After church we headed over to Pigs Beach for a play date
with Camila and Matias (and Ernesto and Natalia!) on Tiai. They were coming from the north and we from
the south, we arrived at our anchorage at very nearly the same time. The kids jumped into the water and swam over
to our boat! We immediately set out in
our dinghies to dive the grotto. Myron
and I were shocked as we drove up to it (kids in our dinghy) and noticed that
the rock in front had fallen down across the opening. It was past high tide and the current was
really beginning to flow. Not something
we wanted to put the kids into, so we drove around the other side of the grotto
and snorkeled in the coral and fed some fish for the kids to watch. They got cold and were soon back in their own
dinghy. We drove between the Majors so
Ernesto could see where they were going to hide from the passage of the cold
front. Then we stopped by the swimming
pigs, plenty of squeals to go around. We
had dinner on board Tiai (with flan for dessert!) and suddenly this morning, it was time for us
to depart. Myron was torn about leaving
them so soon. We almost dropped our plans
of sailing across the Sound.
Eventually we held to the plans, pulled up anchor, circled
Tiai for more goodbyes, then pulled up the main and prepared to go out the cut
at Staniel Cay and sail across the Exuma Sound to Rock Sound, Eleuthera. Winds were about 15-20 knots on the beam, a
nice reach. The forecast was for one to
two foot seas, but they were three to four and a bit sharp. After exiting the cut, we sailed all but the
last five miles with 20 knots on the nose going into Rock Sound.
Even though the seas were up, we were still determined to
fish, but could only put one pole out.
When it is rough like that, the lures are likely to tangle and make a “reel”
mess of things. We were four to five
miles offshore when we got a bit hit. It
ran (took the line) for some time. Since
we were sailing as opposed to motoring, I had quite a time getting the boat
slowed down for a fight with a fish. We
did the best we could to turn Hold Fast into the wind without rolling ourselves
off the boat. Finally we were down to
about 3.5 knots, 40 degrees off course, with both of us on the aft deck anxious
to see what we would reel in. The way it
was pulling, it had to be big. At first
I saw a flash of silver and thought it was a bull mahi, then I got a closer
look and realized it was a large wahoo.
I gaffed it through the gill and head but was afraid to pull it aboard
while it was still flopping so hard.
Myron pulled it up while I secured the tail with a rope and on board it
came. We both sat down on the aft deck completely
fish slimmed. It measured 55 inches,
only 9 inches shorter than me!!
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the weight of a fat bodied fish
(bass, salmon) can be estimated with the following formula: (length x girth x
girth) / 800. Based upon that, and our
wahoo’s girth of about 24 inches, our haul up the freeboard and over the
lifelines was estimated at 39.6 pounds. No
small challenge when it is wiggling about.
It dressed out into 18 large steaks, a shoulder (behind the head), and
two fillets off the tail section. Praise
God, our fish locker is full!
We plan to stay around Rock Sound until this, yet another,
cold front passes by. I really thought
that since March came in like a lion, April weather would be mild. Apparently that was just wishful thinking. Winter is not over. For now, with southeast winds, we are at the
southern end of Rock Sound. We will move
further north and off the town tomorrow afternoon as the winds increase and turn
SW to W to N and then NE.
We scrubbed the boat down, Myron recharged our fish
refrigerator, we got our showers, BBQ’d two wahoo steaks and are soon headed to
bed for some needed rest.
Love to all,
Dena
Posted via 3G.
{GMST}24|49.728|N|076|10.518|W|Anchored|{GEND}
Posted via 3G.
{GMST}24|49.728|N|076|10.518|W|Anchored|{GEND}
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