Tuna Trolling under Sail

摘要

Sixty miles out from New Zealand's west coast, the Tasman Sea can be as unforgiving as the North Atlantic when the lows roll in. Yesterday there were twenty boats fishing in a fifteen-square-mile area, but today all except one have gone - diving for cover across the notorious Manukau bar before the rising swells close Auckland's back door for nobody knows how long. Aboard the 48ft steel fishing ketch 'Sunniva, Colin and I have opted to ride this gale out. We are still towing eight of our thirteen tuna lures as the rising seas begin to sweep the aft deck. Colin cut the engine an hour ago, when the northwesterly rose above 25 knots, and we are now reaching under reefed main and staysail. The disadvantage of trolling with a strong beam wind is that the nylon lines arc to leeward in our wake and the lures tend to cross each other, becoming tangled in the white-capped turbulence astern.