Shelter Cove 3 Thursdays in a row - 10/24, 10/31, 11/7

Got a call from a young adventurer who wanted to head offshore to catch some fish.  We set a date of Thursday, October 24th, and I arranged to get back to her about 5 days prior to our date to confirm that the forecast was a good one for our trip.  The long range call looked good with light winds and a low swell, but as we got closer to our date raspy winds and a Small Craft Advisory were now predicted to end the morning of our trip.  I spend lots of time looking at forecasts and comparing them to what materializes along the nearshore coastline.  Multiple forecast pages had this wind ending, so I kept the trip as planned, and I assured my guest that we wouldn't go out if the water wasn't right.  I've never had to cancel a trip the morning of, and it's because I'm very careful about making a reliable call of go or no-go prior to the trip.

So I make my way down to the Cove on the morning of October 24th, and there's some wild indicators along the route:

- it was 39 degrees passing over the Mattole at Whitethorn;
- it was 77 degrees at the top of the ridge above Whitethorn;
- this was before dawn;
- there were fir boughs on the road on the way down into the Cove - never a good sign;
- it was 77 degrees at the launch ramp, and that was also before dawn!

A slight breeze with 77 degrees at the ramp as I got the yaks and gear ready in the dark had me a bit concerned, but every forecast had things chilling way out.

Alicia arrived right on schedule, and as we geared up a few powerboats launched.  By a bit after 730AM when we would've been ready to launch the wind was showing signs of picking up instead of laying down.  I told my guest that sometimes we have to wait and watch it for a bit.  In the next 1.5 hours we basically waited out a mini-hurricane with 25 to 30 knots coming from the NE.  The swell was non-existent, but there was absolutely no way we'd be launching into that wind.  At one point over by Deadman's Gulch I saw wind that blew straight down on the water 3 times in a row and caused what looked like explosions of moisture and power, and I thought to myself, "that's dangerous!"

I have faith in the forecasts though - even if they're off by a few hours, when all the models say very light winds by mid-morning or so, you wait for it.  Alicia had never been in a wetsuit, she was getting too hot, and she's a millennial and didn't bring anything to keep her occupied!  By just after 9AM she suggested that we should postpone.  I didn't want to put my foot down because this was some of the worst wind I've ever seen on a fishing day!  I acquiesced, told her no problem and arranged to get back to her later to reschedule. 

Alicia drove back over the hill - she's local.  Less than an hour later the wind totally died, and I went on to have a productive day on flat glass in the sun with absolutely no wind for the rest of the day.

I was a bit bummed to have lost a work day AND spent $50 on gas and bait, but that's the breaks for a guy who gets to make part of his income in this manner.  I contacted Alicia later, told her that the wind ended up dying and that I had some fresh lingcod for her - I needed to keep some kind of string attached to this opportunity, or I might never convert!  Alicia was friendly and gracious, but I don't think it occurred to her that I'd lost money and a day because she didn't have faith and patience.  Again, I wasn't going to let it bog me down even if we never ended up going out, but it had me thinking about the importance of a possible deposit policy for future trips...

Over the coming days the forecast for the following Thursday, October 31st looked good, so I was corresponding with Alicia about getting out there to fulfill the trip.  She was onboard, but then the PG&E outage came along, and the feasibility factor faded then fizzled.  F&$%!  The power came back on in time for me to go solo, and it was the last day of salmon season, so another $50 worth of gas and bait would be consumed!  The salmon weren't biting, but it was another nice day OTW with plenty of the usual suspects hooked, played and landed, and I got home in time to dole out candy to the costumed masses (WAF points are always prioritized).

Thursday, November 7th was our newest target date.  Somehow the forecast was nice for the 3rd Thursday in a row, but it was now November...  The later you get in the calendar year, the more likely you'll encounter funkiness in terms of cold, fog, wind, confused seas...etc.  We ended up encountering all of those!  But the trip got fulfilled!!   

Here's my report for the trip:

A-Lo earned her Offshore Angler patch yesterday at the Cove. A mild but persistent south breeze had us paddling on choppy seas, and cold fog obscured our views of land for most of the day. Alicia had never been on the open ocean, so we started out with some concerns about seasickness, shark potentials and the whole can't-see-shore issue - not to mention that she'd never before used a fishing pole! By the end of the session my guest had checked these milestones off of her list:

- didn't get seasick or freaked out by not being able to see shore;
- learned how to troll bait along the reef;
- landed a 15 pound Chinook and a limit of lingcod!

Had to release the salmon of course, but how fortunate it was that she got to fight a stout and hot king on her first fishing trip.
We ended the day in the usual fashion - cold beer at the cleaning table and achy smile muscles on the drive home. Being in a position to introduce my guest to the offshore wilderness and to the thrill of pursuing diverse and beautiful creatures along our amazing coastline is even more fulfilling than I ever thought it would be. At the end of the day, making a new friend turns out to be the best part.

I know that I'm very fortunate to be in the position that I'm in, and I appreciate it very much.  In cases like this, where my own patience and faith are tested by circumstance, it's good for me to go through these trials and to focus on being positive and to find my own grace under pressure.

There's so much more to learn from our pursuits in the outdoors than just the obvious parts.

...then the forecast came true.

Halloween solo:

Game day, November 7th with Alicia!

Thanks for the multiple reports and great pictures Eric.

Thanks for the reports and perspective. Wow, what a great first fishing/ocean experience despite the WX!