When I awoke, the Dire Wolf, six hundred pounds of sin,
Was grinning at my window, and I said "Well come on in"
The wolf came in, I got my cards, we sat down for a game,
I cut the cards to the Queen of Spades, but the cards were all the same.
2013 is scattering to the past. Like mercury splashing and rolling on the floor it will soon scurry into the corners and exit through the cracks. But before it becomes just a pile of fallen calendar petals, lets take a look back at some pretty good stuff what happened:
First and foremost on the fishing front in our front yard at Las Arenas we had an absolutely stellar year for big dorado. As we headed into June we were besieged with dorado such that a 30 pounder was nothing special on the beach. The day that stands out for me was one on which we had 8 boats that took 40 dorado, with the smallest at 38 lbs. and the biggest kissin' 60. Usually males of this size are solo or in pairs (don't go there!) and you have to hunt to find them. During the Onslaught of 2013 they were looking for you. As some of these fish took well over an hour to land, it often wasn't the amount of fish available that limited the catch, but the lack of time. While we are accustomed to good dorado fishing here, pretty much year in and year out, having customers return, beaten up and with equipment broken down is usually reserved for our runs of big tuna, but this year the dorado reeked havoc on backs and fishing line. We had our runs of tuna, dogs, and wahoo, but the amount and size of the dorado was the stand out event of this past year. From a business stand point, we had a several new groups of folks come down this year to augment the regulars, and hope that they too become often seen.
This year at Mag Bay was a good one as well. The biggest new card in the hand was the arrival, in the nick by the way, of our new boat. She's a 31' Ocean Master, built in Florida to handle the rigorous Gulf Stream trips, and she's just a flat out fishing machine. Complimented with a brace of 250 hp outboards her range and seaworthiness are without compare. Also new to the boat was an officially USCG licensed Captain, Chris Jones. Chris and this boat now remind me of Timmy and Lassie, hard to tell where one stops and the other begins. Bobo has christened her The Dire Wolf, and she's a beast. Captain Chris and his band of hand picked brigands not only made a lot of customers into true believers this year, the team also took high money team in the annual Pesca Tournament in San Carlos in their spare time. We'll be making a few improvements on her this year, but this is getting down to the 1200 grit paper. As a side note we will be running The Wolf out of La Paz during the year, taking groups of 4 on some trips to take advantage of her range and comfort. Also on the list of steps forward on the Pacific side was the expansion of our house to three bedrooms, and the addition of an outdoor kitchen con palapa. Our intention is to run 2 boats next year, and accomodate 6 persons per week. Stay tuned for news on boat #2.
On the home front, much familial progress was made as well. As I continue to desiccate and fear grows of the nest high wind, the next generations is proceeding with acumen and alacrity. Glynnis has become bona fide school teacher, and is the Spanish department at her school in Santa Paula. Happy as a bivalve and under full sale she is a sight to behold. Kelly is getting ready to transfer to SF State, holding down a couple of jobs, carving great grades, and continuing to dance, both in and out of the studio. These two have got it going right now, and with the aforementioned testimonial from the USCG for Chris they are starting to stretch out and flex their stuff. Jane is continuing to both teach at a high school here in La Paz, and to tutor from home, while she handles and maintains a very difficult and challenging room mate.
So as you can see, like the rest of you we are doing our best to turn some of the ubiquitous lemons that seem to be everywhere into limonada. I know that you are working the same project for yourselves and yours', and I wish you bon chance in these endeavors. I hope that our paths will cross in the coming year, remember that you are always welcome here, hell, I'll even put on a clean T shirt.
Take Care and Be Happy,
David
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