Columban

Jeff Luboff and the Columban

Jeff Luboff was the Jewish skipper of the f/v Columban. I only mention he is Jewish because in my experience it was rare, and it also helps explain some of the traits of his personality, positive and negative that somewhat fit the stereo typical tendencies one hears about. He made sure everyone knew he was also a distant relative of Larry of 3 Stooges fame. There was a resemblance, as I had ample opportunity to compare as Jeff would have the 3 stooges playing on his little 8 inch black and white TV between dives Moe, Larry and Curly would carry out there antics, and provide us with an amusing diversion. I never thought they were that funny, to tell tell the truth. More amusing, than anything. Jeff was a hard charger, and slightly temperamental, but he calmed down fairly quickly and he did have quite a sense of humor and did not take himself too seriously.

        The Columban was 40 something fishing boat that did not have divers in mind when it was built. It was used for trolling for salmon in northern waters of Washington and Oregon, It was equipped with flopper stoppers, which were deployed during rough weather, as it seemed the boat wanted to capsize every roll it would take. Full galley and full size bunks allowed were a plus, and a head was included which was a step up from a 5 gallon bucket or over the side, which most urchin boats provided. I liked working with Jeff because he did not mess around scratching local, he went right to the good picking and he knew where to find it.

         Jeff also swordfished during the summer months, so he installed a tower, to spot the swordfish from and a bow plank to harpoon them from. I had the privilege of making a swordfish trip when the tower was incomplete and there was just a metal bar to sit on while scouring the ocean with binoculars in search of a fin. I would yell out every sunfish shark, or any thing with a fin besides a swordfish, much to Jeffs derision. I was happy to climb down from that tower it was fairly miserable in the hot sun especially since nobody spotted a swordfish. 

      There were multiple different divers on the boat but Devin was the most consistent. Devin was a good natured sort, and took things in stride so I did not get too upset at him when he accidentally nearly drowned me.

Jeff had spotted a huge old anchor that looked like it was from the 15^th century. Even tally all 3 of us were filling float balls we had hooked on it in an attempt to float it. Somehow my hose got tangled up in the hoist line and Devin yanked so hard on my hose that it pulled the regulator out of my mouth. That was the last time I went without a clip off on my regulator. We failed to salvage the anchor but I did find the anchor from the Columban when I was working on the Dusky though I did not know it at the time, when I retrieved it from the bottom at San Nicolas Island, though it did look slightly familiar. I was off Dusky not too long after and Jeff let me aboard and asked me if I found an anchor since he lost his the day the Dusky was working nearby. I was happy to say I had and he gave me $50 bucks for it.

       Jeff and I went back and forth he fired me then hired me back a couple times. The polypro line that had to be pulled to set the flopper stoppers back in place was like needles into hands, and with no gloves handy and Jeff impatient, I recall I was looking for another boat the next day.

         Jeff went on to buy a bigger newer Boat the Nikki J and I did my tour on that boat as well. Jeff then purchased a plane to be used to spot the swordfish with and at first hired pilots, then eventually received his pilots license and hired himself out to other sword fishermen. He has been very successful although he did have a little hiccup when he crashed in the ocean. I spoke with him shortly after and he probably was overloaded with fuel. Pushing the envelope again.

Vista Clara

Vista Clara

The Vista Clara or Clear View was named by the owner Greg Real in some part because his own eyesight was a little shaky. According to what he said anyway.

       I could understand the irony. Greg was giving me a sales pitch to come work on his brand new 27ft Anderson with twin 350s . It was a fast boat and he would beat the crap out us in choppy seas to drive home that fact. He was in need of a couple good divers, or any divers for that matter, to make the math work out for his bottom line. House payment and boat payment etc. It did not hurt that I had the 1 ton international dually pick-up, because the truck he owned did not have adequate horsepower to pull his boat out of the water.

        Greg was a smart guy, you would think he would have foreseen this problem. I suspect he did, but made a business decision to hold off, anticipating he would not need to pull the boat out of the water for a while. After all , I am thinking he thought, brand new boat, which should be working steadily that summer up in Northern California, and he could rent a guest slip at the marina during downtimes. Fair enough a reasonable forecast. Then when I came into the picture, plan B was hatched. It was a good thing because what Greg did not anticipate was the bugs. Experienced operators, know that a brand new commercial vessel, has to be “broken In so to say. It is refereed to as 'getting the bugs out.' This process is applicable to brand new commercial machine equipment in many fields. It turns out Greg had more bugs than the average. The annoying little things that would go wrong, seemed endless. Several of them were serious enough to haul the boat out of the water. This delayed or postponed diving operations, and frustrated the crew. Greg appeared apoplectic at times. All those lost days and the money he could have earned. Greg had all the numbers in his head. Eventually the bugs got worked out and I did not expect any compensation for providing my trucks services when the need arose as I had a vested interest in keeping the boat working. He eventually purchased one, but in the meantime I was more than happy to perform that service for him, if only to show off what my old truck could do.

      Greg's Dad was a WWII veteran and the Bataan death March. That was reflected in Greg's operation, especially in the food area. Greg was a wizard with money, and was always in the hunt for the next big money making scheme. Raising earth worms in his backyard was one I was talked into helping with. He was going to get rich raising earthworms. Sounded good at the time he had a good sales pitch, that im sure was used on him. Never quite mentioned how that turned out.

       Greg was high energy and he was really excited about his new boat and operation. He had been working on one of the Glen Huebner boats for a while. Rocky was running the Nu Venture for Glen. The NU Venture was a converted tidewater boat, that used to run supplies out to the oil rigs from Carpenteria and other places. Not very fast but sturdy, I worked on her for a trip when Glen was desperate for crew and offered me 70 percent, when I hesitated.

       Anyway I had seen Greg on the NU Venture many times. What he lacked in diving talent he made up for in the other areas I have mentioned. I had issue s with his method of payment. Well not really his method but the delay. When I complained, he offered to buy me a hamburger.

After I blew up he explained that he had to run all the money thru a specific bank in SB. The Bank gave him his loans and that was one of the conditions. Since we were in Bodega Bay, paychecks took way longer than I was comfortable with.

I was more than relieved when the processors began cutting divers checks less the boat owners share. Even though this was an on going trend in the urchin business, some owners would still insist on getting the check and paying the crew through their account. Probably so the longer they took to pay, the more interest earned on money that was not technically theirs.

It happened that I was working on the Vista Clara right around the same time Andreas began buying urchins. Greg was all for it, as his prices were higher. I am sure he was paying more to gain market share,in competition with the established processors.

I was so happy to get 90 cents a pound for traditionally poor quality from San Nicolas Island. Big huge urchins, plenty of roe but dark. One day Greg was arguing with Andreas brother because the price came down from a buck. Greg would not listen to me about business decisions. I just wanted to get the check and get the hell out of there, with our 90 cents. I still felt like we were getting away with something. Greg was not to happy with me, and I ended up moving on shortly thereafter. Greg tried being a light boat for the squid fishery, for awhile. He ended up selling yachts to the rich and not-so-famous. Last time I saw him he wanted me to go down to Mexico and re-po a boat, though nothing ever came of it