3rd June

01 41.208 S

97 38.443 W



Weather; warm and sunny turning cold overnight, wind 5 Ð 15 knots, waves 2-3 metres



What are the chances of a repeat of yesterday? I almost did a copy and paste for the start of this blog but there were a few minor differences so I'm doing it the hard way. I had just about finished uploading yesterday's blog and Gerry had up dated his logbook, he decided to put the fishing stick in the water and tempt fate by announcing that he was going below to have a shower, then he would make us a sandwich for lunch after which he was going to have a snooze. I laughed and joked that it was probably only going to be a very short snooze as we were due to catch a fish, we take our laughs wherever we can get them! Anyway Gerry got as far as the cockpit companionway steps and the zing of the fishing line going out had us rolling about laughing, so much for his plans! As he was close to the rod holder Gerry applied the clutch to stop the line reeling out and the rod bent at an alarming rate, the drag on it was huge. We were doing a steady 5 knots under sail and because of our
certainty that we were going to lose the fish and the lure anyway Gerry didn't want to slow us down by turning us into wind (those extra miles we would lose wouldn't be worth the fish dinner!) I rolled up the enclosure windows, readied the gloves, Gaff and camera whilst Gerry continued to try and reel in whatever had taken the bait. It hadn't made such an epic escape as the one yesterday or maybe The Galapagos wasn't its intended destination, either way it didn't have as far to come to reach the boat but the strain of winding in the line was huge and the clutch kept slipping, we thought we would never get the fish within sight of the boat. Eventually we could see the splashing of something big, still on the line and the small birds began swooping towards it until finally we could tell from the colour of it that it was a Mahi Mahi, if only we could land the damn thing! I managed to get a photo as Gerry got it almost alongside the stern and then dangled the gaff over the side
in preparation, making Gerry comment that there was more chance of the fish making off with both the lure and the gaff than us landing it. Despite all our jokes and concerns I did manage to gaff it and Gerry then took over the gaff to drag the fish on board the boat a bit further along the deck where there was more room. Finally he lifted the fish out of the water and dumped it on the deck, one large Mahi Mahi was ours and we were determined that it would not make a last minute escape over the side. More photos and time for the horrid bit, killing it, which we are not very proficient at (like the rest of our fishing skills!) I felt sorry for the fish having been caught by such incompetent fishermen but we managed to kill it as the change in its glorious yellow and blue colours attested to. We then had some concern about where and how we were going to fillet the thing, it was about 2 foot long and a foot in width, big enough for several meals but our space for filleting is
only small plus we were bobbing along still at 5 + knots. Gerry took the filleting knife and proceeded to butcher the poor fish and whilst he managed to get 4 really decent sized fillets off of it a great deal of the fish was left behind (note to self don't let him do the filleting if we ever catch another fish) there was so much more we could have taken off of the skeleton which then got feed back into the water as per the "fillet and release program". Next came the washing down of the deck, there was more blood due to our ineptitude than I care to admit to but a few buckets of water saw the deck cleaned off, the rod packed into the holder, the gaff returned to its space and the gloves hung out to dry. Gerry took the fillets below and skinned them and then left me to do the tidying up and freezing of the extra fish. Our dinner plans were instantly changed, we were having fresh fish and chips tonight! So now it was time to revert to Gerry's original plan and he went to have
a shower whilst I finished tidying up the cockpit mess we had created. Lunch turned into a cheese and cracker affair as we were beyond hungry and couldn't be bothered making sandwiches, then Gerry went below for a nana nap leaving me watching the water. We continued sailing on at up to 6 knots until Gerry resurfaced at which point I went for a shower and then prepared some salsa, aioli and the potatoes for tonight's dinner. I eventually gave in and went for my own nana nap. Gerry cooked up the fish and chips and I have to say that it was fabulous to eat freshly caught fish for a change. The sun set was, again, a none event as the clouds had yet again gathered on the horizon and blanketed the sun. Night watches followed as per the normal pattern, the wind began to drop and move slightly to the aft of the beam which slowed us down and as the night wore on the wind dropped even further and the white flappy things began to be more of a decoration than a working part of the bo
at. The boom began to crash and bang as it snatched with the slight wind changes and Gerry decided that we should try and put out a snatch block to stop the banging, this was achieved fairly quickly, though there were more than a few sailor speak words as he managed to get the line twisted around other lines a couple of times before finally getting it right. The rest of the night was a continuation of varying winds and boat speeds, the lowest I saw was 2.4 Knots with the wind at 5 knots but for most of the time we averaged 4.5 Ð 5 Knots of speed. Our 24 hour total was 121 NM and no engine time, we are a little closer to Nuku Hiva each day! I did spot a couple of fishing boats overnight but they were almost at the edge of the horizon and no threat to us. Today has dawned as one miserable day, the sky is a blanket of grey and the sun is absent for the time being, we hope that it puts in an appearance sometime soon as we need to charge our batteries without resorting to firing
up the gen set, which Gerry did once in the early hours of this morning as the battery level was getting low and the wind generator wasn't keeping up with the demand put on the batteries by the auto pilot and various other things that run off the batteries. It's also damn cold this morning, we are both still wearing fleeces at 10 am, where is the palm tree swaying, hula dancing, pineapple cocktail in a coconut holder with the umbrella sticking out of the top, south pacific that we all imagine? I guess I should call this a very successful day, we caught and ate our first fish of the trip, I have the photos, a full belly and some fillets in the freezer to prove it and no lost lure!.