Ben’s Last Day
For those of you that have fished with me before, if you fished in the winter months, then you probably fished with Ben Garfield as 1st mate. Ben has been with me from October until May for the last 15 yrs. He has his own boat in South Portland, Maine that he operates in the summer. (he wears more winter clothes in Maine in the summer than in KW in the winter). Ben has been a great 1’st mate. Most boats don’t want a “seasonal” employee, but Ben has been just too good a 1st mate not to take him back every year.
He was as dependable as any Captain could ask for. Every month I would try to take a few days off to go to my hunting camp. I would tell my “fill in” Captains that if Ben didn’t show up in the morning, don’t call his house. Call the Hospital, but that is the only way he would miss a trip.
Ben was very safety conscious. Always put the safety of the customers ahead of everything else. There isn’t a fish in the ocean worth getting hurt for. He was also great at taking care of the little things on the boat. We had an unspoke arrangement. I fixed everything below the deck and he took care of most everything above the deck.
He always kept the tackle in tip-top working order. All of this took a lot of pressure off of me and I truly appreciate it. Besides all of these fine work habits, he was also a great fisherman. Ben paid close attention to his baits. They “swam” great and he often saw the fish before it popped the line out of the outrigger. In Short, He did a great job and was a great asset to my business for the last 15 yrs and I am truly grateful.
This year, after 15 years on the deck and at 58 yrs of age, he decided it was time to call it quits. Working both the Southbound in the winter and Go Fish Charters in Maine in the summer was too much. I hated to see him go, but I understand. I’m a little older than Ben, but as Captain, I wasn’t working nearly as hard and it takes its toll.
Thank you, Ben. We caught a lot of good fish, put a lot of smiles on customers’ faces and we had a good time doing it. I wish you all the best!
For those of you that are interested, he is still operating Go Fish charters in South Portland Maine. He can be reached on his Cell at 207.232.1678 or online at http://gofishmaine.com. Give him a call if you are up that way