I was invited for “sundowners” yesterday evening by S/V LuLu and the subject of health came up. My hosts noted they had lost weight and generally felt less fit. When I returned to the boat, I weighed myself, the first time since I left Mexico. I am 178. I was 225 when I quit my job three years ago … 47 lbs difference. I am at the weight I was in high school, not through any concerted effort to diet, but simply through my lifestyle. Most of the weight came off in the first year or so after I stopped working. Instead of sitting behind a desk, I was working on and sailing my boat. When I began this current trip almost two months ago, I was perhaps 190 or so. My diet has not changed that much except in one respect, I do not drink any alcohol when I am sailing, although I do when I am at anchor, perhaps 25% of the time. Otherwise, my eating habits remain largely unchanged, I eat one large meal in the afternoon. So, I attribute the weight loss since leaving Mexico (perhaps 15 lbs or so) to the alcohol. Also, I am constantly exercising at sea, keeping my balance and flexing to react to the pitching and rolling of the boat. I feel healthy which is the most important thing.
…. and Sometimes You Eat The Shark
So, I learned some lessons yesterday after loosing three sharks I hooked and after losing a reef fish that I hooked to the sharks before I could land it. Number One, I do not want to hook a six-foot shark. Number Two, whatever I hook, I better land it fast. These lessons taught me that I need to target a small shark, like I used to target trout with my fly rod. I tossed some seven-day-old tuna out a few feet from the boat and I would pull it out again if a big shark took an interest. After the third try, a two and a half foot blacktip shark took the bait, and once hooked, I simply jerked it onto the deck before the other sharks made him their dinner. I got five nice-portioned piece of meat … exactly what I was looking for. I threw the rest of the tuna overboard and thanked the sharks for their service.
Some Days You Eat The Bear And Some Days The Bear Eats You
I tossed a line out with a chunk of six-day-old-tuna. Five minutes later, I had a four-foot blacktip shark on the line. It moved deliberately and cut the line on what I believe was the boat’s prop. I had been using the spinning rod. I moved to the open reel and put on a heave steel leader before trying again. Within a couple of minutes I had another strike … not a shark, it seemed like some sort of large reef fish, but the hook did not set. I went to look for my gaff and could not find it. I fear I left it on the deck when I caught the tuna and it got washed overboard. Since it was dark, I might not even noticed. I put a stronger steel leader on the line and just 20 minutes after starting, I had my second four-foot blacktip shark on the line. I fought it about 10 minutes and had it by the side of the boat when it bit clean through the steel leader. I fabricated a leader out of stainless steel wire and tried one last time. Within a minute there was a strike. By the time I got it to the surface, it was just a head. I had caught a good-sized reef fish, some sort of bass, but the sharks had made short work of it. By now the sharks were in a frenzy. I threw what was left of my fish in the water and they caught over it, some leaping out of the water. It was time to call it a day. I’ll try tomorrow when things settle down.
