You’ll new glad to hear ‘Rod’ is not a person but have we got a fishing story for you!
So, this afternoon I decided for the first time ever to use a ‘plug lure’. This particular plug looks like a green cigar with a red eye and a hook growing out it’s bottom. So I put it on the leader, let out the line, set the drag on the reel and then think, “I’ll let it out a few more metres”. Literally the second I do that a fish hits hard and because the reel is free spinning the line bunches up, jams and then the rod bends over, the rod holder snaps clean off the push pit and the rod goes overboard, all in 5 seconds flat! Thank goodness for the dyneema safety line attached to the reel or that would have been one expensive fish that got away. Attached a picture of Alan (who was sleeping at the time of all the excitement) untangling the reel in his pants.
In other news we are almost exactly to the mile halfway across the Atlantic in a shade over a week and we have finally gybed South. It’s not an ideal situation as the wind shift we were expecting to make Port the making gybe shifted back a few miles down the track, however on balance we have decided to commit to this. Looking like light winds end of the week heading this direction but equally the Northern route that’s opening up above the high pressure ridge shows it pretty windy and big seas. We feel we’d be happy to go slow rather than it get hectic again, we’ve had enough of that now. It’s been a pleasant day with big yellow up with everything from full main to 2 reefs as we’ve seen anywhere from 8-16kn of wind but mainly around 13. Right now it’s 13-17kn from 050-060 which means our course towards St Lucia isn’t as good as it would be on the other gybe but we think it’s the right thing to do. The weather files suggest breeze should be from 080 which would make this a nicer course so we keep our fingers crossed that will materialise. Suspect we will see some of the boats sailing dead down wind move further forward than us in next position report.
To celebrate the halfway mark we had a big meal together in the cockpit. Starter was home caught Mahi Mahi goujons followed by Daddy’s Spaghetti Bolognese and some Cadburys Dairy Milk (high currency on this ship). I also ran the engine (in neutral I might add) to treat all the ladies to a hot shower instead of the cold cockpit ones we’ve all been having.
Tomorrow it’s toilet fixing day, yay.....
Good night from 23 degrees 13.7 minutes North, 38 degrees 42.1 minutes West :-)
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