Aug 2nd

Another day, another dead fish. At least that's what these guys are looking for, fish that are done spawning. And I do have some interesting news, I had to learn to drive the skiff today. Got a call on the radio from Brad that he needed rescuing. Yep, that's right, I had to go rescue the skipper. Here's the scoop, high tide came in and he got delayed on his way back to the skiff. So when he got there, the anchor line was farther out than he could get to even though he waded out to his armpits. So, since the other skiff was tied to the boat and I was the only person on the boat, it was up to me to save the day! Grabbed the portable radio and a life jacket, put on my shoes and jacket and headed out to the swim deck. He had given me instructions several days before but I hadn't needed to use them up until now. I remembered that you don't unhook the skiff from the boat until the skiff motor is running, which is what I proceeded to do. However, (you knew that was coming), I didn't have all the directions clear in my head. I turned the key over and the engine started but quit. Turned the key again and it acted like it wanted to start but wouldn't keep going. About that time I hear a gunshot, loud and very loud, like it was super close. Had no idea where that came from but decided to quit turning the key and grabbed the radio, that's when I heard a little tiny voice say....."don't start the engine, don't start the engine" and "turn your volume up". I obediently turned up the volume and could then hear Brad loud and clear, don't turn the engine on yet, there's several steps to do before that. Oops, my bad. He walked me through putting the motor down into the water, turning the key and giving the motor some choke. Waa-laa, the motor was running. Now, to put it into gear, he told me to pull up on the red handle while pushing the gear shifter forward BUT make sure you have the skiff turned to the right! Okay, done and did. So far so good. I'm now out in the middle of a body of water with no clue what I'm doing. He kept directing me to shore, even waving his arms like the airport dudes do when a plane is taxing up to the airport. I managed to get the skiff to him, no harm to it or me and he was pretty pleased. He said by starting the engine while it was out of the water it is the quickest way to ruin it, which I did not do, thankfully. And that was also why he had shot his rifle, to get my attention. Apparently, he was jumping up and down on the shoreline, shouting DON'T START THE ENGINE......wish I could've seen that. But after all is said and done, he said I got an A for my first skiff lesson. I had to take a nap after that harrowing experience at sea......hahaha. No, I really did take a nap. Haven't had very many of those since I've been up there this time, all of ten days. Man, it really feels like it's been longer than that. Wonder why? After baking all day yesterday the crew told me NOT to bake today, so I haven't. And carrying that one step further, guess what's for dinner? No guesses? CHILI.....that's right, I'm giving them good ole Nalley's chili with some of my own that was in the freezer mixed in, just to give it that homemade taste. Unfortunately, they already heard the story about my "better than restaurant chili" so I won't be fooling anyone. I will bake some corn muffins to go along with it though, so I won't be letting a day go by without baking something. It's been a relaxing day that's for sure. One of the nicest days we've had so I sat out on the top deck and enjoyed the sun, might have even got a bit of a sunburn. Will wonders never cease? Left Ralph's Creek and headed to our next spot. Survey crew loved their chili and cornbread now they are working their way through all the remaining desserts. Hopefully, I can bake something new tomorrow. Looks like we have service so going to post this now....dj