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Calypso - A couple of days after Day 7 - Successes and Sargasso Weed



Saturday and into Sunday

High excitement! a wind hole and a flat (ish) sea.

Chuck the dinghy out of the garage, pour copious fresh water into the garage, dry it all out scrupulously, and now we can seal the confounded hatch.

Much grunting, squiring into the steering compartment, de-glooping of fingers follows, and then its done. So now we sit and wait for the wind to return, and the sealant to go off - for once we have exactly the wind we need - none, and we bob around for a few hours making all of 2 knots.

OK this has to go in the log, a wind hole exactly when we need one, and then back comes the breeze just when we're beginning to wonder how long we'll be drifitng aimlessly.
...
Early that evening...

"[strange squawking noise I can't even begin to spell]"

"what is it?"

"[repeated squawk, now combined with a bit of a shriek - still unspellable, but from now on just 'squawk' will serve]"

"WHAT?"

"I think [squawk]... quick... help... light... [squawk]... its caught in the [squawk]"

There ensues much flicking of lights, grabbing of torches, tugging on bungee and a fair amount of group squawking, before it becomes clear there may be a fish on the line, or maybe its Sargasso weed. But hey - we didn't catch any Sargasso weed yet either!

"it's a fish"... "or maybe it is weed"... "or a fish"... "it doesn't feel like a fish"... "probably weed"

And then there it is, radiant, emerald and sapphire, intermittently indignant and quiescent as it's hauled aboard.

More frenetic activity as we prepare to welcome tomorrows dinner on board, I mean who could possibly remember to wet the deck, get a bucket... and a cutting board... and a knife... oh, and pliers... all while breathlessly anticipating the arrival of a clump of weed.

It takes a while, and there are the inevitable discussions - is it a Mahi Mahi.. or is it a Dorado? will the photo look best if its being held by its tail or cradled like a baby? is it best to gut it then fillet, or just fillet straight off? Exactly where does the knife go? Oh.. NEAR your fingers! I didn't catch the "near" bit!

And then it's all over - the fridge is full of delectable, delicious, divine fillets of the freshest Mahi Mahi you could wish for, mouths are salivating at the prospect of the feast, and there's quite a bit of grinning going on too - this is Calypso's first fish... yes, first EVER fish!

The stars start to twinkle, the camera pans back leaving us with the dark outline of a yacht against a rich amber sunset (OK, it was dark, but I'm exercising artistic license here), the music rises, and the credits roll...

    Fishing Consultants            .... Pretty much everyone in Las Palmas
    Gear Assembly                    .... Hannah
    Gear Deployment               .... Hannah
    Crowd Scenes                     .... Stu, Catriona, Ed, Dave
    Sound Effects                      .... Mostly Hannah
    Gear Retrieval                     .... All Hands
    General Advice                   .... Everyone
    Most Practical Advice        .... Catriona
    Knife Wielding                    .... No idea, I had to close my eyes for this bit
    Fish Chef                             .... Catriona
    Porridge Chef                     .... Well that'd be telling now wouldn't it!


Oh yes... the fish was delicious!
    

m_Fish

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