A Story From My Friend James
(My friend James at work recently took his new boat out of storage for the winter. This is the tale, in his own words, of his shrimping trip on Saturday)
Here’s how the trip went.
The trip starts as usual. Got a late start. Left Anchorage around 1PM. Cannot seem to leave in the morning. I think fishing before dawn only happens in the movies. Stop by Costco to fill up the boat. I fill it up, but manage to get gas on my shirt. I think it’s minimal, but when I start driving in a confined space, it becomes too much. I’d rather not get high on fumes. The shirt comes off and goes into the bed of the truck. I can show off my lack of tan or wear a sweater. The sweater wins.
Got to Whittier around 2PM. Minimal traffic at the boat launch. Cool. I back the boat up doing my usual back and forth. Straighten up…turn, pull forward, go backwards, go forward, turn left, no…turn right. After several attempts, got the boat in the water. I didn’t hit the side rail like someone else did. So, the time was worth it. It’s probably close to 3PM, but who knows for sure.
I leave the boat, while I parked the truck and trailer. Of course, it’s a long walk back to the dock. Probably a 10 minute walk.
I’ve got to go to the bathroom before I get on the boat. So, I stop there. While walking back to the boat, I see there’s a store open. So, I stop and look and get some snacks for the trip. Ok, another 10 minutes goes by.
Get to the boat…ok, ready to go. Start the engine. Turn on the GPS and radio. Good to go. Start backing up and I hear…”Why is there water coming in the boat?” I panic. Pull forward a few feet. Remember all those minutes passing by while the boat was in the water? Long walk from parking lot, bathroom break, and stop at the store? During those delays, the boat was filling with water. There is a reason a boat has a bilge pump. It’s because people like me (on the first trip of the year) forgot to do the most important thing…put the boat plug in! I’ve heard stories of people sinking their boat at the dock because of this…panic continues. I rush to the back of the boat and reach into the area where I need to plug the boat. No time to show off my tan, and take my sweater off. I reach into the water (elbow high) and plug the boat. Whew, water stops rising. The boat is still on top of the water and not sinking. I turn on the bilge pump. It’s a good 15 minutes later before the boat empties.
It’s probably close to 5 before I get out of the dock. You know…late start, backing the boat up into the water fiasco, walk from parking lot, bathroom break, store break, boat plug fiasco.
I did manage to get the shrimp pots in the water. Since the Whittier tunnel closes early during the winter schedule (it’s still on winter schedule), I didn’t leave the pots in the water long. Close to an hour and half. Checked them. Here’s how the story goes.
Gas for truck and boat $160
Whittier tunnel fee $20
Boat launch fees $20
Parking Fee $10
# of Shrimp 0
The story I can tell: priceless.

![thejohnblog:
This is it. The last post of this, I promise. Remember, keep it secret and keep it safe. We’re almost done, cause I am shutting it down tonight and getting it over to [REDACTED] tomorrow. The response has been incredible. Lets bring it as close to home as possible.
thejohnblog:
Thanks to the amazing response to this blog last night, please tolerate this repost for the “Day Shift.”
Guess what. If you are reading this, chances are I sent you a message in your askbox last night. Yes. YOU. I spent hours, only to find out NO ONE got the message.
Its TOP SECRET. Some of you JUST got the message through other means.
I cant go into it here. Really. Or the surprise is spoiled.
This? This post is sincere.
Do you want to help me do something wonderful?
Please email me at thejohnblog@gmail.com
I’ll tell you and hopefully…
YOU’RE IN.
(Please… Reblog)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqjh8wG5G21qat0syo1_500.jpg)
