Merry Christmas 2006

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.

Went to the Office Christmas party on Friday night. Cool. Smiles and lots of good food. Then on Saturday night a friend invited us to watch the Holiday Boat Parade from the back of his boat on the main channel in Marina Del Rey.

Double Wow. Two nights out with my wife in as many days. And we got to take Thomas and a friend to the water. The boats were nice. The fun was mostly in the going out. And reconnecting with everyone.

I liked the Pirate boat that had the good sound system and the Sail boat with the Hula Dancers was also very well done. But the trendy thing today is the Penguin and Happy Feet is the hit. The Cal Yacht Club Jrs did a swell job and I got lucky to snap this shot. I'm sure they won something.

My son Thomas did get wound up and had fun with the boats. The three young boys on the boat liked to yell at every Santa that went by that they wanted an MP3 and an XBox 360! There was the Santa on the Harbor Patrol boat the played with the Water Cannon and was teasing every now and then to Spray Us! Boy how the kids loved that. When the skipper of the boat realized what was happening (since I asked him how his bilge pumps were working and Asked if they were up to the challenge) he yelled for the kids to stop encouraging them! He he he. Nice Fun Stuff.

That would have been cold for them to hose the boys and our boat with sea water. Did have a moment of ... What if? Loved it. Nice to see the Harbor boat has good water accuracy and maneuverability to his boat.

Fun food and a puppy dog kept the kids amped up and happy.

Thanks to our hosts... Captain Greg and Buddy(dog) of the Clicker.

Nice Boat Run! New high Speed

Wow Nice Day out today.

It is Weds. and with the off shore movement of air recently the Santa Monica bay was flat as glass this day. What a nice day to run the boat!

A business client and I had just finished lunch and he and I went out to run the boat and get a Grin before going back to the office.

With the light load of fuel and the water tank and bait tank empty the boat was light. So we flew. And somehow the boat move up to the new all time high speed record of 45 knots!

Wow, I used to think 40 knots was fast but 45 knots on Santa Monica Bay.

Very cool ride. I have big grin over this. :-)

Keith <"><

Boat Run on Tuesday

On Tuesday the 21st I did a boat run for fun and to exercise the engines a little.

Nice run boat ran good and two friends from work got to feel the thrill of the wind in your teeth.

Keith <">

Immigration by the Numbers clip

Warning this is political and 14 min long. But good stuff. Hit the "Play" > and think about the bigger picture. I now think the traffic thing here in Los Angeles is the tip of the iceburg. Roy Beck's demonstration of the population consequences of current U.S. immigration policies has entertained and shocked audiences across the country. This video is packed with the facts and analysis that make moral and practical sense of a complex and highly contentious issue.

The Boat is Back in her slip

Yeah! The boat is back in the Slip.

Back in the Water. Waiting to go places.

Say out for a little Trip to find some Bug.
aka Lobster ... Hoop netting.

Maybe.

Took her for a little run after having to work on the props and the outboard. Felt good to take her for a little spin up past the Santa Monica Pier. Water was nice and the boat ran well.

K <"><

Time to think of Snow

Yes I must think ahead to the snow fall about to hit the mountains.

Why you may well ask? Ok I'll ask for you.

Why?

because in order to keep my wife happy I must take her to the snow tops of mountains. In order to not kill myself on these trips I must work out and get in shape at Virtual Snow.

If I do not work out and get in shape prior to the ski season I will break my leg or my neck. As my wife likes the steep and deep.

very Steep.

Bob over at virtual Snow is a godsend to me so I may ski here in west LA and be in shape for Ski Season.

got go do it. Now what nights do I not have filled with business meetings or MVCC related stuff? The volunteer time on the MarVistaCC related Items is taking up a lot of my life. Dang. And I want to go play. he he he.

Actually it all is fun.

Not fishing lately. Just being a Dad etc.

Keith -<"><

PS Do you want to hear about Thomas and his Guitar or Ryan and Paintball on my next post?

I watch a Blog that is great insight into ... not killing people

I watch a blog called "Random Acts of Reality" here is a quote about a Toothless Tiger... Referring to a issue in the medical industry.

" just imagine trying to suck an antelope to death"

so I thought of LA and the King/Drew Medical Center and the County Supervisors.

Ha

Each bad nurse hurts us all. Each speed bump hurts us all. And complacency to mediocrocy and worse, hurts us all.

so for a good read check out this view from a London EMT

Boat for Sale - MDR - my 30 Ft Go Fast & Fish Fast

Hi all,

OK the Scarab is for sale. Just had so much fun but can not take a lot of people along for weekends at the island.

Getting you to the fishin spot is not enough for the wife. He he he.

Perfect for 2 men on long trips. 3/4 men for a short day trip. Or best yet, 2 dads and 2 kids!

See http://www.mdranglers.com/forsale/scarab-30.htm for info on my baby.

We went out on Sunday and got some fun Bonita in the bay. Boy is it fun to go 38 knots for cruise and 40 to 42 knots flat out!

With Radar and Rod holders on the arch and a Spot Light up there for finding the lobster nets it is a no brainer as to why I love this boat for the local fishing. Big Bait tank.

Fits in the 30 foot slip. Props come all the way out of the water so no big issues on water hurting the engines. Nice. I have been getting great prices on the fuel by using jerry cans from the more affordable gas on shore.

Was asking $24 k and now willing to come down $6k as I think I see the my next boat on the radar. 34 foot and sleeps 6. My fuel bill will go up some but my creature comforts for the wife will go way up.

My loss ... Your Gain. Only $18,000 for the fastest fishing boat in its class.
Docked in Marina Del Rey, California. A fun Welcraft Scarab Sportfish Center Console.

Check it out.

Call me at work desk... Keith Lambert
desk at Boardwalk Realty - 310-754-8116

Little Boat Ride with Kids

Boat Ride to bonito land... Just 4 miles out of Marina Del Rey on Sunday with Ryan.

The boat did not feel like running today. I need to have a rather small prop. problem worked on.

So we went slow just like the old Betty O and just fast enough to Troll Tuna feathers in the right areas where the bonito had chased up bait. Fun ensued. Fast. Frequently. Ever 3 and 4 hookups at one time. Just very cool.

Two teen age boys and two dads. Lots of Sunshine. Lots of pretty blue water with little waves. What a great Day.

Did go try a few drifts for halibut near Topanga and Santa Monica Cyn. with no luck. But for a little excitement we hooked up a fish that fought hard and gave me a lot of fight. Not letting us get a look at it and working very hard to not come up. I was on very light line and a long wippy stick. It took a lot of patience to work it up to the side of the boat. It finally turned out to be a Guitarfish. aka a Shovel Nosed Shark. But what the hay... I got to show the buys how to fight a big fish successfully to the boat on ultra light line.

If that had been a Halibut!!! It would have been well over the 18# halibut that was holding the top spot on the leaderboard at the Bait Dock. And we had put in for the monthly Jackpot for the Day's fishing.

Next time.
Things are good.

(Meanwhile both props are going in for service and we will be back to full speed in 1 to 2 weeks.)

In Search of . . . Pointy Fishies

Going out again for a little marlin tournament... KHMC in Avalon.

“Marlin fishing is hours of boredom punctuated with moments of sheer panic!

So we may as well have a hell of a lot of fun out there in the wilderness of the wild blue ocean.

Looking for a little blessing from the Fish Wish source. May we please have a flat sea and that luck to Hook Up on a big marlin or 2 or 3.

That would be fun.

Keith L. --<"><

Inside Sportfishing - Black Marlin Boulevard - Preview

We got a Marlin this last weekend. Here is a sample... ol'time original 16mm color films, provided by the IGFA. Without question this is one of fishing's most historical moments. Baseball great, Ted Williams introduces us to the Cabo Blanco Fishing Club, before heading off the beach, making bait and doing battle with a marlin... circa, 1954

Fish Wish for the family camping trip

My fish wish is for a happy and safe family trip.

Keeping it simple. Long drive up to Lake McClure and then some tent camping and boating with friends. Hoping the kids keep their cool and that Mom and Dad do the same.

I will spend my time with a cold Frosty while Trish goes out to Water Ski.

The boys are finished with the Sailing Camp in Marina Del Rey and next week start a new Adventure Camp. Boy they have it good.

Well back to work. Trish has been working extra hard to get the stuff ready for the trip. Bless her heart.

Keith -<"><

4th of July in Cat Harbor was fun

Hang out with family on the mooring.

Eat often. Drink plenty. Play with kids. Let kids play and explore. Visit and just have a good time. We visited with Kenny and Jeffrey on our boat. Side tied to Unreal and Big Dog we got to know the Fines and the Godfreys.

Did try to do a little fishing. But the fish were not cooperating very much so I went back to playing and kayaking and swimming and Jet Ski and even a little Kite flying and baseball on shore.

Ryan had a good time with friends at the isthmus. Thomas made some new friends and played on that sail boat that had the two 9 year olds. Trish and I had much time to devote to our own ideas of fun. Trish rode her bike. Ryan and Thomas shared Ryan's Dinghy. (very nice)

In the end... Fireworks on the beach on the 3rd. Then return on the 4th to the fireworks at home. We were the best kind of tuckered out.

Fish Wish Granted. We had fun.

PS Special Thank you to Carl for letting us use his bigger boat for the weekend.

Last day of School for the Kids

Thomas and I did a little fishing trip on the ocean on Thursday evening. With the club and there was a bunch of us. Nearly 40 of us on the Marina Del Rey sportboat the New Del Mar. Had a good evening catching sand bass and calico bass. Nice. It was also Thomas' last day of school. He brought a school friend along. The friend, Chris, did very well landing 4 fish. Better than Thomas and I combined.

No longer a 3^rd grader. T Man is going into 4^th grade.

Ryan will be a 8^th grader next year. He bailed out of the fishing trip and I had worked to position the trip for him and a friend of his, Adam. Adam was all set to go. Ryan and Adam are going to be paired in the FJ’s for sailing this season. Just a few days away. So the excuse for Ryan to make trouble to be excused from going fishing was that he went to the skate place down in Venice where there was an entertainment event going on. He and Adam had a good time I think.

And the Fishing trip did not include a grumpy teen. So I was able to have fun with Thomas and Chris. Better for all involved. Mom had the house to herself and she liked that too.

Not bad for a Thursday. Better than many Friday nights.

BTW – Ryan had taken a fall recently and his hip is hurting him. He did not even skate on National skate day. (Wds) But he did elect to not go to school. Ha Ha Ha. Like that?

Time with my son

On Sat and Sunday I got to spend some quality time with Thomas.

Sat. we used the big tractor up at the NVLL field that was mowing it for parking on Sunday when the big end of the season picnic was held. Thomas did a good job helping me to drive. We spent a lot of time there.

afterwards we sat around home some and just had some good father son time in the garage. He set the train to run some. I just watched some. VERY good quality Dad time. Fathers Day came early I guess.

And Ryan has a new place to skate and I went and watched him for a little. Also good. He is talented and wants to get better. He dropped into a big half pipe when it was his turn and ran a few good moves but not the high flying stuff yet. Still a little ways to go to get the speed needed to do long grinds etc.

Nice to be there for him. He has a new passion for War-Hammer stuff. I have helped them make a playing field on a part of plywood that was the old tabletop skate ramp. A road and bridge over a river. A hill that Thomas and I made from paper with flower and water. Basic crafting. We even used basic water color paints. But it worked. They play the game on the board with the other kids on the street. Glad to help them have a good time.

Now back to work for me. The kids are ok. And school lets out for the summer soon.

Struggle is good

clip of story... about Struggle _ We need it to stay strong and healthy

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appreared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appreared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So to help the butterfly, he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.

It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Sometime struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly! Remember... what we struggle with makes us strong!

Not going Memorial Day

Dropped the trip on Memorial Day to Cat Harbor from the calendar. Darn it.
It would have been a nice trip to go on but ... Family is not on board with it.
Tents on the shore under a light and lack of faith in good weather and the boat.

Need a better boat if family trips are to happen I guess. And more revenues to justify the fuel bills as well! That was the clincher. Dooh. Or is that Dough!

Doooh

Work, Work, Work and a little bit of Baseball with Thomas.
Made a little time to help him and a pal build a toy 50cal for playing army in the yard with friends. Now have to go off to a meeting with the neighborhood group.

Looking forward to time at Catalina for Memorial Day.

New Fish Wish - Memorial Day weekend

My new fish wish is for good weather and water conditions for the planned Memorial Day weekend trip to Cat Harbor with the club.

We will be staying in tents on shore. So the little boat will be a pack mule on the way to and from but should be free to fish while at the island.

I want to play with Thomas. Give Ryan some freedom to roam at two harbors. Trish will ride her bike and tour the byways. Sounds good to me. Fingers Crossed.

Keith <"><

Not much fishing lately

Hi all

Not much fishing going on here for me. I have been very busy with my Real Estate work and the new rebuilt and totally overhauled www.REList.net web site.

But I learned to do a link for my Webshots page I think.


by fishwww

Now is that a pretty fish? Let's see your comments.

April 2nd and day two of Halibut Derby

Yes this is Kid Fishing Day.

My lucky charm fishing partner Thomas was out with me.

I liked this much better. He had some fun too.

Still using the same bait from the previous day. But no fish.

We called it at 2 pm so Thomas can get picked up by Mom and taxied to his Baseball game at 4 pm. I went over to the party and got some Din Din from the Halibut Derby party. (dinner comes with the entry fee.) And a very good fishing Friend wins the thing with a 41.8 pound Halibut.

Way to Go Vic.

I did not buy any raffle tickets. I did head out early as I learned via cell phone that Thomas just had a in the park HOME RUN. I had to go watch the 2nd half of the baseball game and root for my son.

April 1st halibut fishing

It's MDR Halibut time and I spent half the day on shore.

Dooh how that happened is why I'm going gray.

But after wife got home I got going with sandwiches and scooted down to the boat. Went out so late that it was past noon. Decided to skip on bait and just troll with some heavy weights to get down low.

Solo fishing with three rods out and rough seas and high wind. Not that easy. NOT productive. 12 and 16 OZ not getting to the bottom.

So I chat on the radio and eat a sandwich. Then a fellow is out there near Santa Monica Canyon that needs a jump. So I respond Yeah I can help. After trolling that way for a little he gets a little more desperate for a jump and says the radio is going to go dead next. So I reel up and scoot. It was a relatively easy thing. Just a little rough seas for the side tie thing.

But he gave me a couple nets full of bait!!! Squid and some Anchovy. I was golden.

Still no luck but Now I was fishing. Finally called it as the sun was setting. the HD weigh in was well closed for the day. (day one Sat.) but I slid by there and talked to a few friends boat to boat.

And it was cool. That's Fishing. Even if it was solo.
(Yes, I did wear a life vest the whole time.)

Halibut Derby for two

Hi

Have not posted for a little bit. So sue me. Kinda had a lot on my mind.
Getting baseball games and stuff in the calendar has had me busy.
I love the little league time I spend with Thomas and his White Sox.

Thomas' team has been playing fairly well. Great learning year.

3 wins and 1 tie and 2 losses so far. Thomas has played a lot of positions.

Catcher of course, first base, third and outfield. He does not want to pitch.

He likes catcher or first base. He is very good at both.

Lots of info and stuff were put on the Yahoo Groups site set up for that team. It is a private group for family and friends. So not everyone will see my many posts to that group. Drop me a note if you want to be invited in. (close friends and family of the players mostly)

Also Ryan did not want to fish the halibut derby... Thomas on the other hand did.

Next post - the fishing thing.

Little league baseball had it's opening day on Sat March 4th

Dang this is fun.

Little league baseball is officially here in my area. Love to root for the kids and help them and play with them. Thomas has a good team this year.

It is just farm level where all the kids are just learning. But Thomas is in his second year and will be a star on the team with 4 other strong players to give us "White Sox" a good base of hitters and play makers.

I put a bunch of Photos on the yahoo group that I started for the team. It is a private group.
If you are a relation or friend send me a note if you want to see them. Keith L. <"><

Cabo Trip with Son and Brother

To much to say ... Can not use words. Gota use photos.


by fishwww

We had a wonderful time. Carl got a 155 lb Swordfish.


by fishwww

I was a 2nd Gaffer.

Prior to the Swordie on Sunday I got a Marlin on Sat.

by fishwww

And then Ryan got his first Marlin!

by fishwww

Good three day weekend trip. Results: 5 marlin and a swordfish.

Nice way to commemorate my boys 13th birthday.

Fish Wish Come True!

LA Boat show with Thomas - 1-31-2006

I picked Thomas up from school early. He had a Minimum day on Tuesday. School ended at 1:30 pm. We went downtown and did the Boat show together.

see www.scma.com for info on the boat show...
It was 7 for parking and 7 to get in with AAA discount. Thomas was free.

We looked at info on Lake Powell house boating. We have a family trip planed for September with Aunts and Uncles and 3 or 4 other families. So we sucked that up a little.

But what we really did was walk boats. All the top floor of the show was boats and large hardware. We looked at the new reverse Volvo drive. We walked boats. Thomas took his shoes off so many times it wsa getting tiring for him.

But we found some really sweet boats. I followed him through some of the 50 and 60 footers I had no interest in and he did a great job of helping me look at the boats in the 27 to 32 foot class. Oooh we had fun. There at a few things in the family cruiser size that works for a next boar up. I really liked the ones with the amidships cabin. Makes the Express type boat a good compromise and have the sleeping space needed for the family of 4 and guest kid that is likely to come along with either of the boys. I need sleeping for 5... Wow. It may be possible.

But the prices are way scary. The Rampage 30 Express was the first one to really nock my socks off. All the nice stuff in the cabin with lovely wood. Has Diesel power and Generator and Radar and Fish Finder and GPS Map and Vacuflush head. And is goes 27 knots for maybe 360 miles on a tank that holds 250 gal. Now that is usable range. But what about the $230,000 price tag. Wife is right to not want that heartache.

12 boats later I fell in love. We found the Sea Ray Amberjack 290 a great option. Loaded with stuff and 230 gal fuel capacity and fishable and nice to look at and Nice to be on. Only $139,000. Ok it has s funny thing with Stern Drives. ( I/O ) with an odd thing with a large under with water exhaust that will drag in the water or catch a line when a fish dives under the boat or... but it may help my wife to not smell the engines. It may help the boat to track true? Or to reduce the stern rocking motion. But it sure is new to me. Really stood out when I looked under the boat.

All in all a fun boat show to visit. Thomas did a few knots down at the lower hall at the CG Auxiliary booth. And we got a raffle ticket for the boat they are giving away. This one will be Thomas' if we win. Ryan has a Dinghy and a Sailboat. Thomas is ready for a tender. Would be fun to take to Lake Powell too.

After searching the boats on line I found a Amberjack that works nicely in Salt Lake Utah for 79k in "like New" condition. Now I may be getting closer to our smaller budget.

It is almost like a extra third car or a weekend vacation property. One needs to use it to get the value out of it. An Express cruiser would get used for vacations and my fishing addiction.

Thomas liked the fun of crawling into the small headroom mid cabin bunks to have his own play place. Hmm If only the $ were there.

Ryan gets his Bent Halibut Trophy

At the MDR Anglers Awards Party my son Ryan got his last set of awards for the monster halibut he caught in 2005.

I put the photos up in the Yahoo group for MDRAnglers in a photo album for "2005 Awards Party" for those who at into fishing to see. He did good with the mike and stood in front of the large crowd with confidence. I tried to give him his space and spot in the limelight all on his own.

I stayed in my seat and let him have the front of the room to his self. He is a good confident young man. Full of smiles and good humor and confidence. All of this for a boy who turns 13 next month.

Thomas was eager to share the spotlight a little with his brother. So he got up and helped his big brother with the big "bent" halibut trophy.

I'm emailing that photo to all my friends and family.

I'm a proud fishing Dad. And that was a good MDRA Awards party on Sat Jan 28th 2006.

A good Sat. with kids

I had a really great day with the kids on Sat.
It was early Nov. and a sunny day. After letting them just play and have a pancake breakfast with Moms best breakfast, we managed to get to go out and play catch at the park.

Thomas and two neighbor kids. The four of us got to hang out at the park and play. I do not even mind that I got a work call for a plumbing item in NYC that needed to be handled. (did a major delegate uphill on that one)

Cody was a little older and when the two little ones wanted to play on the playground equipment, Cody and I got to Throw some faster balls. A nice work out.

Then it happened on the way home... Thomas said he wanted to sign up for baseball next season!

Yessss! The next day we went up to the ball field where they were doing the early sigh up and got the forms taken care of. North Venice L. L. is a well run division of this division. They have a snack bar and I as a parent will have to volunteer to work in it. It is fun in the big schema of things.

I am SO relieved that Thomas has not given up on team sports. His brother in 7th grade is into skateboarding and no sports. How can a Dad cheer that on. He wants to do street skating. Thomas is trying to follow the skate thing to. But has not learned to do the tricks yet.

that's the good word for my blog for Nov. 2005