We managed to spend our remaining bolivars in the supermarket in Grand Roque. Without really bothering with prices we just picked up things that we fancied. At the till we figured out what we had left then added three bottles of wine and a cloth and were down to less than a bolivar.
Back on the boat we were keen to leave as the anchorage was quite choppy. We left in 20 knots of wind with one reef in the main. Even though it was a short trip we made a lot of energy as we went, probably making up for the few minutes we were under motor. At times we were making 1.5kW on the regen.
I put out one handline using a surface lure. About 2/3 of the way, having just decided our meal plan for the day, we picked up a barracuda. I hauled it in and sprayed it’s gills with rum. This was the first time we used a vaporizer that we’d bought in a garden section of a store in Grenada. It worked very well – perhaps also because Helen had stuck some of our Rivers Rum in their – 71% alcohol by volume. The cuda went out like a light. I cut the arteries behind it’s fins but there was no bleeding.
As there was not much time left we dumped the fish into a bowl and made for our anchorage. We anchored in about 25 knots of wind all on the electric. Our anchor dragged back towards some other boats before biting hard with enough distance to keep us all safe. Then it was preparing the fish for the grill: descaling, gutting and head/tail removal. The meat left weighed 2lb which was more than enough for a big meal. Onto the grill it went and 20 minutes later we had a delicious lunch.
The afternoon went to pattern. We rested then snorkeled. The nearby reef wasn’t too spectacular and was also rather shallow. We did see some midnight parrot fish for the first time which thrilled us both.
The evening went by with reading, a light supper and watching a show on the computer.
Leave a Reply