TUNA (Ensenada de los Muertos)

Feb 15 - 19, 2012

We left for Ensenada de los Muertos bright and early (4 am). The seas were very lumpy, we were close-hauled and we were fighting the current, so it wasn’t a pleasant ride. Chris and I were both feeling a bit queasy and getting splashed by spray in the cockpit. We were motor sailing so that we could make some progress. But for whatever reason, we were both in a very goofy and happy mood. We would randomly yell out to the seas phrases such as “monkeys”, “yeahng” and “living the dream” and find it absolutely hilarious.

By noon the tide started to switch in our favor and the seas calmed, so we could finally turn off the engine. It’s such a wonderful feeling to pull the kill switch and just hear the sound of water rushing past Starship’s hull.

With the engine off and both of us feeling better, I decided to try our luck at fishing. 10 minutes after we dropped in our lure the rod started screeching. Oh goodness….what are we supposed to do now? Chris started to reel in the fish as I grabbed our limited supplies (net, club, knives) and our fishing book. We finally got the fish by the boat, but getting it on board was quite the ordeal. Every time the net would touch the fish it would jump out. Maybe we should have gotten one of those gaff things. It didn’t help that Starship was still sailing along at 5 knots. Next time we should definitely heave-to or at least slow down the boat A LOT when we’re trying to get a fish on board. With the fish finally on board, I clubbed it, covered it with a damp towel and started to frantically read the “how to clean a tuna” pages. Cleaning a fish for the first time was an interesting experience, especially aboard a heeled sailboat, but I think I did pretty well. I highly recommend “The Cruiser’s Handbook for Fishing” by Scott and Wendy Bannerot, the detailed picture instructions were great and the book has lots of good recipes as well.

Chris was often nowhere to be found during the cleaning process, but he was very happy to eat the tuna afterwards :) It was a thrilling experience to catch, clean and prepare a fish aboard Starship. I hope this is the start of lots more catches to come.

In Ensenada de los Muertos there was a stiff off-shore breeze…perfect for dingy kitesurfing. It was pretty gusty, so it ranged between the kite falling out of the sky to terrifyingly holding on for dear life. Very exhausting and fun!

We also tried to unsuccessfully score some showers at a hotel near by. After asking the manager, she looked at us pretty strangely and said, “WHERE are you coming from?” At least we got to use the Internet and drink a few beers (Thanks for the Valentine’s day gift Herb and Michelle!).

The hotel was gorgeous and had a crazy train display. It was really sad to learn that they had absolutely no guests. The economy and US ban on travel to Mexico has been devastating….