The day of return and unloading carries a unique satisfaction understood only by those who have ventured a cruise on the high seas; fishing or otherwise. Relative to fishing voyages the culmination of our efforts is revealed in the form of beautiful product coming out of the holds in extraordinary condition. Though I have done plenty to promote the quality of the fish coming off Royal Star I now have the benefit of following the product to Fisherman's Processing to oversee the handling of and assist with the actual filleting and processing of the catch. The opportunity to see results so extraordinary has done wonders to bolster my enthusiasm for our fish handling on board Royal Star. The number of times during the past year I have taken a momentary pause to admire a particular loin of tuna, side of yellowtail, slab of dorado, or chunk of wahoo is probably humorous to the Fisherman's Processing crew. But as one of the guys physically invested in producing such premium quality I know that every tuna we pith and bleed using the Taniguchi method, every yellowtail we pith and bleed, every tuna we take the time, regardless of how hot and heavy the action, to dress out (gill and gut), the benefit our customers receive in the form of an incredibly valuable product to be enjoyed and shared is worth the effort ten times over.

I also know that such dedication to consistently producing premium, grade "A" quality product originated on Royal Star and is closely matched by only a few of our colleagues in the long range fishery at best who also recognize that the product anglers consume and share following their voyages represents a level of professionalism consistent with contemporary trends worldwide. On this note everyone, every angler making sport fishing voyages with the intention of retaining fish should recognize the value of fresh, wild caught seafood, and treat their catch accordingly. It does make a huge difference. And I am not preaching on the topic from a pedestal, my perspective has evolved from much practical application, trial and error, and a vision no better or worse than one advanced by anyone else. It is simply recognizing that premium fresh, wild caught seafood today is so valuable that to not maximize its potential, to not appreciate the inherent quality, is a significant loss.

As Royal Star steams south again on the annual John Kashiki seven day, we offer a moment of respect for John who passed last November after a full lifetime of fishing on long range vessels; talk about a man who enjoyed the product coming off Royal Star. When we began producing the premium quality "RSW" fish John must have commented a hundred times in the six years following about how the filleted fish he landed on Royal Star was divided in his freezer from the others; that he coveted the Royal Star product giving away fish from other voyages to his friends rather than share his special reserve. Last year in fact he had me laughing in the bridge relating a story of one of his friends giving him "hell" about some fish he gave him not being the "right" stuff off of one of his Royal Star trips. Anyhow John was a great man always focusing on having a good time during his voyages. In deserving memorial he will continue to be recognized as leader of the "Kashiki" July seven day for years to come.

Captain Brian "Gerbie" Sims is at the helm this voyage heading for what we hope is the promised land again seeking yellowfin tuna and yellowtail from haunts below. With the dearth of anything that wants to bite in the offshore grounds from local to two hundred plus miles a long haul is in order to access what this group observed while unloading the previous voyage. And on that closing note we want to extend our gratitude to the previous "Barking Spider" group, and all others who joined this annually successful eight day charter, for a fantastic voyage of notable character, characters, and fun. It was our sincere pleasure to make it happen.

Photos for the day feature a couple of full resolution selections from the eight day of the action in progress. The first is of angler Brent Hirsch's direct point of view moments before his 95 pound, second place Jackpot winning yellowfin tuna came to gaff. The second is another version of a photo I sent from Royal Star at low resolution. This photo is so fine I had to share it again at full resolution. There is no better example of the magical potential of long range fishing than this image. Glorious is how I would describe it.

Look for Capt. Sims' reports to follow during the week.

Tim Ekstrom

Photo Here...

Photo Here...