MichaelMullis
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2003
- Messages
- 131
Don't know if this was a stupid human trick, but it was a learning exp. Two weekends ago I went to Bulls Bay SC to go shrimping/fishing. My future BIL wanted to go, so I said fine. BIL, his son, my future step son and myself, would put in about 2 hrs before high tide,7:00pm, set my poles and cast net and fish till dawn. Well Bil shows up 2hrs late, we put in after dark and make a 3 mile run to some barrier islands. Set the poles get them baited and start casting net. BIL then brings out a QT. of sour mash and precedes to get sloppy drunk. After about 2hrs of listening to him talk trash I had enough. Pulled the poles and had his son driving the boat, I had my hands full keeping his dad from falling overboard. I had pointed out a light tower that we needed to head for to avoid the mud flats that are all over this area, the tide was falling as we headed back. About an hour into the idle speed trip back I hear "were not moving". I look around and we are pointed 180 degrees away from the tower. I ask driver why are we pointed this way when the tower is that way. "I was following the GPS track." We spent the next 5 hours stuck on a mud flat that at dead low tide the closest water was 100 yards away. BIL wanted to get out of boat and drag to water. The only way I could convince him that was a bad idea was to have him drop his shoe over the side. It promply dissappeared. Maybe I should have let him jump, just kidding. At one point he wanted to call the coast Gaurd, I asked him to look around and tell me what they would do. Stop 100yds away and say looks like you guys are stuck till tide comes back in. I learned several things on this trip, 1) know what is brought on the boat, 2) Do not trust navigation to 2 15 year old cousins who have not seen each other for 3 months , and 3) a 18' boat gets real small when its sitting on the mud with 2 adults and 2 teenagers for 5 to 6 hrs. with nothing to do. He called his wife around 1:00am to tell her what happenned, she told him"look at it this way you are making memories" At least it was a calm night and we had a cooler full of shrimp.