Buddy and Tree are plotting to put the president on some striped bass during his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard next week.
Buddy is famous Menemsha fishing charter captain William “Buddy” Vanderhoop, the star of Chapter 10 in The Big One (I Fish, Therefore I Lie). Tree is Charles Ogletree, the Harvard Law School professor and advisor to President Obama. Ogletree is a passionate fisherman, and for months he has been talking about how much he wants to get the president out on the water with his friend Buddy.
Will it happen? Buddy was cagey when he spoke to the Vineyard Gazette about the possibility this week:
Mr. Vanderhoop of course cannot confirm or deny the existence of any plans for any charter fishing trips with presidents. But he did say that anyone who goes fishing with him next week can be assured of two things: a good time and lots of fish, and not necessarily in that order.
“We would go out at 7 a.m., head south and start catching striped bass,” the seasoned charter captain said. “We would have some snacks on the boat and we would take in some great views … Gay Head, Noman’s Land, maybe get over to the Elizabeth Islands. Some of those views, like the cliffs [at Gay Head] and Squibnocket, are epic. We have to show those off.” He paused and continued:
“And we would get some fish … we always get some fish,” he said.
Last month, Ogletree told Plum TV reporter (and obsessive tuna fisherman) Alex Friedman that he had some reservations about fishing in the Obama bubble. “I don’t know how the fish will bite with 30 Secret Service agents with AK-47s,” the professor joked. “The bass will say, ‘Oh my god they’re bringing guns now! I thought it was just hooks and bait!”
Buddy has taken out some famous people, including Keith Richards, Spike Lee and Taj Mahal. But Ogletree fishes with him more than anybody else. They have history, and being fishermen, they can tell some stories. They told me a good one a couple of years ago when I went out on Buddy’s boat with them during the Vineyard’s fishing derby.
In August 1999 — 10 years ago next week — they were tuna fishing far off the coast of the Vineyard when the boat battery went dead. As night fell, they had no engine, no radio, no lights and no bilge pump. The seas got rough and a couple of waves nearly capsized the wooden boat. Buddy told everybody to prepare for the worst. Fortunately, the crew of a nearby lobster boat spotted Buddy’s emergency flares and they set about towing the crippled vessel back to harbor. After the lines parted several times, they called in the Coast Guard to finish the job.
A few weeks later, as the anglers reconnected with the lobstermen over lunch and Red Stripes and thanked them for saving their lives, Ogletree considered their good fortune. “I believe that if not for them,” he said, “they’d have been picking dead bodies out of the water.”
Hence the email I sent Buddy this week:
“Good luck if you get Obama out on the boat with you this week. (Don’t let the battery go dead!)”
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