ZF1RC's toy! His 55' Viking Convertible.
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May 2004. We decided to fly down to Los Suenos, Costa Rica this year to see what pacific sailfishing is all about. We also wanted to see how nice the marina was and what the weather was like on that side of Central America. We were thinking that if it was nice we may take the boat over there next year or the year after. Here are the pictures from Costa Rica 2004
June 2003. The boat was in the Bahamas for a couple of weeks in June. We went to the Exumas again and finally got to go to Shroud Cay. Then we went to Cat Island for about a week. Fishing in Cat Island was good. Caught Marlin, Wahoo, and Dolphin (mahi-mahi to you Americans) Here are the pictures from Bahamas 2003
April 2003. We went to Cancun Mexico to do some sailfishing. Have added pictures but have not had time to add comments so have just made another page with the picture. Click the link to see them Here are the pictures from Cancun 2003
May 2002. We spent almost four weeks fishing and cruising in the Bahamas on the Pocket Change. The weather was very bad for the first couple of weeks due to a storm that limited the fishing but gave us time to explore a few of the more touristy areas. I would have preferred to be fishing or otherwise using the boat but hey you can not control the weather.
We started this year in Marsh Harbour on the western side of Great Abaco. The weather kept us at the dock for most of the time we were here. The seas were 6-10 feet and the wind was gusting to 40 knots not really vacation type weather. The bad weather can be seen in some of these pictures from Boat Harbor.
We made a day excursion to Hopetown one day from Boat Harbor. Turned out to be one of the days we could have gone fishing but it sure did not seem like that when we got up that morning.
After we left Abaco we went to Nassau to refuel and pick up Rich and Tami (my brother and sister-in-law). Then it was off to the Exumas. First stop was Hawksbill Cay. We had the whole place to ourselves. This included many beaches and a creek that we ran the dinghy up. This was one of the prettier anchorages we stayed at and the seclusion made it even better. May have stayed longer but the weather kicked up again and made the decision for us.
One night Rich decided that he was going to play around with the sharks that came by the boat looking for scraps. Many boaters throw their dinner scraps overboard so the sharks know to come around. They are mostly timid but Rich decided to rile them up a little. He took a rope and tied it around a piece of fish, there was no hook so there was no chance of the shark getting hooked.
Next it was off to our favorite cay from last year: Cambridge Cay!
The next destination was Big Majors. This is again one of the most beautiful anchorages that we have been to. It was also very protected from the south easterly weather that we had. We had read about these 'wild' pigs and really wanted to check them out. Sure enough they are there and will approach you and even swim out a little ways to greet you. They are fed by boaters and locals from the nearby island leaving left over vegetables and such. Very neat experience.
Right next to Big Majors is Staniel Cay. One of the more famous of the Exumas. Parts of the James Bond 007 movie "Thunderball" were shot here. There is a cave that you can jump through a hole in the ceiling and drop about 60-80 feet and land in the water. What a thrill that was. I was a little hesitant but after Rich jumped I had to also! Too bad the camera was not waterproof that would have been a great picture.
We went to White Point next. Did not think there has been a boat there in some time but there were two people camped out on the hill. This place is miles from any civilization but they had kayaked down and like the solitude. This was yet another beautiful place in the Exumas. No protection from the weather though as we learned very early on morning, like about 4AM!
Then it was back to Cambridge for some more fun with the dinghy.
Last stop was Highbourne Cay. Then onto Nassau to drop Rich and Tami off so they could fly home. After that was Chub Cay hoping for one good day of fishing which did not happen. Then back to Miami. It was a great trip again this year but the weather was aweful. It was rainy and windy for at least 2 weeks and those do not go well with boating. We made the best of it and had a lot of fun. We now need to start thinking about where to go next time. Here are two picture that sums up the days when the weather was aweful. These are from Highbourne Cay.
May 2001. We spent three weeks on the boat fishing and otherwise tooling around the Bahamas in Pocket Change. It was a tremendous amount of fun even though the fishing was not that great. We caught more Dolphin (Mahi - Mahi to you US folks) than we knew what to do with so after we caught 3-4/day we would throw the rest back. No point filling up the box and ending up throwing them away. Here are some pictures that were taken around the Bahamas in the order of our trip.
We started out in Great Harbour Cay for a week.
Then we went to Atlantis Marina and Casino in Nassau for a few days of first class service and also so I could play some craps.
Next it was on to Highborne Cay in the Exumas for a few days.
From there it was onto Cambridge Cay for a day.
Warderwick Wells was next for a day. Someone forgot to clean the lens so only one picture came out.
Allan's Cay was out last day stop in the Exumas.
Our final destination was Chub Cay for a week of fishing. The waters off of Chub Cay are known for holding large Blue Marlin. Unfortunately there were none there when we were there. All of the boats were complaining about how slow the fishing was. The tournament the week prior to our arrival refunded entry fees as no one qualified for the cash prizes.
This set is taken in Atlantic City, NJ while the boat was being delivered. Please note the rather large tower in the back ground of the first picture.
The following were taken at our dock in Grand Cayman. As you may notice these are brighter and of better quality because they were taken with a digital still camera. Whereas the ones from Atlantic City, NJ were taken using the still option on a digital video camera.
Here are two pictures of us fishing in Cancun in 1998. These were taken on our old boat 'SUN DEVIL.' We normally do not like camera's onboard because of superstitious reasons. There were so many fish in Cancun this year it did not matter. The first picture is of me with the mate releasing a small sailfish. The second is my brother Rich fighting another sailfish. For some reason these are the only pictures I have found. When I get more I will post them.
More to follow, so check back!