We recently made the
passage from Barra de Navidad to Santiago, Mexico. There were some fish nets
that one panga fisherman showed us where to round the net. The next net a panga
lowered the net so we could pass through. Both very nice. The next trap (very
hard to see - clear coke bottles for buoys, an occasional green sprite one but
mostly see through) was a long line (a fishing line with hooks that is long).
In this case we were 2.5 nm off shore and were almost 10 nm off shore before we
got around them.
Yes, we probably should have gone the other way (towards
shore) but it was further “off course”. Anyway at one point there was a flag
pole a few feet high with a small pennant on it. That, I thought, marked the
end. However, the bottles started almost right away so we were not sure. So anyway,
it was 1.5 hours to round the long line(s). We figured it was easier to go around
and be safe than cut across and take a chance on getting tangled up in fish
hooks. If we sail out 10 nm miles and we do 5 knots we add about 4 hours to our
6 hour passage! I think long lines are
illegal here but that is not much help. I have cut a cruiser boat free of a fish net in Chamela (Perula Bay), Mexico and it was a scary thing.
So we are wondering besides sailing say a mile off shore or go
out 10 nm miles what can we do?
Do the long lines hang down far enough for our Islander
Freeport sail boat with a modified fin keel and skeg-hung rudder to sail over
them between coke bottles? Do the long lines just float around just below the
surface swaying in the current and swell? Any one got a proven method?
All in all, it was a beautiful day along with calm seas with
my wife Debbie and I going to Santiago .
Guess we will find out😎
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