Angler Jeff McCoy from Birdsboro, Pa., caught a 52.7-pound king mackerel while anchored up on Fenwick Shoal shark fishing with a Boston mackerel filet. The pending state record measured 56 inches long and had a girth of 24 inches. The previous record was caught by Gordon Harris back in 1992 and weighed 48 pounds, 9 ounces.
First aid
When you own and run a boat, you are considered the captain and thus are responsible for everyone onboard. Should someone get injured, you have the responsibility to give that person first aid until they can be seen by a professional caregiver.
That first-aid kit you bought when you outfitted your boat or that came with the boat suddenly becomes very important. In most cases, if the injury is slight, the contents of the kit are sufficient, but if the injury is serious, you will find the kit woefully lacking.
It doesn’t take much to cause a filet knife to slip and inflict a severe cut, or for someone to slip on a deck and break a limb. Injuries such as these need immediate attention, and as captain, you are responsible for getting the injured person the proper attention as soon as possible.
When someone is bleeding, you first must stop the flow. Pressure is better than a tourniquet, but do whatever you must to keep the person from bleeding to death.
At the same time, have someone get on VHF Channel 16 and alert the Coast Guard of your situation. Tell them your nearest port and when your arrival time will be. If you are offshore, they may send a helicopter.
Several years ago, when I lived in Virginia Beach, I was the committee boat in a Grady-White Tournament. We were offshore when one of the tournament boats reported the release of a blue marlin. Shortly thereafter, the same boat reported the angler who caught the fish was showing symptoms of a heart attack. Both the boat with the angler and my boat tried to reach the Coast Guard, but we were too far offshore. Fortunately, a friend out charter fishing closer to the beach was able to relay our calls, and the Coast Guard did send a helicopter and airlifted the angler to Norfolk. I am happy to report he survived.
Three other Virginia Beach friends were fishing together close to the beach when the boat owner felt chest pains. He suffered from heart disease and told the other two to take him back to the launch ramp and alert the Coast Guard. One made the owner comfortable on the deck of the 20-footer while the third ran the boat at top speed. The owner told him to slow down, because if he survived, which he did, he wanted to have an intact motor.
An ambulance was waiting back at the ramp. As they were loading the owner in, one of his friends took his sunglasses and the other took his shoes. They said just in case he didn’t make it, they would have something to remember him by.
Back to more serious stuff. Boat owners should take a first-aid course and learn the basics, including CPR. Don’t just go with the cheapest first-aid kit at Walgreens. Get one with more stuff, such as the powder that slows down bleeding and helps form scabs, plus larger Band-Aids, gauze, tape, super glue and splints. The better you are prepared for an emergency, the better the outcome.
I take blood thinners, and just the slightest nick can start a river of blood. When it won’t stop, I find super glue does the trick.
Those of us with such medical problems should take care of ourselves. I have a plastic bag I carry in my lunch cooler that holds my super glue, my insulin and pills I am supposed to take while I am on the water. That’s right, I was a Boy Scout. Be prepared!
Offshore wind
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued its final Biological Opinion on the offshore wind energy project off Rhode Island. To break it down to the basics, they have found that while the project is likely to adversely affect endangered whales, sea turtles and Atlantic sturgeon, it is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species.
They do not anticipate any injury or mortality to any endangered whale as a result of the project. They do not expect any injury to any North Atlantic right whales due to exposure to increased sound levels. All effects to North Atlantic right whales will be limited to temporary behavioral disturbance.
I do not expect these findings to stop the critics from damning these offshore wind projects. Nevertheless, they will be built.
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Eric Burnley is a Delaware native who has fished and hunted the state from an early age. Since 1978 he has written countless articles about hunting and fishing in Delaware and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast. He has been the regional editor for several publications and was the founding editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman magazine. Eric is the author of three books: Surf Fishing the Atlantic Coast, The Ultimate Guide to Striped Bass Fishing and Fishing Saltwater Baits. He and his wife Barbara live near Milton, Delaware. Eric can be reached at Eburnle@aol.com.
