There was very little work today. We arose early and were on the water, the Indian Ocean by 6:00AM. Our host has a fishing boat that is about 30 feet long. Fishing is a way of life for those in this coastal town. Each morning, an army of boats-sailboats, small dugout canoes and a variety of others head out into the Indian Ocean to practice a livelihood that has been around for thousands of years. I could easily count dozens of boats leaving the bay for the depths of the ocean.
Our boat is called a dowl. Hanging from the back is a small 15 HP trolling motor. An added "feature" is the sail that is currently wrapped around the mast that is made from a long then tree trunk. The boat has seats along the edge, and I have been told that is has carried close to thirty people in the past. Today, there are only ten. Besides the seven Americans (our host, two college graduates who have been leaving here since February and our four team members) there are three from Mozambique. There is the captain, his first mate and a local believer and teacher in the ESL class.
The captain of the boat is responsible for getting the motor chained to the boat, fueling and driving all day. The first mate handles all other aspects of the trip including dropping the anchor, but most importantly he sits in the bottom of the boat and bales water for the entire day.
Our fishing location is approximately a two-hour boat ride. The seas are very choppy today with ocean spray keep us all soaked for the duration of the trip. The windy day added to the size of the waver that crashed against the boat all day. The front of the boat dipped and rose then crashed into the sea with each passing wave forcing some into the Dramamine pills to keep their equilibrium at bay.
Fishing consisted of trolling lures along an island which was the location for several hours. As the tide sank, it revealed a sandbar where locals would walk from one island to the next transporting goods, setting and catching their own fish in traps. From a distance, the people appeared to be walking in the water as they traveled from one island to the next.
The main fish that was sought was known as "GTs" which stands for grand trevallies. They are known to be very fast and one of the hardest fighting fish in these waters. Our local teacher caught the first of two GTs on the day. Adam caught the second with both weighing approximately 10 lbs. Steven hooked another large fish which he fought for 7-8minutes. This fish tested Steven's strength but eventually broke the 80lb braided test line that was on our reels. Although disappointed, this provided a bit of excitement for the day. Two other fish were caught but were not landed. One of those was a small King Mackerel that fell off right as he was being hoisted into the boat. The day provided only one fearful moment. As we moved closer to the shorter, our boat hit one of the large rocks that lie just below the surface. The tough old boat handled it well, but it did provide a moment of angst.
As we headed back to that bay to end the day, we can say honestly that it was a very exciting adventure. As things quieted down for the trip back, we noticed that our captain had fallen asleep at the helm. His hand was still steady on the motor and pointed back to our bay.
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