Well, when you take a photographer on a delivery you end up with more pictures than normal I guess, right? This is Ben posting from cold and wet Rhode Island…  This trip was pretty amazing.  It was my first trip in a tad over 4 years.  I hadn’t had a chance to do a trip in a tad over 4 years with 2 kids at home now.  With this being the last trip south, and having such a short leg this time, timing was perfect to get one last delivery in.  I flew down to Myrtle beach on Friday morning which gave me time to provision with Peter, then he Leo and I got to go visit Grandma J for dinner!  What and amazing time we had there (Grandma is a camera dodger though, as is Mom!).

We left Myrtle Beach with warm clothes on, but it’s wasn’t nearly as bad as a New England departure.  I stood watch with Dad for my first two hours, then Leo for my second two.  We motorsailed for the first day, then shut off the motor (unless we needed it for fishing) for the rest of the trip enjoying some nice sailing.  The fishing was almost the highlight of the trip though with 5 fish caught, 2 tuna then 3 mahi including our massive ~80lb beast at the end.   That was a team effort to catch!  Once we got to the Bahamas I only had ~24 hours for playing before I had to fly home.  We went to the dive shop immediately to get spears since they’re legal and we’ve never used them.  Then we went immediately into the water where Pete got 5 fish and I got a lobster (and one fish that got in the way!).  Pete Leo and I then went off to shoot the sunset that night before an amazing dinner on the boat.  The boys also joined me on a sunrise shoot (those images will come later as they require a bit more attention when processing) the next morning which was a blast.  Then one more snorkel (and another lobster!) in the morning and I was off to the airport.  I’ll be back with my family in ~2 short weeks though, which should be amazing.

Enjoy the shots!

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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: