Family Boating Trip Memorial Weekend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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.

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