Ravings for Remedies

Through the evermore busying weekdays and in this case a Thursday, we found ourselves on a charter cruise by appointment of Special K’s friend Em and her father, Sam. With excitement from all – my previous motion sickness proved inconsequential – we boarded the charter boat and were welcomed to the crew. Naturally, it takes some time to ‘hunt’ for the right location to drop anchor and lines, so that time was well spent socialising with some of the other hopeful fisherman.

One such individual, Patrick, told me of his adventures on a P&O cruise to Vanuatu. By my understanding it was little different from other events Rovers experience; sun, sex, sixpack and some not so desirable substances. And the dodgy things that take place aboard an incarcerating vessel; certainly, an enjoyable experience for the young, dumb and full of come.

The engine powered down as we reached a spot inhabited by Schnapper, Gummy Sharks and Garfish in some nineteen metre depth. The early morning sun rose above the smog and clouds and as such the temperature rapidly climbed to the anticipated 42°C day.

Baiting our hooks with pilchards and squid, and casting close to the vessel, it really was a waiting game – hit and miss. Though within minutes of luring the imaginary fish (there is obviously no clear way to ascertain whether a fish is anywhere near your line, except from taking a nibble), we all spun around to the experienced fisherman at the back who hauled a large Schnapper from the water. That was to be his routine for the rest of the day.

The heat was at its zenith when the Schnapper bites plateaued; it was the Flathead that were numerous for the remainder of the day. Special K caught one 26cm and about six undersized little suckers, I only caught two small ones (all undersized fish are returned to the bay). The heat was getting to me when I sat on the front of the boat applying more sunscreen. I was impressed with the charter’s amenities and care for their customers. The BBQ on board was a nice touch as with the unlimited hot chocolates.

I’m probably not the best fisherman as I like to cast and recast often. In other words I’m impatient. This was probably the reason why I only chanced upon two small fish, because I couldn’t wait long enough to catch something larger.

Em caught a nice Schnapper not one hour into the trip and even though we moved twice and drifted once, we received no other great catches. The elderly gentleman up the back was generous enough to distribute the six Schnappers around the crew, so that everybody had one. Even Patrick offered us his Schnapper. It was a taste of old Australian generosity I’d thought extinct and were so glad to be proven wrong. One of our skippers recounted some of his experiences on the trip back. He went scuba diving in the bay and was describing the affect of momentary disorientation on the Z axis. His views on the bay, in terms of dredging concerned me however. He believed that dredging would disrupt the toxic matter from the mouth of the Yarra and kill off the starfish infestation and devastation of the Bay life. It could serve no good purpose to the fishing industry, nor any other myriad of water sports and recreation. Dredging will destroy the bay. These thoughts needn’t escape my lips, I thought. I did not want to walk the plank and be consumed by a Bronze Whaler.

We thanked our hosts and ‘crew’ members when we reached the Mornington dock and proceeded to leave the vessel.
Out the corner of my eye, I saw a sweeping black shadow looming in the crystal clear dock water, it was ‘Hoover’ – a tame Stingray. Each time the crew of the charter return from a trip, they feed Hoover at the dock. It swims up to the surface and takes food from the skippers hand. I could’ve watched it for hours, but we needed to get back home and take care of some Ebay orders.

The rest of the day entailed rehydration and relaxation.