At 3:30am the boat Senor Hefe was heading south towards the 295 bank which is located about 62 miles off San Diego. The ride down was nice and calm as we headed with about 30 other sport-fishing boats for a jump on the early bite. On the way down we were going about 12 kt/hr and would arrive exactly on top of the 295 at 5:10 am. That was all about to change when out of my peripheral vision I see a piece of a metal poll lodged out of the water and I hear a sudden bang hit the hull of the boat. First thing comes to mind that we hit some sort of skiff or weather buoy. After the bang the starboard engine stalls. Everyone is on their feet with in seconds to see what exactly happened. As we turn on the floodlights we cannot believe what we are looking at. Three hundred and sixty degrees of PVC pipe and mesh net around the boat.
Did we just…. Yes we jumped a plastic pipe at 12 knots. After assessing what the hell is going on we check all panel lights, one bilge pump is on. One of the crewmembers jumped into the engine room to check for water leaks the shafts and the through whole fittings. Everything seemed to be all right and the boat was safe from sinking. Next thing we know is we are in a tuna pen being towed at 3 kts. At that time we look off the fly bridge and see approximately a 100-foot persaner in front of us at a distance of 200 meters from the tuna pen. Next thing we notice is the lighting on the pen. The pen seemed improperly illuminated. The boat that was towing the pen was also improperly illuminated according to “rules of the road”. We get on the radio and hail on channel 16. We get no response after hailing about 8 times in 5 mins. Then a crew member grabs a spot light and flashes the saner. That’s we finally got a response. We see 2-3 Avon’s with a mexican crew of 2 on each boat approaching our position. We all calm down a little as we wait for the Avon’s to approach the boat. As they arrived the started to assessing the situation and with out contacting us they are in the water and with flashlights checking for any holes in the net. Fifteen minutes later they come up and start to speak Spanish asking if anyone was hurt or injured. After that we ask if they can go down and check the damage on the boat.
We find out the rope holding the tuna pen together was entangled which caused us to be in a stable position not floundering. Then after another dive he tells us the tip of the prop was bent. At this point the whole crew still can’t believe what happened and we all think were in some sort of crazy dream. We got on the radio and called United States Coast Guard San Diego and told them about our current situation. They asked our position, how many people on board, and if we were in immediate danger. We then told them we were trapped inside of the tuna pen and were disabled. They didn’t exactly understand our situation as we explained it. Tuna pen? Inside? They said they would assess the situation and five mins later they responded with telling us to contact vessel assist. We were amazed on their answer of our situation of being stuck in international waters with a disabled vessel and not knowing what would happen next. And if vessel assist was contacted what exactly would they do? Tow a tuna pen full of tuna with us in the middle to San Diego? I don’t think so… At about dawn there were 4 per saniors around the pen.
The operation manager came on his boat right up to the pen and the crew then tied off the vessel to the pen. The whole crew was out on deck with cameras and cell phones snapping pictures of the situation. The operating manager told the divers to get us untangled from the rope that was holding us in the middle and use boat lines to make the boat secure.
At that time they launched an Avon inside of the ring with their crane for communication purpose with the operation manager and the boat owner. The first priority was not us but the 3 million dollars of tuna underneath our vessel, then their last priority was getting us out of the tuna pen. After the Avon was dropped the operation manager came and told us that he needed to transfer the tuna out of the pen we were currently sitting in to another pen.
The other pen was coming from about 15 miles away. We give the Korean operation manager vessel documentation and insurance docs. Our next worry is how do we get this vessel out of the pen? We wanted 2 boats to sit on top of the pen and sink it about 6 feet so we can ride over the pen. The operation manager said it was to risky and it could damage the pen. Another idea was to have the per sanior pull us over the pen without submerging the tuna pen tubes, which could lead to the shafts, props, or rudders being riped off and sinking our vessel. So after idea of idea the Korean op manager said that we would need to be towed with the pen into Ensenada harbor. Our first reaction is “HELL NO”. At that time the Korean manger wanted our boat owner to talk to the “CEO” of the Korean fishery.
He goes and talks to the “CEO” of the company on the per sanior because they had a satellite phone and we didn’t. It took about 5 hours for the other boat to get the pen to our location. After the pen arrived all the divers started to prepare the netting on the pen for the transfer of the tuna. We all sit and watch this amazing operation of the tuna transfer. It was like watching “Tuna Cowboys” but live!
After the tuna was transferred to the new pen a per sanior towed off the pen about a mile away where they held their position. When the other pen was in its location we all looked around and couldn’t see the pen with the sun glaring off the ocean. Needless to say the crew was a little bit stressed and needed to relieve their coronaries. So we ask the op manager if we can drop some lines in the pen because they already transferred all of their load. First answer was you can catch 2 fish and 2 fish only.
So we get out several different line tests 20#, 30#, 40# straight spectra. As soon as that bait hit the water a blue fin tuna boils air borne on the bait and HOOK UP. That fish breaks off the 20#, so we try again, bait hits water and hook up then snap. Then after we grab a 50w pen international and slam the drag to full and just start pulling our 2 fish with in seconds. We fillet the fish and put them on ice. The per saniors op manager comes and reviews the paper work on our vessel and tells us that the only way this boat will get out is if the pen is brought to Ensenada harbor to crane out our boat. At that time we kind of just figure out that’s the only way they’re going to let us. The boat owner says he understands that’s what they want to do to save the pen but we don’t know what would happen when Mexican officials board our boat inside the harbor that could lead to boat seizure, or imprisonment. “And not to mention the mordeda that would have to be paid” To calm us down the op manager says to catch a few more blue fin. We then break out the beast master which is a 80w reel with 80# test and we start throwing the tuna on the deck like there mackerel.
Remember we are 40 miles off Ensenada with a Wide Fucking Open bite inside of a tuna pen! They were all taken on life bait strikes, sorry we didn’t put the trolers out.
Oh and a little tip for you guys, when one of our crew members was in the tuna tower he saw Blue Fin Tuna boiling on the outside of the pen all day. These fish were only hitting sardines, not chovies. So if you see a tuna pen troll close to it and see what happens. At this time our tuna count was about seven. After the per saniors op manager got on his vessel they left us never to be heard from again. Only after an hour we see the op manager’s boat netting fish about 3 miles off where we are. Now we are just sitting there and we decide to drop lines for a wide-open bite and to catch every remaining tuna in that pen. Our count goes to 20 Blue Fin Tuna with fish ranging from 25# to 40#. The Crew of the per sanior were “hanging out” with us. They were on all sitting on the tuna pen fishing with a bleach bottle wrapped with mono with a spark plug sinker, this was a Mexican fishing real. One of the guys asks us if we wanted any coke or the green. We said we only drink! As we start to fillet and bag the fish the situation was about to get ugly,
we don’t know how ugly. A Federally Gun Ship is at full speed to our location. When the boat comes insight we see solders on deck with body armor and Uzi’s in hand, but now drawn.
We contact coast guard and let them know about our immediate situation. USCG said they needed to contact their center of command tell us to standby. The USCG comes back on the radio and lets us know they have opened a case and have contacted the Mexican navy and have a 110’ coast guard cutter “Sea Otter” in route. We ask for an ETA, they say 2 hours and also say do not allow under any circumstances for Mexican officials to board our boat.
The USCG wanted us to give them a full description of the Mexican vessel “see pictures”. As we are communicating with the CG one member of the feds has a dive suite and hack saw in hand coming to the tuna pen.
Again, we tell the CG what’s happening and they say stand buy they need to contact chain of command. This is turning into a international situation and we can’t do shit. The CG gets on the radio and says there is a helicopter in route to our location ETA 35 mins.
The fed in the dive suite starts cutting the tubes and we dropped a couple of lines in the water figuring we might as well go out in style with rode and real and tuna in hand.
The Mexican official gets through half of the tubes. As we wait the CG repeats, do not let the Feds board our boat as they are in international waters and they will be breaking international law. The fed vessel starts to tie the rope to pen to pull it open to do god knows what.
The echo reached our ears as helicopter was in sight.
Coast guard helicopter comes in full speed and the sounds of that chopper just gives everyone an adrenaline rush as a series of events are about to unfold.
The heli circles around the pen to keep on eye on the Mexicans,
who continue to open the pen with the rope attached to their boat.
The pen is open and we untie ourselves from the pen.
The stern and Bow lines are untied by our crew and we are finally free from a gouling 12 hours of surprise.
We move the boat and find out one prop is still tangled in the net, we call over the divers that were hanging around and they go under and cut us free.
The Avon’s were in the front and rear pulling and pushing the boat out off the opening, the Mexican gun boat is in full reverse pulling the pen open so they can tow us out with there 25 hp motors.
After we are free a small we had to have the pen divers to come over and cut the remaining rope and also bend back our port side prop.
After that’s fixed we are sitting there and the feds have boarded one of the avons,
we contact the hilo pilot and notify them that the feds were on there way to Senor Hefe one more time.
The hilo pilot stated that he had the situation in control. At that time the hilo pilot came to astern on our starboard side. The feds were approaching off our port stern side. At that time the hilo dropped to the deck with full power of the propellers.
Starting to produce masive wind and seawater coming upwards towards the feds. The feds sat their until the wind really picked up and they backed off with their tails between their legs like a sick puppy. Back to the patrol boat they went. At that time the hilo pilot contacted the patrol boat. And told them not to attempt to board Senor Hefe again!
The feds would not leave they were standing by and the Hilo pilot had concerns that they would try to board us again, so he escorted us to the coast guard cutter. And in route we went. For about an hour the hilo circled above us untill the cutter was in sight.
As the cutter arrived, they sent over an investigation team to make out an official report.
The cutter escorted us to mission bay. We hit the pen at 3:50 AM and got out at 5:30 pm then got to mission bay at 1:20 am.
To the USCGSD
From Crew of Senor Hefe
Our deep hearted thank you to central command on their fast decision on the situation and rapid response
To the radio operator for his fast under taking to dispatch vessel and air units to our immediate response.
To the crew of the sea otter
Thank you for the escort 40+ miles to mission bay.
The pilot and crew of the USCG helicopter for all they did, and staying with us until the situation was resolved and detouring the Mex. Navy from boarding Senor Hefe.
I'd take pleasure in guttin' you boy!!!
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