August 27, 2007

Yesterday, I fell asleep while I was reading inside the cabin.  When I woke up, I didn’t know where I was.  It was just like when I fall asleep at home in front of the TV!  I was thirsty and had not brushed my teeth.  I was so sleepy and everything felt like a chore.  I went back to sleep.

By morning, the skies were cloudy and the temperature was 27.6C (82F).  The surface of the sea barely had a ripple.  I saw a school of a dozen grey fish.  Then I spotted my first dorado.  Dorados are another name for mahi mahi.  They are a beautiful fish.  They are aggressive and fast.  Their large tail has a v-shape. 

Last time I talked to my friend, Peter Hogg, he said, “You moved south nicely in the last week.  You are doing very well.  But you know what?  You are a lousy fisherman.”  He laughed and I agreed. 

Today I had my chance.  I saw the dorado, swimming lazily with my boat.  I tossed my lure in, but they paid no attention.  On my fourth try, I knew I had their number.  I was going to start pulling as soon as the lure hit the water.  I did just that. “Gotcha!” I lifted a dorato out of the water and pulled it on deck.

I was told that if you pour a little bit of alcohol on the gills of a large fish like a dorado or a tuna, it will slow down.  So I poured a capful of plain vodka inside one gill and it stopped beating its tail.

I cleaned it and boiled chunks with the skin still on.  I removed them from the pot and peeled back the skin.  I ate half of the meat for breakfast and the rest for a late lunch.  When I was finished, I threw the rest back in the water.  I can’t keep it because I don’t have a refrigerator.  I would dry and keep the meat from a larger fish.  I don’t like to waste my catch.