As we put the finishing touches on our mechanical work in preparation for our annual Coast Guard inspection, of all our systems and equipment are receiving final attentions in advance of this coming Monday. I snapped a couple of action photos of Captain's Toussaint and Sims hard at it as we all continue the drive to maintain and improve Royal Star. I will forward a few more photos tomorrow featuring a few of the improvements we have made this year to the huge benefit of anglers and crewman alike on Royal Star. Every season we improve the equipment and performance of Royal Star through the effort of our owners and crew members. This year is no exception and we are looking forward to getting back on the water in a couple of weeks. Enjoy your day and please take the time to check out the new section of our website featuring our new fish processing company "Fisherman's Processing".

Tim

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A sequence today featuring the Senior IATTC Scientist Kurt Schaefer surgically implanting an archival tag in the abdomen of an approximately fifty pound yellowfin tuna prior to release and it's time at liberty before hopefully being recaptured. The fact that this procedure can be performed time and again and produce incredible return rates is a real testament to the fortitude of yellowfin tuna. In short, they are a lot tougher that one would imagine. Have a fine day and look for more photos next week.

Tim

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A few more shots from the deck last voyage featuring anglers "Jai"in the foreground while Don Franks navigates his way through, IATTC senior scientist Kurt Schaefer and"Stan" pulling on a couple of Clarion island yellowfin, and old Royal Star favorite Joe Vandervoort with one in the cradle. Though we are not quite finished, I'll send a few tomorrow featuring some of this year's improvements being made to Royal Star. Enjoy the day!

Tim

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Enjoy today's shot featuring "Boy" pulling on a Clarion yellowfin on greatly mismatched tackle. Also, since I received such glowing feedback about the photos I snapped from the bridge on the way home from Cabo San Lucas, I am sending a couple more to remind everyone that avoiding the ride north is usually the best option. Look for more photos tomorrow as I draw from the archives to keep you all, and I, entertained. Have a great day!

Tim


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A few more shots of Instituto Nacional de Pesca's Gabriel Aldana today both in action and enjoying a moment of serenity off Isla Clarion. I have a few more photos to share over the next few days but am drawing down my supply in rapid order. I am also in the process of drafting new, extremely significant material to update our website that I hope all of you will view. We should have it posted by the end of the week.

Finally, while we still have a way to go things are shaping up for an early beginning this season ideal for the two five day voyages we have scheduled for the end of June. At present both of these trips have plenty of availability and are among the best values of the year on Royal Star. Take at look at our schedule. If the time frame works with your priorities a better fishing voyage at that price, at that time of year, on a premier long range vessel, can not be found. Enjoy today's photos and have a fantastic day!

Tim


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Well it's finally Dr. Dave Hall day as this superb fisherman, well known for his many accomplishments on Royal Star, again demonstrated his fishing prowess during the latest Revilla voyage. Along with being a expert angler, Dave is our good friend, and friend to all on every voyage he embarks upon. We are grateful for Dave's exemplary support of the Revillagigedo tagging project that has set a standard all of us can admire. We look forward to many more shared days on the ocean as we have plenty of ideas for future adventures in store. Thanks again for all the good times together Dave!

Royal Star Crew


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Not being the most computer savvy guy around, it took me a few days to figure out how to open a number of the photos from the last voyage. Finally, after some serious wrangling, I figured it out. As such today's photos feature the full sequence of crewman Blake Wasano in the final rounds of a epic battle with a estimated 115# yellowfin tuna on the broken rod credited to his finesse - or lack thereof. From the spectator's position, I have to relate that it was a hell of chore that took immense forearm strength. As one can determine from the photos, Blake was the perfect candidate for the job. Enjoy the weekend.

Tim Ekstrom


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Another round of photos today featuring Thai anglers "Stan", "Jai", and Capt. of the "Royal Polaris" (in Thailand) T'ai. As reported earlier all three of these accomplished anglers demonstrated a level of skill and enthusiasm for fishing that was a genuine pleasure to be around. It looks like at least a few of these fantastic anglers will be joining us again next year at the Revilla's ready to test more of their tackle in the "extreme" inside zones of the reserve.

Tim

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A collage of photos today including one from my favorite sequence of the voyage featuring crewman Blake Wasano pulling on a one hundred twenty pounder on the spinning tackle. Unfortunately the spinning rods require some finesse when lifting to avoid "high sticking" that almost invariably results in the rod breaking. Anyone who has fished with, or knows Blake understands that finesse and pulling on something are on opposite ends of the universe in his realm. As a result, Blake took down two or three of the spinners before the Thai anglers finally decided it was simply better to pull themselves regardless of where the fish was hanging. There were a lot of laughs about this among crewmen and anglers alike. Good humor.

Enjoy the photos today and look for more tomorrow. Have a great day!

Tim

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Happy St Patrick's Day from all of up at Royal Star! Enjoy today's photos featuring Thai angler "Boy" with one of his many mid range yellowfin captured and released and Mr. Gabriel Aldana from Instituto Nacional de Pesca in the process of tagging with IATTC scientist Danny Fuller. I have more to share throughout the week so keep visiting daily. Have a fantastic Saint Patrick's Day!

Tim

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A couple of photos today featuring one of my all time favorite anglers, who takes a break from wheat farming almost annually to join his brother Dr. Dave, and IATTC scientist Kurt Schaefer. Doug Hall is a welcome addition to any voyage as his knowledge, humor (demonstrated in the photo), and gift for conversation entertains and enlightens us all. I look forward to my annual visits with Doug who shares his vast knowledge of farming and astronomy to my tremendous benefit. Look for photos to continue and have a fine day.

Tim


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Here are a few more shots of anglers from the last voyage as well as a couple of action photos. Anglers Steve Branscomb and Doug Taylor (with fish in scoop) do the honors thoroughly enjoying themselves in the process. Enjoy today's shots and look for more throughout the week.

Tim

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IATTC scientist Kurt Schaefer and "Stan" from Thailand share a moment at the rail pulling on Clarion yellowfin while avid Royal Star angler Joe Vandervoort displays the friut of his efforts just prior to release in today's photos. Look for more shots on Monday and beyond. Have a great weekend!

Tim

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A few photos from the latest Revillagigedo tagging adventure to enjoy featuring anglers Greg De Felice, Dave Hall, and Instituto Nacional de Pesca Regional Director Gabriel Aldana who has contributed his time and efforts on five of the seven Revillagigedo tagging voyages. In addition to the science side of the project, Mr. Aldana has become an adept angler landing plenty of "specimens" for the study during his time on Royal Star. For his contributions to the success of, and continuation of the project, we are grateful that Mr. Aldana is part of our team. Enjoy the photos and look for more tomorrow.

Tim

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We are back from the annual Fred Hall Long Beach show ready to again commence our projects on Royal Star. It was a real pleasure speaking with everyone and having the opportunity to give the seminars that are the signature of our visits to these phenomenal promotional events. On that note we are already planning for next year and beyond with fantastic ideas provided from many of you on how to fine tune our material and delivery to better inform. We look forward to taking to the next level.

For our photos today I thought I would include some shots gleaned from the internet of the giant merchant ship that ran aground on Clipperton Island last month. What a colossal mistake tragic for such a delicate, unique environment. These photos do a fine job of describing the story. For those of you lucky few that have been to, and/or walked on the island you can see the grounding occurred just to the east northeast of the rock. It really is sad as the reef along this stretch was beautiful beyond description. It is almost impossible to imagine that this could happen in these modern times. It serves as another perfect example of how important it is to be consistently professional while working at sea. If one is not, or the Captain runs a loose operation, results such as these are inevitable. It is only a matter of time.

Look for reports and photos to continue.

Tim

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A few more shots today of the boat ready for launch following what we consider a very quick haul out. Thanks to Wilmington Propellers for a quick tune up on the "wheels" that turned out great. Now we shift gears and transform into well appointed businessmen as we head up for the annual Fred Hall Show for the next five days. Brian and I will be manning the booth through Friday then Randy will join us for the weekend. We have seminars planned for each day and look forward to the opportunity to meet all of you and talk shop over the next five days. Enjoy the photos and look for reports and photos to resume next week.

Tim

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