10th August 2006 - Unfortunately there has been very little fishing done out of Shimoni over the past few months.

No big tunas have been seen yet but I hear that they are only just starting to appear further north. The last few trips have yielded only a few small tunas, wahoo to 16-kg and some medium size giant trevally. Our crews tell me that a few days ago whilst they were painting one of the dinghies they saw a sailfish jumping repeatedly just in front of the club. We used to see them in the Wasin channel quite often in the earlier days but hadn't for some time so very exciting that they are still coming in. In mid-September we will take both boats to Dar es Salaam for the annual Latham Island Tournament, which should be very exciting especially as we have the Ladies teams.

PEMBA ISLAND
Earlier this year the Zanzibar Government announced the transformation of the entire west coast of Pemba Island in to a Marine Protected Area. In so doing they have decided to only accept the very highest level of tourism on the island. The initial fishing fee structure that was gazetted declared that sport fishing boats would have to pay US$1,500 per day as park fees. After meeting with stake-holders they decided to temporarily shelve these fees until conservation measures have been put in place. It will be interesting to see whether they are really prepared to take on the very destructive fishing methods used by the local people. The Zanzibar Fisheries department have however increased the licence fees for sport fishing boats from $500 to $3,000 per annum and we feel that we would not be able to recoup this. In addition the Zanzibar Revenue Authority have declared that because our boats are acting like hotels that we should be subject to 25% tax.

So, regrettably we have decided to terminate our safaris to Pemba Island. Pat is particularly sad as Pemba was his Shangri-la. But instead we shall be offering safaris to the north of Kenya around Lamu and Kiwayu.

NORTH KENYA SAFARIS
The area around the island of Lamu and the Kiwayu archipelago offer very exciting safari opportunities. The North Kenya Banks which extend to the south of Lamu are quite frankly the most prolific fishing grounds along the Kenyan coast and the areas around Kiwayu Island are still very unspoilt. The area is still very much as its been for decades with only limited development and the diversity of game fish species is second to none. Sea Adventures is very excited of the prospect of exploring these waters with you.

We can pick you up from any port on the Kenya coast and drop you off back at the same place or at a different location. There are direct flights from Nairobi to Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu. The minimum safari length will be 4 days and the maximum can be up to 10 days.

SHIMONI & PEMBA CHANNEL
We shall of course continue to offer day and night fishing trips out of Shimoni in to the Pemba Channel. Unfortunately as a result of the ever increasing fuel prices we have had to raise our fishing prices for the first time for many years. Please check out our Prices page.

THE BOATS
Broadbill was out of the water from April to July for a full repainting and major servicing including the replacement of one propeller shaft. She is now back in operation looking better than ever. Kamara II who had some engine troubles during March will be back in to operation hopefully by the beginning of September. We sent the governor/fuel pump plus the injectors of the one engine back to South Africa for servicing. There was a problem with the governor and 3 of the injectors were faulty so have been replaced. We are now waiting for an engineers from Mantrac (local Caterpillar agents) in Nairobi to come to fit the pump and synchronize the injectors. We have taken the opportunity to service the whole boat so that she will be better than new.

DEEP JIGGING & POPPING
Both of our boats are equipped with 2 outfits for this exciting mode of fishing that allows for targeting different species and for fishing deep when the fish are not showing on the surface.

SEA MOUNTAIN SAFARI
We have a booking for a sea mountain safari on 18/19 February 2007 for one boat. If you would be interested in booking the other boat please contact us.

TOURNAMENTS - MATTHEWS/DE VILLIERS
This tournament is on 18/19 November 2006 and if you would be interested in booking Kamara II please contact me. The boat will be fishing in Malindi the following week so it would be no problem to go up a few days earlier. There would be no relocation fee.

WEATHER
This year we have had the heaviest rainfall since the El Nino year of 1997 and in the past the years of heaviest rainfall produced the best tuna years so lets hope that the trend continues. The weather is warming up a bit but still we are getting some heavy rain showers and some days are quite stormy. We expect that as we reach September the calmer weather will predominate although rain is generally good for tuna fishing, better than bright sunshine.

29th March 2006 ANOTHER GRAND SLAM FOR BROADBILL - Broadbill, skippered by Pat fishing out from the very exclusive Mnemba Island Resort on the NE of Zanzibar had a fantastic day today. They have found an area where there are lots of big sailfish where they tagged 3 nice ones on Tuesday 14. Yesterday was rather stormy with huge thunder storms all day and although they rose 2 sails they would not take. But today the fish were hungary and not only did they tag 3 more sails but they also tagged and released a small blue marlin and a striped marlin to complete their 3rd grand slam of the season.

Kamara II has been fishing out from Shimoni with Markus Meyer and Rene Shultz from Switzerland. Unfortunately the fishing has not been too good with the monsoon having swung around completely in to the south. However, yesterday Wed 15 all had been quiet until midday when a sailfish surprised us all. It had rained all day and the anglers were hiding away in the cabin when one of the reels screamed. Rene shot out in to the rain to claim the rod and bring the sail to boatside where it was tagged. Very soon after Markus had a nice wahoo of 16.5-kg, which unfortunately took a big marlin lure on 50. That put Rene back on strike and quite soon after a striped marlin came in determined to have one of the lures. It knocked down a short rigger, then followed the centre, switched back to the original lure before spotting one of Pat's home-made lures on the long rigger and piling on to it. After a good fight Rene brought the fish to boatside
where it was tagged and released. Today, 16th we tried some deep jigging near Kitugamwe Reef without a lot of success, just 1 amberjack for Rene. Markus had a good strike but almost immediately whatever it was cut him off leaving the leader badly roughened. The wind was in the SW never very good for fishing here and the sea quite choppy. Shuwari was also out and tagged a sail and we had a strike from a sailie on our way in but failed to get a hook-up. Although the monsoon has changed there are still some marlin and sail out there and it is worth persevering out in the deep for them. Hopefully we can find a few more nice fish for Markus and Rene over the next couple of days. Normally in March there are heaps of dorado, which are there but not eating yet. I usually think that it is serious when a dorado won't take! When they do you can easily catch 20+ so maybe tomorrow!

13th March 2006 - The monsoon appears to have come to an end and rain clouds are moving in from the south. Mind you Kenya is in desperate need of rain since there has been a dreadful drought in many parts.

The marlin have not left our area yet as Peter Kern and party found on 8th March fishing aboard Kamara II. Peter's fishing partners Boban and Kenneth both caught their first marlin. The wind was still in the NE and the rips were very weak but in the afternoon we came across a weed line with lots of dead squid in it. As I followed it I felt that this was as good a place as any to fish when a sailfish knocked a rigger down. It followed back but was reluctant to take. Almost immediately after Hamisi clapped his hands as a stripey appeared on the long starboard rigger. It knocked it down, missed it and then dropped back seemingly uninterested but as I was starting to turn back towards him he raced in fast to the flat line and took. This time we had a hook up and after 20 minutes Boban had his first marlin. Broadbill had a strike from a marlin at almost the same time but sadly it managed to throw the hook on the first jump. As we both tracked back across the channel towards Shimoni Broadbill found a nice big fish tailing on the surface but it would not even acknowledge their existence. Kamara II had more luck as Small spotted a stripey jumping ahead and then found it finning as we got near to the spot. This fish came tearing in to the short rigger and slammed the big green softhead getting an instant hook up. After a good fight Ken brought it to the boat for tagging. Broadbill's bad luck continued as a very big wahoo took a lure on the tag line rocketing up in to the air and spitting the lure back at the boat.

Kamara II was out on 9th and the sea looked even better than the previous afternoon although there were very few flying fish, always a bad sign. Obviously the fish knew something because we couldn't find any marlin, just 4 dorado.

On Friday 10th Broadbill was loading up ready for her safari to Mnemba Island on the NE of Zanzibar and Kamara II had a rest day. On Sat 11 Pat took Broadbill
down to Mkoani, S. Pemba on a transport day they did raise a marlin but it didn't take. White Otter was out and tagged a small black marlin and boated a sailfish.

On Sun 12 Broadbill completed the journey from Mkoani to Mnemba had a strike from a sail but no hook up. No boats out from Shimoni.

On Mon 13 Kamara II was out with Mark Lempriere from Guernsey and had a good day. The sea was very calm, the wind was light NW early swinging to NE until
late morning before swinging further round in to the SE. There was rain here in the early morning and lots of rain clouds around, looking heavy to the south. At 9.30 am we had at least a double of stripeys but there could even have been more, riggers was coming down, lines were running one after the other and coming off. Finally one of the stuck and Mark brought in a nice stripey on 30. There were lots of dorado everywhere but only a few were taking and then at 2.30 pm we rose another stripey that took a 50 and Mark brought that one up for tagging also. White Otter was also fishing today but had no luck.

Broadbill is fishing out of the very exclusive Mnemba Resort this week and although today they only caught dorado we hope that they can get better luck tomorrow. It is with great pleasure that I can report Pat has been received with a much more friendly atmosphere at Mnemba than I was a few years back - the manager has changed. Kamara II will be fishing all this week as well so we are hoping that despite the weather change our luck will continue.

Thus far marlin tallies are Kamara II - 34, Broadbill - 25, Jasiri - 14, Shuwari - 10, and White Otter - 9.

6th March 2006 - The week following the middle of February was very calm and rather hot. The rips were not always very obvious and the fishing hard work. There were a lot of sailfish along the drop off off Funzi although they were not always very easy to entice in to the spreads. During the week of 19th to 25th a group of anglers lead by Derrick Tod were staying at the Coral Reef Lodge and fishing our 2 boats plus Eligio Battaia's 29-ft Rybovich "Inca". On the 1st day only Inca tagged a sailie but Jasiri had tagged a small blue and Otter who stayed in close all day tagged 3 sail.

On Tue 21 Kamara II tagged 2 stripies both on 30 and Broadbill had 1 plus a nice 17-kg dorado. On Wed 22 Kamara II had a stripey and 2 sail and Inca had 3 sail. The sail were being a bit more co-operative that day in the morning and Kamara missed at least another 5. On Thur 23 there was a sail apiece all taken out in the deep water. There were so many sail along the drop off together with schools of friggies but they would not raise to the baits at all. Frequently they were seen taking something off the surface right under the outrigger - very frustrating I can tell you. Fri 24 was very quiet with only a few marlin and sail being seen. It was very calm and the water rather dirty. On Sat 25 a few of the party fished aboard Inca back to Mombasa, whilst 3 others fished a short day on Broadbill. Kamara II was fishing out of Funzi Keys and managed to get a stripey on 30 but no other bills were hit.

After that there was a change in the weather to rough and rather overcast conditions created by cyclone Carina out in the middle of the Indian Ocean. At its peak this cyclone was up to category 4 with wind speeds of 130 knots and gusts up to 160 knots with 50 ft waves. That hardly bears thinking about and thank God it was so far from land although we still feel the side effects here. The last few days in February were very poor as the fish kept their heads down waiting for the conditions to improve.

In spite of the conditions John Hicks fishing for the day on Broadbill struck some good fortune recording a Grand Slam. He had fished around but had never had a marlin before. Well, on Wed 1 March he tagged a nice black marlin of 170-lb on 30, a 5:1 as well as a stripey and 2 sails. On Thu 2 Sakkie Stone released a stripey from Kamara II and David Forster a sail on Broadbill. The following day Sakkie's brother Boy also caught a marlin.

The wind is still from the NE for the time being but there has been a lot of thunder storms around that might have been as a result of another cyclone off the east coast of Madagascar that has now moved away further south. Hopefully now the conditions will stabilize somewhat and the fish start feeding again. Broadbill saw 2 marlin today, Tue 7th but failed to get a hook-up and Kamara II tagged a sail, lost 1 and saw 2 others. Jasiri was also out today losing a nice black marlin and a stripey both through broken lines.

The marlin tally thus far in Shimoni is Kamara II on 30, Broadbill on 25, Jasiri on 14, Shuwari on 10 and White Otter on 8.

23rd February 2006 - Kamara II is just back from a wonderful 8-day liveaboard safari with two fun guys, Daz Baynton and Paul Renyard. This is now Daz's 3rd trip and his 2nd long live aboard with us. At the same time Pat was fishing another great fun group of guys from South Africa and Hong Kong who were staying at Betty's Camp and fishing aboard Broadbill by the day.

On Sun 12th Pat had a well earned rest and Kamara II didn't leave for Pemba until Daz and Paul had arrived from the UK and we had cleared immigration and
customs, which was about 1pm. We only had 1 dorado on the way across but the other boats had not faired much better since the wind had been in the south all day and only 3 sail had been raised by Jasiri.

On Mon 13 the wind was still bad and only 1 marlin was seen by Broadbill. The only one caught was by Shuwari who lost 2 others as well fishing further to the
north of us.

On Tue 14 the wind was back in to the north and the water was blue again. Paul caught his 1st marlin at 9.40am, a 150-lb blue marlin that took a baby super
chugger on 30. It jumped nicely and Paul suddenly realized what the hype is all about. Daz tagged a sail on 30 and then we had a double header of sail without getting a hook-up on either. Shuwari was the only other boat to get a billfish, tagging 2 sail.

Wed 15 saw some success for Broadbill tagging a black marlin estimated at 180-lb on 50 and they also had a strike from a stripey as well as seeing a sailie. No other billfish were caught today. It was a frustrating day for Kamara II when we saw 4 marlin and 3 sail. Daz lost a small blue at 9.35am after 5 minutes and some spectacular jumping. It took with an explosive strike, ran off a lot of the line without jumping then flew out of the water right beside the boat. Daz was screaming, "There are 2 marlin!" - " No, Daz that is your fish!" It then took off greyhounding across the surface but the hook was just on the bill and whilst it was running away or parallel to us it was ok. But as soon as it turned towards us the hook flew off the bill. It was an awesome sight and that is what fishing is all about, not just the catching of the fish. At 10.50 we saw a stripey finning that was not interested and at 11am Broadbill reported having had a strike from one. At 11.50 we hooked a sail on a big lure that jumped like crazy before throwing the hook. At 12 Jasiri had seen a stripey finning and Otter had seen 3 together none of which would take. At 12.30 we hit a small blue but failed to get a hook up but 1pm and 2pm radio calls were very uninteresting. At 2.35pm we saw a blue come flying out of the water twice next to the boat obviously chasing something as it was going as though it had a red hot poker up its ****. Then at 3.45pm we saw 2 sail finning both of which took but we missed them both. Oh dear, but it was a fun day!

Thu 16 Broadbill rose a sail at 8am that wouldn't take but it was not until 10.45am that the 1st bill was hit. Daz caught a very active blue on 50 that gave an account worthy of a much bigger fish. A 2nd fish arrived just as we had cleared all the lines and being a blue didn't hang around once the lures were not running. It was then very quiet, the sea flattened out and it wasn't until the afternoon that things started to happen again. At 1pm Otter had a strike from a sail and at 2pm Broadbill missed a black marlin. At 3.40pm Paul tagged a stripey on 50 that we had seen finning.

Fri 17 Jasiri tagged a sail at 8am and Kamara II fishing along the Pemba drop off had a small kingfish, a job fish and a wahoo. The wind was stronger and the sea looked good but no other billfish were seen until 11am when Otter missed a marlin and tagged a sail. At 12 Otter saw another marlin and again one at 1pm. At 1.20pm Daz tagged a sail on 30 and at 2pm Otter had seen 2 more marlin finning but no strikes. Then shortly after 2pm we started to see marlin tailing, at 2.10pm we saw a sail finning then a stripey at 2.20pm neither of which took. At 2.40pm we saw another stripey that took a lure but failed to hook up and a few minutes later saw another one that did take and Paul tagged him. At 3pm Broadbill was also busy with a sailfish first that they tagged and then a very nice stripey estimated at 190-lb on 50. We saw another stripey finning before we turned in to Njao, Pemba but it was a good day.

Sat 18 was a different sort of a day, no billfish were caught but we had our chances luck was just not on our side. At 9.30am we saw a marlin finning that wouldn't come in, then at 12 Otter had a knock down from a stripey on 2 lures. At 12.40pm we saw a stripey jump some way off but managed to locate him on the surface. It rose to the outrigger and Daz who had now got his eyes in tune clapped his hands furiously. It took and went like the proverbial at one stage doubling back on us sub surface and we needed all of Kamara II's speed to get out of the way. It then proceeded to go straight for the bottom at speed and we couldn't stop it. I am pretty sure it was wrapped but we shall never know because unfortunately the line parted on the double line knot. At 1.55pm we saw 2 stripies finning, one of which followed briefly but there was so much dead squid in that rip that I think they were full up. At 2pm Otter rose a marlin that did not take and at 2.20pm we saw another one finning followed by another at 2.35pm. So you can see that although the fishing is a bit slow there are plenty of fish there if only they would turn on.

Sun 19 there were again no billfish seen and there was quite a bit of high cloud creating a sort of blanket cover, very hot and humid. Kamara II was the only boat to see any marlin but none of them would take and all of them (4) were seen finning. We returned to Shimoni to prepare for our next set of charters starting on Mon and Daz and Paul had to rush off to catch their flight home, which I hope they made ok. Thanks for a great trip guys and we enjoyed your company.

I will put another report in in a few days time but the NE wind is still blowing, albeit not very strong and there are marlin and sail there and lots of food so the chances are still good.

10th February 2006 - ( This report written by Maia as both Simon and Pat are away, fishing ! ) Pat went over to Pemba to fish a client staying at Manta Reef Lodge. It was rough but he tagged two stripeys on the way over, he estimated one of them to be about 180 lbs. Several marlin were seen during the day by the other boats but none hooked up. Friday 3rd February was very very rough, Pat likened it to being inside a washing machine!!! Todd Gray tagged a stripey from Kamara II and one of the other boats tagged a marlin and a sail. The sea was a little less rough on the 4th, and there were more fish around, but still not taking properly. Kamara II had a double strike, tagged a stripey, caught by Andrew Buckoke and boated a skipjack!! One of the other boats tagged a sail. On Sunday 5th, the weather was improving and the sea calmer, Todd Gray was fishing on Kamara II and had a black marlin up which wouldn't take and he tagged a sail. On the 6th John Carr-Hartley and Gary Gillingham each tagged a sail on Kamara II and Clive Evans tagged a sailfish and Kobie Kritzlinger tagged a small blue on Broadbill.

On the 7th the sea was very calm and no billfish were seen until about 1.00 p.m. when Broadbill had a knockdown from a sail and one of the other boats tagged a marlin, a couple more sail and a marlin were seen during the afternoon, one of the other boats tagged a sailfish and Gary Gillingham fishing on Kamara II hooked up with a blue marlin on 30. Unfortunately the fish wrapped itself in the leader and they played it for about 1.5 hours before they had it up to the boat, there was no leader to take so it was a question of getting it near enough to the boat to put the tag in, but unfortunately the line broke just before they could do so. Gary did tag a blue on 30 the next day from Broadbill, the weather very strange during this part of the week, very calm in the mornings and rather sultry.

On the 9th fishing from Kamara II Clive Evans tagged a stripey estimated around 135 lbs on 50 and Doug Mckendrick had bad luck missing a stripey and quite a big spearfish. John Carr-Hartley lost a Black Marlin on 30 lb from Broadbill on the 10th, it just came off! Two of the other boats tagged sailfish and a blue and one small blue was boated. On the 11th February Gary Gillingham tagged a Blue Marlin of about 110 lbs on 50 on Kamara II and Kobie Kritzlinger tagged a sailfish also from Kamara II, and one of the other boats tagged two blues.

Hopefully, the weather will get back to normal in a couple of days and there will be more hungry fish around.

28th January 2006 - On Saturday Carlos Rivero had his final day on Kamara II and he needed to be in early so as to be able to get to the airport in Mombasa to catch his flight home in the evening. Chris Jones having caught his first marlin after many years of trying in some of the world's hotspots was with Pat aboard his wonderful old lady, the 46 ft " Broadbill". The morning began reasonably calm with some nice rips and one of the other boats had tagged a sail by 8am. At 10am Broadbill rose a pair of stripies that proceeded to knock down all the outriggers without actually getting hooked. Then as they circled round again one of the marlin appeared behind the 30 on the outrigger, took it and was hooked. Chris then brought in his first striped marlin for tagging - not bad to get 2 marlin in 2 days after trying for so long. Another boat popped off a stripey and Carlos landed a nice 17-kg bull dorado. 12 noon was a bit quiet with only 1 marlin seen finning by White Otter and then just before 1pm we rose our 1st marlin, which slammed a lure in the wake on the 50 but dropped it. We hadn't seen what it was but as Carlos retrieved the lure back towards the boat a marlin came in fast after it, altered direction and took the short rigger on the port side. This was a nice black marlin and he put on a great performance before doing what blacks do best, going down and sulking but Carlos worked him hard in to the boat where it was duly tagged and released estimated at 200- lb. We then circled back to the same spot and hit a stripey that Carlos hooked and brought to boatside. Not a bad way to finish a holiday as we took in our lines and raced for home. "Broadbill" rose 2 other marlin that would not take and the other boats also saw a few including a double header very close in but none stuck.

On 29th neither of our boats were out but Shuwari tagged a stripey and a sail but there appeared to be fewer fish seen. On Monday 30th Pat took out Chris and Katrina Moore from Hull where Chris runs a tackle shop. Chris was another one who was looking for his first marlin after lots of trying but sadly it was not to be that day either. He released 2 sailfish, one of them a nice one of about 32-kg, his first 2 sailfish so not too bad. Jasiri released a small blue and a sail and otter a stripey so there were some marlin around. There are not a lot of fish at the moment but you need to be in the right place at the right time. But there is very good variety and the conditions are wonderful with plenty of flying fish and squid.

On 31st Chris Moore had another go and did have a stripey up that took a couple of lures but failed to get hooked. It was much rougher and there were fewer
fish seen and only 1 marlin caught.

Today, 1st February Ian Long caught his first marlin for many years from Kamara II, a stripey estimated at 140-lb on 50 and his colleague Barry Hannigan released a sail. One of the other boats struck real luck tagging a small blue a stripey. It was less rough than yesterday but still quite bumpy.

Thus far in Shimoni Kamara II still is just in the lead from Broadbill with 17 against 15 marlin then Jasiri back on 12, Shuwari on 7 and Otter on 5. February is generally looked at as the peak of the season so hopefully there will be lots of hungary marlin in the next few weeks. I shall try to keep placing regular updates on this page so keep checking back.

24th January 2006 - has begun with a rather unusual run of small blue marlin. Striped marlin are the common species in the Pemba Channel and in fact the majority of the All Africa records are held in the Pemba Channel, and most from boats run by the Hemphill family. But, in 2006 there are not only stripers but also small blues and blacks as well as sailfish. There is a real chance of catching a grand slam of three different billfish species or even a super slam of four species in a single day. There are not all that many places in the world where you can get that kind of variety plus there are dorados and wahoo as well.

Fishing was slow in the middle of the month with rather unusual calm weather and variable wind direction. Actually it was surprising that there were any fish at all given the conditions but there were marlin and sails caught most days. The NE wind reverted to its normal intensity after 20th and the seas were quite rough for a few days. The last couple of days have been quite calm although the wind direction is good and we expect strong winds as from Wednesday 1st February.

To date Broadbill and Kamara II are tied at the top of the local marlin leader board, Broadbill having tagged 3 striped marlin today with Chris Barnes from Mombasa and friend Brian. They started off with a double header before 9am and then were unlucky to lose a small blue marlin in mid morning when the line popped. Around 2.30pm they tagged a very acrobatic stripey to close the gap on Kamara II who missed out today. Of the other boats out today Shuwari tagged a stripey and Otter a small blue with Jasiri losing a black. Yesterday Kamara II tagged a small 80-kg black marlin for Chris Jones from the UK, his first marlin after lots of trying in such places as Madeira and Canaries. There was also a blue on Jasiri and a stripey on Otter. On 25th only Broadbill had a nice stripey for Carlos Rivero from Argentina and Holland, Kamara II was not out. On 24th Carlos tagged and 80-kg blue from Kamara II.

It does look as though the marlin fishing is just picking up and the conditions look great, the water colour is good, there are heaps of flying fish and lots of squid
so plenty of food to attract the marlin. Then all we have to do is get them to take and stick!

There are still a few days at the end of February and early March where we have boats free so if you are interested please contact us.

2nd January 2006 - A Happy New Year to everyone and here's wishing you all a prosperous and safe 2006 with plenty of time to go fishing, with Sea Adventures of course !

The week between Christmas and New Year was a bit slow but there were still marlin around of all three species. On 27th Paresh Haria from Nairobi caught a striped marlin on a 30-lb line. One of the club boats, Shuwari tagged a blue marlin that they estimated at 250-lb. The following day our boats were not out but Jasiri tagged an estimated 350-lb blue and Otter had a sail. It is really interesting to see that there are a few blues around because there have not been any at all for about 5 years. On 29th again no Sea Adventures boats out but no billfish caught and the wind starting to howl. Both boats were out on 30th but very few fish seen and the water rather dirty and rough. On new year's eve Jasiri tagged a stripey and a few others were seen but again rough. We were not out on New Year's Day and just 1 sail tagged by Shuwari but Otter lost 4 marlin including a black.

Today, 2nd January all 5 Shimoni boats were out sea was dirty still but much calmer than previous days. Kamara II tagged a sail by 8am and Broadbill rose a small black that just followed. Then it was a bit quiet until late morning when the wind picked up a little and some marlin were been seen tailing. Kamara II had a double header hooking up with one fish on 30-lb for young Stefanie Schoii from Germany. She did a magnificent job and brought the fish in to the tag. She was fascinated by the wonderful colours and was well hooked herself I think. We saw one other stripey feeding on a school of small fishes but although he followed for sometime he had already feasted. Shuwari also tagged a stripey and Otter and Jasiri both tagged sails. Also interesting that we saw a big tiger shark on the way home but did not have any bait to offer her. The water was also clearing nicely on the way home and was quite blue on the edge of the banks so perhaps tomorrow it will be better. The dead squids are already showing so there is enough food to hold the fish up.

We still have free days up until 19th January and between 29 Jan and 5 Feb plus a few days late in Feb. Drop us an email if you are interested in doing some fishing. I really think that as soon as the water clears the fishing will be really good.

Tight lines!

25th December 2005 - 11-yr old catches first marlin.

Kush Haria, aged just 11-yr fishing with his father, Paresh from Nairobi received an early Christmas present when at 8 O'clock in the morning a small blue marlin rose to the small lure trolled shot gun. They were fishing on Kamara II with Simon and the two Hamisi's when the fish struck. To start with it was a bit of a struggle but after installing him in the chair and fitting a harness he was fine and did very well. Actually it was very lucky that he was so young because I think that an adult might well have lost this fish. Somehow during the initial jumping, which was never far from the boat the knot for the double line became caught in the swivel and whilst the fish was being brought close to the boat we saw this long loop of loose line hanging free. Very lucky that the fish was tired and the leader could be taken but a very happy boy could at last watch his own 55-kg marlin be tagged and safely released. Then father tagged a nice sail of around 28-kg on the way home and a good size black marlin (est. 100-kg) was seen finning. The latter had obviously had his lunch already because he would swim right through the lines and just keep on going. We tried both lures and bait to no avail. One of the other 2 boats out tagged a striped marlin and missed another as well as saw an estimated 200-kg marlin free jumping. The other boat had one strike but without success.

On the previous day Broadbill tagged a 35-kg sail and also took a very nice 22-kg wahoo as well as a big bull dorado. There are still lots of small tuna, both yellowfin and skipjack as well as squid to attract the large predators. The sea is getting bluer and the flying fish are plentiful, all very good signs.

Sea Adventures would like to wish all our friends a very merry Christmas and a prosperous, safe and successful New Year.

Friday 9th December 2005 Broadbill was on their last day of their Pemba safari and Kamara II was fishing out of Shimoni with Mark Lempriere from Guernsey. There was a nice rip on the edge of the drop off outside Shimoni with a dramatic colour change that we followed as far as Funzi without success before heading across to Pemba Is. to join Broadbill. White Otter was also out from the club next door. Today the water further out was not good, rather greenish and the rips were not showing. It was flat calm and the wind was very light. We all fished the same area where we had been seeing the marlin of late and the tunas but by 10am when nobody had seen anything we moved further north. There we found some small rips that looked more encouraging and soon after 11am we saw our first marlin tailing. It swam right through the lines and disappeared from sight but within 15min we had had a crash strike from another stripey on the centre rigger. It appeared to be on solid and we had just finished clearing the remaining 7 lines and the 4 teasers when the hook pulled. At 12.30pm Broadbill hooked up with a nice black marlin estimated at about 350-lb on a small strip in a blue & white sail lure on 30-lb line. It put on a fantastic performance but threw the hook when it was quite close to the boat. Then at 1.25pm Kamara II had a crash strike on a big Moldcraft softhead on the starboard tag line on 50-lb line that Mark hooked up with. The boat was nearly stopped when a 2nd fish tapped up on the long port rigger but didn't take that one. Instead it took the opposite rigger and the decky Hamisi (Small) hooked up on Mark's 30-lb rod, a rather light travel rod. Both fish were brought to boatside and duly released. Then at 2.20pm on the way home we saw another stripey tailing that would not come in and just before 3pm we had a sailie up that we missed on the strike. The water closer to the mainland was much bluer but the wind never really came up at all and there are still not that many flying fish about but dead squids are already being seen. Finally right at the close on the edge of the 1,000-ft contour Broadbill raised another black marlin of about the same size as the morning's one that again slammed a tiny lure and strip but this time failed to hook up. The fishing is really looking up and there are lots of spaces in our bookings still this month and in to the new year. Why not come and give it a try it might be your lucky year.

8th DECEMBER 2005 -THE MARLIN ARE HERE & THE WIND IS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

Kamara II is just back from a 4 day Pemba safari with Louis Barnard and Tommy Stephens from Swaziland and Broadbill is over there now with Svend Christensen and Emil Sorensen from Denmark. The wind is perfect although not strong yet and the rips are not showing as well as we would like. There are still loads of small yellowfin tunas together with skipjack and frigate mackerels plus already a few dead squids are appearing on the surface. This is all in the area to the NW of Pemba Is on the plateau, by far the best fishing grounds for marlin in the Pemba Channel.

On the 1st day, Monday 5th we rose 4 marlin, 3 stripes and a black but were unlucky not to hook up with any. 1 of the stripes just came in for a look and the other 2 belted a couple of lures without seemingly wanting to actually grab hold of them. The black marlin was a nice fish about 250-300 lb that came up on a senior pink & white moldcraft hooker, took nicely and was just taking off across the surface in a series of Greyhound leaps. It then turned back towards the boat and the hook was thrown, most likely the marlin had got his bill in to the bite of the hook when he swatted the lure. On Tuesday we raised 3 marlin, all
stripes but again were unable to get either Louis or Tommy that elusive first marlin. Broadbill also joined us that day and raised just 1 but failed to get a take. We both had a good number of small tunas and Broadbill had a couple of dorado. Wednesday was Kamara II's day hooking up with our first marlin at 8.45am on a green medium Williamson witch doctor lure on 50-lb line. This fish put on a magnificent display and gave Louis a good workout before he finally brought it top boatside after 30 minutes for tagging and releasing estimated at 140-lb. Not long afterwards we rose another on a strip bait on 30-lb line and it was Tommy's turn to get worked over. This fish really went, greyhounding across the ocean with us chasing after it to prevent the fish from getting too far away from us. Tommy had the fish up near the boat quite quickly and we were backing down with the fish all lit up swimming directly away from us but we then realized we had a problem. The marlin had become wrapped in the 130-lb leader around the tail and there was no leader to hold. Tommy had the double on to the reel but the fish was still very strong and unfortunately pulled away on a last bid for freedom. I say unfortunately because I knew that unless we could get to him soon he would for sure die of lack of oxygen. Sadly this was to prove to be the case and after nearly an hour we had to boat the marlin. We later weighed this fish off the mast of local outrigger canoe, which caused a stir amongst the hordes of children that had paddled out to greet us. Of course in Africa no fish is wasted and that marlin would have fed many hungary mouths. We saw 2 other marlin and a sailfish that we didn't get and Broadbill also saw a few.

I am often asked how many marlin a year do die and we have to boat, and also why do they die? Firstly, how many - 1 or 2 at the most. This marlin will have died of asphyxiation since after such a powerful fight it will have built up so much lactic acid in its muscles creating what is called an 'oxygen debt'. This oxygen debt must be paid back urgently, which means swimming slowly forwards so that water is driven through the mouth and over the gills. A marlin like a tuna must actively pump water through the gills and cannot wait passively for it to happen. In this case the leader being around the tail meant that the fish was unable to swim forward without a struggle compounding the situation. Finally the fish dies and the angler must plane it up. This is a very good reason why the captain must manoeuvre the boat on a fish to keep the boat as close to the fish as possible and to try to bring the fish to boatside before it can get too exhausted. Hence it is important to keep the fight short and to do all we can to ensure the successful release of the billfish.

Today was our last day and we only saw 1 marlin that came in fast after the teasers looking at everything in great hurry before snatching at a lure and rushing off with it but without a successful hook-up. The luck today was with Broadbill and Svend who was desperate to catch a marlin after many years of trying. He started off this morning with a black marlin of about 170-180 lb that he caught on 80-lb line. They later tagged a stripey and a sail producing the season's first GRAND SLAM, which is 3 different billfish species in one day. They saw another 2 marlin finning plus another sail that would not take.

So, the marlin are definitely here and with all the food near Pemba there should be plenty to hold them here. Its looking very good !

4th December 2005

When last I wrote I said that the NE wind was starting and hopefully the marlin will too. Well, they have not in big numbers yet but 2 or 3 are being seen now. On 30th November Broadbill rose and hooked a striped marlin on a small brown & clear octopus normally put out for tuna. The marlin appeared on the surface behind the long flat line chasing this little lure and finally succeeded in catching it. Emil Sorensen from Denmark was the lucky angler, his first time ever fishing tagging the fish after just 15 minutes on 30-lb line estimated 120-lb.

Sea Adventures has of course a tag & release policy and wherever possible billfish will be tagged and released. We try to keep the fish alongside after tagging for a short while to enable the angler take photographs and generally admire his beautiful adversary. We also do our best to ensure that the fish has a high chance of survival by swimming it very slowly to replenish the oxygen. Sometimes we are asked if we cannot pull the billfish on board in order to make a nice photo before the final release. We do NOT support this or allow it to be done on our boats believing that this would place the fish under additional and in our opinion unnecessary stress and would not be conducive to ensuring the full recovery of the fish. Pulling on board of a billfish that is destined to be released is akin to holding the angler's head under water usually leading to panic behaviour.

On Thursday 1st December Broadbill was out again but with the wind in the west much of the day did not raise any billfish. On Friday both boats were out, Kamara II fishing some client from Funzi Keys Resort. The yellowfin tuna that had been absent for the past few days on the NW Pemba plateau were there again in good numbers. Both boats caught quite a few small tuna and Kamara II raised a striped marlin on a small lure on the outrigger. It billed it down then followed another small lure with a strip bait on the long flat line, took it briefly dropped it and shoved off. On the way back to Funzi we rose a black marlin of
about 200-lb on pink & blue Frankenstein lure made by Roddy Hays' Legend Lures. It made as if to take, changed its mind and departed. We then raised a sailfish that did much the same thing. There are a lot of birds and frigate mackerel along the drop off and tunas further out so perhaps just too much food. But, if the food wasn't there the fish wouldn't be there either.

Today, Saturday 3rd Broadbill was out alone and rose 3 striped marlin. The first one came in like a thunderbolt thumping the lure on the short centre rigger down before grabbing the softhead on the tag line. It began to put on a great display jumping like crazy trying to overtake the boat and perhaps there was a bit too much slack because the fish came unhooked. It is always difficult when they come forward as it is so hard to maintain contact. I always prefer it when the fish takes off in the opposite direction as usually even if the hook was not placed that well the fish's own momentum and the angle of pull help set the hook. Both the other 2 marlin were seen finning, the first came in to the teaser very fast but would not take any of the lures in the spread. The other swam right through the spread not looking at anything!

It is fantastic to see the marlin coming in so soon as for the past few years they have been very late as of course has the NE monsoon. I have always looked on the last week of November as the start of the kaskazi (NE wind) but the past 2 or 3 years it has not between until nearly Christmas.

If you are thinking of getting away for some fishing why not drop us a line and see if we cannot find you a slot. When the marlin are running it can be really great sometimes with pack attacks plus there is always the possibility of a decent size blue or black marlin.

29th November 2005

The NE wind (Kaskazi) looks to be here and this usually signals the start of the marlin run. The last couple of days the kaskazi has been blowing nicely in the afternoon but unfortunately no boats were out there. Tomorrow both Broadbill and Kamara II will be out so we are hoping for great things.

Last week Kamara II was up in Malindi for the CADSAS tournament fished by 36 anglers in 9 boats over 4 days. There were huge numbers of sailfish there but not a lot else and very difficult to raise. We had 2 or 3 sail every day but saw schools of 30+ that looked more like schools of tuna from a distance. Sails were free jumping all over the place often in amongst the lines, which was very frustrating. The top boat Alley Cat from Watamu skippered by Peter Darnborough had 15 sails for the 4 days, then Tina on 13; Eclare, Snow Goose & Tarka 12; Kamara II, Sea horse and Seyyida 9 and Little Toot 6.

On the return journey on Sunday the sea was dead all the way from Malindi to Chale Point 20 miles to the north of Shimoni. We did see a few sails on the way but very few schools of fish until we passed Chale Point. From then on to Shimoni there were school after school of bonito a most encouraging sign.

There is still lots of space so drop us a line and hopefully this will be your lucky year.

20th November 2005

In November Kamara II did one of our longest live aboard safaris to Pemba Island this time with Darren Baynton and his brother Gary and the latter's two teenage boys, Robert and Alex. We started off on the afternoon of Saturday 5th with an overnight. Daz was chucking them in at the deep end for sure having flown all night from the UK, driven down to Shimoni from Mombasa and just had enough enough time for a shower and some lunch before we set off. For much of that week the wind had been in the east and the sea was choppier than one might normally expect in November. We fished the area to the north of Pemba some 25 to 32 nautical miles out but only had a single very tentative strike - very disappointing. The reason for doing the night fishing at the beginning of the safari was that the moon was very new and as the safari progressed so the nights would become brighter. We then fished all of Sunday making our way down Pemba's west coast to the Uvinje Gap some two-thirds of the way down the island. We had a few small yellowfin and a strike from a sailfish but otherwise not much doing. The Pemba immigration had insisted that we take the boat right in to Wete, which was a b----y nuisance but might have been due to the Tanzania elections. But everything was smooth and I think that in future he will come up to Njao to meet us, or at least I hope so! Once we had cleared immigration we moved back up to Njao passing along the inside channel to Fundu and then out and back in through the Njao Gap, the most northern of the western anchorages.

On the way in to Njao, whilst right inside the gap in 45m of water we hooked 2 yellowfin tuna of around 8-kg each on 30-lb line which the 2 boys set to pulling in. However, the rod that Alex was holding suddenly bent over and the line began running out at some speed and showed little sign of stopping. I was forced to spin the boat and chase the fish then continuously circle it. We seemed to be winning then it would pull away again and the process would start all over. With little previous experience young Alex was learning fast and just when we thought we were winning the battle the fish disgorged the tuna. This was after about 20 minutes and the tuna had no sign of teeth marks but what appeared to be bill scrapes and the tail was broken and the wire was twisted signifying that the fish had been wrapped. It looked very much like a marlin but although I always thought that they come in there I had never actually seen one there. But Alex had done really well and it was just a shame that we never actually got to see the fish.

There were millions of small yellowfin on the NW Pemba plateau and on one of the days we had 48 tunas plus a wahoo and a barracuda. We fished live bait most days but very surprisingly did not get a single strike on them. Earlier in the week there was a lot of rain coming off Pemba and mostly we were able to dodge the storms but not always. We did get a nice mako shark estimated at 170-lb that we had seen finning early in the week and baited on a panama strip on 50-lb line. Darren was the angler and this was Kamara II's first mako ever so now I think that we have caught all the game fishes. Since we were one
crew short Alex took the helm when it was time to release the mako and I was needed on the deck. He learnt fast and did a great job.

Later in the week the seas were more typical for November, very calm and the weather hot. The 2 boys were proving to be really good anglers and were whipping the tunas in one after the other. Darren and Gary were using spinning tackle off the bows with poppers and jigs to cast to the tunas, which was very exciting. We were finally back in to Shimoni on 13th after 9 days. It was a wonderful safari in that company was so much fun but a bit disappointing that we didn't get a single marlin.

Broadbill had earlier in the month fished the Tanga Fishing Tournament with Chris, Di and Denise Bannister and Ernst from Tanzania. The fishing was a bit slow but they were very unlucky to lose a small blue marlin and sailfish on the second day which would have cleaned the competition. As it was they were placed 3rd.

Around the middle of November the wind was swinging in the NE, perhaps a little early but the sea was great and the occasional marlin showing. Broadbill fished with Colin Burnett from the UK tagged a nice stripey estimated at 150-lb on 50-lb line. The conditions are looking good and I don't think it will be long before the marlin are in.

Please contact us to make a booking, we still have space in December and January.

31st October 2006 - On Thursday Kamara II collected Dan Bowen-Dale and Clare Hewitt from the Funzi Keys Resort for a day's fishing. Dan had never done any big game fishing but is an avid coarse fisherman and Clare had never been.

The weather was mostly sunny with a light SE wind creating a slight chop. In the morning we saw two striped marlin separately finning on the surface. The first came rushing in but sounded and never followed our lures. The second fish saw us at the same moment that we saw it and came sprinting in to the starboard teaser. It then dropped back to the short starboard rigger following a senior blue and white hooker. We all thought that it would take as it would come rushing in to the lure, then drop back for a moment before rushing in for another close look. But it never did touch and finally pushed off. We then had a multiple from yellowfin tuna that crashed al;l the lures down, strangely mostly the bigger lures. We were left with two nice fish both just over 20-kg the first decent sized tunas that we have seen in the channel thus far. Perhaps the tuna are going to pass through in November. Then on the way back to Funzi another striped marlin came in fast on to the starboard short rigger and this time took and hooked up. Dan brought the fish to boatside after about 15 minutes where I tagged and released it. Not a big fish but a marlin none the less and not a bad day for a first time. To see three marlin in a day in October is not usual although having said that there often is a mini run in late October.

FISHING DURING AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2005

The big yellowfin did not make an appearance at all, which is very unusual and the water was rather greenish and appeared much cooler than usual. But, there were large numbers of school tuna averaging 5-8 kg and we tried to live bait wherever possible. Unfortunately there did not appear to be too much following the tuna schools and nothing substantial was hit on the livies. Broadbill did tag a couple of striped marlin during August and there were some big wahoo, the largest at 28.1-kg. In September good numbers of sailfish were showing off Funzi and Msambweni although rather difficult to entice up to the strips.

LATHAM TOURNAMENT 2005

Kamara II was chartered by a ladies team led by Yolande du Plessis of Ngiri Outdoor, a camping and fishing shop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Latham Is. is a tiny island right out in the middle of nowhere 42 nautical miles off-shore Dar es Salaam and is normally associated with some incredible fishing, particularly for big tunas. Unfortunately as with Shimoni the big yellowfin had not arrived at Latham either but there were millions of small juvenile tunas plus some big wahoo and giant trevally. The tournament boats were based in the lee of Sinda Is. a stunning island 10 nautical miles to the south of Dar and that much
closer to Latham from where they would make the run out early in the morning and back in the evening. On day 1 we chose to leave at 4am in order to get as close as possible to Latham by dawn, lines in at 6am but on day 2 we left Sinda an hour earlier since lines in was again at 6am but only within 5 miles of Latham. The power of Kamara II did help since at least we could get some sleep whereas most other boats left Sinda soon after midnight. Three of the ladies, Paula, Michelle and Lorna had done very little or no fishing before so it was very brave of them to take on such a grueling event. After a few shaky starts they all developed in to really good anglers and had a lot of fun despite the small size of the fish. The competition was won by Shuwari with a 155-
kg shark that they caught on a rapala and although the ladies were placed 4th there was only 28-kg separating 2nd from 4th. The ladies all declared that they are now hooked and wish to fish Kamara II in next year's event. I shall look forward to it and hopefully the fish will be
bigger and perhaps a few marlin too.

JAPANESE JIGGING AND POPPING

Whilst Kamara II was in Latham, Pat and Broadbill were chartered by a group of Japanese anglers who traditionally like to use only poppers and deep jigs. Without the big yellowfin Pat was worried how they would fair but as always they proved the value of this very interesting technique. They caught a large number of fishes including a 20.1-kg dog-tooth tuna off Funzi, the first ever there by deep jigging in 130m water. They also caught a number of giant trevally to 21.7-kg, lots of amberjack, bluefin trevally, other trevally species, snappers of various species, groupers, tuna plus a sailfish on a popper. We have now purchased both a jigging and a popping rod for both boats and shall be practising.

BLUE WATER, MARLIN AND MAKO

Over the past two days the conditions have changed dramatically, the water is deep blue as it should be and there are lots of small tunas on the plateau near Pemba Is. I had a striped marlin follow up some small tunas that we were playing right to the transom but he didn't take anything. Then yesterday I saw some big tunas jumping in centre channel so perhaps they are starting to arrive now. I understand that the whole migration pattern is screwed up this season so may be November will be a good month. Broadbill also saw two mako sharks finning amongst the tunas, one of which they had on jumping on a bait on 30-lb estimated at about 150-lb. Unfortunately it managed to roll itself up in to the double line and break itself off. They then saw a bigger one that took the bait briefly but dropped it and pushed off.

AVAILABILITY

There is still space in mid-November and in December after the 10th, plus there is some free space in January and February still. Things are starting to look good so don't be disappointed by leaving it too late. Contact me on <hemphill@bigame.com> or +254-722-796198.

20th June 2005 May and June are traditionally the off season months and in the past nobody would think of fishing then. But whilst I was writing my PhD on the ecology and fisheries of yellowfin tuna I was interested to note that the Japanese long liners recorded their best tuna catches in these
water during May and June. Since Kamara II has arrived I have started fishing with some success.

On 16th May we fished out in to the Pemba area where we had heard from the locals that there were lots of big yellowfin tuna. We did not see the big ones but found a lot of small yellowfin and skipjack and a falusi (dorado) plus had a strike from a marlin that took a skipjack that was being played. It finally let go and we wound in the very squashed and skinned tuna. We also had a strike from a sailfish that knocked down a big lure. The weather was a little stormy with quite a strong SE- wind and choppy seas but not difficult to handle.

On 17th June we again explored the area NW of Pemba Is in rather better conditions than in May. We had some very heavy rain and predictably the fish immediately turned on. As in May the tuna were not large but there were a lot of them, which also suggests that there must be marlin there to feed on all that lovely tuna. We picked up 2 reasonable sized tunas close to 20-kg lots of smaller ones and skipjack plus a 14.5-kg dorado.

As usual there has been a lot of hard maintenance work going on, boats being repainted, crews taking their annual leave and of course the really big job of changing Broadbill's engines. This has been completed and initial trials conducted with very encouraging results. The speed is higher than was anticipated and at only 1800 rpm Pat was able to get 17.7-knots. This should be fantastic for the new season and we wait with great anticipation to take her out fishing and conduct the real trials but this year Kamara II will have some real competition!

If you are thinking of doing some fishing in 2005/06 we do recommend that you contact us as soon as possible to be sure of a reservation as bookings are coming in already.

Tight lines!

4th April 2005 - Having just caught our first blue marlin on Kamara II in March 2005 we have tagged a second one of about the same size on the very same lure. We were fishing with Stephen King and his wife Christina out of the beautiful Funzi Keys Resort on Saturday 2nd April. We had decided to go out over towards Pemba Island to try our luck for some sailies, which are apparently still in good numbers out in the rips further north. The sea was flat calm and the wind blowing lightly from the NE. To begin with we could only find dorado, and plenty of those. At one stage we were unable to get all our lines back in the water since the minute you put one in a dorado took. Hamisi on the helm saw a very big splash but we never reached the spot because the dorado took one after the other. Then just around midday a small blue marlin appeared on the short starboard rigger and knocked a big softhead down without pulling any line off the reel. It then switched to the centre rigger where I was running a Legend lure, a purple and black Iduna and took it with more determination. This was the same lure that Daz Baynton caught the first one. Of course these lures were designed for Madeira where Roddy Hays made his name on blue marlin and put Madeira on the map. Like with most blues this one gave a great display and was brought to the boat after 15 minutes to be tagged and released, a first for Stephen and his very first time big game fishing. After this the angler was tired and told me to look after the rods. As we circled around the same area Hamisi saw another marlin free jump and a huge pod of dolphins arrived. There was a huge explosion on a sail lure behind a bird on the long starboard rigger but no connection. Hamisi told me that he saw the fish clearly and that it was a big yellowfin tuna of 60-kg plus. We circled around and a second one hit the same lure this time hooking up and starting off on a characteristic blinding run. After running off about 400m of 30-lb line I was able to stop the fish but could not gain even an inch of line. All I could do was try to hold it there with the rod doubled over. After about 20 min. the head finally lifted and I was able to retrieve line as the fish came back up to the surface where it began to circle. I was putting a lot of pressure on to the fish because I was worried about wasting too much of the client's time and after 35 minutes it was obviously just a bit too much and the line popped. I have caught a lot of big tuna on 30-lb line and have a good feeling for the size and this was a big fish well in excess of 100-lb. It is really interesting that they are here so soon. After the tuna we caught yet more dorado many of them released and then rose a sailfish, which took jumped twice and came off. A very good day all in all!

Since the SE wind had started in early March it continued to blow from the SE until the last week of March when suddenly it switched back to the NE. Yesterday morning was NE but very calm and hot then around mid morning it switched to the SE but still flat calm.

Pat has now commenced the major job of replacing the engines on Broadbill and has already lifted out the port engine ready for modifying the engine bed to accept the New Holland 235-hp engines. Kamara II is still available for charter and it seems that the marlin, sails and tunas are there waiting for us to go out after them.