09:54.904S 132:16.862E = Not Another Bloody Tuna!
Irene IV - World Adventure
Louis Goor
Thu 15 Sep 2022 09:28
George has a new fishing hat. George has a new red and yellow lure. The tuna
in the Indian Ocean love that lure! We all love to eat tuna in its many
guises, but there is a limit.
Today, 15th September, the crew well acclimatized to our passage rhythm,
George arose a little earlier than usual as the sun was rising over the
never-ending horizon. By 07:30, he had his hat on and his jaw was set in
determination, he would catch a fish today that was not a tuna. George is a
good fisherman. He prepares and cleans up after himself. Louis is the master
of the boning knife, but George is his right-hand man, responding promptly
to all orders barked in his direction. I am the photographer and the chef.
Within 2 minutes of the fishing line touching the water, the tip of the rod
was quivering! George flexed his muscles and played the fish aboard. It was
a tuna! Fortunately for the tuna, it was determined that he was too small,
so he was unhooked and set free. The overstuffed freezer breathed a sigh of
relief!
Not to be deterred, the aft deck was washed down, the fishing line
untangled, and the line was in the water again in a jiffy. George is dogged,
he has one thought on his mind, he will catch a non-tuna fish today, if it
is the last thing he does. 5 minutes later he is furiously reeling in again,
muscles beginning to ache. He jokes he will have a rippling right arm and a
puny left arm! Another bloody tuna! It is released to its watery home, with
a sore throat and a bit of a tooth ache.
And we are off again! Luckily, the fish allowed George to have breakfast to
regain his strength! Banana pancakes and bacon did the trick. He prayed, he
begged, he wished, he visualized.anything but a tuna! You guessed it,
another tuna. We debated, keep it, throw it back in, keep it, throw it back
in? In it went.
George was now on his third set of clothing and smelling sweetly after his
second shower. Two more times, with fingers crossed, tuna was caught and set
free. The line was gingerly reeled out for the fifth time, with the
proclamation that this time, no matter what, we were keeping whatever he
caught, the poor chap was pooped! Surprise, surprise tuna number five was
landed. After calming the slippery fellow for the requisite photo shoot, we
examined his intestine for plastic and found his half-digested breakfast
with no apparent plastic matter. Louis performed his filleting magic, three
quarters of our friend was squeezed into the freezer, with the remainder set
aside as sashimi for lunch.
Tuna number five was a feisty fella! The fishing line was twisted and
tangled, so George patiently untangled it as he let it out in order to put
it away for the day. Suddenly, we heard roars of laughter! The tasty lure
had caught another tuna! George came down below and said to me, "Sabine, you
would never believe it, but I caught another tuna by mistake!" Tuna number 6
was set free.
To date George has caught 9 tuna, 1 Spanish mackerel, and a Marlin. Have no
fear, thanks to George, we shall not starve, just in case anyone was
worried.