August

-August 1st, The rain is keeping us inside most of the time. Today is my 32nd birthday and not much is different.
It is great to get to go sailing when the weather does clear up because when it is sunny and windy we can't paint anyway. I am just glad there are such great friends to be had around here that will take us out.
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-August, Well, since I can't always remember the exact dates (time has become pretty meaningless for us most of the time anyway) I will tell you a little about what we have done this month.
We spent time sailing around the area with our friends. We went to Cuttyhunk Mass. for a short visit with one of our friends. This is a really beautiful little island. There is a nice little beach, some tiny shops, a few historical sites and some great views and walks. While we did enjoy ourselves I must admit, this is a place for couples. It is romantic but expensive for what it is. To sail out here as a rest for the night on your way to Martha's Vineyard is ideal though.
Phoenix and I do try to work whenever we can. There is a lot to do in here. This month we prime and fair on the outside and run new electrical inside. Sorry there aren't any photos of it up here but it wasn't really that exciting.
What is exciting is the fishing! I love to fish, and I must say, I am pretty good at it most of the time but my fish aren't usually that big but they are usually big enough to eat though (14-18 inches). Well, out on one of our fishing excursions in the dingy where I was only able to catch tiny bait fish, Phoenix caught a mother of a fish. Now it's not like this was the biggest fish in the world but it was certainly bigger than anything either of us had caught before. This was what Phoenix was waiting for, the bluefish are known for being ferocious fighters and strong for their size, we agree. This warm sunny day was landing me tons of little (7-9 inch) bait fish and Phoenix was getting nothing. Quite discouraged, he just laid there in the dingy disgusted by my apparent luck at reeling fish in with every cast while they seemed uninterested in anything he had to offer. He sat there with his line in the water and exclaimed "Damn-it, why can't I just catch ONE nice big fighter that bends the rod over?" Well as if on que, his rod bent so violently I thought he was being jerked overboard! Damn he had a big one! The dingy was tied off to a mooring at the time (usually we just float around) and I could only imagine what kind of ride we would have been in for if we weren't tied off. The painter was stretched taught and the mooring ball was pulling against the water. This fish was trying to take us somewhere. It wasn't too long before Phoenix managed to get him alongside the boat but I am sure it seemed like an eternity to him. The rod was bent over further than I had ever seen, I just knew it would break at any moment and the horrific scream of the reels drag being pulled just added to the excitement. Once inside the boat we recognize (or at least think we do) that this is a bluefish. The large teeth gave us a clue that we may not be getting the hook back anytime soon, unfortunately Phoenix, not really settled from the fishing high, got just a little too close to the mouth, and in an instant the little monster, as if to say, "I'm not done with you yet" turned it's head an gave a great snap to his finger. Almost took the thing off too. As we motor back to the docks to handle the fish we had to make a pit stop at another boat nearby with a first aide kit. We don't have scales and such but the tape measured about 34.5 inches and we guess the weight to be around 20lbs. Lots of sun, fun and blood and that tasty little morsel is gone. (tip: grill bluefish with miracle whip smeared all over the top and make sure to cut the darker parts of meat out before cooking. It is an excellent taste)