My mighty little ship has earned her salt…what an adventurous past few days! I last left you on the way from San Quintin (no not the prison LOL!) preparing to leave for Isla Bonito…via Ranger Bank for hopefully a Dorado or Yellowfin…spoiler alert….never happened.

Left at 0600 from Quintin in route to the bank, winds favorable, timed it just right! Nice sporty 15-20 kts out of the NW by W….kinda sleigh ride, bordering on shitty unkept roller coaster ready to fall apart….off we went…forget cooking anything, leaving anything out…it will always find it’s way to the deck…usually broken or causing damage on its way to breaking. 8.5 hours later I reach the outer Ranger Bank, to rods out…cedar plug for tuna & mexican flag jig for dorado!….about 2/3 the way to end of the bank…I’m feeling like a chump….then….

BZZZZZZZZ!!! PLUS A SECOND BBBBZZZZZZZZ!!! WHAT ?
NO WAY!
2 fish at once? well after all the drama slowing Wades Aweigh down and reeling my ass off….I landed two (tangled up with lines) Bonita….kinda looks like a barracuda, big teeth, long stealth like body…turned little one back, filleted and released the big one! No, not a Tuna or Dorado but I’ll take it! Have you ever tried to fillet a fish in big seas, on your hands an knees, slimy bloody scales while trying not to cut yourself with the knife, filling a bucket with salt water for the fillets…steering a boat and having fun all the while?.. check that box!

now that fish is on board, time to focus on running the water between the Bonita Islands, and find the anchorage….blowing 20, big swells, and oh, turned the corner and found a less than desirable unprotected anchorage (small!) but, it’s all I had. Note to self, never trust a guide that says, “good anchorage in NW winds” If you dont mind putting your hook down in ocean like conditions and praying non stop for 20 hrs for safety against meeting the rocks up close and personal during the night…I would NOT recommend!!!

SO!. go anchor down in 25’ of water and good ol’ “Greg” bit right in …..thank GOD!….I payed out another 150’ of chain to be safe & put on the snubber (a large diameter line that attaches to the chain to relieve the pressure of chain from the anchor windlass….the best of the best!)

Conditions continued to deteriorate as night fell….but, my mighty ship held fast, thanks to the “ULTRA” anchor and my badass ground tackle…sorry Howard, never gonna give up my 3/8” chain!!

I decide after watching and praying to poseidon for hours on end….it’s time to pretend to get some rest…I have been up for 32 hours without sleep!….I have an intimate talk with Wades….claiming I’ve taken care of her for 20+ years now, it’s her turn to take care of me, I strip down and climb into my bunk….all safety gear laid out at the ready….it is now 8 pm (2000 hrs)…not less than 20 min later….KABOOM!!! sounded like a friggin bomb went off, frightening….threw on all my deck lights, flew up on deck in my birthday suit and found my bridle blown to bits….are you F*7#ing kidding me?!?? so, i go into focus mode, problem solving 101…get dressed, put on shoes, you are not dragging dip shit so dont panic!!! I was incredibly calm, almost like…”i got this” attitude…with no clue what I was going to do to mitigate this shit show as chain was paying out of my locker with every breaking wave over my bow!….I run back forward with a line and chain hook, jam my foot down on the chain gypsie and tie a quick hitch on the chain….. let out the slack, not perfect but took the strain off my poor windlass.

Of course…I had to micro manage my handi work for an hour, make sure we were good, big greenies crashing over the bow, had that talk a second time with the boat, stripped off my salt encrusted rain gear and went to bed a second time…waking up every 20 min…(assuming i slept at all) to check for drag…..it was a long ass night let me tell you….OH! after the fire drill I hear my VHF chime off…”Velero en Bahia de Bonito..(repeated 3x) it was the mexican fisherman in the village calling me! wanted to know if I was ok…if I needed water or supplies…I laughed saying….I”m OK! have all I need, I am safe…thanks for checking in with me….they reply no problemo!”. then follow up with…”do you have starlink? we need to tap into your internet!”. of course that was a hard no, all I got is Iridium Sat Phone and no way I was gonna give them that password!!!

Rise at 0500, boat is right where I left her! get dressed and deal with anchor chain stuck under a big rock, took 45 min to retrieve 225’ of chain and my anchor….we both survived the mayhem…winds now a manageable 18 knots…time to fly to Turtle Bay!