Fresh Catch

Growing up, my father outfitted his kids - 4 girls and 1 boy - with our own fishing rods and tackle boxes. We would go fishing with him all the time. As a kid on the east coast, we would fish for perch, large mouth bass and get the occasional sunfish.  With a red and white bobber at the end of the line, it was easy to know if you had a fish when the bobber would go under the water! Easy and fun, right?

classic bobber, perfect for fishing with kids!

Deep sea fishing is completely a different ball game - you need a mack daddy rod, with line to hold heavy fish, plus a leader at the end so that the fish doesn't bite the line, and patience. And no, you can't use a bobber.

Here's what I've learned in the last two weeks (my 'in English' description):
To catch salmon, you need a deep sea fishing rod with strong line and a braided/steel leader line (which connects your lure/spoon), with a flasher, a spoon (the spoon has the hook and bait), and a weight (commercial fishermen use 50lb lead ball weights, we used a small 10oz ball (meep-meep!). You can find wild salmon at about 40+ feet below, so you need to either have a weighted line, or get a deep sea diver (a fancy red paper-airplane looking thing that dives down many feet). You have to have patience, which I have none of when checking the line :)  There are two types of salmon - wild and farmed coho. There is a small fin above the tail on one (wild) and not the other as its been cut off (farmed), if you keep the wrong one, you can be fined when in Washington!

To catch a tuna, you need a deep sea fishing rod, with strong line and a braided/steel leader and a hoochie lure or bomber.  Yes, there is a lure called a hoochie and no, it's not someone you may know - lol! Tuna doesn't swim as deep as salmon, so you don't need the weight! You can just send the line out and hope they bite.

Have we caught anything? Not yet. I'm open for pointers, thoughts, etc if you have any ideas.

Neah Bay, the northern most tip of the Olympic Peninsula in WA state, home to the Makah Indian Reservation, was good to us. The local fishermen gave us 2 - 10lb wild king salmon. Aaron and I promptly watched a YouTube video on his iPad on how to filet a salmon and then got busy filleting. Yum!

Sushi!

And a new chapter begins....

On Monday, September 10 2012, we set out on our voyage! After making the tough decision to take the plunge into a new life outside of our IT careers, we set sail on our Hallberg-Rassy 38, Rhythm, a stellar ocean going sailing vessel (S/V = sailing vessel), made in Sweden.


To date we've traveled approx 650 miles already! From Seattle to SF is about 800 miles, and we have about 150 or so to go.
Our current itinerary:
9/10: 10am departure to Port Townsend, WA
9/11: Port Townsend,WA to Port Angelas, WA
9/12: Port Angeles, WA to Neah Bay, WA
9/15: Neah Bay, WA to the sea, then to Newport, OR
9/21: At sea, then to Shelter Cove, CA ("An Island in Time" or so the sign in town said. We had to duck in and anchor in this creepy little Stephen King-like town. We endured 11ft swells and winds up to 38 knots, scary!)
9/22: Fort Bragg, CA...and we've been stuck here ever since due to a storm in Alaska that blew in causing gale winds (35+ knots) and 10-20ft swells! Yikes!
9/27: Fort Bragg, CA to Bodega Bay, CA
9/?: Bodega Bay, CA to Sausalito, CA
9/?: Sausalito, CA to San Francisco, CA

Where we are now:

Our most excellent buddy boat, Osprey
Our friends Richard and Brian aboard Osprey, have been traveling with us, which has been such a pleasure! They have been such a help to us with navigation, planning, preparation and more! Read their blog here or here.

About Us
Tim & Kathy
Originally from Seattle, WA and Woonsocket, RI, respectively, Tim and Kathy have been dreaming about this trip for years! Both in IT corporate America, they left their jobs and decided to live their dream aboard their Hallberg-Rassy 38. Beginning their trip in Seattle, WA, they'll be working their way down the west coast, through the Panama Canal to the Caribbean!

Peanut (aka Oldsmobile)
Originally hailing from Denver, our spry, sea-legged, deaf, 1-eye workin' mutt of the tender age of 16.5 years old, is rockin' with us on the boat. Never a dull moment with him on board!

Our Crew to San Francisco Stacey
Originally hailing from Seattle (by way of Denver, Anchorage and Hawaii), Stacey and Kathy met while in sailing school at Windworks in Ballard, WA. Stacey is a divemaster, silver smithing extraordinaire, jane of all trades, whiskey-lovin' sea ridin' photographer, and has been a huge help to have on board! Stacey disembarked Rhythm in Sausalito, CA. Thanks for everything, Stacey, especially your help to get us to San Francisco!!
Aaron
Originally hailing from Seattle, WA, Aaron and Tim have been buds for several years. They met at work, both in IT. No fear (climbing the mast a few times), eBay hustler, entrepreneur and IT guru, Aaron hooked us up with fishing gear for the trip and helped Tim immensely with various projects on the boat. Aaron disembarked Rhythm in Noyo/Fort Bragg, CA and is making his way south to San Fran as I type. Thanks for everything, Aaron, and for helping us with the toughest leg of the trip!!

View more photos on our photostream here!