Written by Daryl

 Pacific Activities

     So, what to do for 24 days on the open ocean for the Pacific crossing?  Well, we pretty much try to do whatever it takes to make the sail as comfortable as possible.  Once the wind vane autopilot is set, and is steering better than any human sailor, it allows us to be very comfortable,…only after we retain our sea legs of course, which luckily only takes a day or so.  During the day, we first go over the daily workings of the boat (sails, cables, and ropes) then, we set up for a relaxing day of reading, writing, tanning, cooking, eating, and of course fishing!  One way to look at the Pacific crossing was as the ‘ultimate 24 day fishing trip’.

     When the fishing reels drag alarm sounds off, we alternate the duties of one person battling the fish while the other takes over the steering and heaves too (steers into the wind so the boat slows).  The feeling of hooking a 25 kg Dorado is a great thrill that can only be imagined and never fully described properly.  Seeing it jump 2 meters in the air and then change colors from blue to yellow to silver as we bring it into the boat is absolutely amazing.  And then, to cook it up fresh is comparable to eating a Canadian ‘Northern Pike’ after a day of ice fishing in -35 deg C weather and a belly full of whiskey.

     The Dorados are plentiful in the Pacific and hooking one could not be easier if they were jumping in the boat.  The flying fish on the other hand do just that.  Most days you can just stare out from the boat and watch the flying fish shoot out of the water like a torpedo with their side fins(wings) spread and their tails wagging on the waves as they glide, or fly, up to 100 m just skimming along the ocean surface.  Sometimes, after one emerges, a school of up to 80 will attempt to follow the leader in both direction and distance, and many will.  But, there are always the ones in the class who can’t adjust for the wind and the water and they will only fly a few meters before crashing into a wave.  It is quite funny to watch.  When their adjustment in really off, they will end up on the boat and we will find them waiting for us, lying on the deck with wings spread and mouth open as if caught in mid-scream.  It has become a morning ritual to follow the familiar fishy smell and search the boat for these strays, then fry them up for a nice breakfast snack, ‘Frying Flying Fish’!

    Although we have landed some many fine sea beasts throughout the trip, there have been a few that have managed to escape our clutches.  Sometimes the speed of the boat is just too much for the fish to retain their bite on the lure and they easily come free from the force of the 6 knot 'trolling' Spetakkel.  Once when we were just sitting around, the alarm went off and then suddenly stopped.  We thought it was just another fish getting loose when all of a sudden a huge Blue Marlin jumped in the air with our favorite ‘squid’ lure dangling from the side of its mouth!  We had it!!,…for about 10 seconds, until the creature decided it didn’t want to become ‘Poisson de jour’ and easily snapped the 80 kg fishing line with a quick nod of its muscular neck.  It was an amazing rush as Kjell and I watched it leap out of the water one last time with our  ex-favorite ‘squid’ lure still dangling from its mouth, along with 20 meters of our strongest line.  Another time when the alarm went off, Kjell jumped up to proceed to wrangle this big catch.  He tightened the drag to secure the fight but, this didn’t phase the monster and the line kept coming off the reel at an incredible buzzing rate until 5 seconds later we were both left staring at an empty reel as it went up in smoke from the friction of the powerless brake.  We never found out what that one was but, we both decided it was best to not bring that battle into the boat.  A satisfying excuse for the loss.