Shark attack!
Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Sun 22 May 2011 14:01
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Sunday 22nd May 1723 Local 1323
UTC
05:20.245S 072:15.763E
The past few days have been blissful. I have to
confess to having a few things added to my jobs list and I did not yet lift a
hand to knock any jobs off the list.
We have now had visits from several boats in the
atoll and over a tea or coffee it has been nice to pick peoiples brains about
good fishing spots etc. We have also been invited to several other yachts and
all in all we are enjoying the fact that there are other boats in the atoll
despite my initial disappointment that we did not have the place to
ourselves.
A coupl eof days ago I went out fishing out side
the atoll in the ocean with my dingy and two other guys. We were fishing for
Yellow Fin tuna. We were barely across the reef when my rod took a strike and it
was a hard fighting tuna. However about twenty metres from the boat the sea
erupted and the line went slack..... A shark had shot up and taken my tuna and
left nothing but the head on the hook and two other sharks chasing that all the
way to the boat. Then the same again about fifteen minutes later. There was
stiff breeze blowing and a big swell and we were going quite fast to try to lure
the fast swimming yellow fin to our lures....
The next strike however was very powerful and I
brought a shark all the way to the RIB. Rigid INFLATABLE boat. Yes inflatable. I
can tell you it is not too clever in the deep ocean downwingd of the atoll
wrestling with a shark on your RIB which has a treble hook in its mouth! Very
exciting but annoying. Next an even bigger strike and this time the shark took
the whole lure. We eventually had three sharks which we had to get off the hooks
and several sharks all around us scavenging fo rthe slightest morsel. They were
voracious and one even attacked the propeller of the outboard! At one point with
a shark on the gunnel one of the guys got my 220lb line wrapped round the
propeller stalling the engine then my pliers was wrenched out of his hands and
overboard as I was pinning the shark down on the tube and he took the hook out
of its jaws.
It was only very nervously that I could hang over
the boat with my hand dipping in and out of the water to fee the heavy line from
the prop. However I madfe itr back with two hands and we finally landed two
Mackrel Tuna inside the atoll on the way back to the boat!
In the Maldives we saw Moray eels that were 15cm
diameter and about a metere and a half long and yesterday when reading our fish
book we discovered these monsters can grow out to 2.4m. Scary!
The past few days we have snorkelled and explored
the reefs and the islands. During an early moring trip at low tide we
walked the reef from island to island. There we were alongside a hawksbill
turtle stuggling through the fast flowing shallows to get to the windward ocean.
Later we saw two Maldivian vibrant blue and yellow surgeon fish locked into
a flamboyant and colourful spiralling waltz. On the reef beside the boat we have
seen two parrot fish with their hard sharp beaks locked together as they jousted
in combat for territory. A huge Yellow Fin about four to five foot passed behind
us while snorkelling the reef. We have swum with many turtles - and
sharks. The islands are full of coconuts and coconut crabs.
This is a very beautiful place. Paradise
really.
I reported the other day my concerns about a yacht
being towed by two American Military Ribs, however it turned out that they
were just piloting the yacht out of the atoll to a larger vessel that would tow
them to Diego Garcia.
Today we set off with two other boats to the
downwind side of the atoll to Isle de Passe for a picnic. We fished a bit while
ther and spendt a wonderful day fishing, swimming beachcombing and exporing then
eating the fish and the accompaniments everyone had brought. We tidied up
and set up a "day camp" and surrounded buy coconut crabs and coconut palms in
the cool fresh breeze we had a great meal and great day.
Days are flying by and the winds are set fair for
the passage to Mauritius but it is going to be very hard to leave
here..
Tomorrow as it is the first day of the "business
week" I am getting up early and going to seek out that elusive Yellow Fin.
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