Halibut rods were handed out as a barbecue on the deck was lit. Bait was cut, and more than 50 crewmen and their wives and friends dropped 3-ounce-weights over the rails of the fan-tail at the stern, and the buoy deck on each side.
Within minutes the first flatfish was reeled in alongside the massive vessel, some 20 feet below the deck.
The only question now was how to pull the halibut onboard.
The boat's mascot, a snarling moose named Homer, with a buoy chain in its mouth, adorns a plaque on the outside wall of the control room.
But it was a Three-Legged Mule that caught the first halibut of the day.
"Yep, first fish," Hape said, "But I would be exaggerating if I was to say it was 20 pounds."
With the help of a couple crewmen wearing gloves, the fish was tugged onboard by hand. For larger fish, and there were plenty, the crew used a harpoon.
A few minutes later, Christy Punturo hooked into a 25-pounder. With the help of husband Dan, a cook, or FS3, on the Hickory, Punturo eventually landed the fish.
"My first halibut I ever caught," she said, looking down at her prize.
"This is awesome. I didn't get to go last year (to this event) because I was working, I wanted to make sure I made it this year."
Dan Punturo also found some luck, hauling in the biggest fish of the day an hour or so later.
"It was 100 pounds or so," he joked. "I let it go so that it could get a little bigger."
As a career, working for the Coast Guard often separates crewmembers from family for long periods of time. This event, taking family and friends out for a day of fishing and fun, is designed to help alleviate some of that strain.
The captain of the Hickory, Lt. Cmdr. James Boyer, said the crew tries to hold the event every year. A similar event was held on the USCGC Sedge a year before.
Boyer took the helm of the Hickory from Lt. Cmdr. Charles Cashin on July 14. Boyer was second in command on the Sedge until five years ago, when he and his family left Homer. Boyer's wife Elise seemed to be having a good time showing their boys Zane, 6, and Evan, 4, the modern control room.
"This is our first time on the Hickory," she said. "It's so new."
"Dad spends a ton of time on this boat."
Boyer said it is hard to ask someone from the Coast Guard where they are from since they move around so much but said she was glad to be back in Homer.
"We consider ourselves Homerites," she said. "This is a homecoming for us."
For many crewmembers Homer is a long way from home.
Jamie Kosakowski has been on board since October. Originally from New Jersey, the DC3, or third class damage controlman, has traveled a long way with this boat. He said he sailed the Hickory from Marinette, Wis., where it was built, through the Great Lakes, down the eastern seaboard, through the Panama Canal, and up the west coast to Homer.
"I see the Coast Guard as a way to travel and see new places," Kosakowski said. "I'm scheduled to stay on the Hickory until 2007, but we'll see."
His last assignment was aboard a buoy-tender in New York Harbor. He said he was working when the Twin Towers fell on Sept. 11.
"That was crazy," he said, shaking his head. "We just watched it all happen."
Kosakowski said he isn't exactly sure where he will travel to after his days on the Hickory, but said he has been considering Hawaii.
The Hickory, christened on May 11, 2002, is equipped with some of the most recent technological advancements available to the U.S. Coast Guard. A new Dynamic Positioning System, or DPS, uses a differential global positioning system to fix positions, allowing the crew to maintain the vessel's position within a 10-meter circle in winds of up to 30 knots and waves of up to 8 feet.
One piece of technology the Hickory does not have onboard, however, is a fishfinder. But the other boats in the bay seemed unaware of this. Each time someone hauled in a halibut on the Hickory the other boats moved closer.
As the fishing wound down, and the Hickory sailed back to the Homer spit, Three-Legged Mule began its set on the buoy deck. Coast Guard crewmen, relatives and friends gathered around as the band tore into old mariner songs including a new creation called, "What do you do with a drunken Coasty." There was no alcohol on board, but the song got plenty of cheers anyway.
Leilah Serra, the young daughter of Electrician's Mate 3rd Class Bryan, danced on the deck and took pictures of the band as it played a folksy version of "Old McDonald Had a Farm." Bryan took in the sunshine and live music.
"This was a joint effort between all the departments," he said.
Just as soon as the Hickory docked Monday night, preparations began for a long trip to Kodiak, Juneau and Seward.
"This is great." Serra said. "Tomorrow we get under way for a long time."
Wayne Hape, the mandolin player for the Homer band, was onboard as part of the entertainment.
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