Log Day 1: Alive and Fishing
N 16 41.815 | W 27 19.900 |
Thu 22.11.2018 | 10:39 UTC-2
The dramatic landscape shaping the reliefs of the Cape-Verdian Sao Vicente and Santo Antao Islands was amplified by an array of white clouds washing against the volcanic stones. As we dashed across the leg 2 start line off Marina Mindelo with the speed of a coconut in the water, this amazing sight occupied the first few hours of our stern balcony. As if that that backdrop wasn’t enough, the mix of white sails and colourful spinnakers of the Monohull wave starting 10 minutes after us, etched an image in our memories that no camera can capture.
Oh yeah, we were supposed to be sailing right? - sure, we did really try, until the PredictWind reality hit us in the face. So we started motor-sailing like 90% of our class’s vessels, and by doing so we needed a cool distraction from the sad fact that we can’t set sail. I sent up NMLSS
(my
drone) to capture a bird’s eye view of the scene and take some close up aerials of other buddy vessels. Then, as we have been stocking up on fishing lines and lures in Las Palmas, Fred threw 2 trailing lines in the water and everyone went into semi-hibernation mode. Cruising at 6 knots and less than and hour later at around 13:30 Local time, the starboard reel brake disengaged and the line went haywire. We all jumped on the transom as a seriously massive marlin started its frantic breaching at the other end of the line. As it was around 150-180 meters away, we were not sure if it was a blue or a black marlin, but one thing is sure, in our many years of trail-fishing this was by far the biggest fish we ever got on a hook. Judging by the size of its sword and head, the beast had certainly over 150kg of weight. Fred and Kolja jumped on the reel and started recovering the line as Peter brought TRI II FLY to a halt and everyone else was trying to capture the moment on camera. Ev
en
though we were ill-equipped to handle such a big catch, we gave it a decent 30-min try. Fred’s sailing gloves were cut like butter with a hot knife and we were still hopeful to haul the beast out somehow. But our childish excitement about fresh sashimi and other delicacies ‘poofed’ as abruptly as Dr Marlin took a fast deep dive and broke the only link he had to our stomachs. Oh well! Maybe it was better that way after all. One thing is sure: it was certainly a good thing for Peter. We would have had a fishy mess onboard and enough fish to eat for the next 4 weeks: Peter doesn’t eat fish.
As adrenaline levelled down, we resumed our semi-hibernation modes and kept looking at the swell and PredictWind’s crystal ball.
The stunning sunset waned to a clear moon lighting up the skies, and burgers the size of a swordfish steak came to water our mouthes (Thanks Rob). We ran our daily briefing during dinner, talked about marlins and sailing before resuming a
quiet night watch cycle through a windless night.
Mehdi Khaled | TRI II FLY, Co-Helm
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