| Roy became
the business' driving force when his father, only 52,
died a couple of years after the family bought it. He
also bought out his brother, Charles, in 1967, 12 years
before Charles died.
Along the way, Roy perfected a boat design and
system that allowed the crews to bottom out the boats,
sometimes with the bow on the beach, to net the inshore
bait schools. Considering the EBBCO is a 118-foot boat,
that's risky business.
"It
definitely gets hairy, a real adrenaline rush," said
Buck, who can run any of the fleet's five boats in a
pinch. And, like his father, he flies a plane, mostly at
night, to scout for schools of bait.
A
second system, also designed by Roy, that became a big
part of the family business is the technique for netting
and boating tons and tons of bait at once. Roy had a
boat-builder design the Aquarius
around his idea. It's actually a family and company
secret.
"We
do it with great speed because the longer bait stays in
the nets the more it gets hurt," Roy said. "We can load
three tanks in under 15 minutes, and it used to take an
hour to load a couple hundred scoops."
The
family had its share of disasters, none worse than the
time one of its captains sank the boat, Veteran, in 1979
by overloading it early in the morning. The bait sounded
at daylight, as it often does, and the movement rolled
the boat.
The
Everinghams have five boats, with four working at
present.
There's Capt. Jim Lilly on the 68.5-foot
Cachalot, Capt. Joe Machado on the 118-foot EBBCO, Capt.
Richard Jackson on the 58-foot A.C.E. and Capt. John
Pratt on the 118-foot carrier Rival. Tom Tompkins
manages the San Diego Bait Barge, and Bill Copes manages
Mission Bay.
Tony
Sanchez plays a critical role in the operation as the
port engineer, Buck Everingham said. He not only repairs
the boats, but the Everingham captains communicate with
Sanchez from the water. Sanchez then orders
needed parts and has them ready when the boats return to
port.
"Tony is a big reason we're so reliable," Buck
said.
During the peak of the fishing season, four boats
will be out catching bait every day, a minimum of 100
days straight. And it's something the fleet greatly
appreciates and couldn't live without.
"To
have an operation like the Everinghams, it's literally
the engine that drives this fleet," said Lance Withee,
owner of the sportboat Vagabond.
Said
Rick Podolack, Captain of the Holiday: "They're under
tremendous pressure to keep the fleet baited up, but
they always come through."
The
Everingham boats range from the Mexican border to
Newport Beach and out to about 30 miles. The deeper it
is, the more difficult it is to make bait, Roy
Everingham said. A Department of Fish and Game boat once
recorded a school of anchovies that went from the
surface to seven miles deep in 20 minutes.
Buck
Everingham said he will continue to make the
necessary changes to keep the business current. Today,
the relationship between Roy and Buck is not only that
of father and son, but of two business partners who,
like any father and son or longtime business partners,
had their differences. But Buck said they always worked
things out, always put the family and business before
all else.
Asked what his best memories are from his years
of making bait, Roy Everingham spoke for himself and
Buck, saying: "When I was flying back at the crack of
dawn, and all the boats behind me were loaded with bait.
Those were the best times because I knew an hour from
that I'd be in the sack."
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