ELECTRIC BLUE FISHING & DIVING CHARTERS
FAQ -Frequently asked questions
Below is a list of questions which we get asked frequently. Hopefully your questions with our appropriate answer are below. Clicking on your question will take your to the answer.1. How many people can the vessel carry? "ELECTRIC BLUE 111" is licensed by the USCG under what is known as an OUVP 6 pack licence uninspected vessel. That means we can only carry 6 passengers + 2 crew. You are however paying for the cost of the boat, not per passenger. Unfortunately Capt. Tony Allen is not a US Citizen and under the USCG regulations I cannot apply for an inspected vessel status, which would allow me to carry more passengers with regard to the vessels size. Six anglers on a 42' boat, what more could you ask for, its a dream? <<<< Return to Table of Questions
2. What about individuals ? <<<< Return to Table of Questions 3. What is the cost of a Charter and how do I pay? Please refer to our "BOOKING" page on the main "ELECTRIC BLUE 111" menu. <<<< Return to Table of Questions 4. What tackle should I bring? We supply all your tackle needs for your days fishing. There is however nothing to stop your bringing your favorite gear if you so wish. <<<< Return to Table of Questions We provide frozen bait for all bottom fishing. We also catch live bait at the "ships" if they are there or around the buoys in Tampa Bay shipping channel using sabiki rigs. You can of course bring your own bait should you wish. <<<< Return to Table of Questions 6. What fish will we catch and what happens to the fish we catch? Who knows what we will actually catch on the day. There are some 114 species of fish, 71 of which are regulated. We can target certain species like Grouper, Amberjack, Blackfin Tuna, Kingfish, Tarpon or Barracuda but after that it's largely up to lady luck. The catch is yours to do with what you will, but you have to keep within the limits laid down within Florida for catches. Most fish are either subject to a bag or length limits. We encourage catch & release of all species and take pictures of your catch which we will forward by post. We also prefer not to keep sharks, as they are so slow growing. WARNING-We do NOT LAND ANY BILLFISH unless you catch a WORLD RECORD! We photograph them and then release! We keep your catch in ice until the end of the day. We then fillet or steak it as required, pack into zip lock bags and put it into your cooler with a supply of ice. It cannot be fresher! <<<< Return to Table of Questions 7. What about conservation and fish bans? Our conservation policy is simple IF YOUR NOT GOING TO EAT YOUR CATCH, RETURN IT FOR ANOTHER DAY. If there is a ban in a particular month on catching a particular species, say Grouper.......any fish that are captured will be released. The fines are astronomical for offenders and we do not wish to threaten the operation and viability of our vessel and business for the sake of a few fish. <<<< Return to Table of Questions 8. Where is your boat berthed and what about car parking? Directions & maps can be found on our 'BOOKINGS' page. We are currently unsure where our vessel will be berthed. We are looking at Tierra Verdi or Marker 1 Marina, Dunedin, but will know more in due course. We do however collect our angling party from DON's DOCK, JOHNS PASS, CLEARWATER where we re-fuel. PLEASE NOTE: Car parking at JOHNS PASS can be problematical at the moment while major construction is taking place on a new Johns Pass Bridge. This I understand will not be completed in 2008 or later. Having recently looked at the progress (16th July 2007) this may be a lot later. You may park over the South side of Johns Pass Bridge (Treasure Island) behind Gator's Bar. I am unsure of the daily charge. There is also limited parking on the seaward side of the road. <<<< Return to Table of Questions In order to have your booking confirmed you will need to send us $100 deposit or the total cost of the charter. Any balance is due on completion of the charter. Circumstances under which the deposit is returnable are explained in our conditions of hire, a copy of which can be found in our "Cost & Terms" page. <<<< Return to Table of Questions 10. What if the charter is cancelled? It depends on who cancels and when. The full story is told in our conditions of hire, a copy of which can be found in our "Cost & Terms" page, but in short, if we cancel there is no charge. If you cancel late however, the CHARTER FEE is payable in FULL. If one of the party drops out, it makes no difference to overall CHARTER COST, you are paying for the boat, not the number in the party. Please remember we are operating a business. <<<< Return to Table of Questions Wish we could control that! However weather is not normally a problem and we could average probably in the region of 300 days per year if we had the clients. Some days storm cells pop up and lightning may be a problem even though it is sunny. As lightning is particularly dangerous at sea we usually make the option to return to Port unless the storm appears to be heading away from our position or we can head away from it. Carbon fibre rods are great lightning attractors! In this case you would only be charged for the period of time you were at sea. It is essential that you call us on the evening before your trip & we will try to make a decision then should the weather look "iffy". If you are not travelling too far, or are here on holiday we will meet you at the dock regardless. If it is a windy day you may fancy a trip to the Skyway Bridge to fish. We have had some great days there with many different species being captured. Of course the cost will be less. Please remember that even with today's technology trips are sometimes cancelled when in hindsight they should not have been. Also some times we advise anglers that the weather will be OK, when in fact we find the following morning that the conditions are not as forecast. For charters of longer than one day, you must travel regardless of the weather, unless there is a hurricane warning. When you arrive and are settled, we can meet and discuss prospects for your charter. If you lose one or more days due to the weather, there are plenty of things to do. We may even be able to fish inshore at a reduced charter fee. <<<< Return to Table of Questions Your safety whilst on our vessel is of paramount importance to us. The most important piece of safety equipment we carry is a 8 MAN LIFERAFT . There is also a lifejacket provided for each person on board. Never go fishing on a vessel that does not carry such equipment. I ask you, how far can you swim or how long do you think you can stay afloat? And what about sharks? The safety equipment that "ELECTRIC BLUE 111" carries is outlined on the "ELECTRIC BLUE 111" boat page ON THIS WEBSITE. It carries the latest in safety gear, even though most of it is not a requirement of the USCG. Our philosophy is "You just never know when an emergency may happen". A Liferaft for instance is carried that can accommodate all persons onboard. We also have an E.P.I.R.B (A piece of equipment that transmits a signal to a satellite indicating our position) & a SART (The SEA 20 Search and Rescue Transponder (SART) is a 9GHz receiver/transmitter. On receiving a pulse from any standard 9GHz X-band radar, the SART immediately transmits a signal which clearly identifies the survival craft on the radar screen by means of a series of 12 in-line dots. Once activated, the SEA 20 SART will remain in standby mode for over 96 hours). We also carry two V.H.F Radio's and a ICOM M710 MF Radio . The latter enables us to transmit a long range radio message should we be out of range of a V.H.F radio transmission which is only about 20 to 25 miles. Please always follow the directions of the Captain or his crew. When you sail with us, you will be given a brief lecture and shown the location of such things as all safety gear and how to put on a lifejacket. Much like the safety film show on an aircraft. The idea is that, in the highly unlikely event of an emergency, everyone on board knows exactly what to do. <<<< Return to Table of Questions 13. Are you licensed and insured? "ELECTRIC BLUE 111" is licensed and insured to carry our Charter Operation to 100 miles from the coastline. The vessel and occupants are insured for charter operations. A copy of our Insurance Certificate can be viewed on board together with our Coastguard Certificate for the Captain. Please remember these documents should be available on any vessel you charter. Never charter a vessel unless you can view these documents as you could be travelling uninsured. <<<< Return to Table of Questions We do not have a facility for booking directly via the web, but you can see from our bookings page if there is a vacancy for a particular date. Therefore you need to call
or Home (727) -781-9764 evenings or e-mail 
electricbluefish@aol.com and tell us your requirements. Our snail mail address is for sending your deposit is below "Electric Blue Fishing Inc" 2294 Hannah Way N Dunedin Florida 34698 Any dates agreed are reserved pending your sending us a deposit. Send us your deposit ASAP with the date confirmation. If your deposit is late arriving, you may lose the charter date as we may have re-booked the date. "Electric Blue Fishing Inc" is a business and as such we try to ensure our vessel is operating FULL TIME.<<<< Return to Table of Questions 15. What if I require accommodation in Clearwater? We have a list of suitable places to stay which are close to where our vessel berths. This can be found on the MAIN MENU under ACCOMMODATION.
We have no direct involvement with
any accommodation
other than to direct anglers to them. We do not
endorse any particular accommodation. 16. Do you hire out fishing rods & reels? All fishing equipment is provided for you as part of your charter fee. You may of course bring your own favourite rod & reel if you wish.
<<<< Return to Table of
Questions 17. What is your area of operation for wrecks? In short anywhere on the Gulf coast. Obviously as we operate from Johns Pass & Dunedin so we fish those wrecks which are in close proximity to our location. We can of course steam to wrecks further a field from our location but the cost of this will be extra by the length of the day. <<<< Return to Table of Questions At this time moment in time we are concentrating on Fishing Charters. We are of course open to any suggestions re - Diving. Our vessel is of course very suitable for diving and one of the Top Dive Boats in the UK pictured below is a POWERGLIDE 40 Catamaran called "Wey Chieftain" operated by Capt. Graham Knott.
<<<< Return to Table of Questions Updated 1st July 2007
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