We often sail with two fishing lines out so if fish don't like one lure, they may hit the other. Yesterday, the tuna hit both!

The morning was still wet with dew when I came on watch. Issuma was barreling along close-hauled at six knots. I checked the fishing lines by pulling on them. The lines--one a heavy monofilament on a hand reel, the other a braided seine twine on a stick, are made down to cleats on either side of the cockpit, and bungee cords deflect them to add elasticity. I noticed more resistance on the port line than what the lure would account for, and called to Max "We have a fish! Port side"

As I started reducing sail to slow down, Max, looking behind the boat said "We have two! There's one on the starboard line also". After slowing to less than three knots, Max readied the net, gaff and hammer. I put on leather work gloves and started hauling the lines in. Occasionally, I would make the line down again on the cleat, in case the fish tried to swim away and pulled the line through my hands.

The fish were exhausted--they probably took the lures around dawn, so we'd been towing them for at least an hour. As I pulled in the fish, Max gaffed them and dropped them into the cockpit, where we killed them quickly with hammer blows to their heads. Two tuna, one about 90cm (3') the other about 75cm.

Issuma's cockpit has an iroko (African Teak) grating in the bottom of it, which is good for cutting fish on. Max, who has done much more fishing than I have, filleted up the bigger tuna, and gave me pointers as I worked on the smaller one.

We ate some of the tuna raw, but mostly ate some that was quickly ceviched (put in a bowl with chopped onions and squeezing lemon on top--the acids cold-cook the fish). Absolutely delicious!

We'll be eating mostly tuna for the next several days!