Sailing4Him.org

A huge rift in the family occurred last week. In other words it was real dissention.

As you may or may not know, we are in a holding pattern due to our main engine raw water system being broken. As this is a sailboat it was decided to make our way back to Iriri, home village of the Havenga family, to work things out. It is a safe place.

On the way to Iriri, we fished, always dreaming of bringing back a decent sized fish to give to the village. The policy onboard is to utilize small lures to catch manageable-sized fish. As mentioned in previous posts, catching a large Marlin is not a good idea, safety-wise. In this case we were trolling along with a 5 inch feather lure which should keep anything caught around 1 meter. In theory! The other line had a small squid lure.

Well wouldn�'t you know it, soon after deploying two lines, one reel started hissing as line poured out. The other was quickly recovered to keep it out of the way, while sails were relaxed and the boat hove to. There are many reefs in the area so maneuvering is limited. In this case our tack was to port, away from shore and into the BIG wind. After 30 minutes of fighting the fish, making little progress, we tacked back, out of the increasing waves and wind. The fishing pole needed to be brought around the aft end of the boat, hand to hand as to not tangle in the shore boat rigging....and wind generator. The fish, yet to be seen, seemed worth the struggle.

Another 30 minutes passed, little progress was being made. It was our favorite lure out there with a fish on it. We had to recover it. As another 30 minutes passed it was clear our trip to Iriri would not be completed before dark. That bay has a narrow entrance through the reef. The first discussion to cut the line ensued. Decision made, let�'s land this fish. We wouldn't make it to Iriri before dark anyway.

Soon the line was coming in, the fish had a good fight but was wearing out. Curiosity was getting the better of us all. Besides, we wanted that lure back. And then the truth came up from the depth. First the fin broke the surface. Then the familiar tail swooshing followed. SHARK! It�'s a BIG reef shark. Agggh! Cut the line or not?? The shark was over 5 feet.

As the fish swam back and forth our family broke into an emotionally charged �'discussion�'. These sharks are plentiful and this one could literally feed a village. Emotions ran high while Colton and John ran a line through the water and skillfully noosed its tail. No one wanted to reach into the tooth-filled mouth to recover the lure.

In the previous week we had hid behind this nearby island and reef to troubleshoot the engine and celebrate Colton�'s birthday. There is a small village there and Eric (the Chief) welcomed us to stay in safety. We anchored just off his village, away from the BIG trade winds, which had no end in sight according to the forecast. The Solomon�'s are known for challenging weather...year round. Now, the familiar place was close-by and the sun was setting.

Also we now had this BIG problem, the �"fish�" and accompanying dilemma. Keep it or free it? In the fury of discussion, the Captain had John call a young man on the neighboring tiny island who ran a small Eco resort. Junior, the manager and owner�'s son, John met the week before and was happy to inform him that the people in Eric�'s village would love that kind of fish.

In the background of this phone call, crew conversation was heating up about freeing the shark. But Captain James was hearing another message beyond the arguing: Matthew 25:35... John then informed us all about the fact that the village was a good place to take it. So under strain and anger, the fish was kept and delivered to the village, Eric�'s village, the one that had provided us a safe haven for many days. Tensions were still high on board as the shark was loaded into a canoe, delivered to Eric and his awaiting village family.

The following morning, Eric arrived early with stories of the feast enjoyed overnight. Most touching was his relating that the children had eaten beyond their satisfaction, and slept with happy stomachs.

Praise be to God for his provision of safety to our family and the feeding of a village.

Part two of God�'s provision will follow. Stay tuned!