Happy Days are Here Again and "Fish On"!

After I got the grim news from Scoots that we were in a gigantic rectangle of squally doom (500 mi x 200 mi) I went off watch at 9:00 p.m. and hit the pillow hard. It was still pouring rain but I had to ignore the drips in order to rest. I got up 6 hours later for the 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. watch and I was surprised to observe that the rain had stopped and I could see...wait for it...FIVE stars in the sky! It was pleasant outside, a bit damp, the sky was still filled with clouds, but I could see part of the moon peeking out between some clouds which was encouraging. I never bothered to wear my jacket during that watch, just my foulie longjohns with jog bra and I was perfectly comfortable. At 6:00 I went below to start the radio net and Vandy on Scoots had just downloaded updated weather info - the black wall of squall had moved and we were popping out of the bottom. Hooray!! Bruce, just coming on watch, was happy to hear the news. Later, when it was time for Tom's watch he stumbled by and read my 6:00 a.m. log: "Pleasant weather. No rain. Some stars and a moonset. Is this for real?" Better believe it baby, our weather had improved and the sun was out.

A couple of hours later Tom and I raised the mainsail above the 3rd reef to inspect the damaged mainsail. Wonder of wonders, the patches held. They weren't beautiful, and a couple of the corners weren't sticking down (not a surprise as the sail was rather damp), but miraculously the patches seemed to be holding the most important parts together.

We all perked up a bit after some rest and nice weather. The fishing lines went out, a bit of boat clean up was in order, and we enjoyed showers on the back deck. Divine!!

As the day was cooling off (from 95 to 93) I was even planning to have a real dinner again, Mac 'N Cheese and cole slaw. I got the slaw made and was just starting in on heating up the casserole (already prepped and frozen) when I heard yelling from the back of the boat. "Fish on!!!" Well, that got everybody hopping. I was out of the kitchen and Tom was out of his bunk as Bruce was on the stern reeling in his catch. Not a huge fish, but a 4' wahoo which would make at least three meals for us. Hooray!! Out came the gaff and filet gear, out came the camera, the Mac 'N Cheese went back in the freezer, and out came the prepped and frozen Jambalaya. Interesting food chain note, we found a baby blue fin tuna inside Mr. Wahoo's stomach.

By the time the guys had cleaned the fish I was ready to dredge the filets in blackening spice and throw them in the pan. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner of 2 hr old Wahoo, blackened, on Jambalaya with cole slaw. It was delicious! I even managed to miss my evening radio net for the first time as I was preoccupied with stuffing my face and enjoying the sunset. We splurged and enjoyed some ice cold Negra Modelos with dinner.