Sweet picture!!! From your back yard?? And is that a boat ramp I see on your property? Very nice!! you have it all!!! :)

Thank you Don! I have to back through an 18.5 foot garage with 7X9 doors then make a jaunt to access the ramp. Ramp is scheduled to be widened, realigned this winter with lower tides in the morning. Also, I have to rotate 8x10' dock 90* for better dock access. If Rickg's 18 has a short enough wind shield he can access ramp and leave trailer where mine is in the pic.. So do you really want to get a room? My house is pretty nice. Tub/shower in my Master, but Walkin shower is bigger and nicer in the Guest Bath!?! And an unenclosed outdoor shower! Never had this many guests so bring towels. Laundry in garage. Public dock 200' north of Zig-Zags. No charge for Launch, Retrieval, just parking so we'll get rig and trailer back to my house, all in 30 min.. Or maybe you're 18 will fit through and down ramp...

Yes I will take a room, I will get with you in a bit to cover all the other details!

THANKS!! Is the unenclosed outdoor shower where the Mermaids shower? Yippie!

Oh yeah, ZigZags was pretty nice yesterday!

Haven't been too many Mermaids showering out their yet, but if I do not use it several times a day in a bathing suit, I shower out there Every Night!!!

Yeah. The neighbors LOVE me!!! Haha

It's good to be a grown up.

Fish Camp 4502 Haiti Dr, HB
 

Ok Guys and Gals, I have filled the camp. Please, no more PMs, any questions air them publicly. I have done my best to fulfill everyone's requests and here are the results:

Second Bedroom: DonV
Third Bedroom: CDavis
Living Room: BushWacker and guest, Rickg, and 77OB Jim

Keep in mind I have PTSD/anxiety issues. My home is 800 Sq. Ft. heated space. So this is seven adults, five rigs, trailers and boats. I have no idea how my dock, and it's anchoring system will support five boats rafted from it. It's "illegal?" to occupy that much of the canal, from what I've been told, but I think we can make it work. Without winds/afternoon storms. That being said;

Please bring air mattresses, sleeping bags, pillows, towels, paper goods, coolers, ice, food, and of course BYOB. Laundry is provided in the garage.

Everyone is welcome. Let me just put this out there for any other members. Hernando Beach Motel/Condos is located at the corner of Shoal Line and Flamingo. It is adjacent to Zig-Zags Scallops. Though possibly more expensive than staying out on 19, it offers slips as well. It is located on the main channel, 200 feet south of the public ramp, and 100 feet south of Shrimpers Row. Great location to be if affordable. Almost Staggering distance from the Fish Camp.

Looking forward to it.
Vezo

Ghetto Yacht Club
 

Dougie and my place is about half as big as Michael's, so with Captian Tom Paris, his First Mate and their brood, we are full too. However, please don't be dismayed, as there is plenty of room at the prestigious Ghetto Yacht Club to tie up the CSC fleet and stay 10 minutes away in a fine motel near where the Mermaids Play in the Spring.

The Dockmasters both have issues, but they are good hearted knuckleheads! - the real fat one wants to talk about Mullet fishing all the time and the marginally fat one has some kind of "Mango Trigger Finger" twitch - If you can overlook those minor issues they have a pretty good place to leave your boat and a few trailers for the 5 mile run from the BP marlker up to the Chazhowitska Marker to terrorize the mollusks!

Post #10 lists some hotels that are nearby, so quit sitting there thinking about the "good 'ol days" and create some "New good 'ol days" to tell you grandkids about - I'm tellin' ya', they'er right around the corner, even if you'er 27!

Rickg has rented a home in HB so that will relieve some space. Looking forward to it!

Cant wait!!

Scallop Soiree Head count
 

I understand the following are planning on attending the scallop gathering. I'm just trying to get an idea of how much grouper and mangrove snapper we need to have at Zig Zag's on Friday night for the Captian's meeting.
Conner, Fishlips, the Greene brothers , Dougie and I are used to pressure, we just want to do a hydro test to make sure we're up to the task.
At this point, here is who I understand is coming -
Snookerd (2)
Bushwacker (2)
Vezo II (1)
77SceptreOB (1)
Cayo Mia (1)
Tom Paris (5)
Bumpdraft (2)
Don V. (2)
RickG (3)
CdavisB (3)
RCNight (2)
Terry E. (2)
Fishlips (2)
Let me know if you are planning on scallop hunting with us and are not on the above list. You can PM me if you are afraid to say in public you might think about possibly considering attempting this daring feat of aquatic adventurism, Mike Nelson!
I just want to get our 1) "ducks in a row", our 2) "Sh*t together" or our #3) "Accountability established" prior to the Event, if I can have a positive effect on the outcome for those in attendance. If you just show up and say "Dude, my life is a mess and I wasn't sure I could make it until late this afternoon", Donny might have a Hushpuppy left for ya', but don't count on it!

I need to work on my hushpuppy distribution model. I have found I need to make the last three on a separate plate not to be seen by the crowd inside the "food consumption room". That way I can guarantee I will get some, maybe I'll hide them in my pocket. Kinda like Sandy's beef wellington, don't be last in line....ya snooze, ya lose! :)

Mollusk Marauders 9-16-16
 

Scallops continue to be gathered in vast quantities by even the most amateur snorkelers. Most "Limit out" in two hours. Water is "Gin Clear" on the Scallop Gounds this week but the big slug of rainwater run-off from the Panhandle (Thanks Martin, Fr. Frank and Tom Paris!!! - not) has dropped the visibility to 3' from about 12' of water (10 miles out) to 47' of water (30 miles out) - then "Top to Bottom" in 50' - weird. Everything will change in another couple of weeks and as fishermen we learn to "adjust" to the conditions. The "fishing crew" (Conner, Fishlips, the Green Brothers and T-Bucket) are like a "coiled spring" ready to strike any location on the West Florida Shelf were Mangos, Hoggies and Gags are abundant.

Zig-Zag's Scallops is fully prepared for the Captian's Meeting on Friday night at 8:30. Spring Hil Jill and Christine have been assigned to take care of the SeaCraft Group. At that time we will update all attendees of the current scallop whereabouts and square meter count.

Keep you fingers, toes and eyes crossed we don't get a storm sneak trough the Florida Straights and mess up the Gulf on this side.

sounds good

I second that "really good" comment! I'm ready!

Terry, looking more likely that whatever it is, it will be sneaking through next week. Hopefully, it won't linger too long.

Looks like it's try'in to spool up 600 n.m. east of NAS Gitmo. The High off of Outer Banks may keep it south, but I think there's only a 50% a chance of it "running the slot" of the Florida Straights. Just as likely to soak the Bahamas and bother you and SScotty, Denny and GFS or those "Crackers" Skiblet, No Bones and Pelican. (Well Pelican is an Apprentice Cracker) The Gulf is so warm if it sneaks in here it will really start twistin'. They usually wander off to Lousiana or Texas unless something "buffers it into the pocket" over here in the eastern Gulf. Remember the Earth is spinnin' at 25,000 Mph at the equator and it trends the drag the tops of 'em west. The Meteorologists love to have us "run in circles and wring out hands", so just relax for a little bit, Ronnie.

Oh man. My schedule has changed. I was hoping to be able to come up for this...... Enjoy and catch them up.

You Can't Reason with Hurricane Season
 

Yikes, One of 'em formed up and sneaked through while I was study'in another one out east! Lots of "projected" angle hair pasta heading for Kmoose, Blue Heron or Tom Paris. I'll check the scallop grounds after Labor Day to see how they faired and advise.

Yeah Terry, I have been relaxing. Was up in mountains, without electric, phone and Internet (oh no) for four days. I just like following these tropical systems, find them interesting. This one seems to be giving them forecasters fits all along, they are still not very sure.
Going to slide down 75 today, pulling this big "parachute" before things get to blowing around.

Was hoping for a 4 day dive trip in the big water starting Labor day weekend and ending up my vacation at the gathering....... Really!?! I hate hurricane season.....

Just another I-4 crossing.....:eek:

Looks like it is time to batten down the hatches.

I think Dixon was last in line once...
I had a secret stash and hooked him up the next morning.

The spaghetti forecasts were hysterical last week.
I called Capt. Bill Taylor on Black Dog and he said Magic Seaweed had it
going thru the straights last Wed., while the US and Euros had it coming to WPB.
Magic seaweed is my go to forecast site.

Looks like a bunch of rain and some wind.

Welly on the menu from here?
I could also make some soufflé base for dem scallops w Cahhhdinal Lobstah sauce.

Sounds perfect Sandy. I'm at Weeki now trying to figure out if I need to rescue the "other" boat and drag it to high ground. That thing is creeping along very slowly. If it stays out there for a long duration and keeps pushing water east across the West Florida Shelf eventually it will coincide with a high tide and we'll end up with a storm surge. It's better when they move fast. I'll check the scallop grounds out next week to see if they got "sanded out". The worst that could happen is we end up at the Freezer up in 'Sasser!!!!

Hey! I was leaving tomorrow at 10, arrival at 4? High tide 2:08 pm? Low at 10:05 pm? Do I need an eight gallon ShopVac???

Vezo.

Kids school is cancelled here in Manatee Cty. Tomorrow with be fun at high tide for flooding.

Francis camped on us for 24 hrs.
For us it was good.
Big trees lost much sail area.

Jeanne came and went faster later on that year.

Wilma.

"The worst that could happen is we end up at the Freezer up in 'Sasser!!!!"

Hummmmm.........I'm thinking!

They had a piece on the local news about the flooding on IRB and I thought I saw Terry, paddle boarding down the street.

and Jeanne came about 3 weeks after Francis.

You mean the guy paddle boarding wearing the speedo....:eek::eek:

God help us...;)

Ken, I ain't got no dang teal bath'in suit or one of them dorky paddle boards either! I got what every Red-blooded 'Merican Seacraft owner has - ah pair of cut off jeans and a outboard motor!

My half-pint wife is always try'in to talk me into a kayak or paddle board or some other sort of human powered aquatic vehicle. I tell her "Listen here Hiawatha, God wouldn't ah sent Olie Evinrude along if he expected is to be workin on Slave ships fer eternity. Go beat that drum with some tie died wearing, earth shoe treadin', spotted owl huggin nit whit."
(I usually don't say nuttin like dat until after dinner er it's Cheetos again and I git that red stuff all over my face and hands)

Packing up today. Be in HB by 7 or so. I had a chance to see the new NOAA inundation map and Weeki Wachee went from 3' to almost zero over night. Looks worse here in SC!?! Wasn't sure if I would rather arrive to a flooded home, or be there to witness it. Hope I dodge it.

Part II

Watch that surge and be save everyone.

safe, be safe..
I have already been saved !

This storm is becoming a PIA!! That last feeder band is causing more rain and storms than all day Wednesday and Thursday. Started around 3:00am and looks to be here all day. Good news though, went yesterday to Total Wine and I'm all stocked up!!! :)

Not being a scallop aficionado as the England crew is, I'm assuming might cloud up the water for a week or two and make the scallops scarce?

That line just showed up here. Looks like it may be training over us for a while. Hope everybody on the west coast is still afloat.

Seacraft Scallop Scenario
 

Ron, Dougie and I headed up to Weeki Wednesday afternoon to see what we needed to gather up and head to high ground with. The picture below is low tide late in the afternoon and high tide wasn't until 3:00 AM. The Seacraft was safe down in Indian Rocks, but I had that 'ol fat ass Bertram up there on the three axle. We kept measuring the rate of increase of the tide and left for high ground at 11:00 PM to beat the rush. The one's who were "Going to ride it out" said the water came in steady at the rate of 6" per hour and the went up a foot and a half in 20 minutes, while the power went out, the wind was howling and trees were breaking and taking power lines down. We dropped the Bert off at a County Park and eased back in there about 4:00 PM on Friday - everybody was shell-shocked. All but one said "we'er followin' yur ass out of here next time 'cause this was real, real scary".
Anyway gettin' to the main crux of the how this relates to the Seacraft Scallop Scenario, while Marsh and I were sitting on my steps watching the fire burn from all the shit that fell out of the trees, like the good Cub Scouts we are, one of my neighbor's walks up to see if we want to come down for some Cobia steakes. I asked him "Did your freezer quit?". He said "Naw, we went scalloping today and got a cobia on a nearby rock pile". He said "Yea, we limited out in about two hours and the water was surprisingly clear. You could see the bottom in 8' but you had to dive down about a foot and a half under the surface to see the scallops". I went down to his place and saw the cobia and the fresh scallop shells - amazing! I'll check the situation out at the scallop grounds this weekend and report back next Sunday.

Glad all are well.

Sounds like you all have been busy Terry, good to hear from you.

We are a week away from the big event! Hope the weather and everything holds out so we can still have a great weekend!

I may take the boat up from Bradenton and do some fishing on the way....