What a day for a daydream...

During the night the wind got less and less. The weatherman predicted fifteen knots of wind, and at four this morning, with only five knots, I had to start motorsailing. Big rain clouds gathered on the horizon, and we carried on motoring. Just after ten when Thomas came on watch, the rain reached us, and we had a proper downpour, washing all the salt residue off SV Jubilee. I grabbed my towel and shampoo, had a wonderful rainwater shower, Thomas and Don followed soon after.

During the downpour, Thomas shouted that we had a fish on the line, and promptly started pulling the big Dorado cow closer and closer. By the time the fish was on board, I was standing ready with our spray bottle with vodka, and sprayed some alcohol in her gills. Soon the struggle was over. Thomas and Don respectively posed for pics with this beautiful specimen with it's golden, blue and green colors. Don and Thomas each filleted one side of the fish, removed the skin and cut the filets into portions. I asked Thomas to carefully remove the roe, and also the stomach. Some people enjoy the roe fried in butter, it has a bit of a wild taste to it, and some of the millions of small eggs will get in between your teeth. You will taste fish for three days. The stomach was emptied to see what the Dorado was feeding on. We found a whole flying fish, and a smaller fish that was half digested. Jane asked two days ago when will we catch a fish again as we are trolling our lures all day lo
ng. I
told that it is unlikely as we still have some from our previous catch in the freezer. We had that two days ago for lunch, and today we have fresh fish on board again.

During this time we had no wind, we were not motoring and drifted with the current at about two knots. The boat was facing north east, and we were drifting towards our waypoint in a north westerly direction. We had a small pod of dolphins coming to check us out and circling us for a while. The color of the water has taken on a more brownish hue due to the close proximity of the Amazon river. One of the fishing lines got tangled in one of our rudders, and Thomas took the plunge with a diving mask to free the line.

I vacuum packed three packets of filets, and Jane fried some fresh Dorado with batter for lunch. The other three packets went into the freezer. It was seriously so good. Probably the best Dorado I have tasted. She also had prepared some pancakes with real maple syrup for lunch, and we had an impromptu feast, celebrating our good fortune.

After lunch the rain subsided, we raised the main sail and unfurled the head sail, and motorsailed for a while. The wind is slowly building and we have been sailing for the last hour or two. Another great day out on the ocean.

I trust you also had a good day. I mentioned animals yesterday. Do yourself a favor, You Tube Anna Breytenbach, and watch the post on the black leopard now called Spirit. It will give you some food for thought, and a deeper understanding of our fellow inhabitants of our planet.

Until tomorrow

Paul


Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.