Saturday, June 18, 2016

June 3, 2016 Sail to Market Fish Cay, Berries

Today we sailed north to Market Fish Cay about 30nm.  Nothing is very far apart, so we are on a relaxed schedule.  We started out in a light rain.  There were several boats fishing along a shelf just to the east of Chub Cay.  We went off shore further to stay out of their way.  Plus that would give us a better angle to the wind when we headed north.  We had a great day for sailing. 

The only fish we caught today were barracuda.  Dave set up a type of alarm system to let us know when a fish is on.  He used a clothespin and a short line.  We hear a snap when a fish is on.  This is helpful because if a fish drags too long, another one comes along and bites it in half.  Today we had two fish on at the same time.  I have pulled them in before.  But once we get it to the side of the boat, Dave hooks it with a gaff hook in the head.  Then he holds it by the gaff hook to remove the hook from it’s mouth with a large hemostat.  I haven’t done that part.  So I just pulled the fish close to see if it was a barracuda or not.  Since it was, I just let it drag in the water until Dave was ready to come over and gaff it. 
pink line goes to hand line behind the boat, orange line releases when there is a bite

Today I finished reading the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  It is a true story about a 26 year old woman from Minnesota that decided to hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail in 100 days over a summer.  Our friend, Erin Clausen, was reading it when they were visiting and left it for me.  I started reading it just so I could tell Erin if I saw her this summer that I had read it.  I’m not much into “self help” books.  But I really enjoyed it.  Her life was pretty messed up.  She felt she needed to do this to “find herself”.  I found it pretty comical because of how unprepared she really was to do this hike.   And I enjoyed her style of writing.  But most of all, I liked the similarities of being out on the trail taking care of yourself and being on a sailboat taking care of yourself.  You have to figure things out for yourself.  At least we have each other, but we’re still in this by ourselves.  There is also the similarity in the kindness of others that she noted.  Boaters are always eager to help each other.  And she really grew to like the quietness of being alone.  We have already discussed that when we can no longer sail, we want to either travel by RV or settle in a small town.  Neither one of us ever want to live in a city again.  Also, she would meet non hikers in a campground or a town where she had to pick up provisions that would say “I could never do that”.  She was living proof that if she could, anyone could.  Same with sailing.  We have met people that didn’t know a thing about sailing and just decided to do it.  Of course, they had to learn a lot even to get started, but they did it.  I would recommend the book.

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