'Tiki Tude'

Working on a documentary two summers ago, we filmed at the Star Fish Company in wonderful, friendly Cortez, Florida, then had dinner at this little local hideaway that describes itself as "the honky tonk fish shack with tiki tude" - eating fresh seafood at lopsided picnic tables on the docks, our waitress alternately delivering cans of beer and cans of bug spray. The wharf was decorated with whimsical folk art like this, from RhondaK.
I loved my time in Cortez - and with eco-tour guide Capt Kathe. The people were warm, funny, and 'dead honest' - I felt like I'd known them for years, not just the few days we were in Florida studying the havoc of red tide, and what's being done about it (two of my official dispatches from that assignment are here and here ).

Peace and Trust

Three of Cups in the "Self" Position
Main (positional) Meaning:
Celebrate friendships and close companions. You are richly rewarded with people who love you.
The card in the Self position reveals aspects of how you perceive yourself right now.
When the Three of Cups is in this position, you have balanced your priorities and have harmonized your inner life with your outer life. This leaves you with a sense of serenity and relaxation. The fact that you feel bonded with and supported by your immediate circle of family and friends says that you attract other well-balanced souls like yourself.
This card is a compliment to you for having earned the hard-won rewards of peace and trust. The natural flow between you and others is becoming fruitful and enjoyable.

Women's Sailing Convention

Feb 2 @ Del Rey Yacht Club: the Women's Sailing Convention has on-the-water instruction and classroom courses for novice and expert sailor girls - plus Capt Linda Newland (aka 'Sally Spreaders') as the featured speaker that night. Click here for details and registration.

Mele Kaliki Maka!

Christmas greetings to our loved ones near and far, and many blessings to you in the New Year!
XOXO Betsy & Coco

Cuter than Santa's sack ...

Cute bags for sailor-chicks, fisher-chicks, anyone who's got a bundle of junk to 'go-with'. Check out Amanda's PIG BAGS (and look at the 'About ' tab where I get top billing ... I'm blushing, seriously!)

Need any more reasons to catch your own fish?

In China, Farming Fish in Toxic Waters - from the New York Times

Dispatch from Liz on SWELL

My awesome super-hero friend Liz Clark has posted her latest dispatch from her single-handed cruise through the South Pacific.
She writes "Is there a limit to how much fun I'm allowed to have by myself? A moment when I shift from plain happy to plain nuts?" Read it for yourself here.

Saltwater Women - save the dates

Jenny Armstrong advises UASC has two women's trip booked:
#1 - Departing Capt Hook's Oxnard Thurs May 15 @ 10pm; fishing all day Friday May 16 & returning home around 6 pm
#2 - Departing Tues July 29 @ 10pm, returning around 8pm Thurs July 31.
Pencil 'em in - details will follow at UASC or contact Jenny at jarmstrong@pacificedgetackle.com for info on this and upcoming seminars

Night of 1,000 Squalls

Check out the pix and reports on our delivery to Ensenada on the J/35 Predator this weekend, on the NautiChica blog.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Buy a wreath - donate to Seakeepers Society

Purchase a holiday wreath from Nautical Luxuries and the Irvine-based company will donate a percentage of the proceeds to the International SeaKeepers Society.

Nautical Luxuries’ 22-inch decorative wreaths, garlands and centerpieces are adorned with sea stars and sand dollars, on evergreen boughs or naturally dried sea grass. With each purchase a contribution is made to SeaKeepers, a non-profit organization dedicated to monitoring the health of the world's oceans by deploying information-gathering modules on yachts, cruise ships, ferry boats, buoys and piers around the world. The modules collect and transmit critical data about the condition of the oceans via satellite to the University of Miami, where the data are made available to various organizations, researchers and scientists.

Nautical Luxuries has a mouth-watering catalog of gift and decorative items ideal for holiday gift giving. Or, visit the area showroom located 17971 Sky Park Circle, Suite M, in Irvine.

And they call themselves writers ...

'DUH! of the week' goes to a major UK yachting event upon the tragic news of a crew member who apparently was a naughty girl whilst viewing art ...? (And what's with the commas?!!)

"On Day four of [event that doesn't hire professional writers] well rehearsed emergency plan was called into action following a serious accident onboard the Russian crewed Volvo 60 ... Crew member Alla Byazina, suffered extensive scolding in a gallery accident that occurred during a gybe, in the fast trade wind conditions."

Save the Date(s)

Feb 2 at Del Rey Yacht Club - the SCYA Women's Sailing Convention. For details go to www.scya.org after 12/20/07.

TBA - in Santa Ynez Valley - the first annual 'Somethin's Fishy' wacky wahine wine tour and caravan: in search of the perfect fish-worthy-wine :-)

Details for both will be posted as they develop!

United Anglers 'No Motor' Tournament Dec. 15

Drag out your kayaks, float tubes, canoes or any other seaworthy vessel -- or fish from shore -- at the United Anglers 'No Motor' tournament right here in Carpinteria, 7AM til noon, Saturday Dec. 15.
Cool prizes will be awarded - including an individual prize for top female angler! The event benefits the Carpinteria Saltmarsh & UASC as they 'build a better Halibut Habitat'. More details on the UASC website here.

Observations of a fisherman

Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) from the tv show ‘How I Met Your Mother’ - says, “Women, like fish, are attracted to shiny and/or effulgent objects. In fact, those of you with a keen eye have surely noted that women are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from fish, as illustrated in the following scientific observations:

TWENTY-FOUR WAYS IN WHICH WOMEN ARE LIKE FISH

1. Both attracted to shiny objects
2. More fun to catch while drinking
3. Neither travel well
4. There's others in the sea and/or bar
5. Three words: catch and release
6. Both travel in protective groups
7. Small bladders
8. The deeper you go, the scarier they get
9. Their weight largely determines their value
10. [EDITED: My lawyer has requested that I remove this one from the blog… hint: crabs!]
11. They get all ornery if you try to grab their tail
12. Bears will eat either of them
13. Sometimes I likes 'em wild, sometimes I likes 'em farm-raised
14. You must document great catches or no one will believe you -- video preferred
15. Easier to reel in if you let them wear themselves out first
16. Seen the movie Splash? Case closed
17. Cold blooded. Looking your way, Stacy.
18. Neither can operate a vehicle
19. They both eat things
20. The harder they shake their tail, the farther they'll go in life
21. Scales are important to each of them
22. They never have to buy drinks
23. Umm… Eggs? Duh
24. Can hook either with a great line"

Match Racing Girls Got Balls!

Women’s Keelboat Match Racing has just been selected by the ISAF Council as one of the 10 events for the 2012 Olympics! Please find the complete news story on the ISAF website. Bravo Liz, WIMRA, and everyone who made it happen!
PHOTO: SEAN DOWNEY/BLASTREACH COMMUNICATIONS

Curse the bastard who invented Tootsie Rolls!

I made the mistake of buying Halloween candy I actually like.
:-P
Tomorrow will no doubt be a horrific day -- spent in a knot, wondering whether my headache is caused by my near-diabetic coma ... by hitting my head against the toilet when I toss all this sugar ... or by the volumes of wine I probably will consume at Sharon Green's 'Trolling for Treats" party tonight.
On a finer note ... check out Sharon's Ultimate Sailing calendar (a la this awesome photo above)

Date change: Pacific Edge seminar

The Nov.1 session has been changed to 'Secrets of albacore fishing' on Thurs Nov. 8 - same bat(ray) time, same bat(ray) place ... Go to Pacific Edge Tackle for details and directions. RSVP and questions to Jenny Armstrong at jarmstrong@pacificedgetackle.com ! ~ B

Fish Talk Radio Host???

Can you walk the talk? And talk ... and talk ... and talk? Fish Talk Radio is looking for "an expert angler with personality" to co-host a popular radio show* which is syndicated nationwide! Compensation is just $1 :-) but John promises "lots of benefits" Contact John@FishTalkRadio.com *KIST AM 1340, Santa Barbara (Saturday 9-10 am) and KLAA AM 830, LA & Orange County (Thursday 8-10 pm)

Two Events!!

Open Charter on Mirage Sun Oct. 28:
This from Jeanne @ GCLA:
This weekend there is a rare Open Charter on Mirage. It is a limited load to 20 passengers departing at 10pm Saturday night (10/27), fishing on Sunday. The weather and fishing have been beautiful the last few days! Time to start filling those freezers! To make reservations, please call Gail or Dave at 805-488-2212 or 4715. For any Charter information, please call Erin at 805-497-8704."

Knot Tying in Huntington Beach Nov. 1
"Also, coming up on Thursday Nov.1st @ 7pm we will have another one of our popular knot tying contests at Pacific Edge in Huntington Beach. Pete Haynes, who is our number one supporter of the ladies program, will join us once again to teach some of the most commonly used and easiest to tie knots as well as a couple specialty knots. I will need an RSVP for this event so we know how many people to expect. " Please RSVP directly to Jenny at jarmstrong@pacificedgetackle.com ! ~ B

Nauti Chicas Rock!

The Nauti Chicas tied for first place in the recent Linda Elias Women's One Design regatta in Long Beach!!!

We logged a 2-2-2 in Day One; Day Two was a blow-out (literally: winds gusting into the 40s) ... Damned if we didn't end up in 2nd overall though after CYC (4-1-1) won the tie breaker.

However our real coup was that two of those 2nd place finishes came after we were OCS (nauti chicas!) and clawed our way back up the fleet!!! 'Including one race where we were chewing up their fibergl-asses all the way to the finish line and nearly overtook them in the final seconds. We wish we'd had racing weather on Sunday: we were ON!

It's a great start to our SD-PV / Transpac '09 Campaign!! ~ B

PHOTO: RICK ROBERTS

Scandalous Lady Yachting Journos Unite

Elaine Bunting has been at it again, stirring up the waters with pictures of boobs and naughty (nauti?) names for boats on her blog.
Elaine is the awesome features editor for Yachting World. You never know where she's going to pop up - I met her while covering the BTGC. Her writing is clever and candid and timely and you should tap into her blog and articles often.
I confessed my desire for an all-gal raceboat called 'Wet Posse' ... and still believe the Princess should have named her duffy 'T'Watt'. For Sue & Barry's Antrim 40 though: I prefer 'Suicide Workshop'!

Cute gear

Let's face it, one of the cool things about being a chick who sails and fishes and stuff is getting cute new gear!

Check out these rubber boots from Victoria's Secret!

And check out Damzl too - they have really adorable "boy beater" sleeveless tops ;-)

HOOK 'EM & COOK 'EM

The GCLA cookbooks are in - and cost just $10!

Go to the website to buy one (or more) and support this great group of feisty fisher-chicks!

'Great Christmas present ... wrap it up with a new rod & reel (and you thought I was going to say 'apron' ...? )

BERNIE'S MAGICAL MUSICAL MAHI-FUL LIFE

I know this is a blog about women on the water, but Bernie Mayers is the kind of guy we all dream about. He's charming, quick-witted, worldly, and got a fantastically outfitted and comfy sport-fishing boat. Of the starlets he’s worked with as a Hollywood music arranger, he picks the beefy boisterous girl from Queens, Ethel Merman, over Marilyn Monroe. He remembers the first fish he ever caught – at the age of eight – and has been passionate about fishing ever since; still active at 99 ¾ years old!

Recently I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with Bernie and some friends in Marina del Rey. My story in Dockside doesn’t even begin to cover Bernie’s magical, musical, mahi-ful century – but take a look and be inspired.

(And I call this 'work'. How lucky am I?!)

LOBSTERS & LOOPS

It's that time of year ... No, not Christmas shopping: it's 'bug' season! And UASC Saltwater Women has two great opportunities for fisherchicks and hungry gals:

"Lobster season is back and we have an opportunity to get out there and hoop up some tasty dinners. Mark Wisch from Pacific Edge Bait & Tackle has offered to take groups of three ladies out for an afternoon of fishing and an evening of hooping on his 25ft Parker. We will depart from Huntington Harbor around 2pm and head over to Catalina where we will spend the afternoon catching the bait. Then, when the sun sets we will put out the hoops and wait for the "bugs" to crawl. Depending on how good the fishing is we will likely be back to the dock around midnight. The limit on these tasty creatures is 7 per person and Mark will provide all of the customized hoop nets. The cost for these hooping trips will be $150 per person. The first trip is set for Wednesday Oct. 10 and the second for Wednesday Nov. 7. More trips will be added all the way thru February. "

"Also, coming up on Thursday Nov.1st @ 7pm we will have another one of our popular knot tying contests at Pacific Edge in Huntington Beach. Pete Haynes, who is our number one supporter of the ladies program, will join us once again to teach some of the most commonly used and easiest to tie knots as well as a couple specialty knots. I will need an RSVP for this event so we know how many people to expect. "

Please RSVP directly to Jenny at jarmstrong@pacificedgetackle.com ! ~ B

DO YOU WRITE ABOUT YOUR SURFING OR FISHING ANTICS?

Casagrande Press is looking for submissions for two new books: Fishing's Greatest Misadventures (April 18 2008 deadline), and Surfing's Greatest Misadventures (January 18 2008).

This is your chance to get rich and famous! Well, maybe just the famous part ...

"We are looking for nonfiction, first-person stories about bad judgment calls, pranks, comical/ironic episodes, attacking fish or other animals, bizarre injuries, meltdowns, rough weather, trips gone wrong ..." etc. etc. etc. Criteria for surfing submissions is similar.

Don't be shy! Clink on the headline to go to their home page for details and easy submission guidelines ...

WET WEDNESDAYS - IN & ON THE WATER

I love Wednesdays! First I get to lead water aerobics at the community pool: outside beneath palm trees and blue skies, with the ocean breeze coming from the south and the blue-grey mountains towering to the north. The class is at noon, so it's sort of like having 'recess' during the middle of the workday!

Then it's off to Santa Barbara in the evening to sail on Helene's boat 'Intuition'. Yesterday was particularly breezy with an Alaskan storm offshore (still nice enough to sail barefoot, in a tank-top and pants though) and we had fun as we went up and down and over and across the course, at the foot of the beautiful city of SB.

I love having a day when I get to be really physical and feel strong. Having had all that taken away from me; continually working so hard to get it back -- I truly appreciate the miracle of the human body and the blessing of good health!

SHE SURFS. SHE SAILS. SHE FISHES. SHE'S ...

... Liz Clark! If you want to absolutely drool with envy while you travel virtually around the South Pacific, check out Liz's link (click on headline). Liz is 25 - a veritable wonderwoman - and my friend (yay!). We sailed in company to San Miguel Island on her first ever single-handed voyage ... since then she's refit her Cal 40 Swell, hop-scotched south to the Galapagos Islands, and across the Pacific (to the Tuamoutus, thus far) on a sailing-surfing adventure most of us only dream of. Liz is 'can-do' all the way: a real inspiration to every woman (and a goddess in the eyes of the many men who are following her journey as well). She's a great writer too, so grab a cuppa Joe or maybe a big mojito, sit down, and check out her journals and pics. Go Liz!

WOO HOO! A CONTEST!

Look what I found, from our friends at Shimano

"Ladies Share Your Story ...
Shimano is interested in hearing from all the Shimano women anglers who have a story to share about their days on the water. What were you using when you caught the fish of your lifetime? If you can keep your stories to 400 words or less and send them to Shimano, we will automatically enter you into a drawing to win a 4GB AppleiPod Nano. Oh and don't be shy. If you have a picture that compliments your story, pass it along too. One winner will be chosen each month. Winners will be notified by email. Send your story to: rsantucci@shimano.com "

WACKY WAHINES DO ...

While blow-drying my panties early one morning at a hotel in Morehead City, NC (everything got drenched in the transfer from the research boat to the USCG tender, and what didn’t get marinated in seawater got soaked in a downpour during the wild 60-mile ride back to port!) I paused to think how many incredible experiences I’ve had.

Here's my accumulated list of what 'Wacky Wahines do' -- feel free to add your own!

Wacky Wahines ...

• Kayak with the Orcas off Vancouver Island
• Skinny dip in the bay at Sint Maarten
• Wake up at the roly poly anchorage at Santa Barbara Island to the smell of fresh brewed coffee
• Eat what they catch (hah!)
• Have ruined at least one camera
• Await the dawn and arriving raceboats in a leaky dinghy outside le Vieux Port of La Rochelle
• Get wet
• Visit sick sea turtles at Mote in Sarasota
• Always dip their toes (at the very least!) in a new body of water
• Don’t take a 747 to Hawaii …
• Ooh and ahh over dolphins no matter how many times they appear
• Carry sunscreen
• Wait out the weather at Cojo anchorage
• Confidently jump from the research vessel into the awaiting arms of handsome young Coast Guardsmen
• Have at least one article of clothing with squid ink on it
• Dance, dance, dance!
• Watch while the fish’s stomach contents are revealed and counted
• Have friends on every continent
• Hike all eight miles to Pt. Bennett (and back) on San Miguel
• Pee in a bucket
• Trust that the float plane will return to pick them up from the Alaskan slough
• Enjoy a little scotch with their water while sailing in Scotland
• Kayak with the greys in Baja
• Ask for more ice in their cocktails to the chagrin of the bartender in St Malo
• S-w-i-n-g onto an oil platform like Jane of the Jungle
• Volunteer to protect the marine environment, even if it means counting little pelagic birds at 1 a.m.
• Don't mind a little sand in their sandwiches
• Feast on champagne and oysters in Sydney
• Sing bawdy Dutch pub songs while slaying fish in Hawaii
  

Now send me your Wacky Wahine list (just nothing too randy girls, in case my Mom logs on …)

LOBSTER ANYONE?

NOTE FROM JENNY A @ UNITED ANGLERS 09.08.07 --
"Lobster season opens on Saturday Sept 29 and stays open until March ... We are going to schedule 3-4 trips where we can take about 3 people each time and leave around 3pm. We will likely head over to Catalina where we will fish to catch some bonito for our bait and then set the nets and hopefully load up on lobsters. The dates and times will vary from weekdays to weekends and the cost will be around $125-150 per person."

Gals are encouraged to contact Jenny directly at jennyjason@cox.net to RSVP!

GOOD FISHING : BAD HAIR

BACKSIDE OF SANTA ROSA ISLAND 09.03.07 -- I’m not sure what the correlation is between ‘bad hair’ and ‘good fishing’ but by the end of the day Monday I had a rip-roaring case of both.

Not that I’d really call what I was doing ‘fishing’ – I think I was just fortunate enough to be holding a rod that the deckhand stuck in my hands; and with a combination of assorted pointers and primal response, was successful in hauling up a bunch of fish.

I was with the Gold Coast Lady Anglers on Mirage, out of Port Hueneme. We left Sunday night (oh, after a large day for me: trophies in Dana Point, party in Long Beach) and the long, hot day, a bottle of wine, and sweaty bunk contributed to my fatal hairdo.

But who cares?! The fishing was so much fun! The boat was comfy, crew patient and helpful, the scenery spectacular, and the GCLA fantastic -- even if I did look like Einstein! And I think that was probably the best way to really go at it: with no worries about equipment or technique or what-do-we-call-the-greenish-stripey-ones … Just go! Catch! Squeal! Repeat! It reignited in me a drive to learn whatever I've got to know, and get what I've got to get, to be an awesome GCLA fisher-chick.

PLACES TO LEARN MORE LOCALLY:

www.goldcoastladyanglers.com
www.chickswhofish.com

please contact me if you know of more

get ready ...

stand by wacky wahines of the water!

coming soon: a blogspot for women, by women, about women
of SoCal and the Central Coast - who L-O-V-E the ocean.

~ crazeemermaid@yahoo.com