That's the story in a nutshell for today's open tournament held out of West Neck Marina. We fished from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with only very minor sprinkles of rain at various junctures. All the heavy stuff, fortunately, held off until all boats were loaded on their trailers this afternoon, and the fishermen were headed home.
At day's end, the seven anglers in four boats weighed five-fish limits for an aggregate total weight of 39.86 pounds, and an average weight per fish of 1.99 pounds. Less than a pound marked the total difference between first place and fourth place today.
The other two boats finished as follows:
* The husband-wife team of Andy and Diana Morath had a total weight of 10.10 pounds, including a big fish that weighed 2.70 pounds.
* The team of Wayne Hayes and Ken Testorff had a total weight of 9.41 pounds, with no big fish.
Congratulations to the winners today. Look forward to seeing y'all at the next West Neck open tournament scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 1. Watch this blog for a reminder about this event, as well as the times involved.
Hey Andy! Take a Look at What Wayne Does to Partners Who Don't Catch Any Fish
Even enlisted the help of my wife to take this picture when I got home yesterday.
The real truth of the matter is that Wayne and I, as usual, had returned to the West Neck store early to set up for weigh-in, which went off without any hitches. When it came time for presentation of money to the winners, though, I realized I had misplaced my camera. All I knew is that I had grabbed it out of the storage box on Wayne's boat, so I reboarded to do a search.
Everything was OK up to this point, but then came the moment when I had to step back off the boat onto the deck in front of the store. That's when disaster struck...in fulfillment of the premonition I had had yesterday morning before I ever left the house. That's right...I had a feeling I was going to reap the rewards...make that punishment...for something I had done Friday.
You see, as noted in an earlier post, I had given up on the little rescue kitten my wife and I had adopted a few weeks ago and taken her to our son and daughter-in-law to raise, along with the one cat they already had. I owned that mistake and figured I was going to pay a price.
Anyway, as I was stepping off Wayne's Ranger the second time, my left foot did like it was supposed to. The toe of my right foot, however, caught the mooring rope, and I ended up making a headfirst splat that, before I ever left the marina, gave me reason to pause. I took the pictures of the winners OK, had helped restow all the weigh-in gear, and was getting ready to go get in Wayne's vehicle to back it down the ramp for recovery when I suddenly got dizzy, nauseated, and evidently passed out for a few moments, with no one around.
I remembered only this morning that I had been sitting on one of the barstools out in front of the store telling Wayne, who already was in his boat and moving away from the storefront, that I would be a few minutes because of my dizziness. However, when I finally came to my senses, I was lying on the dock right beside the barstool where I had been seated, with no knowledge of how I got there.
In any event, the accompanying photo is how I looked when I arrived home yesterday from the tournament. I cannot thank Wayne enough for always looking out for me and rendering on-the-spot first aid yesterday. I also need to thank all those who have called and texted me in the hours since my accident happened.
Because of the concern I had for a possible concussion, my wife took me to Patient First yesterday evening. They put bandages on all my wounds before sending me on to Sentara Leigh for a CT scan of my ol' noggin' and some X-rays of my bruised hands. The good folks there at Patient First also gave me a bottle of antibiotics to take for another fall injury I had sustained a few weeks ago when out fishing alone in my own boat. My wife thought the injury looked infected...and, as it turned out, so did the Patient First doctor.
The Sentara Leigh doctor explained to me last night that my CT scan showed no bleeding on the brain, but he also cautioned me to understand that that could change in the next 48 to 72 hours. He told me to avoid any heavy exertion during this time and to make sure there is someone who can observe me constantly. And if any changes occur, I'm to get back to Sentara Leigh in a hurry.
Once the doctor came to my room and told me he was dismissing me, I mentioned I wanted to fish another tournament next Sunday. He said OK, but then turned toward me, smiled, and said, "Just don't trip again."
P.S. While I was sitting in my room at Sentara Leigh, waiting to be treated, a young lady came in to get me hooked up to the machine that displays all your vitals. The only problem was that the machine wasn't working. She told me she was going to get some help and soon returned with another young lady coworker. The second young lady first tried the conventional approach, and when nothing happened, she started pushing every button on the machine. I'm watching this operation and can't help chuckling a bit when I hear the second young lady say, "This is what I always do when the right way fails." The second young lady happened to hear my chuckling in the background and turned around to look at me--this old guy in dirty, blood-stained tan pants, with bandages all over his tired face--and she said, "You know Punkin', you're kinda cute." That sweet comment really took away some of the hurt I was feeling at the moment.
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