At Sea

I am invited on a deep sea fishing trip by the MD of the company I am consulting to. As a consultant, I cannot say no. So I say yes! I am not a fisherman at all, and I certainly have never been out to sea to catch fish, normally I skate over them all on my surfboard.

I gingerly take a motion sickness prevention tablet the night before the trip, just as the instruction packet tells me to do. Our rendezvous at a fishing lodge on the Kwanza River, some distance away requires me to get up with the birds in the darkness, again. One normally gets up this early to join everyone else dodging traffic, so as to all be late at work together. I take another tablet and hope for the best. I do not want to spend the day at sea, puking over the side of our craft.

The fishing lodge is very rustic and beautifully nestled on the banks of this river. I pack in a good breakfast of jam sandwiches and avocado toast, as one does before setting off to sea! I am not worried about the fish; instead I am very worried about my ability to ride the waves.

Our craft is an oversized motorboat with two 150HP motors on the back. It bristles with fishing rods and tackle. I am no closer to understanding how I will fare. I need to suck it up!

We cruise up the river and then make a run through the waves attacking the shore. They are bigger than I thought, perhaps I could do some surfing in this country. The skipper mistimes a big swell and the boat is launched into the air off its top. We are weightless until we crash down behind the wave. That was fun, I can enjoy this!

Five minutes later and we are out at sea. A clear brown swathe marks the edge of the river outflow with the rest of the sea. This is where we will be fishing. Lines are tossed over the side and some bait fish are caught practically instantaneously. These are then hooked and cast out on special lines for the fish that we are hunting this morning, the mighty Tarpin! A couple of minutes later, one of the rods starts a high pitched whine as fishing line unravels at a mighty speed. Boyce grabs the rod and hangs on for life. After a good 20 minute fight, the fish lies on the water alongside the boat. It is absolutely exhausted, as is Boyce!

We take a picture of Boyce in the water with his fish. This is not a fish you find anywhere and certainly a proud fishing moment. If you are a fisherman of course! The hook is removed and the fish gladly swims off, probably keen for a sleep with its eyes open , safely locked away in its house.

Through the day another Tarpin is caught as well as plenty of King fish and two little Barracudas. Somehow I manage to bring in the Barracudas and some King fish. We release them all back into their watery home and I feel pretty thrilled about having taken part in this game of fish and hook.

Late in the afternoon we make our way back to shore. I am exhausted but excited that both breakfast and lunch stayed down the hatch! My sons will be most proud of me!