Day 103 - Fish On! — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased $0, slip fee $133, daily high temperature 80*f, daily low temperature 70*f

We awoke to pouring rain. The plan is to go fishing at 9:00 am. Tom and Maryann were caught in the rain walking over from the Southernmost hotel and ducked into Sloppy Joe’s until it let up. Tom, Dale and John headed over to the dock where the Tortuga IV is berthed. Twenty other hopefuls lined up with us to go on a half day fishing trip. The boat holds fifty fisherpersons so we were not crowded. I grabbed a corner in the stern. Always a lucky spot. The mate Ed took up a collection of $5 per person to be awarded to the lucky fisherperson that catches the largest edible fish. A $70 cash prize. The boat cruised out seven miles and dropped anchor on top of the mother load of reef fish. We were fishing with squid and minnows for bait. As soon as our lines reached the bottom we were hauling in the fish. In order to keep track of whose fish is whose the mate makes a unique cut on each fish. Our mark was three cuts on the head. The mate Ed, called it a cut in the dome so we could take our fish home. We slayed the yellow-tail and grunts. There was only one fish large enough to require a net. It was a mangrove snapper that won the biggest edible fish contest. Yes, it was my fish. There were numerous rain storms in the area but they all passed around us and dumped on Key West.

Tortuga IV

The three amigos John, Tom and Dale

Bucket loads of yellow-tail snapper

Mangrove snapper – biggest fish contest winner

Tom and Maryann came over for docktails and we took our fish to Dante’s, a local restaurant, to have it cooked for dinner. They change $8.95 per person to cook the fish we caught with one side dish per person. We had the yellow tail grilled and blackened and the mangrove grouper fried. Delicious!

A storm front blew through as we were having dinner, so we picked up and moved our table so we could get out of the rain. Tomorrow is Marryann’s birthday so Tom bought key lime for our table to celebrate. It is a blowy northerly storm. A very good night to not be on the hook. We calculated that for the 103 nights we have been on this trip,we have been on the hook 4 nights. I guess we like being plugged in.

Bonus photo by Priscilla – a study in gray.

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day

The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.” – Robert Wyland

Renowned marine life artist Robert Wyland changed the way people think about our environment when he started painting life-size whales on the sides of buildings in the 1980s. Wyland always thought big. And he never stopped. Today, the Wyland name has become synonymous with the new generation of awareness about environmental conservation. Through his unique marine life paintings, sculptures, and photography, Wyland has inspired a generation about the importance of marine life conservation.