Yet more photos!
Sulana's Voyage
Alan and Sue Brook
Thu 9 Sep 2010 10:34
Nigella (Fiona in disguise as a seagoing cook) has just served up her Banana/Chocolate muffins and these are going down a treat, whilst “Sulana” is en route, from Ushant, to cross the Bay of Biscay (la Golfe de Gascogne, pour Gérard et mes amis français!).
Weather is great and the breeze is set fair.
We get to see our first pod of Dolphins – The Common Dolphin to start with, as they play in our bow pressure wave for several minutes, giving us all a great show.
Many further dolphin and even Whale sightings followed this; including seeing a family pod of Pilot Whales later one evening, in our stern quarter wave; then a small Sperm Whale on our bow, which we very nearly ran right into.
Alan, our helmsman, was looking straight through the pulpit down his blowhole, hence knowing it was a Sperm Whale, but luckily this one was narrowly avoided.
Hence no photos – too busy in taking rapid avoiding action!
Then, after Cape Finisterre, we finally started seeing whale after whale, all – Minke fin whales, we think.
Lots of “Thar she blows!” Cries to be heard, but again no photos!
Sorry, but you have got to be pretty quick to catch a shot of a spray of warm whale breath whilst sailing along at 8+ knots.
Whales abounded, and dolphins too, so where there are these, we reckoned there must also be fish? Out with the rod.
First of all not a lot happened for a long time.
Then we changed lure, from large bright, Dayglo orange, to start using the bright, irridescent blue, plastic squid and it all happened at once!
First off a nice, chunky, but relatively small Skipjack Tuna.
Which was soon converted into the best fresh steaks one could ask for.
From transom and sea to table in no time at all!
Thanks for the Oyster Bay wine, Heather and Adrian! A perfect complement to a fresh tuna.
Then things stepped up a level – this photo showing us how much we really need to use the belt and butt support for the rod when catching a bigger fish at speed!
And, if you will be so kind as to ignore the sun’s reflection off our Captain’s bald pate, our first Dorado, Mahi-Mahi, Dolphin fish, call it what you will, was landed successfully, and was also delicious. Very healthy eating ahead.
Mahi-Mahi fillets, grilled and coated in a lemon sauce, are delicious, too.
For those amongst you who are vegetarian, or may not like fishing, or the thought of killing another creature, no apologies, but please understand we only catch and keep what we eat. We are certainly only fishing for the pot / freezer.
We have thrown back two tiddlers, whilst also losing one far bigger Dorado, just as we were about to land it! So it’s three all between us and the fish to date!
Then, after 8 days and 1,200 miles sailing since Jersey, it’s “Land ahoy!”
The island of Porto Santo, the first and most North-Easterly of the Madeiran Archipelago of islands, appears on our bows.
Porto Santo is very dry and arid, but inviting, nonetheless, with a 6km long sandy beach, to boot.
And that, we think, about wraps it up and brings us bang up to date for now.....
More will follow, but, now we have worked out how, we will try harder to keep positions and photos updated as we go along.
Thanks for your interest in reading this, if indeed anyone is!
The crew of “Sulana”
Quinta Do Lorde Marina, Madeira.