What a mood swing. Even knowing what was in store did not steal from the contrast. Sparing the finer details suffice to say we shipped a lot of water over the top and did plenty of hanging on with both hands up on the bridge. I was commenting yesterday on the fierce beauty of such tempests, and I stand by the notion proffered; but while it does elicit awe and respect, it also gets old in a hurry. No matter how you slice it there is only so much humor in a sound berating.

As is always the case in such conditions I am hyper aware of every detail concerning the performance of the old girl carrying us along. And as always in such conditions I am reminded of, and grateful for, the ability of this boat when the sea state turns dour. Oh she moves alright; she moves plenty. But she moves with it - not against. There is a big difference between bulldozing through and skipping over. As I had to run the last of the battery down on my new handy camera before recharging yesterday, I figured what better way than to set up on the bridge and capture some of the enjoyment to share. If it comes out worthy I'll do just that. At the very least it will serve as a compelling testimonial for the fly home option on these voyages.

In closing the book on this adventure I want to take a step back and extend my sincere gratitude to every participant. In particular, I want to mention Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission senior scientist and Director of the Achotines Laboratory in Panama Vern Scholey for his hard efforts and abundant humor that added a wealth of knowledge and fun during the voyage. I mentioned that Vern and I go back to 2003 and 2004 when Royal Star was in Panama. Both years we volunteered time on Royal Star at the Achotines laboratory for scientists to collect specimens and conduct research. I would encourage all readers to check out the details of Vern's work, and the Achotines lab itself online. It is an amazing facility with a rich history of research on yellowfin tuna and other tropical species. Their live tuna research has yielded a wealth of knowledge about yellowfin tuna behavior and spawning habits as the tuna in the facility perform on cue nightly. I believe one can access information about the Achotines facility through the IATTC website or a Google search online.

Also, I want to thank FIDEMAR representative Manuel Inclan who assisted in measurements and every other detail of the tagging process during the voyage. Additionally, Manuel did find the time, with plenty of encouragement from anglers and crewmen alike, to hook and land several yellowfin tuna on his own providing valuable specimens for tagging in the process; all in a day's work. After seeing thousands upon thousands of tons of tuna landed as observer on commercial tuna vessels over the past twenty plus years, amazingly this was Manuel's first yellowfin tuna ever personally landed. Today's photos feature Manuel in action at Isla Socorro, and with his first rod and reel caught yellowfin tuna. Thanks again to all.

Look for more reports and photos as the boat departs again on Sunday. I will continue the narrative and send the promised full resolution photos beginning Monday.


Tim Ekstrom

Photo Here...


Photo Here...