For want of a Snapper

Fishing has become a large part of our daily activity in the past year and a half. On Eueiki island, we spear our food almost every evening. This evening we wanted a particular fish: the red snapper. These have been most difficult to shoot, as they are the predators preying on reef fish that wander into deeper water. We divided our strategy with Chad and Allistair fishing and myself and Tyler spearfishing. The ocean was rough that evening by our standards (we later found out it was the result of a cyclone a few hundred miles away). I considered the lee shore of the island, but Chad reminded me the snapper were more abundant on the south reef of Euakafa, the island two miles to the west. When there are fish, safety slips from the mind like the hazy memory of a budget after a few drinks at the bar.

Tyler and I donned our gear, and hopped off the dinghy (Firefox). After a few dives, Tyler surfaced with a small chub. Chad and Allistair stayed away from the reef in white-capped open water. Calming myself in the excited water, I took a deep breath and performed a quick duck dive. Descending to fifty feet I clutched a piece of dead coral to stabilize myself against the strong current. Five red snapper swam in my direction and stopped. After what seemed like a debate to continue, the brave one entered my range and I squeezed the trigger. The spear pierced through both gill plates and I surfaced calling for Chad to pull around the boat.

Conditions seemed to have worsened during the below water time. Chad approached and a wave pushed the boat over me. Thankfully, Chad had put the engine in neutral, preventing the propeller from blending my left abdomen. This act unfortunately caused the engine to stall as it drifted swiftly towards the reef. In between swells I saw a six foot breaking wave lift the back of Firefox and throw Chad and Allistair into the air. Paddles, fishing rods, fish, a bucket, masks, snorkels, and spear guns scattered across the ten foot deep reef as waves continued to crash over the boat. I quickly tied the fish (still in my hands attached to the gun) to a large piece of coral underwater. After a difficult time righting the boat Tyler and I became rescue divers scouring the reef for lost equipment an amazingly recovering all except for the paddles and a bucket.

Having been submerged, the engine became non-functioning. Tyler, Chad and I swam Firefox against the wind, waves, and current to a relatively sheltered area on the outside of the reef and weighed our options. The sun was down and the decision to stay anchored through the night quickly became our best option. The largest concern was our Mother and Mike still being on the island and not knowing our location or situation.

It was a long, cold, sleepless night out with 4 people crammed in a 14 foot inflatable boat. Every ten minutes a wave would crash over the bow drenching our shirtless bodies. When the frequent squalls blew through, we developed a shelter system with four fins acting as shields. We shot a spear out as a secondary anchor in the event our primary failed (fortunately it did not).

Early the next morning, Chad and Tyler put on our squall shields and swam the mile and a half to Eueiki across “Shark Alley,” known for having large sharks. Walking up the beach, then casually greeted Mike and our Mom. The time was around 6:30AM, right before a meeting took place in the main town to coordinate a search and rescue party. Some local friends came out to tow our boat back to the island through rough seas. After the rescue, Captain Ongo, a speaking chief and owner of the uninhabited island we spent the night off of just smiled as he watched me unload the last item on our boat. In my hands I held a 10 pound red snapper.