18-Nov-2004 -- My son, my wife and I went to visit my brother, who is teaching anethesia for the fall 2004 semester at Ross Veterinary College, St. Kitts in the West Indies.
While we were there for a week, I decided to visit a nearby confluence at 17N 63W, about 43 kilometers to the southwest of the island. My brother contacted Larry Bethune, who is a emergency veterinarian for the school and also operates a charter fishing boat called "Cloud 9".
I met Larry at Port Zonte at 9am on November 18th, 2004, but we needed to get gasoline and had to wait until the attendant showed up and thus did not depart until after 9:30. The weather was overcast, and the water was a bit rough, with up to 8ft waves, and 5 knot winds primarily going to the southwest which helped on the way out but we had to fight on the way back.
On the way out to the confluence, we made a couple of zigs and zags to fish as we spotted birds chasing flying fish, which were being scared up by larger fish, and also when we saw some debris including a floating wooden pallet, but the fishing efforts were for naught.
We arrived within 25 meters of the confluence at 11:00 am, stayed in the area for 5 minutes, and then made the rough journey back, which required us to hang on to the railings and stand while crashing back over and through the waves.
While the journey out took a bit less than 90 minutes, the return took two hours as we returned back to the slip at 1:05pm. The total cost of the charter was $280, plus some aching ankles and wrists from all the pounding.