the fastest fish in the world

Belize to Panama (Day 4) - Offshore of Northern Honduras - Heading South-East

Having got off watch at midnight, I get a “proper” night of sleep for the first time this passage - almost eight hours uninterrupted. I emerge from my cabin bright-eyed, well in advance of my watch, which begins at 0800.

Charles rounds up the crew for a briefing. Over the next forty-eight hours, we must be more vigilant than usual, because we will be sailing through pirate waters. Our route is a conservative one: we are 100 nautical miles offshore, and have put 40 nautical miles between us and the report of piracy which is furthest offshore. And we have gone dark - nobody can see us on AIS, and no lights at night. Nevertheless, the risk remains. The best form of defence is to keep a good watch. That means a frequent and full horizon scan, and checking the radar regularly for any sign of other vessels. If we spot any light on the horizon or a blob on the radar which isn’t obviously a cargo ship or a squall, we must wake Charles. We will then alter course and try to outrun them, manoeuvring in weird and unpredictable ways.

But we don’t make it through the full briefing. Click, click, click, click, click goes the fishing line. It’s quite a fight, and takes considerable teamwork from Charles, Ben and Sam to reel it in closer. It’s a sailfish! And though it’s perhaps the largest fish we have caught so far, it’s only a baby. We decide to let it go. Although this requires quite some effort, trying to remove the hook without becoming impaled by its spike of a bill, as it wrestles, trying to free itself. We later discover that sailfish are the fastest fish in the ocean, and can reach speeds of 68 miles per hour. Mad that we got to see one up close!

Not long we release it, we hear the fishing line go again. We are hoping that it’s not the same sailfish; a dose of deja vu thinking back to that tuna we kept catching time and time again on passage from Florida to Mexico. It’s a false alarm: just a plastic bag.

My watch passes quickly. It’s easygoing helming.

After my watch, I start practising my super speedy bowlines. I struggle with the traditional “round the tree, through the rabbit hole” method. But these ones - slipknot bowlines - allow me to get into a state of flow. I don’t need to think, just get into a rhythm and do. After a little trial and error, I can do it both ways, with either hand, eyes closed. Now just to test this skill in situ!

All afternoon, I have a headache that I just cannot shake. I’m drinking a litre of water every few hours, but perhaps I am still dehydrated? My whole body remains stiff from a lack of movement (545 steps today - that’s quite a lot!) whilst overcompensating to try remain steady as the boat heels and dances about in the waves. So, I decide to head forward to the shrouds and use it to steady myself as I contort my body into a range of stretches. It does the trick. My headache fades.

We are treated to a pretty sunset. After a delicious chilli con carne for dinner, I head to the bow for a warm shower. Glorious! I feel human again. Yet another luxury I used to take forgranted.

Fresh and sleepy, I get my head down. We are still at quite a heel, but manage to get a few hours in before my next watch.