Obsession Sportfishing Outer Banks North Carolina

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Captain Jeff Ross Obsession Charters Outer Banks North Carolina

Fishing Reports & Photos

TRIP FROM HELL IS FINALLY OVER!! LIFE IS GOOD!
I've travelled down to Mexico for the last 15 winters, but this was the most difficult trip ever..... It usually takes us one day to get from Manteo to Southport, NC where the next morning we leave before sunrise and get to southern Georgia or northern Florida..... this year it took us five days to get out of North Carolina. We left Manteo with the sound starting to freeze over and the temperture in the 20's the first day busting thru ice 5 miles all the way to Wanchese where our generator sucked up too much icy slush and shut off as did the generator on my partners boat....barely had any steering as our hydraulic fluid was so cold I could barely turn tne wheel.... so we turned around.... spent the rest of the day putting little space heaters everywhere around the boat ..... even my bilge water and pumps were froze.... thats no good!!



We left again Wednesday, knowing if we didn't get out of there then, with the forecast for snow and freezing temps for seveal days, we would be delayed for a week or more, and again anxiously broke thue thin ice and slush till well past Wanchese where it finally cleared up.... only made it to Morehead City, but there was no sign of ice and more current down there.... tied up there just as the storm started up.... blew 70 that night and rained then snowed.... We spent the next day trying to get the ice and snow off of the frozen boat..... ran the motor for 6 hrs to warm things up....kept all 5 space heaters going including one on the boat heater to keep it from freezing up again.... Joe spent 4 hours getting snow and ice off bow so we could untie her in the morning.... on the F/V Northwestern they have shovels and sledgehammers to de-ice the boats.... we used plastic squeeges and dust pans..... but we got the Obsession in reasonable shape to leave the next day..... it was blowing 25 that day and 16 degrees so we went down the intercoastal to avoid the freezing spray we would make in the ocean..... just needed to get south as everything was gonna freeze up in the next two days.... even ran into more ice on a 5 mile stretch on the intercoastal which is totally rare.... fortunately a 72 ft 150,000 lb Vicking that was following us down the intercoastal got ahead of me for that stretch and busted thru the ice.... we made it to Southport that evening where the water flow from tide had not froze over yet... and at 5 the next morning we hauled ass to Florida....made it to Jacksonville around 7 that evening and thank the lord the temperture was finally above freezing but the water lines on the dock were still frozen. After that everything went pretty well .... we got down to Ft Pierce and warmer weather two days later... left there at midnight on Monday with the rain blowing sideways blowing 20 mph but seas were side to and got better as we got below Palm Beach and from there it was FINALLY PRETTY SAILING.... calm down in the Keys... got to Key West at 2 PM, fueled up and along with two other boats headed to Mexico.... made the trip in 20 hours with calm seas the whole way.... Thank the lord!!
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Posted on 11 Jan 2018 by captainjeff

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01 Jan 2015 – 30 Jun 2015 (72)

Obsession Sportfishing Charters

Outer Banks - North Carolina

Captain Jeff Ross
3102 S. Ocean View Ct.
Nags Head NC 27959

252.480.0094

CaptJeff@mindspring.com



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