Volunteer Time:
2006 (total): 103 days, 169.00 hours
2007 (total): 238 days, 425.75 hours
2008 (total): 254 days, 641.85 hours
2009 (total): 117 days, 518.50 hours
May
10th, 2009:
Click on the picture to view a short video
Opening the Angler Center this morning I was alerted by a passerby
to the presence of an injured sea lion in the surf line just east of the
Pier. After verifying the injury the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Rescue
Center was notified. Within 30 minutes a truck was dispatched and
the sea lion was successfully rescued and transported for treatment and
recovery.
May
14th, 2009:
 Today
the Pier was visited by a group from the Alpha
Resource Center on their weekly Thursday outing. I was introduced to
Dennis Curtis and Renee Allen from the Center who were assisting the group.
I noticed that the group of twelve or so were sharing only a
couple of poles. I offered the loaner poles that the Goleta Pier Angler
Center maintains for community groups but since they were only going to
fish for a short time they declined the offer.
Dennis explained that he was trying to obtain more tackle for
the group and I offered to ask the Angler Center's sponsoring
organization, United Pier and Shore Anglers of California, for a possible
donation of suitable equipment.
It is important that the Pier be accessible to all potential
users regardless of their disabilities and the Goleta Pier Angler Center
is committed to that goal. Before the summer season begins we hope to have
those areas of the Pier with lowered railings and diamond plate flooring
properly marked with disabled only signs and striping.
Currently there are only two such areas (in front of the Angler
Center and just beyond the hoist) which severely limits where disabled
individuals can fish. Hopefully we can encourage the County to provide
additional facilities. Ideally one should be located near the foot of the
Pier for halibut, corbina and perch fishing and another mid-pier beyond
the bend to provide access to the kelp reef on the west side where rockfish
and calico bass can be taken.
May
15th, 2009:
No pictures today ... still getting used to a new camera and
its somewhat glitzy
shutter button. And maybe that's all to the good because
the pictures stored
in memory are even better!
At least the memories and impressions that I formed today from
an extended
3 hour discussion at the Angler Center with 'Groundhog' Green,
a Katrina survivor
from New Orleans, will stay with me for a long time
'Groundhog' is a 55 year old installer of fire suppression systems
on offshore oil ('earl') rigs and was recently dispatched from his home
to our own platform Harmony
off the coast near Ellwood.
Since this was the first chance I've had to discuss the nightmare
that was
Katrina with someone from New Orleans I was glad to get to hear
his first-hand
report. And what a report it was ...
As he tells it he was one of the last people evacuated to the
Superdome but
before he was rescued he had made several attempts to swim to
a nearby
apartment house only to rebuffed by the current occupants, 'gangsters',
he
called them, Apparently they were not the original occupants
but looters
who had taken over the building and did not wish anyone to observe
their
activities.
He was forcibly ejected from the building several times and then
they turned
one of their dogs loose on him. Fortunately he was able
to escape and was
found floating by the local sheriffs.
When he returned to his old neighborhood most of his neighbors
had relocated.
He said that all of the good people were gone and the only ones
remaining
were a much rougher group which he felt didn't bode well for
the city's future.
While we were talking he received a call on his cell phone from
an oil tanker
somewhere off the coast of Africa. Since he was the 'on-call'
tech they needed
him to troubleshoot a recently installed system that had gone
down. As an aside
he explained that his choices were either to get the system
up and running or
he would have to fly to Africa in person.
As the story developed I learned that the tanker had been one
of those recently
hijacked by pirates off of Somalia which explained his decided
reluctance to
travel there in person. Having a background in equipment
installations and
troubleshooting myself it was fascinating to hear him talk the
Chief Engineer of
the vessel through the process of isolating and diagnosing the
problem to a successful
resolution ... always offering considerate advice in ways that
would not be offensive
to a man considerably above his own station in life.
As it turned out the problem was a simple series of shorts and
ground faults (hence his nickname 'Groundhog') which should have been obvious
to anyone who had had practical, hands-on experience rather than the apparently
theoretical background of the Chief Engineer.
After 6 or 7 return calls the problem was resolved and 'Groundhog'
left the Pier grinning ear to ear. As he put it he "enjoyed the challenge"
and would prefer a situation with multiple problems more than anything
else.
Just when things slow down on the Pier and I am beginning to
get bored along comes
someone unique, like 'Groundhog', to make my day!
May
16th, 2009:
 Today
was the long awaited and highly anticipated fishing excursion for a troop
of local Cub Scouts.
I was contacted last month by a den mother interested in providing
supervised outdoor activities for her group and offered the assistance
of the Goleta Pier Angler Center in providing loaner fishing poles and
instruction.
I had suggested the most productive time to catch fish would
be on a late afternoon incoming tide.
After reviewing the tide tables for May we agreed on today at
4 pm even though it meant keeping the Angler Center open beyond its usual
closing hours. At 3:30 one of the parents arrived to help get the equipment
ready and set up.
At 4:00 the rest of the group arrived and after some minimal
instruction in fishing technique and Pier etiquette the Cubs arranged themselves
at the rail and dropped their lines in the water. Shortly afterward
the first fish, a 12" Jacksmelt, was landed and was released into a 5 gallon
bucket of sea water for all to observe.
Over the next two hours I was kept busy cutting bait, baiting
hooks, chumming the water with minced squid, removing the fish they caught
from their lines and making sure everyone had an equal opportunity at the
railing. Exhausting but ultimately rewarded by all the smiles on the faces
of a group of very happy and successful young anglers. All fish were successfully
returned to the water.
Happy anglers at Goleta!
May
17th, 2009:
 Walking
out to open the Angler Center yesterday morning I noticed this 16"+ bucket-size
Barred
Surf Perch (Amphistichus argenteus Agassiz). Most local anglers
agree it was one of the largest ever caught off of our Pier.
As a comparison I have included a picture below of Fred Oakley's
17 inch, 4 pounds 2 ounce BSP caught March 30th, 1996 off the Oxnard coastline.
That fish currently holds the IGFA record and is listed in the
California Department of Fish and Game's Sport Angling Records for hook
and line.
The gentleman and his 2 sons had 5 other hand-size BSP and a
12" Calico surf perch as well. The impounded Slough was cut through to
the ocean Friday releasing a ton of nutrients ... fishing definitely picked
up overnight!
Interior photo of Wylie's Bait and Tackle
(Topanga, California)
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