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... French wine!
gave up anchoring here a long time ago; they tie up in single file to a mooring line equipped with floats and attached to a solid chain passed around a rock ashore. I saw the base’s orange inflatable approaching, from one of the fishing boats. There were two men aboard: they greeted us and brought us a bowl full of crayfish! We exchanged a few words in Brazilian, and they left with two bottles of French wine,
and the line was running out into the sea at a speed which made me fear the same scenario as previously: breakage, loss of equipment, and a heartbroken fisherman... I ran to tighten the brake and noticed that the reel was burning hot! There was a big fish, a very big fish, on the end of the line! The crew was called to action urgently. We stopped the boat, head to wind. We had to tire the animal, then tire it some more, and count on its resignation, as long as it hadn’t seen the boat. I re-adjusted the brake, so that the line could run out again if the fish showed renewed energy, then took the line in gently, patiently, hand over hand, never releasing the tension. From time to time, a sudden jerk took back a few metres of line, but after 10 to 15 minutes the catch was just a few dozen metres away. I took advantage of the moment to load the first speargun, then the second, which was even more powerful. Several sea birds were following the catch closely; they remained just above the fish, which showed us its precise position. The animal finally appeared in the troughs of the waves, brown coloured, unknown identity for the moment, but big. I feared the final phase, which often provokes violent reactions from fish trapped by the lure. When the animal was about fifteen metres away, I caught a glimpse of its bill and dorsal fin, and thought at first it was a marlin. Having seen the monster’s streamlined appendage, I put on a pair of Docksides,
The ocean swell, often measuring 3 to 4 metres, even in fine weather, turns the place into a giant, impressive-looking cauldron..
grinning. An amazing encounter in the middle of nowhere. We observed the surroundings for ten more minutes, then waved to our hosts, quietly hoisted the sails and set off towards the south-west again. Everyone aboard will remember this day, which the place’s originality would turn into lasting memories of an exceptional moment. The south-easterly trade winds were blowing; we sped at 8/9 knots towards Fernando do Noronha, 325 miles to the south-west. I said to myself that this was right moment to trail the fishing lines to try and break the spell which had seen us lose several big fish and some equipment since our departure from Casamance. Suddenly, the starboard reel, whose line was equipped with a nice blue octopus and a robust reel, began an incredible sequence of veering: the brake was crackling continuously, the rod was bent almost to breaking point,
A 2.6m sail fish!
then hauled in the last few metres. To my great surprise, the fish was swimming on its side, with its fin horizontal, and was hardly putting up a fight, luckily for me. It had fought hard, especially when the boat was still sailing fast. It was almost dead, drowned. Too late to let it go. It was a splendid sail fish, with a huge sail. I hauled it over the sugar scoop, with difficulty. Getting it onto the starboard hull was to be even more difficult: it was 2.26m long! The Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago was still visible a few miles astern. ‘Jangada’ was turned into a factory-ship for the afternoon! The 2 pressure cookers purred away all night, perfuming the saloon with the lingering smell of the big fish. In the evening, we crossed the equator: we were all watching the GPS screen, counting down the last tenths of a mile before moving into the southern hemisphere. The end of a day which had been very emotional, Jangada’s cockpit suddenly became a frantic dance floor. On the iPod, the Captain played some legendary rock and roll, and the crew really let their hair down! That evening, all of us had the impression of living intensely…
Jangada’s adventures continue in the next Multihulls 9 World.