Spot X, A Marlin, Doggies and Sharks.

In the early hours of the morning we weighed anchor and headed out from behind the shelter of the islands towards our destination "Spot X". The wind was still quite strong and the sea state a bit too rough to dive but it was forecast to moderate, so we used the wind and sailed to our dive site.  When we arrived we decided against diving until the conditions calmed down and used the time to double check our gear. Finally in the afternoon the wind dropped and the sea calmed down enough to dive and we eagerly threw our gear on.
On entering the water we were treated to 30mt visibility, outstanding visibility considering the conditions and a water temp of around 29c. We saw little in the way of fish life to get excited about though conditions were still quite bad, we did however expect things to improve over the next few days as the weather got steadily better. We dived hard until it was too dark to dive and then, having had no luck we boarded the yacht and stowed our gear for the night. Once again we ate splendidly and having filled our stomachs we all crashed into our bunks  tired but eager to see what the morning delivered.
 

Our gear all ready to go just waiting for the weather to moderate.

 I woke early and ate a light fruit breakfast as did the others as one by one they appeared on deck, we gathered our thoughts and formed a plan for the day. We would dive Spot X until early afternoon and if we still had no luck we would move South to Castor Bank. We then geared up and entered the water, similar conditions to the previous day prevailed however the sea state was much more comfortable. We hadnt been in the water more than 10 minutes when I spotted a Black Marlin of around 150kg swiming in from my left. I didnt have time to breathe up I just took a deep breath, spat out my snorkel and dived almost on top of the fish. It continued swimming on the same course and sped up a little when it noticed me. I kicked a bit harder and gained some distance, I lined my gun up on the fish and when I thought everything was right I fired, only to see the fish dance a little and the shaft skip harmlessly across its back. Richard was extremely quick and managed to capture the whole event on video and a later review of the footage in slow motion revealed the reason for me missing, the Marlin was descending as it swam and I had not noticed this.

I was extremely dissapointed to have blown such an opportunity, but there was no way I was going to dwell on it and we kept diving. A short time later as we drifted across a drop off, Greg dived and dropped down on top of a reasonable sized Dogtooth Tuna and after a long dive fired a shot and secured a fine first fish for the trip. I dived as Greg was retrieving his fish and was also rewarded with a pair of 25kg Doggies swimming up to see what was going on. As I reached about 25mts one fish turned and swam away while the other circled under me, I lined up on the fish under me and as it started to swim directly away I fired. The shaft landed exactly where I had aimed and stunned the fish for a split second as great clouds of blood poured from its gills it shook it's head and took off. .
The fish ran for about 30mts before it stopped and once again shook it's head emitting another cloud of blood. At that point I was almost certain I would land the fish and started to retrieve my float line. A short 10 minute fight enshued before I got a good gill hold on my first Dogtooth a solid 25kg fish. Once again Richard was right behind me with the camera and captured the moment on video. In the interim Greg had also landed his fish and we both boarded the yacht grinning happily.

Removing a slip tip from a Doggie

Greg with a nice sized Doggie.

Once we had taken photos and rerigged our gear we were back in the water and on the hunt once again. Before long Greg had another Doggie close to 40kg fighting on the end of his float line only to have it vapourized by a pack of hungry sharks before he could land it. After this we found it exceedingly difficult to get fish past the sharks, with me losing most of a coral trout of around 20kg to them and Greg losing half a reasonable Doggie. Eventually it got impossible with sharks buzzing all around us, I had one attempt to take a fish from my hands and remove my fingers in the process, luckily it failed! Greg also had a close call so we decided to move on and hunt greener pastures before anything bad happened.

Of course at some point we had to pay the taxman.

Having an increasing shark problem and not seeing a lot in the way of fish we made the desciscion to move South to Castor Bank, we stowed out gear, hoisted the sails and headed South. We ate a wonderful meal of Dogtooth Tuna skewers cooked on the barbque and watched an amazing sunset. We relived every moment of the day numerous times and planned our days ahead before flopping into bed. In the morning when we woke we would be on Castor Bank, and with 2 days left on the yacht anything could happen.

Sailing South To Castor Bank.

Sailing North to the 16th century Pirate Haven the fabled Mitsio Islands.

Early the following morning we sailed with the high tide, things were nice and comfortable as we threaded our way through the passages between the many small Islands, we had the sails up and were making good speed. This would not be the way things stayed as once we rounded the last headland we were immediately buffeted by the full force of the wind and waves generated by the cyclone still churning away in the Mozambique Channel. However we were in luck and the cyclone maintained it's predicted course and was not increasing in strength.

Before we reached open sea Richard explained how to operate the topside camera

Our skipper Woody showing the strain of having to act as interpreter as well, yes the language barrier was an issue at times but it all worked out ok in the end.

The wind was not too bad as it was from the right quarter to ensure we made good speed up the coast, however the waves were another story, they were just the right height and distance apart to make things very uncomfortable for us. As I suffer from seasickness I took the opportunity quickly down a sizable dose of my favorite drug of choice and spent the next couple of hours in a drug induced haze of semi-consciousness in my bunk. Some considerable time passed before my bladder inconveniently chased me out of my bunk. Having dealt with that minor inconvenience, I decided a cup of tea and something to eat may be the way to go, and we ate a light lunch as we sailed North toward the 16th Century pirate haven of the Mitsio Islands.

The Mitsio's are located on the far Northwestern coast of Madagascar and we planned to use them as a sheltered anchorage for the night. Just as centuries before us Pirates preying on returning Dutch East India men used those very same islands. The rugged shapes of the islands and their tall volcanic peaks hid the masts of the ships from patrolling naval vessels sent to rid the Indian ocean of the pirate scourge. The stretch of water between the Horn of Africa and the Northern tip of Madagascar were once a favorite haunt of pirates in the days of sail. Days of wooden ships and iron men, months spent at sea living on bully beef and hard tack biscuits, washed down with a daily tot of Rum. Years spent away from home in the hope of making some money, but usually ending in death from any number of mishaps, a fall from the rigging, scurvy, fever or falling overboard and drowning as the ship sailed on, or worst of all at the end of the hangman's rope after torture and trial then for ones body to hang in the gibbet.

Dull leaden skies but at least the wind has dropped and we are in the lee of the islands now.

After a full days sailing we dropper anchor shortly after dark in the shelter of the Mitsio islands, it was a welcome relief to be able to eat and move without being thrown around. I for one was not feeling the best and it takes me a good day or two to get my sea legs at the best of times. I was definitely hoping for calmer weather over the coming days. Once we had anchored up and eaten we all set to bed for a welcome rest.

A jungle waterfall and a Cyclone.

We spent most of the day packing our gear, double checking we had everything and that all the camera batteries were fully charged. We took things slowly and made sure we hadn't forgotten anything. While we were eating lunch the owner of the Villa asked if we would like to accompany him to a waterfall and swimming hole that afternoon?  How could we refuse an offer like that, so after lunch we all piled into the back of his pickup and headed off.
We traveled through what looked like an old abandoned sugar cane plantation, the locals were now living in what remained of the old buildings and huts. We crossed a small river with women washing clothes and kids running around everywhere before parking up in a clearing. We then walked a couple of hundred meters down a trail with trees and vines growing overhead. The sound of falling water got louder and louder until we rounded a bend and the trail opened up to reveal a beautiful waterfall. There was even a small cave behind the cascade and a rock ledge to climb up and jump into the pool from.

Walking through the jungle to the Waterfall.

The Waterfall and cave.

Local scenery.

We were only too eager to swim and the water was refreshingly cool after the walk in, Greg and I swam across the pool and climbed the rock ledge before jumping into the pool. We then swam under the waterfall and had a look in the cave, it went a fair way back into the rock certainly further than it looked at first glance.
Richard and Chris both had a swim and Chris took some amazing footage of the waterfall with a GoPro mounted on a Quad copter, flying in between the trees to film the cascade from above.

After a relaxing couple of hours we had to head back to the beach and meet the yacht, we only had a couple of hours when the tide was high enough to bring the yacht into the bay and load our gear. A small zodiac was launched from the yacht and with this we ferried everything out to the yacht and stowed it securely.

Our home for the next leg of our voyage.

The next high tide would be in the early hours of the following morning and we were making use of that to board the yacht depart on our voyage North. For the last few days a cyclone had been hovering over the Northern waters of the Mozambique channel, this was a major problem for us. If it continued to move South West things would be ok and we could use the wind to hasten our voyage, however if it turned and headed due South or South East we would be in trouble. Unfortunately we would not know which direction the Cyclone would take until we set out the following morning.