The Curse is Broken! Kelly IV Learns to Fish. July 27–28, 2013.

You know the “Curse of the Bambino” was long-lived. Until this weekend, it seemed that “No Fish Caught While Capt Murph is Sailing” would achieve the same longevity. Since my boys were trying to catch fish on Lake Erie aboard the first Kelly, there has never been a sailboat I've been aboard that caught a fish. Not a friend's sailboat, not a charter boat, not even on the 4 day sail from Long Island to Bermuda where the skipper said “we always catch fish on this trip.”

Tom Lynch is a great friend who spices the relationship with his allergy to fish. As Tom is also an avid fisherman, that means I support my friend by eating all those dangerous fish that would otherwise harm my good friend. Warned that “No Fish Caught While Capt Murph is Sailing,” Tom accepted the challenge and brought his gear aboard Kelly IV for an evening and and Sunday of fishing. The weather was threatening scattered thunderstorms, but also foretold of fine breezes that would provide wonderful sailing.

Tom steers us to the fish

Given the late hour of the day, we motored directly into the wind and waves, focusing on the fishing. Tom proclaimed he would provide dinner for the evening by the time we reached the anchorage. He labored against the frequent salt spray and constant bouncing and pitching as Kelly IV barreled her way windward and south towards Thomas Point. The head-on force of the 15 – 20 knot breeze and 2 – 3 feet waves kept her speed to 3 knots. It was a fine trolling speed, yet the fish were having nothing to do with Tom's bait. After three hours the dark clouds, setting sun and blustery air encouraged us to seek the nearby anchorage of Fishing Creek, nestled close by Thomas Point.

Tom directs Kelly IV past Thomas Point Lighthouse

Always true to his word, Tom broke out the pre-cooked dinner of steak and Rockfish that he had prepared at home and brought aboard Kelly IV. A bit of warming on the stove and we enjoyed a delicious dinner of surf and turf. Or rather I did, while Tom limited himself to the turf. The after dinner entertainment for the evening was a private concert featuring the Tin Whistle talents of Irishman Tom Lynch as he played his whistle, recently acquired while visiting Ireland with his family.

The next morning we set off to a gray and windy day that proved perfect for sailing and fishing both. The breeze permitted downwind sailing all day as the gray kept the temperatures comfortable. Tom's first fishing effort was to bottom fish as we drifted with the wind and waves. A couple small Croakers broke the curse, but since they were not “keepers” it wasn't clear if the curse was truly broken or merely bent a bit.

Crokers

With the nice breeze, we sailed as Tom switched to trolling. Under jib alone Kelly IV still made 5 knots, which was too fast. Between working his two rods, Tom furled the jib until just a scrap was showing and our speed finally was down to 3 knots.

That must have done the trick as Tom caught and released several small Rockfish until Kelly IV began having notions of joining the local fishing fleet. But she wasn't really clear of the curse unless she could provide Tom the opportunity to catch a “keeper.”

Tom works the lines

The gray day burned away as the sun made frequent appearances and the breeze moderated. To keep the trolling speed up we tugged a bit more genoa into the wind.

Then it happened! The starboard rod began squealing like a motor boat in pain and Tom lunged across the cockpit to work the big one. He would haul the rod forward against both the water and the fighting fish, then reel in a couple feet. It was hard work as the reel chose this time for the mechanism to fail so Tom was now fighting both fish and machine. You can see on the chart where the fish was hooked as Kelly IV changed direction slightly. It wasn't until the dramatic curve back on course, that the fish was landed and the curse was well and truly broken.

Rockfish!  It's a KEEPER!

As the breeze continued to lighten, we unfurled the full jib and enjoyed a relaxing sail back to Annapolis. And I had the promise another great meal of fresh Rockfish!