Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jun 25, 2010
Sandra and I received an invitation to a destination wedding at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico, on June 12. Her great- nephew, Karl Gehring, was marrying Cara Morgan of Houston. They met while attending KU.
As long as I was in the Caribbean Sea area of Cancun, I thought I might as well try deep sea fishing.
The hotel made arrangements for me at Water Kingdom, a large complex of fishing boats and jet skis. They also book scuba diving and snorkeling around the beautiful reefs in the area.
Sandra loves boating so she went along to take photos of the catch. We had a short night as the wedding was Saturday evening on the beach then dinner and dancing. Five o’clock Sunday morning came very early with a wakeup call so we could meet the shuttle to take us to the boat. The cost for me to fish and Sandra to go along was $205 for a six-hour fishing trip. I did not measure the cost in fish inches!
Our boat was the AquaWorld with Captain Louie and deck hand Hector doing the rigging of the lines. Hector worked very hard and fast as we set out to the fishing area.
Also on board were Doug, a young man from Australia, a newly wed couple, Bobby and Lori, from Texas and a father and son, Eric and Ethan Relph from Garden City. Eric attended Topeka West one year before moving to Garden City.
Captain Louie took us about 20 to 25 miles out. The roll was not rough; they said it was about two foot waves but very hot under the Caribbean sun. Hector worked on the lines, baiting each with a small fish and setting the downriggers on each side of the boat as well as three lines along the back of the boat.
Ethan, 9, hooked the first fish — a 90-inch bluefin sailfish that his dad helped him land. When Hector grabbed the fish and hauled it in it started flopping around the deck. Ethan’s eyes got big and he jumped as far away as he could from the fish. Then he cautiously stood by the fish to have his photo taken.
I caught the second fish, a nice sized bonito. By the time I got it in the boat, I was over-heated and just could not cool down and I was seasick the rest of the trip. A photo op for Sandra.
Bobby caught two small bonitos that were used for bait and Lori caught a nice bonito on Bobby’s bait. Eric caught a good sized bonito and Doug caught a 60-inch barracuda. Hector did not fool around with the barracuda and quickly shoved it in the live well. He did not want the very sharp teeth near anyone. No photo op for Sandra.
The total catch was 10 fish
destin beach wedding