It�'s always interesting to see the life around you in the water and in the air. Out here in the middle of the ocean we don�'t see many more birds but there are still the flying fish that constantly fly to get out of our way. We sometimes wake to find several of them on the deck. Monday we sailed near a pod of whales. We see a lot of dolphin (mammals) and didn�'t know there were so many varieties.
One of the favorite things to do as a cruising sailor is to fish. It�'s always exciting to hear the zing as the reel runs out when a fish strikes the lure. Sailboats travel at the perfect trolling speed of 5 to 8 knots. We have been averaging 5 to 7 knots on this trip. They say if you don�'t catch a fish on this crossing it�'s because you didn�'t put a lure in the water. Near the beginning of this leg I had a hit that was taking out my line real fast. I had set the line in the water for about 5 minutes when I heard the characteristic zing. I could tell it was a strong fish that had taken the bait. In my excitement it tried to stop it by tightening the drag too soon. The fish broke the line taking the lure, exciter birds and about 25% of my line. The problem with fishing from a sailboat is you can�'t stop the forward motion very easily and definitely can�'t back up to reel in the fish. Yesterday we were sailing along when the zing started again but the fish threw the hook. I have ca
ught the requisite Mahi Mahi (dolphin fish). It was small but the perfect size for the 2 of us.
Last night we were finishing up dinner when I mentioned that I had forgotten to bring in the line. We get pretty busy during the evening with taking evening star sights, dinner and the radio chat. About 5 minutes after I mentioned the line still in the water (about 3 miles deep) I heard the zing. We totally didn�'t expect anything 2 hours after sunset but there was a fish on the line. When I reeled it in, without much fight, I was surprised to see the fish in the photo. It sort of looked like an eel but I wouldn�'t expect to find one on the surface of 3 mile deep water. I have never seen anything like it before and it was kind of scary looking in the dark. It had about a 3 foot long slender body with a huge mouth full of teeth. The front teeth were at least half inch long and looked very sharp. We snapped a few photos, gave it a shot of gin and threw it back. If anyone recognizes this fish leave a comment on the blog.