Being a land based fisher for most of my life, i jumped at a chance to bust my deep sea cherry by heading up the Monte Bello Islands for a 5 day trip with 8 likeminded mates in mid 2007.

All the new deep sea gear was brought tackle, lures, etc and the 2 day trek (by coaster bus) up to Onslow was slow but enjoyable. We were all keen and full of beans whilst we loaded the boat on the fuelling jetty. (Compared to some of the other charter vessels tied to the jetty, our boat looked like it had seen better days however, being so pumped we didn't take much notice.) So we finally leave Onslow, smiles all round, high fives etc....... we should have known that the trip was going to be jinxed, when after 2 hours of heading out from Onslow (half way to Barrow Island) we turn around and start heading east!. Apparently the skipper hadn't re gassed the refrigeration system, so a quick trip to Onslow was required to gas up. After that small hiccup, we set off again, and being the skippers first trip of the season we were towing out the 18 foot tender behind the mother ship.

We finally get to Barrow island anchor up, and have a fish. What a blast!! Copious amounts of fish are being caught, real mind blowing stuff. The skipper says its time to head to the Montes, so we pull anchor and get ready to go. Just as we are about to take off, the skipper tells one of the boys to give the tender a push away from the side of the mother ship. The tender was bobbing about a bit in the swell, and as Gavin lent over to push the tender away, his thumb was jammed between the two boats and SMASHED to pieces! (We knew it was serious because his thumb now looked like a split sausage) So, it was back to Onslow to drop Gavin off to the flying doctors. (Gavin stayed overnight at Onslow nursing post before RFDS to Perth in the morning. He received micro surgery and rehab for a extended period before partial recovery of the thumb. No refund (or apology) from the skipper was given.) We got back to Onslow that evening, and stayed overnight on the boat at the refuelling jetty.

Next morning we left Onslow (AGAIN) and started the 4 hour journey to the MBIs. This time we got over there without a hitch. Amazing scenery, great weather (apart from the wind) and AWESOME fishing. (we ended up with Reds, Perch, Rankin, Cobia, Estuary Cod not bad considering we lost so much time thru travelling) Anyways, all seemed good until the last night, where we decided to have one last fish before heading home. Great fishing again, but it was getting late, so we started the long trip back to Onslow. Maybe we should have taken notice in the afternoon (as we were heading out of the islands) when the skipper said " Gee, the tide is really low.....I haven't seen THAT island before......"

We are now about 3 hours and 45 mins into the trip home (approximately 2am) cruising at about 15 knots, everybody besides myself and my trusty sidekick Mr Botti, are asleep (including the Skipper) when i hear something not quite right......sort of like sand scraping against the hull of the boat. All of a sudden, the boat tips on a 45 degree angle and stops dead! There is crap everywhere on the deck, a few rods went overboard, all of the guys in the sleeping quarters fall on top of each other, general chaos and confusion follow until we figure out what just happened......WE HAD RUN AGROUND! we were beached! Stuck on a large sand bar a few kilometres out from Onslow. (VERY low tide can do that to you) After 10 minutes of trying the skipper eventually rocks us off the sand bar and we head back to the refuelling jetty at Onslow. By this time there are some very shaken and VERY angry fishos ready to lynch the skipper!)

Now you think it can’t get much worse however, the skipper went home for a stiff drink and a lie down (he left us all to sleep ((and calm down)) on the boat for the evening) and forgot to turn off the kill tank refrigeration system! So we awoke to a block of frozen fish that needed a few hours to thaw before filleting.

All up we lost approximately 20 hours of fishing time (due to travelling back and forth) our 5 day trip shrunk into 2 and a half.

No apology, reasons or refunds were given by the skipper.

Can anybody better that?

N.B. The same crew are heading back up to the Montes this week (but with a different charter company) for 7 days. We were all of the opinion that we have unfinished fishing business to attend to.