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July 9, 1999

Hawaii to Tarawa Voyage, Update #70

Day 67. Friday, 9 July 1999 0418 GMT
Wind ENE - 4. Heading 280M
Latitude: 01deg 01.811N
Longitude: 176deg 26.744E

For days while trapped in the counter-current I was praying for the wind to come from the ENE. Now when we need an ESE - as predicted by the pilot charts - all we seem to be getting is ENE. Aagh! It must be something to do with the changes in global climate. El Nino washed out our expedition to Peru. Maybe it has returned to haunt us in these last few weeks. If in doubt, blame El Nino.

The main contingent of 16 or so Dorado fish that escorted us over the International Date Line seems to have disappeared. However, the 2 original fish that befriended us in the ITCZ are still around: a large male - 4ft long and perhaps 35lbs, predominantly green in colour, and a smaller female - more blue with distinct white blotches along her back. They are now familiar enough for me to be able to lightly stroke their tails as they swim slowly past the cockpit. Their colours are spectacular: hues of green, blue, yellow and turquoise to name but a few, shifting and changing in the light. At night the fish have the peculiar habit of floating quite still beside the boat with their flat side facing up, as if taking the opportunity to study Moksha and her strange cargo with their one up-turned eye. When the moon is out, its light sets fire to their skin in an incandescent blaze. And then they take the form of shimmering slabs of silver set against twirling galaxies of phosphorescence and the utter blackness of the deep void.

One of the most impressive things about these creatures is their jumping skill. They seem to have 3 main maneuvers: the 'twist 'n slap', the 'lunge 'n lunch' and the good old-fashioned 'belly flop'. The 'twist 'n slap' involves the fish (I am guessing just the male) exiting only part of its body from the water which it then twists and uses to slap its tail onto the surface with a loud report - presumably to let other males in the vicinity know how big and strong it is. The 'lunge and lunch' is the most breathtaking of the three in which the fish will exit the water at full bore while in pursuit of flying fish. But my favorite has to be the 'belly flop' which sees the animal - for no other apparent reason than for its own entertainment - gaining as much 'air' as it can before landing back into the water with a resounding splash. Indeed one of my fondest freeze-frame memories of the voyage will be from a couple of days ago when a large Dorado, silhouetted against the sunset, leapt in a perfect arc over Moksha's bow.

Jason Lewis,
The Moksha motor

Posted on July 9, 1999 5:44 AM