We had taken in the sails as we reached Conception when the rascal hit. I was in the process of opening the anchor locker to prepare to weigh the anchor. I was so sure it would be another darn barracuda that I wasn’t that excited about it. Luke actually had to gaff him – our first “gaffing” experience, and it worked perfectly. There is one little problem with jacks this large – ciguatera poisoning. Ciguatera poisoning is the result of eating fish with ciguatera toxin produced by microscopic algae. It is passed up the food chain when the carnivorous fish consume reef-eating fish. The poisoning has a variety of symptoms – everything from headache, diarrhea, numbness, and joint pains to shock, coma, or death. The poison never leaves your body – it builds up as you eat other poison fish and can have relapses for years. So, needless to say, we reluctantly tossed the big guy overboard. Had it been “dinner plate size or smaller” we would have kept it and had a great dinner.
We did have one other strike as we crossed from Georgetown to Conception. It was an immediate hit when I ran out the line. Whatever it was, it was so large and strong that I couldn’t turn the reel. We held him for a bit until we finally lost him. No, he didn’t throw the lure or break the line or get snapped up by something larger. This brute actually pulled so hard that he straightened out the 100 pound ball bearing swivel that I used to attach the lure to the wire leader. In retrospect, it was almost certainly too large for us to land on the boat, but it sure would have been fun to see what it was!
The trip was about about 43 miles, most of it in 6 to 8 ft swells on the beam, with winds ranging from 11 to 18 kts apparent, also on or somewhat aft of the beam. Occasionally we did some serious rolling, up to almost 40 degrees, often in the 20 to 30 degree range. We sailed the whole way, with our speed between 6 and 8 kts. We started with a reefed main, but when the wind dropped we lost to much speed, so after a while, we let our the whole thing.
Before we left Georgetown for a couple of days in Conception, we did some beach walking with friends Dee and Dave.
Luke and Dave tore open another coconut for me --- just how many men DOES it take to open one of those
We attended opening night of Regatta. Look at all of those old sailors! Just like high school, this was “wear blue night”.
This is my favorite old sailor----
Regatta had a “no talent talent show” which included such esteemed talents as conch horn blowing.
Back to Conception –we anchored in the lee of the island on the SE side, as the wind was firmly out of the NW. While we were there, Luke make a complicated eye-splice in a new rope that we use to secure the chain of our anchor (this is called a “snubber”). Great work!
Dee & Dave had us over for a wonderful birthday dinner on Thursday. I love it when someone cooks for me! It was a nice little party.
We took our full day at Conception to explore the beaches. We walked the beaches and climbed up the hills (50 ft or so…)
to get the full view of the anchorage. It looks placid, but the ocean swell curves in around the far island, and we do some rolling at anchor.
From the top of the hill you can get the full appreciation of the reefs that surround the island. We are definitely anchored outside of the coral heads, usually only a few feet under the surface even at high tide.
The day was so clear, we could also see Rum Cay, 22 miles away, Long Island, 25 miles away, and the Acklins, about 50 miles away.
We did our usual beach garbage combing. We found another metal float and Dee & Dave collected some bottles. Luke and Dave found hats. What happens in the Bahamas stays in the Bahamas…thank goodness…
We came across this dead sponge brittle starfish. Very different from our usual Atlantic coast starfish.
My shell 101 for this blog is the Flamingo Tongue.
This is my favorite small shell, only 1- 1 ½ inches in length, hard to find. I have only 6 or so. This small shell is a glossy, tubular shell with a distinctive swollen ridge across the back. It was once very common but serious depopulation has occurred due to collecting in every part of the Caribbean. You can see why when you see the live animal. Beautiful, huh!!!
1 comment:
You know Luke you're supposed to open a coconut with a machete. I've tried it with knives, chisels, hatchets. Machetes are the way to go! Arnie
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