The one that got away

 Early yesterday we were hailed on the radio by Bob. He has a great view of the Atlantic from Atlantic Horizons http://www.hopetown.com/rentalsearch/atlantic-horizons so he knew the ocean was in a cooperative state for fishing. I think I hesitated about a millisecond before saying well..... ok.... if you insist. Since we don't have a center console here invitations like this are really appreciated. We can get around on the dink but the weather has to be perfect, and Freedom is not a boat to take on the Ocean for the purpose of fishing. In 2-3 foot seas a fishing drift will rock most into a state better left near the side rails or a bucket. So we dug out some gear and waited. 
 After a while Bob showed up at Sea Spray with Ridge Runner which is a 24 Stamas with a 250 Suzuki 4 stroke outboard. We loaded up and set out for Tilloo cut at a good pace. The engine was smooth and quiet and the ride was good. Passing by Cracker P's we could see the cut over the beach at Tahiti and it looked a bit rough. After going around Cooper Jacks Cay and arriving at the cut we were greeted by 3 to 4 foot swells about a couple of seconds apart. Just enough to get a roller coaster scream out of Deb. But these soon passed and we found ourselves out on the Atlantic with gentle rollers passing under the boat smoothly. The water and sky were clear and the sun was up. We hoped the fish were biting.
 After a short ride Bob shut everything down and we started a drift. As we drifted North East (see http://home.roadrunner.com/~danmapes/Voyage1011.kmz track named Out Tilloo Cut Fishing and In Tilloo Cut from Fishing) luck was with us and we hooked up several grouper and stashed them away in the live well. One was rather small and foul hooked so we decided to use it for bait.
 After a while my line went tight and heavy. After about a minute or so I had a 3 or 4 foot lemon shark next to the boat. At this point Deb decided the other side of the boat was a more appropriate place to sit. But the shark shook the bait loose and went about it's business of looking for another bit of food. Since the bait was still on the hook and Bob thought the shark was good eating we elected to re-hook the fish since it was loitering in the area. While we were talking about it the fish passed within a few feet of the boat several times. So Bob and I both put our lines in and sure enough I re-hooked the shark. This time the hook was well set and the fight resumed.

 The shark ran off line a few times and then predictably tired. It was perhaps 5 feet under the boat in front of me and moved towards the bow and under the boat. So I ran forward to resume the struggle and turn the shark back. Just as I had it turned the leader snapped and the shark got away. Steel leaders are a good thing, nylon leaders are not. 

 After this we returned back to Tilloo cut which at first appeared quite imposing with waves breaking across the cut. As we approached it though the water appeared to lay down but I think the initial impression was probably caused by the angle we originally viewed the cut from. It looked like it was breaking all the way across but soon enough as we got closer the center opened up and we rode the waves back in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzk9u2HClLA
 Once inside the cut Deb's face lightened up considerably. All in all her first experience in a small boat on the Ocean went really well and she enjoyed it. It left her thinking that running down to the Exumas on Freedom might not be such an ordeal after all.
 After all of this adventure Deb fried up some fish and we had a bit to eat. Then it was off to the SOTs get together for a libation and gathering of friends at the end of a great day in Abaco. The folks at Sea Spray put on a terrific spread of appetizers and there was plenty for everyone to have. And people have to ask why we like staying here...

 I've loaded up some more photos at http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh40/danno53/Boating%202010-2011/ and the GPS tracks link is available here as well.