Category: October 2017

October 2017

What Is “The Good Life”?

When was the last time you gazed upon a starlit sky and saw the Milky Way so clearly that it appeared as a brilliant white path through the sky? When was the last time you sat silently listening to the splashing of the sea as it lapped upon the side of a boat or the wind as it whispered quietly in your ear? When was the last time you felt totally and completely relaxed?

For me that was just last night but I so vividly remember a time in the not so distant past when I could not recall such peaceful moments quite so easily. No, in those days moments like this were extremely rare. In those days my life consisted of strict regiments, time constraints and “forced” relaxation. Yes, in those days I only thought I understood what “the good life” is all about.

Not so long ago I was certain I was happy and my life was amazing. Sure there were some areas that could have been better but I had a great job, close family and friends, a perfect home on the water and I lived in paradise on the west coast of Florida. Of course, my job was pretty stressful and consumed most of my life and I spent much of my “free time” doing chores, running errands and getting on with the business of mainstream life but, I was living “the good life”, right?

Oh how naive I was back then. Yep, I spent my entire adult life trying to get the better job hurry-2119711_1920and make more money so I could buy more stuff and take relaxing vacations. You know, I was chasing the proverbial carrot. After all, if I got that promotion and the salary that went with it then I’d be able to live in an even nicer place, drive a nicer car and take even better vacations. I would be truly successful and fulfilled. Sure, it might be a bit more stressful and consume more of my free time but it would be worth it, right? Isn’t that what life is all about? Isn’t that what everyone wants?

It wasn’t until I moved onto Dazzler that I realized I was one of “those” people. You know the ones, always trying for something more. Always thinking there had to be something better down the road. Always questioning why I didn’t have more no matter how hard I frog-1339904_1920.jpgworked. That was me alright. I worked and worked but it was never enough. The funny thing about it is that I always saw myself as a very down to earth, simple gal. I mean, I lived a pretty low key life without all the frills but somewhere inside I always thought I had to do more, have more, be more. I never really felt like I met my full potential in work or in life; but all that changed when I met Dan and moved aboard Dazzler. That’s when I really learned how life is meant to be lived and what it means to be truly fulfilled. Yes, Dan taught me how to live “the good life.”

As I said when we started this blog in May, giving up everything you own is a very daunting experience. When you have to reduce 49 years of life down to a few duffel bags, you truly get a sense of what matters, at least when it comes to material things. But, it’s not until I started actually living a more simple life that I realized how much I gained in the process. Sure, I gave up “things” but today I’m happier and more fulfilled than I have ever been in my entire life! I’m not happier because I’m not working a full time, stressful job and living the mainstream life. I’m happier because living here has taught me what it means to truly stop, take it all in and appreciate the beauty of each day. Even when we are in all out project mode we stop and take it all in. And, I know what you’re thinking, “that’s easy when you are retired and living on a boat in paradise”, but you’d be surprised. Sometimes even here it’s hard to be stress free unless you make enjoying life a priority; then it makes all the difference. We really don’t sweat the small stuff!

I think as humans we’ve become so accustomed to fretting over each and every tiny detail that we’ve forgotten the pure joy and excitement that comes with the unknown and the unplanned. We’ve forgotten what it means to improvise, to think on our feet, to accept others for who they are, to do without and most importantly, to take care of our neighbors whether we know them or not. When you live like we do, you just don’t forget those things because you are forced to do them every single day and before long they become part of who you are as a person even if you weren’t that way when you got here.

After all, when you are making an overnight passage and your regulator stops functioning and you’re not generating power, you don’t have anyone else to depend upon but yourselves so you improvise, think on your feet and fix it. You do what has to be done with the limited resources at hand. We know. We’ve been there.

If a fellow boater is in distress it doesn’t matter whether they are Democrat or Republican, black, white or fuchsia pink; you stop and help even if you don’t know them. It’s what you do because we depend on each other out here, it’s the right thing to do and quite frankly it’s what we all used to do anyway, isn’t it?

You see, I have found that living with less makes people more grateful, more resourceful, more caring and far more relaxed. When you need less you have more time to enjoy what you do have and truly love. You don’t have to make time or try to find time because you aren’t spending every second working and saving for the dreams of tomorrow. You are actually living them, right now in this moment because, well, you can!

I’m not sure who said this but I recently read a quote that went something like this… “Don’t live the same year 75 years in a row and call it a life.” Hmmm. How many of us have been living the same day, week, month or year over and over like some bad scene out of Groundhog Day? How long are you willing to live the same day over and over just hoping and dreaming that one day it will be different? One day you’ll be retired and get to live “the good life”.

My advice…Don’t wait and definitely don’t let your daily routine rob you of the true joy of life. Life is far too short! Just figure out what truly makes you happy and do it! Go for it! Yes, there will be necessary sacrifices but it will be worth it. I promise! It won’t be long before you start to forget the sacrifices because you’ll be so happy and you will feel so incredibly amazing and fulfilled!

IMG_5960I hope you find whatever it is that truly makes you happy and you make it your priority sooner rather than later. As for me…I found “the good life” is the simple life here with Dan on Dazzler.
Until next time,

Jilly

October 2017

Dinghy Fishing Or Fishing When Dingy

There is something to be said for enjoying the simple pleasures of life while cruising. The vistas, sunrises, sunsets and the splash of bait being chased through the anchorage by something bigger and hungry for the taste of fish. There is something about the latter that gets the little boy inside of me jumping up and down with anticipation of jumping into the dinghy and racing to the location of the boiling bait and fish.

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Fishing is a source of providing fresh fish onboard Dazzler. There is something really awesome about having truly fresh fish whether it’s sashimi, grilled fresh fish tacos, or any other fresh fish preparation.

I have been fishing most of my life and when presented with the natural environment of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez, it’s like jumping up and down until you can grab your fishing equipment and hit the trail on your trusty steed. In my case it is Sparkle. That seams a little weird, but Pontoon Stud was already taken.

I guess I should back up a little and discuss what kind of fishing gear would be useful for putting fresh fish in your cooler. There are so many different types of rods and reels available for the angler and all at varying cost points. My recommendation is to use something that can handle fish in the five to 30 pound range. Something smaller will work a few times but it will eventually cave in. The line you use is important also. I would suggest that you consider spending a few extra coins for some kind of upgraded line. I will leave your choices up to you. I use 30 and 40 pound test Spectra line with a 12-15 foot Fluorocarbon 20 or 30 pound test leader. Be sure to teach yourself how to tie the dissimilar lines together. Spectra line is very slippery and the knot used to join the leader should be one that doesn’t let the Spectra line slip out of the leader. There are many sources on the Internet to get examples of the proper knot and I don’t want to suggest that I’m an expert. I always suggest that you practice and test. Additionally, the knot you secure your hook or lure to the leader with should be equally strong. Many fishing suppliers usually have a knot book near the front counters. Some line manufacturers will sometimes include some knot tying guides in the line box.

Lures or Live Bait?

There is no competition between live bait and lures. Live bait would be my first choice but out here there are not many bait stores to sell you a scoop of live bait. So, you have to catch it yourself or jig for it or use a cast net for it. Then you will need some kind of bait receiver that will keep your bait alive. It can be as simple or elaborate as you want. A Home Depot bucket with a lid on it and numerous holes, smaller than the bait, will work. I suggest you use two buckets. The second bucket would be without holes for the first bucket to set into. This will allow you to change out the water regularly without losing your bait. Which you must do or your bait will die from lack of oxygen. You could always buy an aerator so you don’t have to change the water out. Don’t overcrowd the bucket with bait either. That will also result in bait dying off due to competition for the limited fresh oxygen in the water for all your bait. As you can see there are some difficulties and high maintenance with the fresh bait scenario.

My choice is to use lures that closely resemble the natural bait found in the area you plan to fish.

My favorites are the following:

  1. Rapala Floating Silver Mackerel Diving and Shallow Diving Lures.
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    Rapala Shallow Diver

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    Deep Diving Rapala
  2. Rapala Sinking Silver Mackerel Diving LureIMG_4016
  3. Silver Krocodile™ Spoon (by Luhr Jensen, Hood River, Oregon)IMG_4011

 

I prefer to use lures because my confidence level in catching fish with them is very high. Even when my freezer is full of fish, I still go out and fish. If you want to be good at something you practice it. I look at catch and release as a form of practicing. The more you practice the better you become at every aspect of what you practice and your confidence level increases as well. Casting, target casting, short casting, straight retrieval, varied retrieval, etc… Presenting a lure directly in front of a fish followed by an 20170611_115749explosive strike is a rush. Trolling your lure at different speeds for the type of lure you are presenting and where to cast or troll your lure is just as important. Being on the water in a small boat and taking in the different forms of wildlife is by far the biggest aspect of being out fishing. I have seen huge schools of rays leaping out of the water all around my dinghy. Watching dorado push a school of bait fish toward the shore and then feast like kings on the less fortunate bait is awesome to watch. Nature doing what it does is incredible. If you aren’t out there to enjoy it, you miss it! Another aspect of fishing from the dinghy is it  provides you with a closer look at submerged rock and reefs around your anchorage.

There are many areas that I have found to be productive in the sense of catching. Yes, I said catching. Fishing is the act of using a rod and reel or hand line. Catching is the fight between you and the fish until it yields, shakes lose, is eaten by a bigger fish or breaks your line and steals your lure. Around anchorages in the Sea of Cortez there are many submerged rocks, rocky shorelines, points, sandy beach areas and other underwater structures. Predator fish such as yellowtail, dorado, tuna, wahoo and rooster fish will hang around underwater structures or patches of shade on the water’s surface to hide and ambush unsuspecting bait fish. They lay in wait so to speak. If you can identify these types of areas to troll your lure through or cast into, your success rate for catching will increase. There are several areas this past summer that Jilly and I have gone dingy fishing and caught numerous fish such as Cabrilla, yellowtail, sierra, dorado and others. While anchored in Refugio at the north end of Angel de La Guarda, we went dinghy fishing and in two hours we had caught and released about 30 Cabrilla, one yellowtail and a few trigger fish. I even caught two trigger fish with one cast. One was hooked toIMG_2743 the front treble and the other to the back one! What a fun day of catching on the water together. In another anchorage in the Midriff Islands on two separate occasions we went out dinghy fishing. The first time we caught and released about 28 Cabrilla, including two six pound Cabrilla within a few minutes of each other. On our second trip there, we caught and released 16, 4-9 pound yellowtail within a two hour period. We did keep six yellowtail for dinner and the freezer.

 

RAIL TIME!

If you don’t want to take fishing that seriously then don’t. But, if you want to be successful at catching then you need to put in rail time. Just like any other talent. Practice is the key to success.

Weather Considerations

Because weather influences everything, it is noteworthy to discuss its influence on fishing. Tides, currents and falling barometric pressure can all have an influence on your catching success. If you are in an anchorage and the bar is falling off normal, grab your gear and start fishing. This is much like freshwater bass fishermen do when the bar falls near a fresh water lake. The fish can sense the change in pressure and it has been my experience that the falling bar will induce them to strike more as if they are trying to store up some excess food prior to the possible change in weather.

That’s it from the deck of Sparkle. I wish you all great fishing success in paradise.

Cheers!

Captain Dan
SV Dazzler