Fisherman of the Sea

It was a cold morning around one o'clock and we all set out to catch the first boat to sail. It was about fifty degrees and pleasantly warm. There were no small craft advisories nor storm weather reports. We arrived in about an hour, embarked and left port. As every checked their tackle boxes I naturally checked for my survival gear. I already knew I had a fishing pole, the best lures, fifty and seventy pound test fishing line, bunker bait hooks for the blue fish bait, and your basic
fillet knife. More importantly I made sure I was prepared for anything out of the ordinary.

Although my fellow peers may have made fun of me I was certain to have brought an extra three pair of socks, extra two pair pants, four towels and two hand towels. I also brought with me a bar of soap, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, some gauze pads, surgical tape, four eggs, some sugar and salt. Matches in waxed paraffin, some splints of wood, some candles, a mirror and a compass. My friend who was a seasoned fisherman laughed and asked why I felt it so necessary to bring so much equipment. He also said that I should be carrying light and not over burden myself. But I just replied and said, I'm not going to be doing any carrying, the ship is, and I also said that if he'd get sea sick that he was welcome to one of my eggs. The captain sounded the alarm and announced three hours into sea that we should make ready to cast lines. He also said that the were no weather advisories and that the fish were biting. The captain gave orders to his men to release the trap door so that our fish would come in schools to hit our lines and bite our hooks. Well he was right, the first fish caught was a five to ten pound bluefish that fought like a shark and bit like a piranha. I suddenly, felt my fifty pound test line give a hard pull and then it was quiet. I knew this was different because I never seen a rod bend so hard and snap back so fast. I took out my hand towel, stuck it in my pocket and wet my reel. The captain paid visit to every man at work and assured that each one had assists from his deck hands. Again, another snap then another. My reel let lose and my line raced out to sea until I couldn't see where it ended and the sea began. I locked up and began reeling and reeling until my rod just kept on bending and bending and bending. At that the captain sounded the bells and shouted "man at work! man at work! At starboard!" I was amazed at the unity. One deck hand shouted " Pull and reel! Pull and reel!" And I said, " there's nothing but "...and he said, " we got a snag! Just let it go. You caught a rock at bottom." I unlocked my reel to loosen the tension and that second the line raced out to sea again. The hands shouted and the captain rang the bell. Once again we were at work and the rod just bent over at snapping point. I could hear the fiberglass giving way to the immense stress.

I planted my feet and six hands pulled and yanked at the rod and at that we thought the line had snapped at rock bottom. But just above our heads a fish head strikes the side of the boat with a powerful blow. Half the fish was gone and all that remained was a twenty-four inch head gaping for another bite. I asked, "what in the world just happened?" And the captain just scratched his head and said, "sir, you just caught yourself a shark! " And I said, " if this was a shark then where's the rest of it?" Captain just said, "don't know! Never seen that that before!" At that he said, "well the fish are moving and we got to go!" And then he looked back and said, "makes good for bed time a story. Don't ya think?" And I just nodded and laughed with disbelief, and agreed. We set to sail again and the waters became unusually active. The waves were high and splashing on deck. The boat was being tossed high up and sinking deep into the troughs pits. The captain announced strange weather was coming our way and then it was confirmed, I had come prepared. The boat tossed up and down to and fro and my best friend and I just kept on fishing. It started to pour and rain the was freezing cold. A little later, ice, snow and rain began to fall all at once. The fishermen were all turning in and the captain was green and said that he has had it and wanted to go back and call it a day. But he saw the determination in our eyes and said, "well this is what live for." I went in the cabin and retrieved my gear. I sucked on two eggs for protein and passed two to my buddy who quickly returned them back in into the sea. I know this much that drying my hands had kept the water from freezing them and the sugar and salt gave us another boost that kept our weak knees balanced and poised. I passed the tape to another fisherman whose hand were wet and frost bitten. I shouted. " keep your hands dry!" go in and hang these by the boiler so they can dry and bring out the dry ones!" I went in after him and said, " let me look at your hands." "Washed the sea salt and the fish oil off them with the soap, dried them with the towels and then poured hydrogen peroxide over them. I said, " these towels have to be recycled. Wet ones must be replaced by the dry ones. Every time the towels become soaked, we have to hang them to dry while using the other dry ones." He shouted, " great idea!" And as the sea got worse and the storm seemed threatened the integrity of all the captain just looked at us and gave a nod and said, "you men just keeping on doing what you do best! Don't worry about the my ship! She can handle it! I'll pull her through." And at that, the old man, my best friend and I shouted out, " aye, aye captain and gave him a salute of honor and respect.

Whenever going out anywhere far away from secure help or distant rescue make real sure that you go prepared for the unexpected. Many hikers, such as those who died in Mount Hood, never anticipated the nature of the beast. Mother is natural only when we are contained and sustain a day to day living. However, a circumstance is a situation what no one is completely prepared to face and is consequently left alone with survival. Survival becomes evident only when one realizes that they are no longer are equipped to provide the necessities for simple living like food, water and some warmth. However, like a battery, it too, survival, has a life span or capability to perform for a measured amount of time called battery life and then without a recharge it eventually passes and ceases to function. My advice to hikers, adventurers, and scholars of the fields every where is not only to have base camps spread out every where, but to even try creating storage stashes for foods that are in unaccessible to animals and capable of being frozen for long periods of time. Stashes, storage strong boxes, or shift shelters should be administered and thus life would not lose meaning even in the face of survival.