OPENING NIGHT OF LOBSTER SEASON 2010

The opening of Lobster Season is a big event aboard Redemption. The planning and preparation is unbelievable. All the gear needs to be checked and the dive tanks have to be inspected and filled. The boat has to have lots of fuel and the galley has to have lots of food. We always have a big turn out of divers that join us every year. We did it a little differently this year Captain Mark took a weeks vacation so we could sail up to Santa Barbara and go out diving often. We left our little slip in Channel Islands Harbor at sun up on Friday Oct. 1st

It was a nice smooth sea and I was able to fix breakfast while underway and get these shots of our beautiful Santa Barbara Harbor as we entered

The opening night of the season and everyone getting on board for the early cruise to Santa Cruz Island, get anchored up, get their gear ready for the midnight dive. It is the eleventh commandment...............".must be in the water hunting the first hour of Lobster Season!"

On the way out to the island we came across tons of dolphins...........I mean every where! We all sat on the bow and took pictures. Captain Mark was able to be on the bow because Mike Macko handles the Redemption so well.

Good picture of Mike Macko at the helm. Thanks Mike!

We arrived at the island and as you can see by these pictures it was beautiful. We anchored up and put a stern anchor out to keep us from swinging too much. Captain Mark and Paul used the skiff to take the anchor out for the stern.

This is a great shot of one of the many sea caves out at Santa Cruz Island. Santa Cruz Island has the largest sea cave in the world, Painted Cave.

Here is the beautiful sunset we watched while eating dinner, waiting for midnight to get the first bugs of the season. Where we are anchored is called Profile Point and you will see the profile in the sunset picture. We saw a wonderful lightening storm off in the distance and I was so excited to actually get a shot of the the lightening with my little camera.

Now to the first lobsters on board Redemption at about 1:00 AM October 2, 2010. Mike Macko with his 10 pound lobster!

This is a close up of Mike's 10 pound bug and the other ones he brought on board in the morning after a good nights sleep!

Thus ends the pictures and events of the opening night of Lobster Season 2010. There will be more postings of the rest of the week later.

1st Annual Anacapa Classic Canoe Race

I'm sorry there has been such a delay in postings it has taken me some time to collect all the pictures and get the inside story from Captain Mark and Paul. This event happened last weekend on August 14th. Captain Mark was asked to skipper the Redemption as an escort boat for the 1st Annual Anacapa Classic Canoe Race, paddling to Anacapa Island and across the face of the island to the West end and back to Channel Island Harbor. I was unable to go because of plans to be with the Grand kids so Mark called his buddy Paul Weakliem a fellow diver and a friend that is familiar with handling our boat and an all around good guy.

They were assigned the paddlers of the KAHAKAI out of Long Beach, California. Here is a picture of the guys heading toward the start line.

The guys of the KAHAKAI were the first to paddle for thirty minutes and then the switch was made and it was the girls turn to paddle switching every half hour for the duration of the race. Paul tells me that this picture of the first switch looks far more organized that what he remembers it being. Mark refrained from telling them that the water temperature is 59 degrees before they to the change.

Mark and Paul tell me they might be slow learners and were just starting to get down what they were supposed to be doing on the boat. So now that they almost got the "wet change" figured out it was time to learn a new method. The "dry change"! Again, this picture looks so organized, but they remember it being semi-controlled chaos!



Paul took this picture of a pod of Dolphins escorting them and the paddlers on their long race.



The paddlers arrive at Anacapa Island Arch. Isn't it beautiful? I'm sure it looked good to the tired paddlers but they still need to do the face of the island and return to Channel Islands Harbor. Captain Mark and Paul are dying here; nice and flat on the front side of Anacapa Island, and not able to stop for lunch or beer break. They debate whether the team would notice if they sneaked around the backside for a while as they make the turn back toward Channel Island Harbor.



Catching up: Mark and Paul gave a pep talk to the team. Explaining to the team that they might have talked some smack with Keith of the Cora Sea who was skippering his boat as an escort also, so they told the team they didn't care how they did so long as they beat the team Keith was supporting! Here are the men trying to make them proud!





Paul took this picture of a pod of Dolphins escorting them and the paddlers on their long race.





The women on a bee line back to CI Harbor. Oil rig in the way? Doesn't matter, they're on a mission!




The men take it into the finish. Paul and Captain Mark are exhausted. The racers were a jovial group of paddlers and are now new friends. It was a great learning experience for Captain Mark and Paul and next year they will be ready to escort another group of paddlers. I will be on board next time also it looked like a great day.

Thank you Paul for helping out and for sharing your side of the story and taking such great pictures with my little camera. I think Captain Mark owes you big time, haha!

I Owe, I Owe, So Off To Work I Go.......

Captain Mark took the day off today so we could pay bills and survey the damage to our budget before getting fuel and a much needed oil change on the generator. We started our day with bill paying. Never a good way to start the day. But we needed to pay for the work already done in the last couple of weeks.

Then we fired up our large engines two 871 Detroit's and headed for Ventura about six miles away to fuel up and get a much needed oil change on our generator. The generator is our third diesel engine on board and we hold a total of 1000 gallons of diesel fuel.

So the way to feel better about everything and what it costs is to have LUNCH! Does this look good or what? We will have to work these calories off with lots of walks and bike rides.

Boat Work for BBQ and Beer

Our latest project to ready the boat for our big trip is new batteries. Mark gathered some guys from work who agreed to work for beer and a good steak BBQ when the job was done. Here are the big strong men lifting the batteries each weighing 115 pounds.

After getting all eight of the new batteries down to the boat and the guys lifting them into the cockpit it was time for their first beer break.

Captain Mark has to disconnect the old ones and remember how to reconnect the new ones pictured here is (as you can see) his carefully drawn out schematic of the connections, ha!

After he disconnects each one the guys pull them out and into the dock cart two at a time and get them to Captain Marks truck for recycling.

The guys form a line lifting the new batteries into the boat and handing them to Mark under the floor of the galley and into their designated place.

As pictured here Captain Mark is trying to read his carefully drawn schematic and figure out how to reconnect the new batteries.

Here is the picture of all the guys trying to figure out how Captain Mark could have misread his carefully drawn schematic and the batteries weren't working.

The problem was solved by all the guys brainstorming and finding a mistake had been made, even after making sure that the carefully drawn instructions for reconnecting the new batteries was followed perfectly. The beer began to flow and the BBQ was delicious!

So here is a close up shot of the stats on the new battery costing us a total of $2000.00..............................it is through tears that I realize the cost of these blasted batteries could be my new blinds, new canvas or new teak and holly floors. Oh well!

Labor of Love

Redemption is looking very happy with its new Davit pulling up the new skiff onto its bow. This Davit has a remote control and is very state of the art. The skiff is a nice hard bottom tender that is so much easier to get into and out of, as we advance in age it will be very appreciated.

And our chain and anchor lying out on the dock with its new markers to mark the depth when we anchor.



OH, and check out the new windlass just installed.


Both the Davit and new Windlass are so quiet and are such a welcome addition to our beloved boat/home. So the bottom line, we have spent lots of money and our worker Chris Buchanan has put in many hours of labor but we love getting her fixed up and ready for our big trip.

We look forward to lots of adventures aboard Redemption and hope that our followers, friends and family will come aboard and enjoy Redemption with us.

-Kay Silva and Captain Mark