Saturday, 19 November 2016

Leg 3 Ha-Ha: Bahia Santa Maria to Cabo San Lucas


For a sailor, leg 3 had little to speak for itself. Almost no wind and any plan to sail the course instead of motor would be likely to add many hours to the trip.  Mr. Skipper knew better than that.  As a child he had dutifully read in  his comic books the histories of human folly; knowing exactly what excessive en-route passage time might now do to his new-found stature among the crew as a stone-jawed leader of ships, the skipper acted.   The tropical Mecca of Cabo awaited and without further hesitation we motored straight there.  

We had not heretofore been much diligent in the streaming of fishing tackle, but out went the gear, with the crew hoping that the squid-like contraptions meant for northern Californian coastal tuna had something like the right colours for fish catching in Baja Mexico.  A long day and night produced nothing.  But closing the Cape in the first of the morning light we caught a Mahi Mahi.  He was brought alongside, promptly dispatched with a shot of tequila in the gills, and made into two nice fillets.

Next up was the biggest sailfish I have ever hooked.  Note that skipper has never before hooked a sailfish.  But he was truly a monster and he peeled out a prodigious amount of line, jumping and splashing far behind the boat.  Alas, the skill of the skipper was insufficient to keep the monster sailfish on the line.  In a feat of true fish magicianship, the magnificently adorned beast twisted and turned and jumped and somehow removed the hook completely from the line swivel so as to free himself.  Skipper is confused by how this remarkable act of contortion could have been achieved by the fish but does suspect it might have something to do with holder of rod not following the admonition “keep your line tight”.

Before we knew it we were around the corner of the cape and in view of the iconic rocks of Cabo San Lucas.  The voyage of the Ha Ha was at an end, captioned upon arrival by the prompt introduction of a nifty little stomach bug into the skipper’s bowels.  After all, every great feat of seamanship deserves its reward!

A shout out to the wonderful 2016 Ha Ha crew aboard Anduril:  Adrian and Gabor, it really was a lot of fun.  Join us again somewhere down the track.

.........Greg



Start of Leg 3.













The rocks of Cabo San Lucas





Fresh fruit breakfast in Cabo San Lucas.

1 comment: