waived hello. This was the first time Carl was on the Ramblin' out off the docks. Not the last but the first.

2009-05-31 Ramblin’

We stopped at the fuel docks and topped off. So she will be ready for the next trip to the islands. Soon I hope.

Keith -<"><

Family Boating Trip Memorial Weekend

2009-05-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

We went out on Ramblin' to Catalina. I spent so much time relaxing and playing that I took very few photos. Using a Jetski or Kayak does not take kindly to cameras really. Everything gets wet!

Wild fast and fun with the Jetski for the kids. One day Ryan and I made a long run south to Little Harbor from where we were in Cat Harbor. It was just a couple of miles down the back side of the island. It was a fun exploration adventure. Ryan now knows where to go for catching a few waves on the back side! And I have a better feel for the Little Harbor anchorage for someday.

No photos of fishing ether. I took 3 kayaks. One for Trish. One for Theresa our guest. And one fishing kayak for me. We all got to use them and have our share of good times. One morning I took the Dinghy and slow trolled a long way north (west) of the harbor. I was back and found most still in bed.

Here are the few photos we took. First two shots of the "Osprey" as we passed them near the West End. Then a few shots while passing Ribbon Rock on the way into Cat Harbor. Just a couple from in the harbor while on the mooring. 3 from camera phone on the island. And that about wraps it up. Next time I'll take more smiling faces while at play. I promise.

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

Our Side-Tie was the sailboat "Osprey". The owners are good friends in the DRYC club and helped make it a much more pleasant trip. Mike and Jodi Pynes have our same laid back attitude about our "island time" so we may do it again in July!

Thanks for viewing.

Keith L. <"><

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed a 3 day weekend. I pause to salute the soldiers past and present that make our country strong and safe.
I have many family ties to the Navy and the Army. I teach my boys to respect the flag and the freedoms it represents.
To all the Veterans I offer my most humble "Thank you".

"It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion;
It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press;
It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech;
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble;
It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial;
It is the VETERAN, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote;
It is the VETERAN, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag."

The above traces back to the Civil War and I could not find the first author to give proper credit. Feel free to comment if you can point to its earliest author(s).

Keith

Fun Fishing at Catalina in WSB Tournament

2009-05-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

Fished at Catalina the weekend of May 15th to 17th, 2009

Enjoyed the White Seabass Tournament at Two Harbors for the first time this year. It is produced by Kit McNear et al at Western Outdoor News! Well done to them.

I was very pleased with the event overall. Liked learning that my knots hold up with the testing machine. Good to try my hand at the casting. Just missed by a little. Good easy check in. Played the game and we went All-In on the jackpots we could afford and we thought were winnable.

The fishing was tough going for many of the teams. We caught many Calico's and a decent halibut. But no money fish for us. Fished hard all night long. I suspect that the fish were fat and happy judging by the amount of bait we saw in the water.

Sunday afternoon the after party was good, short and sweet. We did get several of the raffle prizes that makes hanging out at the end worth it. Tim got a boat care kit to Wax up Reel Lucky. G-man got an Avet Reel. Hoot!

log:

I left MDR on Friday. Relaxed and had an excellent mooring at the Isthmus. F10 near the rocks. Made me nervous a little when mooring but great to see such clear and beautiful sea bed. Team with me was Tim S. (instigator) and Gary (Gman) and missing in action was Jeffery (Fish Killer) and myself. Tim, Gary and I did our best to find and kill a fish but alas the Calico and Halibut we did catch all went back.

We tried to find a good spot at West Cove but the place was a parking lot. then we got really lucky as the sportboat Toronado moved out of a sweet little place and left it all to us for the night of fishing. We fished all night. Used lots of fresh live squid. But like many of the teams in the tournament did not get the WSB hit. Next time.

Thanks to WON for the event. Thanks for the excuse to go spend yet another weekend on the water fishing as hard as possible!

Keith and team Ramblin'

Ensenada - Hotel Coral and Marina

2009-04-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

Hi from Ensenada

Just a note from Hotel Coral, where I happen to be today. The place is deserted of gringos. Wow. Not bad!

I want to make this a destination for Ramblin'. Diesel is approx $2.19 per us dollar per us gal. today. This is a terrific place to come to. It would be my most exotic port destanation.

Nice rooms and nice docks here at Hotel Coral. Spent part of yesterday at the pool and hot tub and games (Dennis is very good at Foosball) and relaxing. Then into town for dinner and a few beers at Husson's. Pappa's and Beer was deserted. Most of the town is vacant of tourists.

I'm here as Crew to help William bring his new boat up once unloaded off the transport ship that is due in later today. I'm feeling Fat and happy and relaxed. May have been the big breakfast and lots of jokes and the fact that
I'm not at work that is making me like today so much. He he he.

Wish us smooth sailing for the run up to SD and MDR today and tomorrow.

Keith L.

Nice Saturday social cruise

2009-04-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

Trish and I had a few folks onto the Ramblin' for a little social cruise about Santa Monica Bay yesterday. Nice day. Good weather. the water could have been more flat but All was OK for the boaters who were along for the ride, libations, snacks and camaraderie.

Next trip... Not soon enough

2009-04-13T21:26:00.001-07:00

Odd thing happened today... while on a business errand I found myself on the road behind a trash truck. Normally one would hurry around a diesel to get better air. I found myself noting the similarity of the odor with the good times out on my boat. So I did not pass it. Luckily it was a short ride to my next turn. (and the truck was newer or in good repair) But I see I need to get out and use the boat soon.

Nice Weekend in the MDR Halibut Derby

2009-04-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

It happens... Fishing for a Halibut and not getting one. Our team of Tim S., Gary D., Dennis B., and I worked it all weekend. We fished very hard. Very early and until late both days. We worked it from Santa Monica to Malibu and back and back and back again. No luck on the flatties. We saw a few little fish and one big toad of a sand bass but the halibut eluded our team.

We fished Star of Scotland and Big Rock and Sealion mostly. Everything from 140 feet down to 23 feet. Tossed sardines, plastics, mackerel (that we jigged up) and even a tomcod. We bounce balled and live bait drifted. We tossed jigs and lead heads. There is not much more we can do.

But just the same we had a lot of fun in the MDR Halibut Derby. 2 full days of hard fishing out on the SM Bay with good friends and we all were blessed with really nice weather and really calm seas.

Sun screen was the important item in the Tackle Box. Plenty of cold beer helped to keep our spirits up. Then add in the antics of jokes and movie quotations from Dennis and Tim to keep us in stitches.

So, in the end, one fish wish was granted. We had a very fun weekend.

And the Awards party went well. Thanks to all the many Volunteers who produced the event! You gave us an excuse to get the boat in top condition for the fishing and boating to come.

I liked that the 3 top finalists ( who each landed fantastic fish ) got to pick if they wanted to go to Alaska for big Halibut or Canada for Salmon or East Cape Mexico for Marlin etc. It looked like they really liked that option. And it went in that order! Great Vacations.

To learn more about the derby prizes see www.HalibutDerby.com

Next year the derby will need to send a memo to the fish to show up earlier in the year so we can have more catching. There was a good batch of catching. Just not by us. As Dennis was fond of reminding us on our boat... "That's why they call it Fishing!" See the photos on the MDRAnglers.com site for the fish caught.

Congrats to those lucky anglers. It was tough fishing for the rest of us. But
very fun.

Thanks again to my team for your fun company.

Keith
Ramblin'

April Fools - On Me! I got Hooked and Reeled in!

2009-04-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

My brother got me!

From: Carl Lambert
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 4:21 PM
To: 'David Fine'
Subject: RE: Flag...
I just called Bruce at the Tuna Club to inform him that I caught the first Tuna this morning out of San Diego.
…

Just believable enough... There has been a lot of talk about First Marlin and First Tuna boat flags of late. His boat is docked in San Diego. He was missing this weekend. I got Had. Carl suckered me hook, line and sinker. Dang I must be taking this fishing thing way to serious! LOL

And… At the Halibut Derby sign up I also got had by Bob Kissling when he told me that the club has stopped buying the first fish flags as they are too expensive.

Doooh! Cheers to both of you. And hoping you all have a laugh.

Sincerely,
Fish for brains, Keith <"><

PS – Looking forward to having a lot of fun in the Halibut Derby this weekend. Hope to see some of you out there on the bay this weekend. see MDRHaliutDerby

Fish Wish of the MV Ramblin’ is at least One Really Big Fish for team Ramblin'.

Electrical Redesign is Complete

2009-03-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

Wow. I did not intend to do a total overhaul to the Boat's Electrical. It was OK in that it worked. Until that last lobster Hoop netting trip where I broke the parallel switch. Oops. Then I learned that my house batteries were in need of replacement. (Not a surprise) But when the electrical equipment under the decks needed an evaluation. A switch and a solenoid needed to be removed and I got into improving the system. Then it got a life of it's own. Luckily Advanced Batteries turned me onto an electrical guru of sorts. Shang Wong of 3D Marine.

We now have a new bigger sized main house bank of three 4D AGM batteries (bank #1) and a new addition of a starting battery dedicated to the generator (bank #3).

And changed the Starting (bank #2 a 2 year old 4D) so that it starts both the Starboard and Port sides. Not a small matter for the boat.

And Added 2 Combiners and removed a Battery Isolator.

As the Combiners are able to take the charge of both Alternators and ramp them up so that the House Bank gets all the Juice it needs I have increased the systems ability to recover from drain. Increasing efficiency and decreasing charge times.

And this may increase the life of the batteries. It was also very nice to set up a new set of Switches in a convenient and yet dry place to work. Just inside the cabin. Safely under the sole of the salon is a new bank of switches and breakers. Very nice.

This was a very big upgrade and required the professional help of 3D Marine to rewire and properly balance the load and wire and switches and test and complete the job in time for the Halibut Derby. My start of the fishing season.

Sweet. I now have power for longer Fishing Trips. And longer family vacations on a Mooring or anchorage in ______. (pick a place within 100 miles of LA)

Ready for Fishing. Ready for boating season.

Fish Wish Granted.

Keith <"><

Electrical - Load and service. Amps etc.

2009-03-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

My head has been filled, as of late, with electrical systems and diagrams and 4D batteries and starting bank and house bank and isolator switches and space and weight concerns and Amp hours of service and draw of electronic components and recharging times to 80% or full charge...

And of course the repairs have had a life of their own and a costs that blossom like a spring time weed. Dang those dandelions.

I broke one switch. Needed two batteries. And found an Oops.

To repair and reinstall will involve some below deck wood repair. New Battery boxes and redesigning my electric service to power the starting of one engine and the generator and May involve new selector switches. And where was that solenoid switch?

But in the End... Ramblin' will be ready for a long 3 to 5 day weekend of Marlin Fishing. House Bank 1 will now have a 600 hour rating instead of 400 hours and I learned that you Never want to take your house bank below 50%. So therefore I just went from 200 to 300 usable. 124 just for my bait systems and then house lights and refrigeration will use up the rest. A very good upgrade.

And similarly the new setup for the Starting Batteries will give lots of peace of mind. Adding a small one for the Genny and redesigning the main engine starting system is not light work.

Keep your fingers crossed that I do not cross a wire. LOL

Keith

Ramblin around looking for Halibut hang outs

2009-03-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

A little Fish Report from Ramblin'. On Saturday I was out with 1/2 of my Halibut Derby Team to look for new Halibut Hang Outs in my favorite areas of SM Bay.

Marked some interesting places in my GPS. But not that easy to find fish that were biting. Talked to a friend (Top Dog) out on the water and they only got some bites at Short Banks. We stayed in the areas that we wanted to search for a Halibut the target.

No Fish. Nice water. Calm day. Did get some tan.

Keith <"><

Preperation for the Halibut Derby

2009-03-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

Goin' Fishin'

Went out for a little test run on Sunday at 8 AM. With me was 3/4 of my Halibut Derby team. Getting into the mindset and the boat and the gear dialed in for the April 4th & 5th MDR Halibut Derby.

So we went out to test out Ramblin' as a boat to do some of that "Bounce Balling" from. It was Not working for us. In Sundays mellow morning weather I could not go slow enough. Tried a 60 inch drag chute and still could not easily go slow enough. One engine in and out of gear. Just too much torque.

So we finally gave up on that and started using a bit of bait. Tim S. got one really nice sand bass in 63 feet of water off of Venice pier. So we were not blanked for a 1/4 day of fishing.

Tight Lines,

Keith <"><

see you in the www.HalibutDerby.com

Good Father Son Time

2009-03-04T22:09:00.000-08:00

Together we Rebuilt a nice cruiser bike for Ryan. Here he is with his new Ride...
Blue Electric Glide

Happy Mardi Gras

2009-02-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Mardi Gras wishes to you all from Santa Monica. Hope you are going to have a nice celebration tonight.

I'm hopeful that I'll find some Jazz tonight and see some fun friends to celebrate a little. I have attended a New Orleans Mardi Gras once. Maybe it will reinforce those happy memories.

I do have some beads.

Above are two evening shots of the SM Pier and PCH to Malibu. I took them at the top of the California Incline recently. The photos are evening shots and since I did not have a tripod are not very good. That does not diminish the fun of sharing them.

Have fun out there!

Economy notes... Inflation Not! Massive Deflation On It's Way via the Bail Out

2009-02-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

Is the bail out a sad hoax being sold to us by clowns in Washington DC?

Is this leading to a dishonest tax on all Americans via how the bailout is being funded by printing money. This inflationary period is going to affect you and your financial well being. What items hold value after a downturn of this type?

Gold? Silver? Real Estate? Euro's?