Date: 5 August 2009 2100 UTC (1200 Samadhi Time)
Distance sailed in last 24 hours: 147 nm
Distance to Half Moon Bay: 1567 nm
Latitude: 36 00.152 N
Longitude: 152 30.168 W
COG: 010M
SOG: 6.5 kts under sail
Wind: 8 kts E
Seas: 2 ft E swell, 3 ft WNW swell (longer period)
Weather: 10% Cloud Cover
Barometric Pressure: 1028.8, rising
Sea Temperature: 77 F
Most of the day we spent motorsailing. We continued motoring until near midnight when the breeze picked up again, so we shut down the big Perkins and resumed sailing. The silence of sail is so wonderful after the constant din of the engine! Although the wind isn't extraordinary, it's enough to keep us moving at a reasonable speed.
During the nearly windless day, we motored through squall after squall. Although very little rain fell, all of the squalls looked threatening enough for us to close up the boat as they approached. Each time, Samadhi would get a little wet and would be dry 20 minutes later. Sometimes Phillip thinks that we must look like calling "General Quarters" aboard a Navy ship as we run around the boat sealing hatches and ports. Usually, we are ready for battle with the squall before the water hits the deck... usually.
We were fishing yesterday afternoon when one of the reels started making the screaming sound that is usually associated with a really big fish. Phillip worked for about 10 minutes trying to get line in on this "fish" without much to show for it. Kelly skillfully maneuvered Samadhi, and the line started slowly coming back in.
Kelly took a look through the binoculars to see what was on the other end of the line. She reported that it didn't look like any fish she had ever seen--more like some kind of sea monster! On the other hand, even as we brought the strange mass closer, it would occasionally make a "run" and take more line. We couldn't figure it out. Long story short, we hooked a fish who then took cover under a very large tangle of line and fishing net that was floating out here.
We weren't hot on losing quite a bit of expensive gear, so we worked Samadhi slowly back to the net. It streamed aft of us at least 100' and maybe farther. We tried several different methods to get the net onboard, but it was too heavy and slippery to lift in our hands. We did eventually retrieve the lure from the net by backing the boat close enough to "gaff" the line and grab the lure. Success!
It was about this time that we noticed a large school of mahi mahi swimming underneath the net. There were hundreds of small mahi mahi, smaller than trout. There was a second school of adult mahi mahi of varying sizes that cruised in circles around the net, seemingly on patrol. As I fiddled with the net, Kelly tried wiggling one of the large squid lures over the side. (Neither of us has the skill to successfully cast a 6/0 Senator.) Almost instantly, the water boiled as a mahi mahi sucked down the lure and started running. Phillip cleated the net to Samadhi, and help to boat the fish.
Just as it cleared the lifelines, the net looked like it was going to try and tangle itself around the prop. Kelly put down the rod and went to attend to the boat and line. While she was busy with the boat, the dorado managed to unhook herself and flapped overboard as Phillip tried to subdue her. No matter though, the fish returned to her school, cruising under the net which was tied to the boat... We had a whole school of mahi mahi tethered to Samadhi!
Phillip tried casting for adult mahi mahi with a 1oz bucktail jig on a freshwater spinning combo loaded with 12 lb. mono. Less than 3 seconds after the lure hit the water, the reel was screaming as the cow mahi mahi ran with the lure. After losing two bucktail jigs to the fish, we discovered that they were biting through the mono. Rather than take the time to make up a leader, Phillip tried Kelly's technique of simply using our offshore gear to put an 8" chugger squid in the water and wiggling it. A pack of the mahi mahi zoomed up after it, and the lure was gone as the line zoomed out. This time the deck was stacked in our favor, and we added another delicious fish (a 9 lb. cow) to our freezer.
Neither of us have ever seen fishing like this. The fish would bite anything that moved, and it didn't matter if it was right next to the boat. Kelly took several videos, and we're really glad. Otherwise, it sounds like yet another "fish story." We haven't been fishing since. Now, we have a LOT of fish in our fridge and freezer now, and we need to catch up on eating it.
A flock of four tropicbirds flew along with us for a little while this morning. It's unclear just what interested them so much, but their noisy presence was surely a welcome one. We've seen relatively few birds on this passage compared to the crossing from Costa Rica.
We are doing really well on freshwater reserves, even though we plan not to use the water maker (desalinator) this passage. With only two of us onboard, it's amazing how much less water we are using than when all four of us are here. A lot of it probably has to do with not running the washing machine.
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