We have often discovered that untying the dock lines is the hardest part of the voyage. That is certainly the case today. We are grounded by the weather. We will not be going tomorrow, and maybe not until sometime next week. The sad part about that is we will lose our son Ben from the crew. His schedule cannot stand much of a delay. That is too bad for us since we really enjoy having Ben on the trip, plus he is a great sailor.

More to come as we get more weather information.

Jake

One of the real joys of voyaging is our fishing. Our lines are out most of the time during the daylight. We do not fish when we are sailing above 9 knots. At this speed we loose our gear, and if we were to catch a fish, it is too rough to clean it. To date we have caught tuna, mahi mahi, wahoo, barracuda, and long billed spearfish. The first three are exceptional eating. The planned dinner waits for another day when a fish is landed. Usually there is enough fish for sandwiches the next day as well.

We usually have a fishing contest and most of the time the contest is between Jake and Peter Vaiciulis. The contest is simple. Peter chooses the side of the boat and the fishing rod that he wants to use. Jake gets what is left. Each provides his own lures and gear. We then tally the catch for the trip. Since we stand watches 24 hours a day, it does not matter who catches the fish, just what side it is caught on. The bet is steep — one coke, and usually not paid! Our official fishing contest started with our trip South in 2004.

Jake says “No wonder the bets don’t get paid!” We score one for the fish each time they beat us and get away. You can see that happens often. But the contest is great fun. Stay tuned for the results of the South Bound 2007 contest…

Here are the official results:

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Through the years, we have been active striper fishermen. We have fished from our Whaler, but mostly from our dinghy around Block Island. The pictures show a few of our many stripers. They feature Ruleo Camacho, our Antiguan friend, Jake, and our son Ben. These fish are great fighters, but more important, they are delicious.

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