Fishing is not my strong suit, despite my epic beard and silly Tilley hat I’ve little (no) experience in fishing, either on a boat nor sitting in the drizzle by a brook. So I bought a book on the subject, the front cover had a picture of a man with a beard, silly hat and big fish… so that should help you narrow it down.

What appealed to me about this particular book was that the author focused on the most effective way to feed people fish on boats. It’s not about sport fishing, to the extent that he doesn’t even recommend using a rod and reel, preferring to trawl with a hand line. Armed with my new found knowledge I wandered into a little fishing shop selling to commercial fishermen in Spain’s Tuna fishing capital – Barbate.

The proprietor took one look at me and promptly laid out the everything I would need with almost little or no prompting. Pausing only briefly at the end of our conversation to inform me that I would catch tuna with this, no problem. For around 80 euros I got, 50m of 150lb (75kg) monofilament, a yoyo (hand lining reel), three 8inch lures, high quality swivels, a Finish filleting knife (they make the best, so i learned) and a few other technical doodads.

The setup is fairly simple. Take a large squid lure with a big hook on a wire leader. Attach swivels to either end of 10m of monofilament (the strong the better). Attach on end of the monofilament line to the leader of the lure. Attach the other end to 5m of very strong end stretchy shock cord which is tied to somewhere on the back of the boat. Throw the above into the sea. Wait. Wait. Panic ‘cos you caught a fish!

The challenge I discovered is what to do next. Getting the fish back onboard requires a gaff (hook on stick), killing the fish requires squirting gin into their gills (surprisedly quick way to go), then you need to cut it up. After my first attempt to fillet a fish on the back of a moving boat Mia bought me a pair of cut proof butchers gloves.

Anyway, all this worked well, we caught fish, it was tasty and huge. Then we left Cape Verdes and in three days we lost three of our four lures. The first was a broken line – something big applied more than 75kg of force to the line. The second was a broken metal wire – I’ve no idea what that breaks at, so I’m thinking the crimped loop in the end pulled out. Finally, something really big bet the cheaper metal connectors that I picked up at a less reputable tackle shop – but still check the photo!

In response I upped my game. The final lure went into the sea with three 75kg lines on the whole run – triple the breaking load. Bring it on. We even attached an empty 5lt water bottle at the end of the line – I was inspired by Jaws.

The good news is that within a few hours we had a bite and a nice little 3kg mahi-mahi was our for the eating. Kevin will be cooking her up for dinner tonight and whatever monster was out there is still out there.

In other news we knocked off another 150 miles in the last 24 hours.

There are as many strategies for provisioning and food preparations as there are boats crossing the Atlantic. Everyone seems to have very strong opinions and are not shy to share them. Some boats leave each person to fend for themselves, others live off tins and dry food only, but most plan either to cook underway or prepare in advance and freeze or vacuum seal things. Thank goodness we fixed the freezer in Addaya in July, we filled it!

Like most of the other family boats, Tina and Katrina and I did a few rounds of shopping. We went to Carrefour early to stock up our stores and to shop for things for cooking. We went to the market for eggs, fruit and vegetables. Both delivered these things straight to the boat. When we had everything put away, we went back for snacks and treats to fill all the storage spaces. We were full to bursting and we still weren’t sure we had enough, because enough also means the correct combination of things.

We started out cooking on board but there are a few problems with this, we have a space shortage, the freezer takes a few days to freeze something solid, and the space where we could prep food is in the main thoroughfare of the boats and Jon and Kevin were fixing things so they were often needing to get through. To save time Tina and I booked an AirBnB to use their kitchen, and while we were there, the washing machine, too. We were invited to use Gus and Elena’s home. It was beautiful and well stocked and the roof top terrace was a giant drying rack. Tina and I made nine different meals for five people and froze them in their freezer. We washed three loads of laundry and all the while had a wonderful time chatting to each other and to Gus who kept things moving by pouring us cava and entertained us. It was fabulous 🙂

Cooking and freezing meals is great for passages and has been working really well. We just choose something from the freezer in the morning. Another thing we prepared before we left was bread in a bag. (It is much easier to measure flour, baking powder and other ingredients when the boat isn’t moving much.) We have been using these almost daily and first the smell of fresh bread and then the taste of the finished product really boost the mood!

We keep bragging about how well we eat and it is largely because of this prep work.

By the way, we clocked another 140 nautical miles today. The sea got a bit rougher when we turned west and we are feeling it, especially when we try to cook something or do the washing up because things are sliding around everywhere.

Another 150 nautical miles behind us and the wind and the waves seem to be coming from the same direction so the ride is a lot more comfortable. We have been fishing but are now down three lures in three days! Jon is determined to get a photo of the sea monster that can chew crimping and snap steel line. We should have stocked up on lures in Mindelo!

Comment from Jon: Whatever is taking our lures is big enough to break 75kg line, steel wire leader crimps and metal swivel shackles respectively. With one big lure left we’re tripling up everything… 225kg of lines. Bring it on.

We continue to have gourmet galley conditions and last night was another highlight! Teo and Tina had opening night of TNT Burger Boat and this is sure to take the world by storm! We had veggie burgers with homemade chips of butternut squash, carrots and potatoes and homemade tatziki. It was incredibly delicious!

Last night we had a magical dolphin show! It was amazing to watch them play at the bow covered in phosphorescent algae, it was like watching stardust. We could see them glowing silver under the water as they swam from one side of the bow to the other and back again. It was a clear sky filled with stars and we saw shooting stars as well. We were mesmerized.

This morning was quiet, but we had breakfast together and have been in contact with Freja, Gorm den Gamle and Anyway. We are now heading WEST and Jon is celebrating reaching the 13 degree latitude by breaking out a Hawaiian shirt, stay tuned for the picture!

Today we clocked 100 nautical miles and are also currently in visual view of our three buddy boats. It’s nice to have their lights keeping us company at night. The wind was a bit light overnight and the sails complained a little. We like to have HAPPY sails and a HAPPY Arthur (our autohelm).

The sun kept us company most of the afternoon and we had another very short dolphin visit. We will hold out for a longer visit tomorrow, and we also hope to catch another fish.

Before we left Santa Cruz, we agreed to each plan a surprise. It is something I learned from a friend that skis across Greenland every spring…thanks Bjørn! Tina unveiled her surprise this afternoon. She brought beads and cord and letters to make bracelets. It was fun and kept us amused for hours.

For dinner we tucked into the freezer and made veggie lasagna that was out of this world! Before we left, we used Gus and Elena’s kitchen to make and freeze meals for our trip. It was a fun and exhausting day and it is paying off now!

Teo used the VHF radio to warn the other boats to look out for squalls. He called them, “little storms that sneak up on you”. Everyone promised they would pay close attention.

We did a great school session this morning and Teo was singing a song that was mostly, “school is fun, and I love it” which is music to this mamma’s ears.

A little short of wind so not very many miles in the last 24h, but we’re getting there!

We logged 130 nautical miles and our little fleet have been sticking together. It’s nice to hear how everyone is getting on and Hakuna Matata play us their song every day. Plus the kids check on each other on the VHF radio. We had a nice sunshiny afternoon and there was some napping because none of us slept great the night before. We saw some sea birds and continue to try to help with the research (www.birdingaboard.org) but it is hard to get decent photographs. We also had a micro visit from dolphins, we believe they are coming back tomorrow. Also, the fish are waiting for tomorrow which is nice because it is too rolly to clean them…

I would like to share Teo’s radio call just now. “This is Itchy Foot, we are having a party onboard with flashing lights and everything. Everyone is invited. I repeat, nevermind. OVER”. I am not sure the RYA would approve, but it is a start.

I think everyone has been stealing a little extra sleep, keeping your balance with all the rocking and rolling takes its toll… This morning we listened to loud music and Jon made bread, yum yum, the smell of fresh baking bread is divine!! We are working our way through the melon carnage so it was banana pancakes and Elvis specials (grilled banana and peanut butter sandwiches) for lunch. I don’t think any of us will be gaunt by the time we arrive.

Attached is a picture Teo drew of all the boats in out little fleet, Barbados 50, Fleet 3.

We really liked what we saw of the Cape Verde islands, and it was wonderful to enjoy a taste of Africa. Also it was amazing to have so many kids around for Teo to play with, he spent lots of time with the kids from Gorm den Gamle and Freya. They visited each other, had movie dates and we even went to the beach. When it was hard to match Danish and English they played LEGO or Minecraft or did some fishing. And we also finally connected with kids from Emerald Bay, Blue Zulu and Dana de Mer which was great because English made it easier for Teo to talk to kids his own age as well. We had another trip to the beach and we had a ball swimming with the dogs and making survival bracelets. Teo is spending time with so many amazing kids!

As much as we liked the place and all the fun we had, the wind forecast was good and it was time to go! We arranged to leave with four other boats (Freya, Gorm den Gamle, Anyway and Hakuna Matata) at noon, our Atlantic Odyssey, Take Two. Emerald Bay, Blue Zulu and Dana de Mer had similar plans and we hope to see more of them over there!

Our first day was mostly unsettled winds, confused seas and more bumps and bruises. It is very nice to have contact with the other boats and we spoke about sail configuration and our routes. It’s fun to be in contact and at night to see everyone’s lights. The unsettled sea state also pushed the melons too far and they beat up all the other fruit and veg in the net. A papaya took it particularly badly and exploded everywhere. The melons have been separated and are having a time out until they can learn to behave and play nicely with others.

We had some wind shifts in the night but are back on a good course this morning. We have just put out our fishing line and checked our progress which is drum roll please…130 nautical miles in the last (a little less than) 24 hours