Hunting

I know of cruisers who spear lobsters and eat them practically every night. They’re so good at it we call them “slayers”. I went out with a couple and shared in their lobster feast, but until recently I haven’t caught any myself.

I’ve learned quite a bit of fishing the last few months, both with a line and with a pole spear. Spear fishing in the Bahamas is done while free diving (fishing using compressed air is illegal) and using some kind of pole spear or sling (spear guns are illegal too). The first time I went spear fishing with experienced divers, we were free diving in depths from 15-25 feet. I only ended up “catching” a bloody nose. Needless to say, I had to practice and work my way up (or more accurately, down) to those depths. Since Serena won’t allow me to dive without partners–understandably– I had few opportunities to improve my game…until recently.

With Josh from sv Full Moon, we had a few good fishing opportunities outside of Hatchet Bay. The first time we went out, the seas were quite rough and it was hard to explore the rocky cliffs. I ended up spearing only a lion fish, and I missed twice at lobster. The next time out in calm conditions, we caught lobster, lion fish, and crabs–we each caught one apiece. And the following day, I speared my first non-lion-fish fish, a Nassau grouper. Alas, lobster season has come to an end, so it’s only fishing now.

My first lobster.

The catch.

The kids played around the edges, weaving in and out of the action.

Playing with crabs.

The kiddos saw firsthand what was in the lion fish’s mouth…

They don’t need to read about the food chain in books, they can see it for themselves.

Our dinner with Full Moon. Serena made a Brazilian fish stew with the lion fish and the rest was grilled and served with butter.