BOATING GONE BAD

Annual fishing trip runs into obstacles

BY JOHN A. KING II

To prepare for my 2024 Memorial Day weekend fishing trip with friends, I went to Oak Island at the end of April to service both motors on my 32-foot twin-engine 2005 Boston Whaler, Carolina Starr. I changed the oil in the port and starboard V-6 engines. When I drained the starboard lower unit gear oil, there was water in it. That’s when I decided it was time to take my boat to the shop.

When I raised the motor to put the prop back on, trim-and-tilt oil was leaking from the top of the right lift arm. Yes, it was definitely shop time.

The shop couldn’t get to my boat until the following week. They had one trim-and-tilt arm in stock, which meant it would be a quick repair not! After they replaced the right arm, the left started leaking, so they had to order another one.

While waiting for the new arm to arrive, they pressure-treated my lower unit and replaced three leaking seals. Good news: There was no damage to the unit, so the seals would complete the repair.

After they put on the new right arm, you could hear how worn the lift motor was, which meant it would have to be replaced soon an expensive repair. The famous BOAT acronym--Break Out Another Thousand--came to mind.

When they ran the starboard motor, everything worked great. The boat was finally ready. I went down the week before the fishing trip and moved the boat back to the house.

When we arrived on Friday, May 24, we put the boat in the water to move it to the dock. There were six of us: David Cruse, Jay Cruse, Doug Drum, Charles Ibach, Brevard Myers and me.

But now the port motor wasn’t working. We tried to fix it, but it was no use. After messing with it again on Saturday morning, we accepted that we didn’t have a fishing boat We decided to eat lunch and discuss what to do.

I called a bait store and asked if they knew of a charter boat that was available for Sunday. Meanwhile, Brevard decided to drive back to his home in Charlotte and return that night with his boat so we would be able to fish.

After Brevard left, we called three charter captains. The third charter captain said he was available on Sunday, so we booked it. We quickly called Brevard, and he came back.

On Sunday, we went out on the Angry Pelican with Capt Mark Greene and mate Justin Holland at 6 am and returned at 2 pm. We fished at Shark Hole with live bait; Capt Mark bumped the motors into gear, and we trolled slowly.

It wasn’t long before we heard that welcome noise of a reel peeling off line, and it was game on. We ended up keeping 12 king mackerels, releasing a small cobia and hooking something big that Brevard fought to reel in for close to an hour before it eventually freed itself. We never saw what it was, but several 8-foot sharks swimming around the boat bit off one or two of our catches before we could get them.

The fellowship was great, as was the charter. My boat, on the other hand, was a big frustration, but it was a memorable learning experience. We plan to try live bait on the next fishing trip. Our thanks to Capt. Mark Greene and mate Justin Holland on the Angry Pelican!

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN THE JUNE 2024 ISSUE OF AMERICA’S BOATING CLUB–CHARLOTTE NEWSLETTER SIDE LIGHTS.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John A. King II is a 29-year member of Charlotte Power Squadron/27 and a life member of America’s Boating Club | United States Power Squadrons He is the past editor of Side Lights newsletter and was also a leader of Sea Scout Ship 91 in Concord, North Carolina, for 26 years He has boated on Lake Norman and the Catawba Chain of Lakes, the Yadkin River, and the Carolina coast for over 50 years. Currently, he owns a 1998 Boston Whaler Conquest 23, a 2005 Boston Whaler Conquest 305 and a 1999 Sea Ray 340 Sundancer. He reports that the Carolina Starr has two new engines for the 2025 boating season.