Shark!

Until this morning, Wednesday 11 September, our progress West back towards our winter quarters near Bridgeport, Connecticut, has been somewhat uneventful. Actually that’s not quite true, as yesterday morning at 07:20 the Skipper hooked a 2.5lb Atlantic Bonito. Filleted and grilled (thank you Lee), there was plenty to feed four for lunch - well deserved after the dawn start from Point Judith Harbour of Refuge (near Newport, Rhode Island) towards aptly named Fishers Island, where Follyfin is now tied to a mooring.

Yes, we had been slightly surprised to see cows paddling in the sea off Cuttyhunk Island, the southernmost of the Elizabeth Islands - these form the eastern border of Buzzards Bay - but otherwise just the usual spotting of various boats of different shapes and sizes.

But things were about to become a whole lot more eventful... Having decided to stay at Fishers Island overnight (the North Star Vs (aka Lee and Deborah) wanted to get home so slipped their line after lunch), the Follyfins (aka Skipper and First Mate) enjoyed tranquility, sunshine and warmth in this place for the rest of the afternoon. During this time, however, First Mate swam around the boat three times and Skipper set about baiting our collapsible creel and dropping it overboard from the dinghy, behind some nearby rocks, in the hope of catching some prawns overnight. Upon retrieval early this morning, imagine our shock to find that a Sandbar Shark, almost 4ft in length, had somehow managed to become trapped inside it! This is not the outcome we would have wished for. The creel is designed to catch lobster, crab, prawns and possibly small fish; definitely not a big shark!

Unfortunately, the poor fish was dead on our arrival. As the zoologists and the cognoscenti amongst you will know, sharks have no gills so have to keep swimming in order to breathe. This unfortunate fish found itself trapped and unable to move, so died - but not before devouring a crab and the claw of a good-sized lobster (and to think I was swimming nearby a few hours earlier!). We have been informed (thanks Will) that this species is classified as ‘declining’ on the IUCN list due to overfishing but also that it is ‘tasty’. Rest assured dear readers that this shark’s life will not have been in vain. The fridge now has three bags of shark steaks of varying sizes sitting in it. The only worry is that the demand of Follyfin’s crew will be unable to keep up with the supply.