ARC Log Day 10 & 11 - Luke 5:9
Sulana's Voyage
Alan and Sue Brook
Wed 1 Dec 2010 15:16
Day 11 and our position, as at 15:00 UTC on the 1st is not quite so good as yesterday, relative to the fleet to the South.
We have spent all night chasing our tails in a flat calm, madly imagining all our other ARC Rally competitors sailing by us, several degrees South of our position, under Trade Wind spinnakers, whilst we were trying desperately to extract ourselves from the Jaws of the Valley of Doom that awaits us ahead if we too don't get far enough South soon.
Finally, this morning at first light we got the first beginnings of a new breeze, and, YES!,it was from the SE direction forecast by our GRIB files. Oh joy! Off we go again with a gentle genoa reach, on a South-Westerly heading. We still need to get further South to avoid the effects of the large depression, to the North-West ahead of us, but at least we now have a breeze to give us a fighting chance to get where we need to be.
By our latest forecast (or position of the chicken bones in reading the runes - whichever you will) we reckon we need to get to about 16 degrees South and 35 degrees West within the next 36 hours, to stay in the fair winds and avoid another set of headwinds. So we are doing everything to achieve that target. To this end we have just set our 'Bad Boy' Light No.1 Genoa and put some extra power into Sulana's sail wardrobe.
This headsail is our secret weapon, beautifully made for us in D4 laminate by Matthew and Drum, at Dolphin Sails. It is, though, a sail we never thought we would be able to use on the wind in the ARC, because of the stronger winds usually expected. With luck this will help pull us forward once again into our earlier position in fleet, or maybe even better..., as we have lost ground overnight, as expected.
Now Dragonfly in the Deep South is looking very good indeed, but then she has also motored a bit, we understand, so that may help us, if we don't give in before the finish!
However, I remain dreaming of what might be and have got ahead of myself.
Reverting back to yesterday evening, we had got truly fed up with our significant lack of fishing success. So James took to the task and set to sorting out better lures and tackle settings. Soon he was rewarded with a small catch, but nonetheless a fish - a 45 cm Mahi-Mahi (Dorado, or Dolphin fish). This was adjudged to be too small to be fair game for the pot by the Skipper, so we dutifully did the right thing and returned him to the ocean to grow bigger and make plenty more for future generations to catch.
The sea thought highly of this action, it appears. James then decided the evening was drawing on and the time was right to go for something bigger, far bigger, so, knowing just what he was on about, he upped the anti by adding a tempting little scrap of black garbage bag to the squid lure, spicing it up for whatever lurked beneath the surface.
No sooner down than Whooaa!!! We had several hits at the bait, the rod bent two or three times and line went out a bit, but nothing stayed on. We stayed cool and started to prepare to slow Sulana down, by getting ready to ease the main and furl the genoa. Something was testing the taste of our lure, wasn't it?
The photos will show the end result, although some are a bit too X-rated for general publication. James eventually waited just another couple of minutes and then got a real strike to fight for. With fighting harness broken a while back this was a job for a REAL TOUGH BOY, as the rod butt end had to be tucked into one's stomach. A good old Mersea Rugby First team's player will do nicely, thank you! The reel in was tough, but the 2.10m (7 foot) long beautiful Black Marlin James eventually landed, was superb! It weighed in nicely at around 25kgs, we judged, as we could only weigh the first three-quarters of the fish!
James was not tall enough to hold the magnificent bill and head off the deck, so we added a bit on to the 21kgs shown on the weighing dial, but still think that is being less than generous.
It was, admittedly, carnage on the after-deck, in the floodlights as dark fell, but the first few tastes of the huge amount of pure steak meat we cut off this wonderful fish will give us food for the rest of the week. It was delicious, cooked in sesame seeds. Not unlike tuna, but perhaps even better, with a real hint of game about it.
Sulana has now got her work cut out to get us back into the fray with any chance of success, but both she and we are working on it.
PS. Luke 5:9:
"For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John...."
