Fishing Thru Midlife

Running & Fishing

Almost weekly I have someone tell me “You have the best job”.  I have to admit, being a fishing guide is a great job and must seem like fun and games to the bystander.  We do our best to keep the general public and our customers from looking behind the scenes where much of the prep work is done to keep things running well.  Boat & tackle maintenance, buying supplies, days of scouting while taking care of our own personal things is a challenge. After all, if you’re out on the water five days a week, little time is left for family, friendships and self.

Typical days start at 4:45 am where a quick cup of coffee, a swallow of breakfast followed by loading the boat and driving to the launch.  All this before the rendezvous with my anglers for an outing of nearshore fishing. Five to nine hours later, cutting fish, driving home is the precursor to cleaning the boat and rigging tackle for the following day of inshore or deep-sea fishing.

It’s taken me a long time to work up to a 5K run in less than 30 minutes.

It’s an endless cycle that’s not seen, and often not appreciated. One small hiccup in the daily routine can cause chaos. Regular engine maintenance must be scheduled between trips, trailer bearings and tires routinely greased and checked. An endless amount of permits, licenses, and paperwork are required to keep a charter fishing business current. If one component of each trip is overlooked, mayhem is sure to follow.

Maintaining The Captain

Recent years have had me looking at myself and realizing that I’ve neglected Richard while holding my business to high standards.  We have become “Empty Nesters” and our time is not divided between personal, business and raising children. We’ve obtained extra time and our schedule has room for progress that should help us with self-improvement and quality of life as we enter our third trimester in life.

Running has become our recent obsession. Scheduling a thirty-minute run each day has brought big dividends to health and energy levels.  Gina runs while I’m working a fishing charter, I run while she unloads the boat upon the return. It’s a time saver and allows me to healthfully unwind instead of sinking into the couch after coming home exhausted.  Not having kids at home has given Gina a better opportunity to support our business while I’m on the water with customers. Running has helped both of us drop pounds while getting a great cardiovascular workout and helping with energy.  I’m proud to say, I run a 5K every day, it’s become a habit, like brushing my teeth.

Captain Gina lives to be outdoors.

When I started paying attention to my peers, I knew that it was going to be a challenge to stay healthy.  Most charter Captains become overweight as they age and lacked the balance in life to keep up as they grew older, it’s demanding.  I know that many of you have the same problems while working in an office or Jobsite. Fast food lunches, breakfast and then a quick restaurant run for dinner is an easy alternative to cooking and preparing healthier foods and toting them to work. The twentieth century has made it difficult to manage diet and exercise.  It takes all of our discipline, self-control, and diligence to stay consistent.

We have chosen to pay upfront for our healthcare, bypassing the cost of obesity and a sedentary lifestyle as we age.  Gina and I both love to stay active, whether it’s surfing, camping, canoeing, and biking. We’re hoping our lifestyle investment will keep us going for the decades to come.