Record Catch

Things were looking more promising today from the moment I stepped out of my car in the Cove. Yesterday I was struck by how loud the surf was crashing on the rocks on the oceanfront as I waited for Cap in the parking lot. A sure sign that it wasn't going to be calm out there. But today I was reassured to be greeted by a silent ocean. She was considerably pacified since the day before with a gentle roll and a glassy surface reflecting the bright colors of the buoys.

We approached the day with the mentality that it would be just short of a miracle if there were any live shrimp left in the traps after five night's set in turbulent waters. As we steamed out to the first buoy we passed a marker buoy adrift, making its way toward New Harbor! It isn't very comforting to know that there is a ledge out there unmarked during especially low tides. The combination of wild seas over the past few days and exaggerated tides due to the full moon most likely set this buoy adrift. This was a bit of a foreboding omen: if a marker buoy chain couldn't tolerate the storm, then how did the delicate little shrimp fare?? The first pair of traps were hauled in tense suspense.

Sure enough, the shrimp were once again bright red, but they were all flipping their tails! The survival rate was much better than yesterday. We expected mortality to increase as we headed south and the traps were fuller, but not so! The traps did indeed fill up more to the southard, but the shrimp survived! Incredible.

In fact, there were so many shrimp that we ran out of trays by the end of the day. We headed to the dock with trays upon trays brimming with beautiful red crustaceans. It proved to be our best catch yet. At the dock in South Bristol, a loon must have sensed our good luck. It swam around the boat diving as we tossed dead shrimp over the side. The water was clear enough that I could see the loon swimming under the boat and snatching up the shrimp. Very cool!

That just goes to show you: if you don't expect much, then you won't leave disappointed!! A good lesson to learn in this business, but also in life.