Another week on the Pacific. After a week full of twists and turns, with the engine and the squalls, we are starting this new section on the right foot. Here, the wind has finally picked up! We have about fifteen knots on the beam and we are making good progress! It's a pleasure to find a good rhythm again.
On the other hand, this Monday also marks the return of Hector. He reappeared in the evening: no doubt, it was him as his missing feather proved it to us. He was hunting flying fish. He was in altitude waiting for his preys to come out of the water: once out, he swooped down, straightened up at the last moment to fly at full speed on them! He was so low that he sometimes touched the top of the waves. Like a high-flying pilot, he followed the fish by following the shape of the sea.
Once launched, he occasionally managed to catch some in mid-air! Impressive. If not, he would straighten up, take 10 meters of altitude and then dive directly into the water; the fatal blow for these poor fish.
He played for about an hour before going to perch on top of the mizzen mast to spend the night. After our adventures last week, we should have known what was going to happen. And yes, after such a good meal, he repainted the deck all night! And the word "repainted" is even an understatement Disgusting! It was everywhere! And the worst was the smell
So, in the morning, we hoisted a flag on top of the mast to scare him away. It's true, we want to be nice, but it was too much!
The next day, here we go again! Another bird came but it was made clear that there was no room for it! He was not happy to be chased and tried to attack the pulley with his beak. He finally left before nightfall; a small victory!
This same day marks the bar of less than 2000 mn of the arrival. A symbolic mark for which we opened a home-made pie to celebrate! For the little story, we had made pies with Lucas in Costa Rica to have fun at sea. Delicious pates of pigs and beef liver.
Delicious in theory, the pâté was not very good in the end! We had obviously put too much liver. We still have some progress to make.
This week also marks the best day of the crossing: half, or 1763 mn. Finally! In two weeks, two days, 2 hours and 50 minutes! Also, we must admit that we had ideal conditions: not too much swell, full wind on the beam with about 13-14 knots. We were fast and comfortable!
So, it was a day of celebration: we filmed this extraordinary day and we ate our pleasure meals! At noon I cooked so it was: aperitif with ham, squids and avocado then, in meal, mashed potato of butternut and sausage confit of papi and grandma. For dessert: watermelon; a delight! We eat almost all the time the same thing, alternating starchy foods (mainly rice and pasta) so it's really nice to have a festive meal from time to time.
The kind of moment that makes everyone smile. In the evening, Lucas was in the kitchen, so it was foie gras as a starter and fried sausages as a main course. Once again it was a moment of shared happiness.
The next day was another day of celebration: it was the day of our Nemo point, the place where we were the farthest from the coast. This time, no particular meal but just the pleasure to think that we were at the place where we would probably be the farthest from the mainland in our whole life. The wind was still at its best and we couldn't see the kilometers passing by.
So, we changed time too. We did not do it according to the time zone but to the sun: before, it went down too late so we rebalanced all that. 9 hours separate us now with La Ciotat, our starting point.
After such a peaceful day, the next day was bound to be a busy one. In the afternoon, Lucas was at the helm and Emilien was resting. All of a sudden, he called me strongly: he told me that we had caught something. Indeed, the rod was well bent and so I ran to reel in the fish. Unfortunately, as soon as I arrived, the animal had broken loose and I reeled in the bait alone. The hook was completely twisted and rusty! So we reeled in a new line with Emilien.
Then, as I was resting, I heard a huge crashing sound followed by a waterfall sound. I got up from the bed, turned around to the kitchen and there, disaster! A monstrous wave had hit us from the side and had gone over the boat. It happens from time to time but the problem was that the kitchen window was open and everything was soaked. I also hear a little scream at the front, coming from Emilien: he too had the window of his room wide open! The poor guy was soaked to the bone, the mattresses were filled with water as well as the cushions and the floor. So we had to mop everything up, and Emilien took out his things that were soaked with water and we put them to dry.
Later that afternoon, while I was watching a show, I heard Emilien running up and waving to me to look outside. He was yelling at me that we had caught something again! He ran past me and threw himself on the reel to block it. I poked my head out of the boat and barely had time to see the animal: a big silver fish.
That's when the battle began. We were making between 6.5 and 8 knots in a rather rough sea and the animal was very lively. We can't see it, but as the rod that was bent in two, the handle vertical and the other end horizontal, could testify, it was pulling hard! During long minutes, Émilien reeled the animal little by little, tiring it out while I equipped myself. With our experience with dolphinfish, I knew that I had to be ready. So I put on my gloves, a life jacket, a knife and a gaff to reel in the fish.
Emilien gave everything he had to bring the beast back, Lucas steered and filmed the scene and I stood on the back platform, harnessed to the boat with the boat hook in hand.
Frankly, with the swell, nothing was simple : when a wave made us go up, the line pulled super hard, and on the other hand, Émilien took advantage of the slope to take back some line. When the fish was about ten meters from the boat, we finally saw it. It was huge! The animal was long and slender, and had silver and blue reflections on its back. It swam with all its body undulating and it was only when it came back to the surface at 5 meters behind the boat that I managed to identify it: a marlin! The majestic animal had bright blue dorsal and caudal fins that were sticking out of the water and we knew that it would not let us do anything.
So we took our courage in both hands. Lucas had succeeded in lowering Noddi's speed and Emilien brought the fish closer with his gaff. So I gave him a powerful blow on the side: nothing. A few moments later, I repeated the action and this time, the gaff stuck in the animal!
Unfortunately, with a powerful tail strike, the marlin broke free and Emilien had to release some ground. It was only a postponement!
A few minutes later, we were in the same situation. This time I managed to hook it firmly in the belly! Filled with adrenaline, I pulled the marlin towards me but the handle of the gaff snapped off! The animal was moving so much and was very heavy! We then saw it go back into the water, still hooked to the line and with the gaff planted. So nothing was lost.
For the last time, Emilien brought our opponent back to us. He looked tired and weak. We knew this was our chance! Once at the back of the platform, I miraculously managed to grab the gaff that had not come off. I was pulling like hell! I also shouted at the same time; I finally felt the animal with all its weight! He was still struggling like a madman and I could feel the twenty kilos at the end of the gaff. I was afraid to lose him again, I was afraid to crash the gaff, I was afraid that his sharp jaw or his backbone would pierce me. I yelled at Emilien to help me because I would have a hard time getting him off the platform. Then, in a fit of rage, we managed to get him on the deck. Immediately, I threw myself on him to stabilize him and prevent him from falling back into the sea. Although he was in a bad way, he was still defending himself very well! So, to put an end to its suffering, we finished the animal with the knife.
We were victorious! After the dolphinfish episode in the Atlantic, we had our revenge. A little wink to Nathanaël, our friend who offered us the gaff in Martinique; he was right, it was essential.
The fish was huge: more than a meter and a half! A deep feeling of respect came out of the scene: he had fought well but this time we were stronger. Then followed a long hour and a half of fishmaking: we gutted it, scaled it and raised a net that we cut into steaks. We try to keep as many as possible in the fridge but the fish is too big. Reluctantly, we decide with Lucas to make an offering to the sea of the remains of the animal. On our side, we had fish for at least 5 to 6 meals! This is what we ate in the evening; marlin with lemon and garlic. Same thing the next day at noon. How good it is to eat fresh fish!
Finally, this day was also good for our average speed: 160mn covered!
The following days were calmer as the wind had changed. So we found ourselves with a light tailwind and not making as much progress as the previous days and the swell made us move around quite a bit. We even lowered the mainsail and used the spinnaker pole on the genoa to tension the genoa. Fortunately, this will only be temporary.
In any case, the marlin was super good! We ate some grilled, in the lemon and in the garlic, in tempura and in ceviche (the Costa Rican influence seems still very present).
At the end of this week, the wind seems to be picking up as expected. We are not so far from the Marquesas Islands and the good mood is still present on board. As a sign, we end this week with a nature show. In the evening, a huge school of dolphins passed around the boat! It was magnificent. They jumped out of the waves and moved forward taking advantage of the swell.
With the sunset, the flame orange reflections on the dark water and the dolphins jumping in the distance, it was like a dream. Fortunately, Lucas filmed (soon available on our YouTube channel) ! A good omen for this fourth week to come.
See you the following week for the continuation of the transpacific.
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