land⋅lub⋅ber (noun)

Showtime of 4:45am means arriving in the dark in order to catch the sunrise while heading out to the fishing hole. Not everyone was there at 4:45, but this operation didn't call for the punishment of missing a movement (article 87 of the UCMJ). Our punishment was non-stop mocking for the poor ensign.

We drove out of the port on the Blue Fin and caught the sunrise over the White Beach Naval Base, and were off into the blue yonder.

The Blue Fin claimed its first victim 15 minutes into the ride out. No later than 30 minutes into the trip, another landlubber (; an unseasoned sailor or someone unfamiliar with the sea) was checking out the other side of the boat. After 45 minutes on the water, I asked what time we'd drop our lines. "About 7:30" replied the Captain. After a double-take with my watch, I realized that was another hour way.

With two of the nine onboard already getting sea sick in the first 30 minutes, I knew this wasn't going to be a pretty trip.

By the time we'd been fishing about three hours, seven of the nine had found themselves feeding the fish without the bait provided by the captain. We headed in earlier than planned, for the good of all who were suffering.

All in all, everyone caught about 3-4 fish, including this wahoo that was landed on the way back in to the port. At least the trip ended with all smiles.




Coming from salmon fishing trips on Lake Michigan, I knew I had to bring a big cooler. The captain started cleaning the fish when we returned to the port, but most of us were ready to head home. With the light catch, time needed to wait for all the fish to be cleaned, and the excuse that I was leaving in two days (to be off Okinawa for a month) I was perfectly happy to bring home only this slice of tuna. It made the best sashimi we've had in a while.