We visited a fishing shop in San Diego before we left and in addition to fishing licenses we bought new lures, 3 for tuna and only one for wahu. I got 2 new hand lines that were easier to deploy than the 300 foot line recommended to us by a little Asian woman in Kona. I deployed the first line but the lure stayed near the surface. On the second line I attached a paddle we bought on Saint Thomas in the American virgin islands that was recommended by Gale's husband Eric. It is supposed to sink the lure like a down rigger would. However, the short length of the hand line caused the paddle to skip on top of the water so I attached a 10 foot leader to give the line more length; now the paddle digs in and sinks the lure. From the fly bridge I think the lures are too close to our props to attract fish. I have to put a paddle on the first line anyway so I rig up a longer line and deploy again. After a couple of hours of sun bathing and watching the lines I quit just hopping to hear any fish hitting one of our lures. Hours latter John mentions that "I guess we will not be having sushi tonight". Soon after Terry cries from the fly bridge "FISH". It is a 15 pound Mahi that put up a desperate fight. John tries to compassionately kill with copious slugs of Tequila to the gills, now down the throat. It is not working; the Mahi fights an intoxicated battle. At one point the Mahi almost gets away from us and flips itself back into the cold Pacific; it has long since managed to rid itself of the barbed hook that snagged him. John is able to grasp its tail one step, one flip, from freedom. Since 15 pounds of fish will not fill the freezer, John returns the successful lure to the sea saying "There we still have no sushi". We presented Deborah with a tray of fresh filleted Mahi. Just as I finished washing down the deck another cry "FISH". Oh no, it is time to repeat the process. This time it is a yellow fin tuna, Ahi, or as John says "there is our sushi. Although it takes copious amounts of Tequila, I think we started with an almost full bottle, the Ahi finally falls limp in a drunken slumber. The Ahi weighs 12 pounds, enough for sushi and dinner on a salad.
It is Saturday morning and we are 180 miles from Cabo Saint Lucas. We should arrive there about 8 or 9 AM tomorrow morning if all goes well and all is very well as I compose this blog in swim trunks on the fly bridge. The seas are so flat they are glassy, a deep navy blue. We are about 30 miles off shore; you can see tops of mountains even though the shore and bottom of the mountains are not visible due to the curvature of the earth. One could imagine a huge edge of a waterfall dropping off to the mountain tops. There is a light blue cloudless sky; a light cool breeze is tickling my neck. Occasionally we pass black slick looking things floating in the water; at a distance looking maybe like garbage bags floating in the water. On closer inspection it is actually one or more sea lions floating on their backs with their whiskered noses and flippers pointed skyward in the navy blue water. When there are 2 or more they form a configuration like sky divers except face up instead of face down. On closer inspection, the seals appear to be sleeping.
One can never predict how a day on the ocean will turn out. Every day is different and the variations are infinite. I hope Donna and I can share a day like today with my kids and grandkids.
I was about to send my blog post and I decided to put out my fishing lines and grab some rays in the sun. I will post results later. Thinking of the kids again there are hundreds of dolphins playing around Bella Donna. One just jumped 10 or 15 feet in the air behind us. They are magnificently beautiful.
Tomorrow is Cabo, Super Bowl and most importantly Kevin's birthday; I can't wait to see him.
God Bless Bella Donna
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