Day 182, Year 5: BIG Yellowfin and Visiting Takamaka
Date: Monday, April 26, 2010
Weather: Beautiful Day
Location: Ile Fouquet, Salomon Atoll, Chagos
An early morning fishing expedition resulted in a whopper of a yellowfin tuna. Ed caught this one and it was big enough to feed all five boats in the anchorage here for two days. So we will definitely have sushi tonight. Ahi is the name for yellowfin tuna in Hawaii and the Portuguese call it atum albacora, whereas the Japanese refer to it as kiwadamaguro. These fish have long bright yellow dorsal fins and a yellow stripe down their steel-blue backs. When caught and canned, they are referred to as “light” tuna. But we know first hand that it makes great sushi. So tonight we went to Constance for sundowners and we took sushi and sashimi and Chagos rum punch. John and Susan Margaret from the boat named Susan Margaret joined us. John is from the UK and Sue is originally from Durban in South Africa. They met climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and then both worked in Dubai. They have been to Chagos before and have sailed the Persian Gulf. This year they are headed to Madagascar and then on to South Africa. They are not leaving here until sometime in late June, but I’m sure we will see them again in Madagascar.
In the afternoon, Mark, Ed, and I headed out in the dinghy to Takamaka to burn garbage and get water. We took the dinghy into the pass between the Ile Fouquet and Ile Takamaka and wove our way through the coral. When we got almost to the southern tip of the Takamaka, we turned and motored north along the shore. The water was probably about three feet deep all along the shore. We first came to a 55 gallon drum on the shore that has been placed there for burning garbage, so we did just that. Then we continued on until we came to a break in the greenery. We brought the dinghy up on shore and took our water jugs inland a bit. We got water but it smells a bit Sulphurous and there are a few leaves and twigs mixed in. John and Sue tell us we will also find mosquito larvae in it, so I might only use this for washing clothes, certainly not for washing dishes. We’ll have to see if it is okay for showers, but every little bit keeps us from running the watermaker and that saves fuel. The highlight of the trip was the sighting of two beautiful rays. The first one was small and black but we were amazed by how fast it moved away from us. The second was a large ray with at least a six-foot wing span. It moved much slower and was so graceful as it swam by the dinghy. What a treat to see such beautiful animals. We feel so privileged to be here. It is just impossible to describe in words how beautiful it is.
Tomorrow is an in-the-water day. We hope to snorkel in between cleaning the waterline of Windbird. It has started to grow a lovely green algae that needs to be removed ASAP.
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| 100426 Day 182a Salomon, Chagos–Underwater at Ile Fouquet |
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| 100426 Day 182b Salomon, Chagos–The BIG Yellowfin Tuna |
