Gambler 30hr tuna

[AndyS]

I did a few of those "Baccardi" trips on the old Sea Devil. Pennington liked the shorter ride, plus if there were no bluefin you could bail out with some pollock. One of my most memorable tuna trips was to the Baccardi on the Sea Devil. As we arrived the seas were building and other boats were leaving because the winds started blowing a full gale. We only had 12 fares of which only 8 made it out of the cabin because it was so rough. We took "green water" over the bow that day and I watched a customer get knocked down. He spiked his rod to the deck and went in the cabin and never came out. I remember turning my head to the side and the sound of the rain was deafening on my hood because the wind was so hard. All you had to do was drop a Vikie jig to the bottom, pump 3 times and you were hooked up on an 80 lb. bluefin. I actually managed to boat 3, don't ask me how. One customer hooked a skipjack and as he was reeling it in we got to watch a 12 foot mako shark come up and eat it whole at boatside. One of the roughest tuna trips I was ever on, like being in a hurricane !!