We wrote a few days ago that Kaizen’s approach to fishing is to attract fish to “join the chase”. It is no surprise therefore that we hook more than our fair share of “alphas” - including a rare white marlin in the Aegean. Yesterday, we set our pattern of lines out and within just two hours, we hook a massive beast. Captain fought it in his harness for over an hour. Both fish and Captain were completely exhaust by the time we got it alongside. We then spent the next half hour struggling to get such a big fish onboard. At 45kgs (almost 100lbs), it weighs only 3kgs less than myself! Determined not to be defeated, we finally managed to get a dyneema line through its gills and used an electric winch to hoist it up using our outboard crane. YES - we have landed our largest fish to date and first ever Yellowfin Tuna.
The 150cm fish (5 foot) was a lot more food than our partially empty fridge and freezer could handle. So I proceeded to take off the best bits of meat for keeping. Instead of letting the remainder of the fish go to waste, Captain made a call on the VHF for any ARC boats nearby. Peter von Seestermuhe (PvS) could not resist the temptation of this highly prized yellowfin. We agreed a rendezvous point and met at nightfall. To our huge surprise, Christoph (Captain of PvS) rowed over in the dark, through large waves, in his tiny wooden dinghy (no outboard). It was great to meet Christoph after hearing him on the radio waves daily. Captain had his first handshake since COVID began. Surely such a non-essential fresh fish transfer must be a first for an ARC rally???
The fish filled any remaining space in his dinghy as he rowed off happily back into the darkness. He must have been given a hero’s welcome as he rejoined his ravenous crew. It was good to hear on this morning’s SSB call that he and his crew enjoyed the best tuna carpaccio they have ever tasted. Having had our lines out for only a few days this crossing, we are again forced to put them away until the next passage.
After yesterday’s becalming, we were grateful to find 18-25 knots of wind all night taking us SW. We have decided upon a more southerly option to avoid the risk of further becalming. 800nm to run and surely I’ll be a culinary expert in creating various tuna dishes by the time we arrive!
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