Saturday and into Sunday
High excitement! a wind hole and a flat (ish) sea.
Chuck the dinghy out of the garage, pour copious fresh water into
the garage, dry it all out scrupulously, and now we can seal the
confounded hatch.
Much grunting, squiring into the steering compartment, de-glooping
of fingers follows, and then its done. So now we sit and wait for
the wind to return, and the sealant to go off - for once we have
exactly the wind we need - none, and we bob around for a few hours
making all of 2 knots.
OK this has to go in the log, a wind hole exactly when we need one,
and then back comes the breeze just when we're beginning to wonder
how long we'll be drifitng aimlessly.
...
Early that evening...
"[strange squawking noise I can't even begin to spell]"
"what is it?"
"[repeated squawk, now combined with a bit of a shriek - still
unspellable, but from now on just 'squawk' will serve]"
"WHAT?"
"I think [squawk]... quick... help... light... [squawk]... its
caught in the [squawk]"
There ensues much flicking of lights, grabbing of torches, tugging
on bungee and a fair amount of group squawking, before it becomes
clear there may be a fish on the line, or maybe its Sargasso weed.
But hey - we didn't catch any Sargasso weed yet either!
"it's a fish"... "or maybe it is weed"... "or a fish"... "it doesn't
feel like a fish"... "probably weed"
And then there it is, radiant, emerald and sapphire, intermittently
indignant and quiescent as it's hauled aboard.
More frenetic activity as we prepare to welcome tomorrows dinner on
board, I mean who could possibly remember to wet the deck, get a
bucket... and a cutting board... and a knife... oh, and pliers...
all while breathlessly anticipating the arrival of a clump of weed.
It takes a while, and there are the inevitable discussions - is it a
Mahi Mahi.. or is it a Dorado? will the photo look best if its being
held by its tail or cradled like a baby? is it best to gut it then
fillet, or just fillet straight off? Exactly where does the knife
go? Oh.. NEAR your fingers! I didn't catch the "near" bit!
And then it's all over - the fridge is full of delectable,
delicious, divine fillets of the freshest Mahi Mahi you could wish
for, mouths are salivating at the prospect of the feast, and there's
quite a bit of grinning going on too - this is Calypso's first
fish... yes, first EVER fish!
The stars start to twinkle, the camera pans back leaving us with the
dark outline of a yacht against a rich amber sunset (OK, it was
dark, but I'm exercising artistic license here), the music rises,
and the credits roll...
Fishing Consultants .... Pretty much everyone in Las
Palmas
Gear Assembly .... Hannah
Gear Deployment .... Hannah
Crowd Scenes .... Stu, Catriona, Ed, Dave
Sound Effects .... Mostly Hannah
Gear Retrieval .... All Hands
General Advice .... Everyone
Most Practical Advice .... Catriona
Knife Wielding .... No idea, I had to close
my eyes for this bit
Fish Chef .... Catriona
Porridge Chef .... Well that'd be telling
now wouldn't it!
Oh yes... the fish was delicious!
m_Fish