A very long [but fun] day………..

Up at 04:15 yesterday morning to get ready for what was sure to be one of the longest days on the island that we have had in almost ever. Woke up, coffee’d, potty and out the door to arrive at the marina by 06:00. First hour was spent filling coolers packing ice around to boats and setting up for the tournament. By 07:15 I headed for my boat while my bride stayed and wrangled volunteers to finish setting up, raffle tables, decorations, etc. I spent the next 6 hours sitting on a boat, drinking beer and shooting the breeze with the other 4 veterans on the boat – and once in a great while (twice to be exact) stopped to watch a fish get reeled into the boat. I had a crack at the first one, but managed to thoroughly pi$$ the captain off doing it (I backlashed the reel) – so from there on out, I drank beer and took pictures and shot the breeze. Not a smooth day of sailing as we had 4′-6′ swells for the entire 6 hours we were on the water. Thankfully, no body got sea-sick, so it was a long bouncy boat ride all day. I did manage to get some great pictures as we went by parts of the island I haven’t got to see yet. Some of those – you can only see from the water. We did manage to get 2 Barracuda’s on board – but neither one was brag worthy. Well – one did actually win a prize — for smallest fish weighed in 🙁 At least I can say I didn’t catch it~~ 😉

Back at the marina after weigh in – I went back to work as a Board member, managing things that needed done. Everything went fairly smooth as dinner transitioned to dancing and awards presentations, followed by announcing raffle winners. I believe everybody had a good time and enjoyed themselves. We provided 53 veterans (and me) a nice [free] day of deep sea fishing, a nice meal and lots of nice gifts and the good people of the island supported us in doing it. We grossed a little over $3000 for the event – and while it won’t quite cover our expenses for this particular event this time – we all feel great for the effort we put in for the veterans.

The band finally shut down, we broke everything down and loaded it into vehicles before finally pulling out of the parking a lot a little bit before 10:00pm~ By the time we got home, showered and in bed it was 12:30 in the morning (Sunday). I hurt in places I forgot I had. A long, tough, tiring, exhausting day….. and worth every second of it………. A ton of pictures for you – so will spread them out over the next several days~~

Good Night Ya’ll > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Thankx for stopping in~!