With Tyler home and attending to his father, I had my son fly down to fill in for a week while out of school. Its been a neat to have my son on board. Both of my kids have grown up around boats and it comes to them naturally. Patrick has visited many times during my travels, but has never actually worked for me. It makes me proud to see him work along side me and take pride in the boat.
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| Patrick getting thrown in after catching his first Blue Mar |
Yesterday, we fished the North drop here in the Virgin islands. We invited two crew members from the " Lala" to join us for the day. After departing the dock, we ran 25 miles NW to the drop from Spanish town Virgin Gorda , where we are staying for the weekend. Patrick has fished with me many times, but it always seems like it is when we are traveling before or after a season in a location. He has never caught a blue marlin. Around 11 am We hooked our first Blue. The boss harnessed up and had a good fight in store. The fish never jumped. Instead it went straight down and stayed down. After a lengthy duel, the fish finally came to the surface. It was one of those fights that reminds me of why I prefer to drive the boat rather than turn the handle. after that, there was a long lull. But at around 2, We had a fish come into the spread and knock down a bait. It failed to get hooked but a few seconds later, it piled on the right short and took off jumping. It was a good 300+ lb blue. PAtrick and the guys started clearing lines. But the boss looked at Patrick and said " this one is yours". The fish was steady pealing line off the real and as Patrick harnessed up, The fish was headed for the horizon. We chased that fish about a mile backwards as Patrick sweated and grinder the reel to gain line back. He did a great job and after 24 minutes, we got the release. But then the fish pulled away as we tried to get it along side to get the lure out. The ensuing battle lasted another 35 minutes with the entire crew as siting. Sometimes those fish just don't want to give up. We ended up 2 for 2 on blues. PAtrick was glowing with pride. You could just hear it in his voice the rest of the afternoon. Steve was happy as well. He always says, that he enjoys watching someone get their first as much as catching one himself. ( Thanks boss for letting Patrick get his first) About 10 minutes before we even got to the dock, while still running at 28 knots, I heard Patrick call up from the back deck. He was holding the release flags already attached to the halyard on the out rigger. He wanted to know if he could raise the blue marlin release flags. I grinned at seeing his excitement and pride but told him to hold on till we slowed down. As with anyones first blue, there is two things that happen back at the dock. First- word spreads that someone caught their first, and its always cool to see that person get congratulated as they repeat the story of their epic battle. Second is getting thrown in the water. It is tradition that when one catches their first Blue that they are thrown in at the dock. Patrick in his excitement must have forgotten about that. After tying up, he went to the bow to start washing the boat. I called to him from the dock and said to him, " come check this out" as I pointed at the water under the dock. Steve also asked patrick, " have you every seen that" pointing under the dock. SUCKER!!!!!!! I gave him a shove and he went in. The as he flew into the water, He was saying awwww man! He knew he had been had.
As I said, we are down in Virgin Gorda BVIs right now, The marina we are at is Yacht Harbor in Spanish town. It is a sleepy little marina but well appointed. while here we have also spent time snorkeling and cruising around. With us it is not all about fishing. I love the snorkeling and exploring days. Two days ago, we went down to Bitter end and the boss tried his hand at kite boarding. Tough sport! but the boss impressed us all with his ability to handle the kite in the gusty winds.
Today we are headed back to St Thomas. Its always tough to leave the BVI's but we will be back.
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