20130814 Wednesday  

0700 my ears prick up to the sound of an outboard motor can it be Joseph checking us out? All is quiet aboard as the sound disappears into the distance, or did it. Shan refuses to get up in case she’ll find him sitting in the cockpit.

Lars finally bites the bullet and surfaces and alls clear. A quick breakfast and were away. The sea is flat and with no wind the temperature is rising rapidly. Lars looks back and sees the dinghy doing its own thing and bobbing off into the distance. A quick about turn taking care not to tangle the fishing line that out over the stern and recovery operations are completed.

We’re at a loss to explain it’s sudden dash for freedom as we haven’t used it for several days, though on reflection I remember Josephs boat had been tied to the same stantion so that could be a clue. 

Working our way through Naduma passage noting that this was the site of mines! As if the reef wasn’t enough of a problem. Then as we run down outside the main reef a strike, BZZZZZZZ. Engine in neutral as Lars leaps to the reel and starts winding in, but this is a lively one and suddenly ther’s Whiiiiir as it takes of and the reel spins furiously. Ouch says Lars, who gets himself a burn from the speeding nylon line he’d been holding onto.

After a bit a struggle we finally land a beauty, a metre plus long’ Wahoo. Seeking revenge and clutching his trusty filleting knife Lars sets about his bloody business and soon we’re knee deep in Wahoo filets, enough for at least five dinners.

Shan takes the lot below and is busy de-boning and cutting the fillets into meal size portions ready for the deep freeze, though tonight we’ll be barbqing one lot, already marinating in lime juice.

We stop for lunch and a swim at tiny Nakui Island which consisted of a small beach with a few coconut palms in the middle of large mass of Mangroves trees rising from the fringing reef.

As we’d spotted a mast on the mainland a few miles away we headed for the bay it overlooked. Unfortunately on our way over the signal dropped out as we realised it was a Digitel installation. A quick detour down the coast and we spot another one which fires up our dongles and we set off for another big “Mangrove” island complex a few miles away but in line of sight to catch up on our comms traffic and anchor for the night.

A magnificent sunset followed by our Wahoo “catch of the day” and a quiet evening with the book and some good music on our system.

Bob the Blog