Are you familiar with the online game, WORDLE? If not, I recommend it. It's fun and it won't drag you down a time-wasting cyber hole for more than 20 minutes, usually. It's a good daily brain exercise. Janet recommended it a few weeks ago when we were in a wi-fi location. I enjoyed playing for a couple days until we sailed away from wi-fi once again.
I told Ned and Lisa about the game and we decided to make our own paper version while sailing. If you play the game just once, this will all make more sense. And if you keep reading this post, you will discover that this game actually has something to do with a recent sailing mishap. Perhaps WORDLE should include a warning label.
On 1/20, we crossed into Panama from Costa Rica. Panama was instantly impressive. The shoreline and numerous islands were beautiful. We also soon discovered that the fishing was unlike anywhere we had experienced so far.
We have a policy to only fish for food. With that in mind, we only keep fish that are the perfect size for no more than two meals between three people. We do not have a freezer on board and our refrigerator space is very limited, so whatever we catch has to be eaten in two days, completely.
From Mexico to Costa Rica, we had caught a total of nine fish, all of which were Skipjack Tuna, also named Bonito. Of these nine, we kept five to eat - the others were too small and released.
We fish using a handline, which is the same method used by most of the local non-commercial fishermen. The handline consists of a length of cord extending from each end of a rubber bungee, which serves as a dynamic shock absorber. Beyond the corded bungee is 150 feet of fishing line that pulls a lure. The cord is tied to our steel lifeline, port side near the stern.
It would be misleading to claim that there is any particular skill involved with our fishing technique. We simply let out the line as we sail or motor along, which results in trolling between 4-5 knots. Most days, the entire line follows along behind us for many hours before the untouched lure gets reeled back in, which generally happens as we approach an anchorage or a sunset, whichever comes first. Reeling in the lure involves wrapping the full length of fishing line around an empty plastic almonds container from COSTCO, one wrap at a time. It's a low-tech system.
The first day we entered Panama, the bungee stretched beyond what we had ever seen. I jumped up to grab the line and soon realized I needed gloves. I pulled hard as the fish pulled back. Eventually, we discovered that we had caught a very impressive and beautiful four-foot long Dorado, also named Mahi-Mahi. (Technically, we did not measure the length of the dorado for absolute accuracy. This way, the fish and the story can age into a five-foot version, keeping with the tradition of exaggerated fish tales). We wrestled the emerald green dorado onto the deck long enough to remove the hook and take a photo before releasing it back to sea. It was much too large for three people to eat in two days!
During our second day in Panama we caught a similarly large Yellowfin Tuna, also too big to eat. We had never experienced the problem of catching fish that were too oversized. We released the Yellowfin and eased the line out once again, hoping for a smaller dinner-size catch.
Then we started playing WORDLE.
Ned made up the word and Lisa figured it out rather quickly. I was stumped, but determined. As my brain worked to solve the puzzle, the wind faded and we decided to pause for lunch and a swim. We pulled into a small bay on the edge of a beautiful remote island that featured a sandy beach, curling around to form a perfect temporary anchorage. The turquoise water was 20 feet deep with a sand bottom, offering a routine anchoring procedure. Check the depth, turn into the wind, lower the anchor, shift into reverse while letting out 60-75 feet of chain, back against the anchor until the chain goes tight. Set. Realizing that Ned and Lisa had it perfectly under control, I continued with determination to solve the WORDLE puzzle before allowing myself to go for a swim.
Several minutes later, still unsuccessful and exasperated, I stood up and turned to exit the cockpit and immediately noticed that the fishing handline, or at least the remaining few feet of it, was still attached to the lifeline. The rest was gone.
Uh-oh.
That could only mean one thing. When Traveler was backing to set the anchor, the propeller must have come into contact with the fishing line. Clearly the line was cut. The only question that remained was whether or not the line was wrapped around the propellor. A quick snorkel dive delivered an answer. The line was wrapped so tightly that it took an hour of snorkel diving with a utility knife and a serrated kitchen knife to cut all the line free. It was the price paid for a careless and avoidable mistake.
And I'm blaming the whole thing on WORDLE.
On the bright side, I suppose this is good news for the fish along the Panama Pacific shoreline. Until we can buy more line, they will have one less lure to avoid.
And for WORDLErs who wish to know, the word was TRACE.
What's the Wordle word?!! Wordle is great fun, glad it spread to Traveler.
Wow! Who knew you’d become a fisherman! I’m bummed the video got cut off. Heard of wordle but haven’t played yet. Guess it’s time to check it out. Safe travels!! ❤️