Boom De Yada: Our first good catch(es)

While snorhelling around Chub Cay, I found a Conch, brought it back to the boat for my first attempt to remove the conch from his shell.

Not much left of the conch.

All you have to do is hit by the thrid knuckle, insert a knife to cut the muscle attaching hm to the shell, then he slides out easy...that's in theory anyway. I practically smashed the whole shell trying to get him out. He didn't come out easy, only in two pieces as well. LOL On the bright side, the conch salad was enjoyed by all.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. We topped up with fuel, chatted with the three other boats and we all set out. The seas were calm, winds were good and we set out full sails, making way at 8mph...ETA at Nassau is 15:30. We settled in for the crossing and I yelled out, “Ballywoooo” (frozen bait fish for catching tuna, wahoo, mahi mahi), Wally laughed and I jumped to get one out of the freezer. Shortly we were trolling in waters that were 3000 feet deep.

One on the line as Wally is ready with the gaf

Once in a while, I would check the bait dragging 100 feet behind us and shake off some seaweed when necessary. About 16 miles out of Nassau, I reeled in the Ballywoo that had been dragging for 25 miles...all looked good so I opened the bail to let the line out. As I watched it go out, I saw movement on the surface coming for the bait. I flipped the bail closed in hopes that something was going to hit and it did! The reel was zinging out line. I tightened the drag and fought...it was a big one. As I pulled him up to the side of the boat we could see it was a dolphin (a.k.a. Mahi Mahi; not the ‘Flipper’ type)...Wally ready with the gaf. I made the mistake and reeeled the spinner through the first eye of the rod...snip...I sat back in silence as I watched this beautiful flouresent green fish slowly swim away, not realizing what had just happened to him...much like myself!

A beautiful Mahi Mahi

I cursed myself, then had to let it go and reload. Forty five minutes later, ziiinngg...Wally’s turn to reel it in. This time we landed the dolphin; 3-4 feet, 20-25lbs. It was 60 minutes from the time we hooked it to cutting into steaks and fillets...fresh dolphin for dinner tonight! Julie did a great job keeping us on course while we took care of our catch....she wasn't sure after watching the proceedings that she was going to eat any....but she soon forgot the catch and we all enjoyed our first dolphin together.

Entering Nassau Harbour

We entered Nassau’s mainport, hailed the Nassau Harbour Control to obtain approval and clearance for entering the harbour, then passed 3 cruise ships and anchored west of the Paradise Island bridges. The winds were calm as we celebrated our arrival with, yes, a rum! What a euphoric moment...anchored in Nassau...30 miles to go to the Exumas!!

It was Tuesday, the kind of weather day that most boaters plan around...they plan to be somewhere safe as winds are continuing to build throughout the day...expected to be 28knts, gusting to 35knts for the next 30 hours @ near gale windspeed. We are in 9ft of water with about 100ft of chain out...not a problem.

Anchored safely in Nassau

With crime being a major concern here, Wally stays aborad while Julie and I dinghy ashore for groceries and a voice & data plan from Bahamas Tel. We bring our handheld VHF radio so we can communicate with Wally. In the grocery, cauliflower is $6.44 a head, a case of coke is $15, one apple is $2.50. After accomplishing our mission and arriving back at the boat, the winds are building out of the west. We decide to move to the east side of the bridges for better wind and wave protection. It is better, but our depth is now 24ft instead of the 9ft we were at….we need to put out a lot more rode...minimum 125ft of ⅜” chain....our handheld GPS indicates that we are holding firm.