We pulled anchor in Magdelana Bay mid-morning heading for Cabo San Lucas. We were leaving later than planned and the bay is large so we decided to motor out. It also meant we would not have to deal with the fluctuating wind directions caused by the hills surrounding the bay.
I decided to try out my new fishing gear. Having gear designed to drag behind the boat made it easy. The gear had a 6 inch wheel holding the line. From that was a piece of heavy line to tie off on a cleat. The fishing line had a loop with a bungee cord attached that was also attached to the wheel. When a fish grabbed the hook the line went out and stretched the bungee. This let you know you had hooked something. Further north we had had hooked kelp so we knew what it would look like. I looked at my four large lures trying to remember what the store clerk had told me. Different colors attracted different fish. Finally picked one and attached it to the swivel. Tossed it over and now I was fishing.
Soon we passed the mouth of the bay and raised the sails and turned the engine off. Ahhh the sound of the wind. Much better than the engine. The wind was favorable to sail a broad reach, a comfortable point of sail. Just as we settled in I looked at the fishing line. I had a fish. I started rolling the line up and found it difficult so Dave helped. Still we could not get it in. Dave adjusted the sails to spil some wind to slow us down. Now we were able to pull the fish close up enough to see it. It was big! Dave got the gaff your to try to pick it but but could not get it. He decided to start the engine and roll in the sails to get us farther from shore. I just held on to my fish. Once we were farther from shore and the autopilot was set we returned our attention to the fish. This time Dave was able to use the hook on the gaffe to grab it in the gills. We worked it around to the swim step where Dave could put a rope loop around the tail. Now we knew we would not lose it. If we had any thoughts about releasing it that time was long past. The poor fish was already dead. We were able to bleed it some with a slash behind the gills.
Now it was picture time. It was heavy and big and obviously a yellow tail. That is a type of tuna so good eating. I think Dave was as excited as I was. Our bargain had always been that I could fish as much as I wanted but I also had to clean it. I had a cutting board that fit over the sink so could scrape things directly into the sink. This fish was way too big. So back to the cockpit. I ended up kneeling on the deck to work. Dave did help me cut off the head. Once I got the messy part finished I could work in the galley. First came a big clean up. Using salt water and a bucket we finally got it clean. However salt water can make the the deck slippery. Using the fresh water shower for a final rinse we were then set.
Now we could put the sails back up and be on our way. We checked our course and checked again our estimated arrival in Cabo. It is important to try to arrive in an unfamiliar port during daylight. Everything looked good so now it was lunch. Guess what we had. Seared in sesame oil it was fantastic.
Now I had to figure out what to do with the rest. Our freezer could keep things frozen but could not really freeze food. I cut some nice steaks and put in vaccuum sealed bag that then went in the bottom of the freezer hoping the vaccuum pack would help preserve it. The pressure cooker made quick work of cooking some for sandwiches later. That also went in a vaccuum bag. Thank goodness for the vaccuum sealer. Since I used my favorite cooking method for fish at lunch I had to think of something different for dinner. Dave loved capers so I baked it in a lemon wine sauce and stirred in capers at the end. That was okay comes out better on sole or other white fish. Back to the old favorite the next night.
Lesson number whatever. Don't fish unless going into an anchorage that night. Need to have people to share with.
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