Post by donovanchinook on Feb 24, 2013 14:20:51 GMT -5
Have you ever heard an Irishman say " Well you can tell I'm Irish as if I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck"? If you have, I just want you to know that's is true. I'm a pure bred Irish man and this past weekend was a perfect example. So I travelled through a raging snow storm through NB, to go hit the last 2 days of the late sea duck season. A little white knuckle action for a while but all is good; truck, boat, and gear made it no issue. Had really high expectations after last years hard learning curve. Tides look right, gear is double checked, and lots of experience on that water.
Up early next morning, nephew is on time, we are wheels rolling. Unbelievably we are on site at the harbour 20 minutes early. Quick glass of our planned spot, no other hunters, and able 150 eiders on site. Top notch!!!
My 16 foot walk through wind shield boat starts no problem. All is good. Off to the other side of the wharf to pick up my nephew. My steering is tight but still working OK. Pick up the young man and we are off! Not 20 seconds later, turning to the port side; my steering doesn't respond. Oh crap. It's locked. It's really locked. I turn the wheel as hard as I can to break this locked steering out. No,no,no ---- snap! The rack and pinion steering broke, steering cable still locked. I won't say exactly what I had to say but its not very PG. Thank god I wouldn't let that problem go much more passed the mouth of the port. Would have a huge problem if I pushed. Limp my way back to dock via throttle control and drifting only. 20 minutes later, the boat is back on the trailer.
knowning the area, I have been to a local boat shop in the past that might be able to fix this nightmare and save tomorrows hunt. Nope, they sold the business. Smart phone searching and several calls later, the boat is going to Saint John. Drop the boat off, drive another hour back to see if I can find some birds near the rocks. Of course I have to glass my orginal spot. Still at least 50 birds there even with the wrong tide. Crap wrong tide. Search for an hour from bay to bay. Low numbers of birds in the bays and what is there too far out for a shot or a retrieval. Double crap.
Hunting today is a wash out. What to do? Hey McAdam is only an hour away, I need a new gun to replace the old Browning Gold. Get there looking for a deal. Nothing too exciting but the salesman tells me about the limited edition shot show special. What? Browning is making the A5 in 3.5. Oh crap. A deposit later, I'm one the first person on the East coast to order the new 3.5 A5. That stupid steering issue is costing me a lot of money. At least, I got my smile back. Thanks Browning.
Next day, we go old school - 15 foot square back canoe and a gamefisher 7.5 hp . At least we'll get out of port but not much further. We can only go a km out of port to stay out of the rip tide areas. Of course there are lots of birds in my choosen spot but we can't go there in this old war wagon. We sit in a safe spot for 2 hours, not 1 bird within 200 yards. Time to chug back to port in the canoe.
Well that's sea duck hunting Irish style. Stupid Irish luck. At least I tried, oh well.
Up early next morning, nephew is on time, we are wheels rolling. Unbelievably we are on site at the harbour 20 minutes early. Quick glass of our planned spot, no other hunters, and able 150 eiders on site. Top notch!!!
My 16 foot walk through wind shield boat starts no problem. All is good. Off to the other side of the wharf to pick up my nephew. My steering is tight but still working OK. Pick up the young man and we are off! Not 20 seconds later, turning to the port side; my steering doesn't respond. Oh crap. It's locked. It's really locked. I turn the wheel as hard as I can to break this locked steering out. No,no,no ---- snap! The rack and pinion steering broke, steering cable still locked. I won't say exactly what I had to say but its not very PG. Thank god I wouldn't let that problem go much more passed the mouth of the port. Would have a huge problem if I pushed. Limp my way back to dock via throttle control and drifting only. 20 minutes later, the boat is back on the trailer.
knowning the area, I have been to a local boat shop in the past that might be able to fix this nightmare and save tomorrows hunt. Nope, they sold the business. Smart phone searching and several calls later, the boat is going to Saint John. Drop the boat off, drive another hour back to see if I can find some birds near the rocks. Of course I have to glass my orginal spot. Still at least 50 birds there even with the wrong tide. Crap wrong tide. Search for an hour from bay to bay. Low numbers of birds in the bays and what is there too far out for a shot or a retrieval. Double crap.
Hunting today is a wash out. What to do? Hey McAdam is only an hour away, I need a new gun to replace the old Browning Gold. Get there looking for a deal. Nothing too exciting but the salesman tells me about the limited edition shot show special. What? Browning is making the A5 in 3.5. Oh crap. A deposit later, I'm one the first person on the East coast to order the new 3.5 A5. That stupid steering issue is costing me a lot of money. At least, I got my smile back. Thanks Browning.
Next day, we go old school - 15 foot square back canoe and a gamefisher 7.5 hp . At least we'll get out of port but not much further. We can only go a km out of port to stay out of the rip tide areas. Of course there are lots of birds in my choosen spot but we can't go there in this old war wagon. We sit in a safe spot for 2 hours, not 1 bird within 200 yards. Time to chug back to port in the canoe.
Well that's sea duck hunting Irish style. Stupid Irish luck. At least I tried, oh well.
