can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Two Fish - Day 56 - Enormous



In our car trip analogy, (NYC to Miami to LA) we have made it to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. After driving for 3 continuous days, we are about 400 miles into our 3,000 mile journey. El Nino has slowed our progress as large patches have been windless. And unlike our theoretical car, we can not get out for a BBQ in North Carolina. Instead, we had fresh corn bread with chili last night for dinner. We also baked two loaves of banana bread. This morning we caught a 26 pound (measured with our luggage scale) wahoo. We sent the photo to our fishing guru, who is currently skiing, and he replied a few minutes later with the fish ID. I love technology. Tim opened up the wahoo's stomach for no particular reason and found the head of a smaller fish. Food chain. Just hope no one opens my stomach or they will discover that I had cookies for breakfast.

How to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. However, this elephant trip is so big I can not see the tail. I am concerned about fuel. Do we have enough to propel us before the trade winds arrive? We have used 20% of our diesel but only traveled 13% of the trip. We are pushing South to find the trade winds and are excited when we get messages from the lead boat that she is in 15-20 knots of breeze. We are trying to go fast because the wind has started to move west. This means the lead boats will get the wind while the trailing boats may have to get mid-ocean passports.

We had the most unusual guests on board for almost 24 hours. Two rare red-footed boobies. They seemed like a couple. One with a much more blue coloring in the beak. They preened, went fishing, slept and allowed close examination. They chose to perch on a perilous rod of metal at the bow. At one point one of the boobies fell but broke its fall by grabbing the rail with a beak. We called(VHF) a nearby rally boat with avid birders for advice. I thought the birds might die, but they are true sea birds and were only grabbing a rest. The next day we turned 10 more degrees south and they flew away. I suppose they thought we might be going to New Zealand.

Marquesan lessons have started on board. We are setting our sights low and just learning hello (kaona). Many of the words are mostly vowels. Kind of the opposite of Eastern Europe.

A big thank you to s/v Field Trip, another Antares. This trip without the new screecher would be hell. We were doing record breaking speed in light air. 70% of windspeed is now possible. If you are buying a new boat get this screecher instead of the standard. The extra surface area and flatter belly really help in our current conditions. I have been flying it straight to my second outboard jib track.

We have heard of a few boats with issues. Widago is back in the Galapagos waiting for a new clark pump for the water maker. We were there 2 years ago. Another had a gooseneck bolt fail but created a temporary fix. And a third can not run their water maker while the engine is running. The cause of that is still a mystery.

We are at the front of the fleet, but the order will shake out based on who gets the trade winds first.


Jason
www.twofishcat.com


Previous | Next