GS8 - Only one brief capsizing reported - WTG, Everybody!

GS8 Paid Registrations:

1.   Batt, Dave / batt                     
2.   Bennett, Martin / Fish ‘n Brew      
3.   Calvert, John / Dogwood   
4.   Cameron, James / AbMan   
5.   Campbell, Craig / INSAYN         
6.   Chasey, Lloyd / Kahuna      
7.   Coon, Aaron / SeaChumm   
8.   Dilbeck, Michael / dilbeck
9.   Easter, Brandi / Brandi
10.   Gee, Scott / Great Bass 2       Welcome back!   
11.   Harrison, Scott / SFHarry   
12.   Hayashibara, John / bluewrx02
13.   Isaac, Jim / Jim I.   
14.   Jackson, Jim / Salty.   
15.   Johnson, Bill / Snapperhead   
16.   Jung, Won / SmokeOnTheWater      
17.   Kaber, Doug / crash
18.   Kaji, Amber / HapaIK’s wife
19.   Kaji, Isao / HapaIK
20.   Knoles, Rob / RacinRob
21.   Moxon, Jacob / jmox
22.   Newman, Ben / Ben
23.   Nguyen, Sonny / Sailfish
24.   Ocampo, Erwin / Darius         
25.   Ornellas, Jeff / Jeffo
26.   Price, Chad / Chardock   
27.   Revelo, Antonio / Cabeza de Martillo   Welcome back!   
28.   Reyes, Herb / Herb
29.   Richards, Jeff / JWR
30.   Riggs, Jeff / Jriggs      Welcome back!   
31.   Russell, Jim / BigJim
32.   Sciucchetti, Pete / PineMtnPete
33.   Shippey, Raydon / Raydon
34.   Silva, David / metallidave
35.   Smith, Jeff / barefoot1            
36.   Stockwell, Eric / Abking   
37.   Walker, Paul / PNWKA
38.   Walker, Sean / PISCEAN   

GS8 Paid Registrations:

1.   Batt, Dave / batt                     
2.   Bennett, Martin / Fish ‘n Brew   
3.   Brockman, Cody/ MontanaN8V Guest     Welcome, Father and Son Team!!   
4.   Brockman, Rich / MontanaN8V   Welcome back, Rich - cool that you're teaming with Cody!
5.   Calvert, John / Dogwood   
6.   Cameron, James / AbMan   
7.   Campbell, Craig / INSAYN         
8.   Chasey, Lloyd / Kahuna      
9.   Coon, Aaron / SeaChumm   
10.   Dilbeck, Michael / dilbeck
11.   Easter, Brandi / Brandi
12.   Gee, Scott / Great Bass 2
13.   Harrison, Scott / SFHarry   
14.   Hayashibara, John / bluewrx02
15.   Isaac, Jim / Jim I.   
16.   Jackson, Jim / Salty.   
17.   Johnson, Bill / Snapperhead   
18.   Jung, Won / SmokeOnTheWater      
19.   Kaber, Doug / crash
20.   Kaji, Amber / HapaIK’s wife
21.   Kaji, Isao / HapaIK
22.   Knoles, Rob / RacinRob
23.   Moxon, Jacob / jmox
24.   Newman, Ben / Ben
25.   Nguyen, Sonny / Sailfish
26.   Ocampo, Erwin / Darius         
27.   Ornellas, Jeff / Jeffo
28.   Price, Chad / Chardock   
29.   Revelo, Antonio / Cabeza de Martillo
30.   Reyes, Herb / Herb
31.   Richards, Jeff / JWR
32.   Riggs, Jeff / Jriggs
33.   Russell, Jim / BigJim
34.   Sciucchetti, Pete / PineMtnPete
35.   Shippey, Raydon / Raydon
36.   Silva, David / metallidave
37.   Smith, Jeff / barefoot1            
38.   Stockwell, Eric / Abking   
39.   Walker, Paul / PNWKA
40.   Walker, Sean / PISCEAN   

Big thanks to a clubmate who's offered a prize for largest black rockfish caught by a kid (16 and under).  Kids can only participate as part of their parent's team, and it sounds like there could be several kid-competitors this year!  Good Times!   

More info TBA later. 

Eric,

Do you have a separate thread for the hike and dive?

Was just thinking about a list of what to bring and what not to bring.
I would also think that the fat Wheelez are a must.

Eric,

Do you have a separate thread for the hike and dive?

Was just thinking about a list of what to bring and what not to bring.
I would also think that the fat Wheelez are a must.

There is a separate thread, Antonio, but we can discuss it here.  I say pack light!  3 miles each way is a lot of ground to cover.  If you're bringing anything on wheels they HAVE to be sand wheels.  I'll be bringing just my wetsuit with hood and mask/snorkel - no weightbelt.

  ...Your gonna be carrying all of Antonios shit!!!

GS8 Paid Registrations:

1.   Batt, Dave / batt                  
2.   Bennett, Martin / Fish ‘n Brew   
3.   Brockman, Cody/ MontanaN8V Guest
4.   Brockman, Rich / MontanaN8V   
5.   Calvert, John / Dogwood   
6.   Cameron, James / AbMan   
7.   Campbell, Craig / INSAYN         
8.   Chasey, Lloyd / Kahuna      
9.   Coon, Aaron / SeaChumm   
10.   Dilbeck, Michael / dilbeck
11.   Duffy, Tim / fisheducator        Welcome back!   
12.   Easter, Brandi / Brandi
13.   Gee, Scott / Great Bass 2
14.   Harrison, Scott / SFHarry   
15.   Hayashibara, John / bluewrx02
16.   Isaac, Jim / Jim I.   
17.   Jackson, Jim / Salty.   
18.   Johnson, Bill / Snapperhead   
19.   Jung, Won / SmokeOnTheWater      
20.   Kaber, Doug / crash
21.   Kaji, Amber / HapaIK’s wife
22.   Kaji, Isao / HapaIK
23.   Knoles, Rob / RacinRob
24.   Moxon, Jacob / jmox
25.   Newman, Ben / Ben
26.   Nguyen, Sonny / Sailfish
27.   Ocampo, Erwin / Darius         
28.   Ornellas, Jeff / Jeffo
29.   Peters, Aaron / pond poacher        Welcome back!   
30.   Price, Chad / Chardock   
31.   Revelo, Antonio / Cabeza de Martillo
32.   Reyes, Herb / Herb
33.   Richards, Jeff / JWR
34.   Riggs, Jarrod / Goofball          Welcome to Gimme Shelter!!   
35.   Riggs, Jeff / Jriggs
36.   Russell, Jim / BigJim
37.   Sciucchetti, Pete / PineMtnPete
38.   Shippey, Raydon / Raydon
39.   Silva, David / metallidave
40.   Smith, Jeff / barefoot1            
41.   Stockwell, Eric / Abking   
42.   Velho, Joe / strucdog         Welcome back!   
43.   Walker, Paul / PNWKA
44.   Walker, Sean / PISCEAN   
45.   Ziomek, Tracey / sctrace       Welcome back!   

45 signed up so far, including 3 ladies, 2 kids, and 9 overall that are new to the competition!

Projection based on that:

-  240 competitors
- 16 women
- 11 kids
- 48 new folks

I could definitely be off...

Mailng mine out this Friday Eric.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Mailed my entry yesterday!

GS8 Paid Registrations:

1.   Batt, Dave / batt                  
2.   Bennett, Martin / Fish ‘n Brew   
3.   Brockman, Cody/ MontanaN8V Guest
4.   Brockman, Rich / MontanaN8V   
5.   Calvert, John / Dogwood   
6.   Cameron, James / AbMan   
7.   Campbell, Craig / INSAYN         
8.   Chasey, Lloyd / Kahuna      
9.   Coon, Aaron / SeaChumm   
10.   Dilbeck, Michael / dilbeck
11.   Duffy, Tim / fisheducator
12.   Durant, Jacob / jaked4   Welcome to GS!  Looking forward to meeting your family!   
13.   Easter, Brandi / Brandi
14.   Gee, Scott / Great Bass 2
15.   Harrison, Scott / SFHarry   
16.   Hayashibara, John / bluewrx02
17.   Isaac, Jim / Jim I.   
18.   Jackson, Jim / Salty.   
19.   Johnson, Bill / Snapperhead   
20.   Jung, Won / SmokeOnTheWater      
21.   Kaber, Doug / crash
22.   Kaji, Amber / HapaIK’s wife
23.   Kaji, Isao / HapaIK
24.   Knoles, Rob / RacinRob
25.   Moxon, Jacob / jmox
26.   Newman, Ben / Ben
27.   Nguyen, Sonny / Sailfish
28.   Ocampo, Erwin / Darius         
29.   Ornellas, Jeff / Jeffo
30.   Peters, Aaron / pond poacher
31.   Price, Chad / Chardock
32.   Quinton, Josh / JJQ            Welcome back, Salmon-Brother!   
33.   Revelo, Antonio / Cabeza de Martillo
34.   Reyes, Herb / Herb
35.   Richards, Jeff / JWR
36.   Riggs, Jarrod / Goofball
37.   Riggs, Jeff / Jriggs
38.   Russell, Jim / BigJim
39.   Sciucchetti, Pete / PineMtnPete
40.   Shippey, Raydon / Raydon
41.   Silva, David / metallidave
42.   Silva, Jon / shoprat          Welcome to GS!   
43.   Smith, Jeff / barefoot1            
44.   Stockwell, Eric / Abking   
45.   Velho, Joe / strucdog
46.   Walker, Paul / PNWKA
47.   Walker, Sean / PISCEAN   
48.   Ziomek, Tracey / sctrace

Think the family is more in to this then i thought they would  so pump for this one

Learning to Ab Dive - Abalone Point, 1989

Going to school at Davis in the late 80's I'd travel north with new friends to explore the forest, rivers and coastline that I'd grown up around.  It wasn't until I'd left Humboldt for college that I fully realized how awesome it is up here, and my buddies helped me discover how cool my home area was too by jumping on board for any trips up 101.

My older brother was up at HSU at the time and involved with the dive program.  He'd called to invite me and some buddies up to Shelter Cove for abalone diving.  Although I'd grown up around the sport, I'd not done any diving at that point.  I left Davis with two friends who also lacked diving experience, but we were all stoked about learning.  We cruised north in my 1987 Nissan Sentra, arriving at the Cove and driving right down onto Black Sands Beach where we tent camped for free at the south end of the Lost Coast - that was before they closed vehicle access to the beach there.  It was the good old days!

After a wild night of too many brews and fun around the campfire, we crashed out to get some rest for the next day's dive adventure.  My bro had lots of rag-tag diving equipment, so the next morning he outfitted us in suits, booties, gloves, hoods, mask/snorkel, fins and weightbelts, and we were ready to go.  We drove from Black Sands back to the lighthouse area, made our way down a dirt trail and got in the water just offshore of where The Tides is now - it was just a vacant lot at that point.  In about ten feet of water getting used to the mask and snorkel and practicing breath hold came pretty easily as I'd always been a swimmer, but we weren't finding any abalone.  It was an experience issue, because there are lots of abs at that location!

My brother was getting bored with the spot, so we all hauled out and drove up the road to Abalone Point at the north end of the airstrip and the most exposed point to the prevailing northwest swell.  Although it was a pretty calm day, the surge at Ab Point can get pretty hairy, and the underwater geography there is insanely complex, with cavernous bedrock features that feel like they'll swallow you up while looking around below the surface.  The diving was much deeper here - 15 to 20 feet right off the rocks.  After getting used to diving that deep and actually having some time to look around for abalone, I started seeing a few.  My brother had instructed me on how they clamp down hard and the need for decisive moves with the iron, but I wasn't ready for the amazing strength of these animals!  I found one and tried to get my iron under it, but it sucked down too quickly, and I was out of breath.  I made for the top, got a breath, looked around and called out to my brother:  "I found one!  I tried to pull it off the rock, but it sucked down!"  He quickly snaps back, "Did you put your iron under it?!  If you did then you probably killed it!" 

So here I am, thinking the surge was going to kill me, and once I did work up the balls to link together a series of dives in twenty feet of water, I commit the cardinal sin of possibly cutting an ab and not retaining it.  I was bummed and actually crying about my poor showing - that was a bit extreme, as, in hindsight, my bro was being harsh!  I persisted and ended up getting an abalone, but I never did find that first one again.  My buddies didn't fare so well - each of them achieving some level of progress with the diving, but neither getting an ab and one of them not diving much at all.  There's just so much to get used to in abalone diving - the constrictive suit, the cold, breath holding, the claustrophobic nature of low visibility water and slithering around amongst rocks on the bottom of the ocean...

We made our way back to Davis after completing our party-dive mission and using all available time in the weekend, and that was the start to what has become such a passion in my life:  the pursuit of activities in, on and around the ocean.  For many years after that I focused on abalone diving and managed to achieve a high level of proficiency and focus.  Seeking out seldom travelled spots along remote beaches became an obsession, and the progression of my skills over the years was paralleled by my decisions regarding how I would go after the amazing animals.  I'll never forget my brother's teaching - as harsh as it was I value the message that we should be prepared and focused on using proper technique when we choose to attempt to harvest ocean wildlife.

No sportsman is perfect, and we all have different learning curves as well as differing levels of discipline regarding how we choose to tread on the wild places that we visit.  I believe that the essence of being a sportsman lies in how we choose to honor the species that we pursue and the wild places where we do it.  There are those who may claim that bringing 100's of people to the Cove for a fishing tournament is incongruent with a desire to preserve, protect and honor, but I say no way!  Inviting my NCKA family to a sacred place like Shelter Cove reflects my desire to share not only the place and its bounty, but also to reveal my true heart for knowing and loving these things.  I believe that knowing and loving is a prerequisite to honoring and protecting, and none of that is out of line with harvest.

I've achieved some special milestones in my outdoors endeavors, and I will always cherish those memories.  The role that I see myself in now is one of mentor and guide.  I want to show the awesomeness of Nature to those who love her like I do, and I want to get across important messages of care and proper form...  without making anyone cry.   

Looking forward to sharing the Cove with you.   

This video of old scanned photos has some pertinent info...

Fourth pic is of that first trip to the Cove around 1989 with me and my Nissan very near the current location of The Tides patio.
Fifth pic is of my buddy Mark at Black Sands Beach that weekend.
At 2:53 I'm up the beach where we're doing the Hike and Dive on 5/19.
At 5:43 big Shelter Cove ling on a charter boat around '94.
At 8:12 Cape Mendocino lighthouse when it was still at the Cape - it's been in Shelter Cove for years now.

This video of old scanned photos has some pertinent info...

Fourth pic is of that first trip to the Cove around 1989 with me and my Nissan very near the current location of The Tides patio.
Fifth pic is of my buddy Mark at Black Sands Beach that weekend.
At 2:53 I'm up the beach where we're doing the Hike and Dive on 5/19.
At 5:43 big Shelter Cove ling on a charter boat around '94.
At 8:12 Cape Mendocino lighthouse when it was still at the Cape - it's been in Shelter Cove for years now.

great retrospective eric, thanks for sharing, one of these days i will be able to get to GMS, but until that time hope to have this view with you some time this summer, cameron

...Your gonna be carrying all of Antonios shit!!!

That's some funny stuff....