Keeping our eye on the weather we looked for a day to head out to Cuba. Howard and Lois showed some interest in going to Cuba also. They had gone there 6 years previous. Not knowing just what decision to make they flipped a coin and now were coming with us. This was a big surprise and we were very pleased to have them coming along for the adventure. Now with Bonnie along who could speak fluent Spanish we were ready. The five of us headed out on Feb.5th at 4:30 am setting out for Cuba.

Back in Oct. of 2017 we had filled out the Coast Guard 3300 form and stated that we would go to Cuba from Feb. 1st to the 14th. We were a few days late but we thought we were doing pretty well.

The first 10 miles we were still on the Banks and it was still dark. After that it was deep water and no hazards until the coast of Cuba. The winds were in the teens and we sailed the whole 65 miles. The seas were a little confused but we all handled the bounce with no problem.

At first putting out a line for fishing did not excite me much but Nancy loves to fish. Later in the morning I put out a line and soon afterward another one. Nothing happened for awhile but a couple of false hits. Of course the line snapped just as she had gone down to fix us something to eat. She came up and started pulling in a Mahi. It was not a big one and she had it right up to the lifeline when I tried to pull it over. That's when it flopped right back into the sea. We missed, and she was disappointed to say the least but didn't say too much. I should have gaffed it but we were bouncing quite a bit and it all happened so fast. It all happens so fast sometimes you just react. The lines went out again and after an hour or more both snapped again. Nan started pulling one while I began pulling in another. Her's let go so I gave her the one I was pulling in. She grabbed the line and began pulling it in. It pulled hard and as it got close she had second thoughts about whether she could get it up to the boat. We were heeling quit a bit and I can lean out further than she can, to keep it away from the side of the boat. She asked me to pull it in the rest of the way and with her help, some alcohol down it's gills and finally the gaff and we got it in the boat. Bonnie took pictures and helped us with the logistics of having a bloody fish in the cockpit, and we managed to get it filleted and in the freezer long before we got close to the Cuban coast.