Line Handling 101

Get a group together and help reduce the amount of monofilament fishing line fouling our waterways by applying for a monofilament recycling bin from the Boat-US Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water. A grant funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and NOAA makes the bins possible; all your group has to do is install, monitor and periodically empty the bins, sending their contents to a recycler.

“We’re looking to provide groups who have access to fishing spots, launch ramps or marinas with a free PVC monofilament bin and signage. In return, we ask that they agree to keep an eye on the bin, track how many containers get filled and when full, send the collected line to the recycler, Berkley Conservation,” said BoatU.S. Foundation Program Director Susan Shingledecker. Please visit BoatUS.com/foundation/Monofilament.

SORC Returns to Offshore
Distance Racing in 2008

After years of managing inshore racing, the Southern Ocean Racing Conference (SORC) is bringing back an offshore event with the 2008 Fort Lauderdale to Charleston Ocean Yacht Race. Scheduled to begin April 23, this event marks the rebirth of an event inaugurated in 1968. The 408-mile race will start off Port Everglades and finish outside Charleston Harbor.

Co-sponsored by the Lauderdale Yacht Club, Carolina Yacht Club and the Storm Trysail Club, the race will be organized and managed by the SORC.

The race record is held by the 53-foot sloop Bumblebee, which completed the 1976 race in 40 hours 34.5 minutes. The Preliminary Notice of Race can be found at fortlauderdalecharlestonrace.org.

Cross Florida Okeechobee
Waterway Reopens – Sort Of

Maintenance on the Ortona Lock on the west side of Lake Okeechobee between La Belle and Moorehaven should be completed by presstime. However, passage across Florida is still a bit dicey due to the Lake’s historic low levels–8.92 feet above sea level on July 5, down from a 40-year average of 13.59 feet. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, it is possible to encounter depths of 2.86 feet on the direct cross-lake route (Route #1). The hope is for some benign but slow-moving storms to dump much-needed water into the lake during hurricane season, but even so, lock openings at either end of the lake are restricted to prevent more water from running out of the crucial watershed. If you need waterway details, call the Corps’ Jacksonville HQ at (904) 232-2539. The Web site gives daily water level updates at saj.usace.army.mil/ h2o/reports/r-nav.html.

New Swordfishing Rules

Recreational anglers hunting billfish, tuna and sharks in federal waters 3-200 miles offshore on the Atlantic and 9-200 miles offshore in the gulf must purchase an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species permit (one per boat) for $28. You can apply by calling (888) 872-8862 or online at nmfspermits.com. New bag limits for recreational anglers effective July 9, 2007, are one swordfish per person per trip and no more than four per boat per trip in both Federal and Florida waters. Keeper swords must measure at least 47 inches from lower jaw to fork of the tail. Any swordfish caught and kept in Florida or in Federal waters must be reported to NOAA fisheries (800-894-5528) within 24 hours.