Not been so active recently on the outdoor front, as the indoor element of my existence seems to have taken precedence. Rather tiresome, especially given the, now fairly, common “indian summer” which seems to follow on from the English lack of actual summer.
It is the usual adjustment to perceived seasonal changes.
Trees are turning golden, but I am hoping they are going to wait on for another few days so I can get out and see it all happening in the great outdoors rather than checking the tree colours from a window.
Cricketers are always complaining they have to play too much cricket. My heart bleeds, they seem not to care about me. Collectively they play one heck of a lot of cricket, think for a moment what that means for someone that likes to watch. There are endless matches, they run almost 24/7 and while a little under half the actual players are sitting in the dressing room earning money, I am sitting watching them, spending money.
It is worse being English as I have to support a team that is going to lose. Even my trusty 50 over stand-ins, Sri-Lanka struggle.
Earlier this week though a combination of improving weather and a bit of free time, which was not only free but brother and I were actually capable of doing more than sitting numbly in a chair hoping to gather the sort of energy needed to lift an arm, inspiration therefore for a fishing trip.
Every fishing trip has a long list of reasons why we are not going to catch anything. Tide is wrong, fish don’t bite when the tide is doing something or other which it usually seems to be doing. The season is wrong, usually some type of fish has gone somewhere else and we are waiting for another sort of fish to turn up. If by some miracle we are planning a fishing trip when fish are about, the tide will be wrong. If time and tide is correct the weather is so awful the best we can do is hope we don’t (a) run aground (b) throw up/end up out of the boat and in the water. If tide/time and weather is with us, usually the current isn’t and the boat swings about alarmingly and it becomes impossible to actually stay in contact with the line to determine if there is a fish on the end of it or not.
So those are the problems faced before catching a fish which will either be (a) inedible (b) to small.
I am no optimist so clearly fishing is not the reason I go fishing. It is just about being out in another element and spending time with my brother. Leaving the land and floating about on the sea also sets the mind free, the worries of everyday are left on the land. When you are on the sea the main goal is to not drown, it is pretty simple. Not quite as simple as it was 20 odd years ago when mobile phones meant 24/7 contact is now expected. Not answering a phone within 5 rings is now a reason to call out the emergency services nowadays.
The day before the fishing trip the weather was just about perfect. The start of the fishing trip in the harbour, it was perfect. The voyage too the fishing ground it all seemed fine. It just started to go a bit wrong when the anchor was hurled out and secured to the seabed. Wind and current were working against each other, which seems to be an all too common occurrence. The bit of the boat above the water wants to go in a different direction to the bit of the boat under the water. So we spent happy hours, side on to the waves being bunged about while not really knowing if we had a bite or not.
We stuck at it in the spirit of “fishing” for about six hours. At first we caught some fish of the too small/inedible varieties. This was something of a surprise as there were not a lot of fish in season at the moment. My brother is a keener fisherman than I, he actually professes to like it for its own sake. Cannot deny he does seem to fish far more than would be deemed necessary by most people.
Eventually though the realisation set in that the elements were going to beat us and we were only going to strain something battling against them. With that we slumped into our seats and bobbed about with the current, with acceptance often comes happiness.
Being on the water is quite wonderful, being in it is not, a lot of effort is expended on keeping that balance right. To see the coastline from the vantage point of the sea is great, a novel and interesting view, it gives a whole new appreciation for land and its real value to us.
Eventually though the magnetic draw of the one day cricket tournament overcame the pull of sitting in a boat being randomly rocked about so standing was difficult while not catching fish. Homeward bound, and as usual almost the instant the anchor came up and we stopped fighting the elements things became a lot calmer. An interesting life lesson, drifting is easier, but you end up on the rocks. I wonder what it is teaching.
At the halfway point the conversation turned from how bad the fishing element of the trip had been to how it will be better next time. It is a conversation we always have.
Really though it was great to spend some time with my brother doing nothing more than not-a-lot.
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