"Weather continues to be beautiful," said the report for August 1, "with flat seas, clear skies, and sunny days. We had an excellent day of fishing, with Yellowtail setting the pace. Most of the Yellowtail were in the 15 to 18-pound range, with a few going over the 30-pound mark. We had a handful of Grouper also. We will give this another try tomorrow, then make a decision on what's next."

Surprisingly enough, after ballasting and bracing ourselves for the unpleasant prospect of crossing 170 miles of cranky seas, it really wasn't all that disagreeable. Not that there wasn't plenty of rolling, rising, and falling in the near beam seas, but the ride itself was smooth with no snapping or jerking to pitch us too far off kilter. Regardless of how much "better" than expected it was we were mightily grateful to eliminate the discomfort arriving in the giant Guadalupe lee by mid day. That feature alone was heavenly.