The Mayport Princess

mayport-princess By: Judith Harris Pappas
Copyright Judith Harris 2009

Shocked by the blackness of the pre-dawn, I unloaded the beach chairs from the back of my Honda Pilot and stowed away the cooler for our daytrip on the ‚ÄúMayport Princess‚Äù, which was reported to be the perfect fishing boat for a woman with a child. I habitually hit the switch that keeps the interior lights off in my car, having started this practice after running my battery down while parked on the beach for an afternoon. My husband has told me often to keep the switch in the on position, and he surely is one hundred percent correct. In the darkness, it was almost impossible to see anything; and feeling as if I was sleepwalking did not help. I thought to myself how no one would believe that I was up, dressed, breakfasted with two strong cups of coffee in me and on the road at 5:15 AM. I am known to sleep late into the afternoon, and have even been accused of being a closet Vampire. Staying up late into the night working on creative projects is my only serious vice. But this day was an exception. My delightful and wonderful 9 year old grandson William had asked me to take him fishing. It was the first time he had ever asked me for anything, and come what may, I was determined to give him a wonderful day that he and I would share and remember forever.

With William safely buckled up in the seat behind me, off we went into the dark morning. I had totally forgotten how dark it is in the early morning before sunrise and was also fascinated at the way the fog rose from the road before my eyes. I was glad that I had planned to rise early enough to drink plenty of coffee, because my night vision is not what it used to be and I was carrying precious cargo. It‚Äôs funny how a grandma can appear to be calm, cool and collected while inside she is sort of uneasy and unsure of herself. I had not gone fishing in more than twenty five years, yet I was determined to make the day a wonderful and successful adventure for this darling little boy. I was tempted to stop for more coffee but decided that I wanted to keep both hands on the wheel since William was with me. Making small talk and chattered nervously, I silently kept reminding myself that the Captain and the Mates would take care of everything and make it a wonderful day for the boy. All I needed to do was to get us to the boat and hopefully not get sea sick. The little guy was just great. I think he had slept in his clothes and his mom had been up to make sure he had a good breakfast of eggs and toast. He was bright eyed and so excited that he didn‚Äôt even sleep on the way to the ‚ÄúMayport Ferry‚Äù.

mayport-ferry

At the Ferry, I got the directions I needed to find the dock where the ‚ÄúPrincess‚Äù ties up, and was pleased with myself for getting us there early. I had reserved tickets by phone, and before we knew it we were seated on the boat and ready to go. The sun had come up, it was a beautiful day, and my grandson announced to me that this was his first time ever on a boat. I was so happy for him. I smiled to myself remembering my first time ever on a boat. It was with my dad. From him I learned to love the ocean, boats and fishing. I prayed that this little boy would be as lucky as I was as a child and that he would catch plenty of fish. Although I have kept all my fishing gear in excellent condition, I did not bring it along because I had been assured that all would be provided. When I saw the large fishing poles with their rather oversized reels, I inwardly trembled. I thought I surely would not be able to handle such clumsy equipment and wondered how this little boy with his little hands ever would manage. I prayed hard.

As we left the dock, Captain George announced that we would be riding for an hour or so to get out to his first favorite spot. It wasn‚Äôt long before eyes that had been bright and full of excitement started to close, and I knew it was a struggle for my little guy to stay awake. I offered to take him inside the cabin where he could have stretched out in comfort for a snooze. He declined the offer. What a spirit he had. William loved being out in the ocean spray enjoying the fresh sea air and together we enjoyed all the beauty around us. The bench we sat side by side on was hard and narrow, and it took much maneuvering on my part to find a way to cradle him a bit in my arms so that he could have some support to sleep. My husband and I had moved to Florida when this little fellow was only 4 years old. We used to live in NJ and he lives in Maryland. We never have really gotten to see much of each other. Holding him in my arms while he slept was wonderful. I was full of the warm fuzzies and it did not matter that parts of my arms and legs were going numb from the awkward position I had to hold. He and I were bonding .There is nothing that can compare to the wonderful feeling of holding a sleeping child in your arms, especially when that sleeping child is your grandson.

When the boat stopped, William woke with a yawn and a stretch that to me was adorable. He looked so cute in his little shorts, shirt and the cutest little fishing hat I had gotten him for the occasion. All day long he and I played a game with that hat. Grandma put it on Williams head and William took it off. He had been very patient with my constant reminders about keeping his sunglasses on and my repeated slathering his pale little city boy body with sunscreen; but he did not want to wear that hat.

Shortly after the ‚Äúoften hatless boy‚Äù woke up, Captain George yelled ‚Äúbombs away‚Äù and all the lines went down. I was surprised that I was almost as excited as William. I had forgotten just how much I enjoy fishing. Before I knew it, that little guy was reeling in a fish. I could not believe how well he handled the rod and reel. It looked absolutely immense in his little hands, but he struggled and struggled and in came the fish. The Mate rushed to help and William was ecstatic. It wasn‚Äôt a keeper but that didn‚Äôt bother William at all. He had no problem with the fish being returned to the sea, baited his own hook because he could not wait for me, and down his line went quickly into the water. It seems I have a true and natural fisherman in my family. Two minutes later, up it came. Over and over, I was amazed. Captain George came down and gave William some advice on how to hold the rod and work the reel a bit easier; and up and down, bait on, fish off, over and over; that little boy fished with the heart and enthusiasm of a pro. The captain I believe was truly impressed. I was dumfounded. My poor old grandma arms and hands finally gave out. I used the little energy I had left to just keep baiting hooks on both our poles for William. That little boy had fished me under the table. He very well may have caught more fish than anyone on that boat. Unfortunately, only one or two of his fish were keepers, but that did not faze him a bit. He got just as excited for other people as he did for himself, just like a true sportsman. Between us we came home with a decent catch which he handed over to the Mate for cleaning. A few days later William was ecstatic about sharing our catch at a family reunion dinner. He and I both felt very proud of our accomplishment. As we headed back to port, my little fellow was invited to drive the boat. Captain George and Mate Chris were just wonderful people and I will forever be grateful to them for making my grandson‚Äôs first fishing boat adventure a marvelous success. Chris even came and took my camera to get pictures of William driving the boat.

We had been out to sea from 7 am till 4 pm and it was very tiring for this 65 year old Granny, but it was so worth it. My arms and hands hurt for a week and somehow I had actually bruised my belly from the boat railing or fishing rod; but I have not even one complaint. I was so tired driving home that I did stop for more coffee and a chocolate bar for energy. At one point it was me who could barely keep my eyes open and I thought I might need to call home for backup, but the caffeine kicked in and I was OK. Even my little fisherman finally pooped out and slept in the car for the last part of the ride back to Amelia Island. When we got home however, that child must have gotten his second wind because his eyes popped wide open. As he spoke about the day‚Äôs adventures, his excitement was such that the words literally were flying out of his mouth and bouncing off the walls. I will never forget his face as he reported all the events to his parents and our family. I have never seen a child more excited.
Oh what a day, what a day, what a glorious day. Oh poor Grand Pa what he missed out on. Oh, I forgot to mention. Grand Pa hates fishing.