Done and Done

Oh no a dredge scow,run away!

The Yorktown Monument in beautiful "downtown" Yorktown,Virginia

I've done it,yes it's over.Well for a few weeks it's over anyway.My sixty days on the boat us officially over.The last few weeks seemed to drag out like I was a four year old waiting for Christmas morning.The dredge job in the York River could possibly be over by the time I'm due back,but I will worry about that when I get there.I can't stay on the boat my whole life.The money is good but it's not my only interest in life.So I leave today for a short trip to Maryland to see one of the usual suspects and do a bit of fishing.I'm looking forward to the upcoming week as well.I will be picking up the new boat motor as well in mid week.The other usual suspect,Nutty Professor,is on the schedule to help me put the new Northern Flight blind on the boat around mid week.I'm very excited and I hope it all falls in place because next Monday our early September goose,aka park goose season,opens.I have never hunted this season and if it doesn't get below ninety degrees I may not hunt it this year either.I also have a relaxation trip set for the mountains at the end of the week.So what I'm saying is I will be taking some more interesting pictures in the next week and will be doing a review of Cabela's Northern Flight blind in the next week so look for some new posts.

A Storm on the Horizon

Well as I sit down and try to concentrate I find myself with an awesome headache.As many of you know we started a new contract a little over a week ago.Also many of you know that I am once again the only deck help on the tug.As the company tries to train an army of engineers the deck department suffers.It's hard not to worry about things falling apart when I'm the only one around to pick up the pieces and put them back together.We have spent all Summer painting and fixing the boat and it has taken less than a week on the dredge job to annihilate it.Besides I really don't have the time to worry about that when every six hours it's either time to make up or break down from the tug or put the empty scow alongside the dredge.So I'm looking forward to my time off but it seems I won't be "home" for much of it.I plan on doing a bit of traveling as is the usual I suppose.Sorry I haven't been updating on a usual basis but my only time to sit down is offshore and the Internet has yet to reach there.Ten days left out of sixty,I can do this!Ah yes and the above picture is of an approaching rain squall on the Chesapeake Bay.

Get Your Dredge On

It was only a matter of time before they found us a contract.I knew deep down they would eventually get sick of dealing with us.That time has come,thankfully.Well I say thankfully but with the coming of a contract means the coming of the "trouble".The contract has already been pushed back a few times but I have it from good sources that we leave this weekend.Dredging isn't my first choice of work on a tug but after being in the sun 9 hours a day for the last 30 plus days,I will take what they give me.It shouldn't be the worst dredge job ever.We are scheduled to tow the dredge scows from the base of the Coleman Bridge on the York River to an offshore site.I'm thinking round trip from the dredge to the dump site back to the dredge should be between 6-8 hours.That's a good thing because we were asked if we could do it with only one deckhand.Answer,HELL YEAH,the dude can do it.So there we go,it may be a long last few weeks but I've handled worse.

Good News

So far so good.The "upper management" waited until the last minute to tell me my schedule request had gone through.So what's it all mean dude?For starters my waterfowl season is on track for some good dates.Early goose,if I want it,early duck,home a few days after opening day and the last two weeks of the season in January.The main thing and what drove me to push this until it was a reality is the rotation change on the boat.After the next thirty days go on by I will be on a different rotation and only have to deal with the "trouble" for fifteen out of my normal thirty day hitch.The things I'm giving up are well worth it I think.My brother,nutty professor,is off for the summer and I won't be able to spend much time with him.By the time I get home in August he will be gearing up to go teach for another school year.Fortunately for him,the Northern Flight blind will be waiting at the house for him to help me put on the boat.So as you can guess I'm a bit happier and I just need to make it through these next few weeks without getting sent home.All for now!Obviously I have been doing a bit of fishing in the evening,the pic is of the largest bass I think I have ever caught,6 plus pounds.Not as fat as the other one I caught a few months ago,but a bit longer and a much better fighter.

An Interesting Situation

So some time has passed since I last made the time to sit down and type down some thoughts.The last few weeks I have had the time but my attitude has been shall we say in the gutter at best.Let's start with we returned to the shipyard after towing the Army Tug to South Carolina.I was given some things to do on a company barge,paint,pressure wash,etc.Everything was going fine until we got orders to go on the infamous Chesapeake Bay coal run.It isn't that I didn't want to do some sailing and get back out there and work.It was the fact that I had to work side by side,every watch with who had become my arch enemy,the Captain of the tug.Whoa now,I know it sounds like I need to check myself I know but let me explain.This "Captain" is let's say an obese oxygen thief at best.He is the definition of BACONATOR.he is the epitome of bad hygiene.Now on top of that he thinks he is the tugboat god.I have worked with this,oh lord,"man" for over a year and he has continually gotten worse and pushed me to the breaking point.My breaking point is a bit higher than others as I have been subject to some not so fun working conditions.I have always found a way out and made myself better and this situation is clearly no different.I won't go into exactly what he does because well my hands would cramp up and you would either get tired of reading about it or make multiple trips to the restroom to vomit.So earlier this week I was looking at the schedule and saw that as it currently lies with my 30 on 15 off schedule I would have little to no duck hunting season,unacceptable.So I worked out a few different plans in my head and made the call to the office.Of course it didn't go as planned but it could have been worse.I was told it's slow,maybe not this time but next hitch,blah blah bliggity blah.So we are back in the yard after a week on the coal run and my next course of action is take it to the top,yes talk to the owners.It is seriously that bad that I simply can not work with captain fatty mcgee anymore.I obviously won't refuse but I need a schedule change.One for duck hunting season,secondly so I can get off of his rotation,third so I don't blow my lid.Well by the end of the week hopefully I will have something figured out and will have cooled down a bit.Drink a cold one for your buddy the DUDE!

Take a Deep Breath

towing the ST-805 US Army tug
I'm back at work,hooray.When it was all said and done I was only kept home 3 extra days.I really got lucky that a small job popped up for the tug I normally work on.It was an easy one but I was glad to have the opportunity.We left Maryland June 22 bound for Skiffes Creek on the James River.Interesting enough that's where ol t-dawg started his tug career right on Skiffes Creek.It was strange going back there but it was only to pick up an Army tug and tow it to South Carolina.So we arrived June 24 hooked up to her and towed her rusty ass right out of the slip.This tug has been sitting in the slip since before I started going past the Army base towing rock over five years ago.Seriously it has never moved.So you may be thinking it's going to get scrapped,you would be wrong.We hauled it down the coast and into Denton Shipyard in South Carolina.After a quick turn around we arrived back in the shipyard in Maryland this past Monday.Beautiful weather,awesome salt breeze and damn it felt good to be off the coast and towing something.So that's it,the can of beans.Now it's more barge/boat/shipyard work.I'm not complaining as long as the checks don't start bouncing.Hopefully I can get some fishing in over the holiday weekend after work of course.

Back Home

the nutty professor with a White Perch caught at Blackwater Creek
Well after fishing a few different lakes and ponds in Northern Virginia it was time to return home.Once home I realized I still had a little over a week worth of free time before I was due back on the boat.Since all the rivers on the East Coast have been taking a relentless beating from weeks worth of rain,lakes and ponds were my best bet for fishing.Fish I did!Taking the small original S.S Gut Runner out to another spot on the inter coastal waterway,the Nutty Professor and I made a day of it.Going to a new recreational spot is always an adventure.Especially when towing a boat and not knowing what condition the ramp is in.Fortunately everything went smooth at 6 in the morning and we caught a few fish with no problems.I will definitely be returning to Blackwater Creek later this summer.More for a scouting trip then for fishing.It seems to be an excellent wood duck spot.



Over the last few days I have fished some local spots that I haven't visited for years.After fishing them I realized why I had not been there in years,they are all over fished.I had minimal success and never left without catching some sort of fish.Hey anything from a bluegill to a chain pickerel,it kept me from getting skunked and that's all that matters.I just need to justify why I got up at 5 in the morning.I was due back to work this Thursday but was granted a few extra days off that I didn't ask for.It seems that my boat finally has a job and I will be returning to work Monday morning.Maybe my next post will actually involve something interesting at work.It has just dawned on me that over the last few weeks I have fished just about every other day.Well I'm sure when I get home in mid July the weather won't be cooperating like it has over the last few weeks.