Eventually it was Saturday the 29th of November and the group had arrived in Gladstone. We met on the Capricorn Star and began building our 'Tackle Mound' out the back (mound diving became a popular sport). The weather forecast was for 20/25 knot South Easterlies so the early departure for Saumarez was put back. The Bathtub (aka Tub, Game boat) also needed a bit of work. So the group headed over to the nearby Yacht Club, for a bit of lunch and a bonding session.

By about 6pm all was ready and we headed out to the Swains. The conditions were very bumpy. Some preferred to try and sleep, others lashed themselves to seats in the lounge area. Gator had brought Helen, his inflatable mistress. But He soon discovered that these waters require women made of sterner stuff. Somehow he broke her arm off, probably had something to do with all the bottles of red he and Josh were drinking.

A quick stop was needed on the way out. The Tub had been taking a lot of water on during the journey and was in danger of sinking. Problem turned out to be a flat battery on the bilge pump. (Note to self - game boat should have self draining deck).

Despite this, we arrived safe at Hicksons Cay, near the southern end of the Swains Reefs. Some more work was done on the Tub and we got two fishing sessions in the dories. The action was pretty slow, I picked up a couple of trout and a small Dogtooth was caught on the troll. With all the wind blowing it was pretty wet work in the dories. The weather forecast was improving so we decided to head out to Saumarez that night, leaving around midnight.

It was another rough night of traveling. Most of us were getting our sea legs by this time, but it was still pretty un-comfortable.

We pulled in close to the reef, near the wreck. Still very windy and choppy but we hit the dories and the tub anyway. PK and myself did some trolling around the line of bombies near the mother ship. PK got his first Jobfish and Dogtooth. Pretty slow and only a couple of other fish were caught.

I have never seen fishermen so wet as the guys who had been out in the Tub. We discovered that once you are completely drenched, any more spray just flows off you, like water off a ducks back.

In the morning we moved up the reef towards the northern end. One of the targets for the game boat was to fish the edge near the North East Cay. This was a chance for our Tub to redeem herself, and for us to get into some action.

Scott, Lenny and Sean headed up there first and were almost immediately hooked up to a Sailfish, around 80lb. Lenny got it in for a photo shoot prior to release. They also tangled with the rampaging hoards of Yellowfin Tuna, around the 30lb mark.

During this time Chris & PK were trolling in a dory around a deceptively good looking piece of coral. Unaware that it was a cursed bombie, and all fish that come from it are cursed fish. Chris caught a good sized Dolphin Fish, only to have it stick a hook into his leg. They headed back to the mother ship, fixed it up and it was straight back to the cursed bombie. Then PK boats a decent sized Dogtooh Tuna, but during the un-hooking process Chris smashed one of his thumbs with the donger. A split second later the fish sunk one of the trebles from the lure into his other thumb. PK was two thumbs down, so once more back to the mother ship. A team of surgeons was standing by, the operation was a success and PK was once again ready for action.

So it was Two Thumbs (PK), Chris and myself that headed out in the Tub for the afternoon session. Darren was at the helm and keeping a close eye on Chris (and the donger), as we headed up to the Cay. The lures were put in, and one was immediately hit by a small Barracuda. We had not decided who was on strike yet, but I was sitting next to the reel so took it. After release I was setting the lure back out when it was hit by something. I called Strike! and Darren gunned the boat. We saw the Marlin's head come thrashing out of the water. Fighting the fish was made all the more interesting by the 4-6ft waves that were coming at the Tub from all directions. We got the fish boat side (around 120lbs?) and released in good condition. We got video of it but no photos.

We placed the lure spread back out, and it was time for me to have a beer and a smoke, a bit of quiet time to reflect on the recent capture. Unfortunately the Yellowfin Tuna had other ideas. We got a double hook up almost immediately. Chris and PK took their positions and indulged in a bit of Tuna Tango.

No problem, all I had to do was clear the other two lures, then I could have my beer and smoke. I noticed a large splash and swirl behind one lure, while I was winding up the other. Hoping it was a Wahoo; I grabbed the other reel handle and gave it some quick turns. This resulted in a solid hook up. I realized then that there are only three fishermen so I better get the fourth lure cleared before it got hit too. The fish turned out to be another Yellowfin Tuna; I joined in the Tango with Chris and PK. We got all three tuna (around 30lb) in and released.

Meanwhile, the boat was filling with sea water, mixed with Tuna blood. A bit of bailing was in order. (Note to self - game boat should have self draining deck). This was made slightly difficult because: The Tuna would not leave our lures alone, the conditions were deteriorating and the boat was really rocking. This made finishing my beer and smoke quite hard. I suggest practicing lighting cigarettes under water as preparation for a session like this in the Tub.

At one point a Tuna got loose in the Tub and went for a little swim (worlds largest Tuna Tub/Tube?). We ended up keeping the teaser in the boat and generally no more than two lures out at a time. The waves were getting over the 6ft mark. One of our new lures was lost when a Tuna got sharked. Another shark went straight for a lure. We tagged teamed him up and headed back to shelter. It was getting too hairy out there.

The forecast was for a change to North Easterly winds, around 15/20 knots so we decided to up anchor and head to Fredericks that night. As we left Saumarez the change had already arrived. And it was blowing 30 knots, not 20!

We had another rough night of traveling, but most had good fish under their belt by this time. This always makes the traveling easier.

It was blown out at Fredericks. Everyone had already been doing it tough in the Tub and dories, not to mention the hours of traveling. That morning it was decided that we would take the Tub out and leave the dories packed up on the roof. Josh & Gator were keen for a dory fish, but agreed to stay on the mother ship to keep things simple.

Trolling from the mother ship produced heaps of Tuna and a Wahoo on the troll. Everyone on board was treated to some hot bottom fishing action that these reefs are well known for. Good specimens of Coral & Coronation Trout, Jobfish and Jap (Turbo) Bream were boated. Some were taken by sharks, to cover the Coral Reef Fishing Tax, but the BBQ Fishes of The Coral Sea where boated in abundance.

I trolled with Mitch and Darryl in the Tub. It was very wet and the wind did not get below 20knots in the morning. I had to bail my Dory Bag out occasionally! We did manage to troll up a couple of Jobfish and the smallest Rainbow Runner I have ever seen.

Scott and the boys took the Tub for the afternoon and the rest of the crew stayed for a mother ship session.

Heaps of Yellowfin Tuna on the troll. Chris boated a Wahoo around 25lb on the Purple Submarine. The sub is a large purple bibles lure, trolled well back from the mother ship. The lure appeared to cover from about 30ft below the water to 10ft above the water (not in accordance with the manufactures specifications).

Another Wahoo came fully out of the water to fillet my skirted lure. It was up close to the boat and we got a good look at it imitating a flying fish. Fortunately the lure has easily replaced skirts. A reminder of how potent the toothy arsenal of these fish is. Score Lure 0 - Wahoo 1.

The morning dawned rough and windy yet again. We kept on getting forecasts of 15/20knots or even 10/15knots, but we never saw that. The wind this morning was blowing over 25knots.

Darryl and I took the Tub with Darren, once again at the helm. This freed the mother ship for trolling and bottom fishing. The action in the Tub was slow, and very wet. We did manage a Wahoo around 30lb on my recently filleted lure. Several cigarette lighters died in the attempt. Score Lure 1 - Wahoo 1, all tied up.

The mother ship action was much as before. Trolling produced many Tuna and a first Wahoo to Ged. Bottom fishing pulled up good Jap Bream and Jobfish.

The conditions did back off a bit latter in the morning with the wind getting below 20knots.

Gator & Josh did some kind of reverse Marlin Fever. They went to bed early the night before, and took only water in the dory with them. They were trolling quite close to the Mother ship as we where bottom fishing. Sitting at the back of the mother ship, we were treated to the sight of a large Marlin leaping out of the water and going spastic behind their dory.

Josh had the fish hooked and Gator was at the dory controls. With a bit of pirouette left and pirouette right, Josh was able to gain good meters on the fish. It took around two hours to finally bring the fish back to the surface. She had spent most of the time hanging deep, testing Josh's TLD25 to the limit. Fighting the fish kept them close to the mother ship, we all had a good view of the action.

We spent a bit of time trying to revive the fish, despite looking to have died before it came up. But it was swum from the dory for a while, and then passed over to the mother ship for more of a swim. Unfortunately this had no effect, and she was consigned to the freezer. At around 250lbs it was The Marlin and Fish of The Trip.

To be in a 4 meter aluminum boat, over 400km from land, fighting against a fish weighting around 120kg - It's something that very few will ever experience. Well done Josh & Gator.

Winds were abating somewhat and tending to stay around the 15knot mark. More dory and tub action was undertaken. Plenty of fin and another 20-25lb Wahoo came in. We decided to stay at Fredericks for another day.

Note: We caught so many Yellowfin Tuna that we could have spent all day just saying the words "Yellowfin Tuna". Henceforth, while at sea, they are to be referred to as simply "fin". We don't have time for fancy titles, and at the end of the day, they are only Marlin Bait!

Best conditions by far. First session saw a hook up on a Sailfish or small Black Marlin. Heaps more fin and the biggest (60lb) was brought in. Action in the tub that afternoon saw us hook a 250-300lb Black Marlin. That is judging by the quick look we got when she jumped and thrashed around on the surface. The hooks never set and she got away. Lenny got the biggest of the Wahoo on my re-skirted lure, about 40lbs. Score Lure 2 - Wahoo 1 and nearing full time (was the final score). I got my personal best Dogtooth Tuna at 45lb.

An afternoon expedition was undertaken to one of the small sand cays formed inside the reef. The crew and most of the guys went over and got off for a bit of a look around. Julie collected plenty of interesting shells, but it seems that the birds sitting on the cay were none to happy about the visit. Those that had a swim noticed the raging currents in this area. Explains why the sand cays can be there one visit, gone the next....

Hit Saumarez North-West cay at first light. Tub launched and trolling/bottom fishing done from the mother ship. Tub action was hot and heavy. My favorite & most lucky rod (God Rest its Soul) was broken in a tangle between an outrigger, during the fighting of a large fish (its how it would have wanted to go..). Persistent fin action as we headed for home. There was little or no wind and we missed glassy conditions by a few days.

Not a bad trip given the conditions we fished in. The crew was enthusiastic and worked tirelessly. Darren took the tub out morning and night. Then he comes back, sits in a bosons chair off the front of the Tub, getting dunked in the water, putting a shackle on. Jumps out, dries off and then offers to get you a beer.

It’s a long way there and back. Everyone handled the poor conditions very well, while tangling with some top rated sports fishing species. Not only that - had a great time doing it!

On the last Sunday, Fredericks looked like something from Hawaii. Continuous 6-8ft perfect barrels were breaking over the reef, with some larger sets coming in. The fine spray coming from the back of the waves was making rainbows, and you could see the reef through the waves as they broke.

Definitely have to go back....

Several people asked about the ship that was wrecked at Saumarez. The details are:

Francis Preston Blair. American Liberty ship, 7181 tons. Built 1943 by the Marineship Corporation Yard at Sausalito, on the north west side of San Francisco Bay, which built a total of fifteen Liberty ships. Lbd 422.8 x 57 x 34.8 ft. Wrecked on the eastern edge of the Saumarez Reef in the Coral Sea, 15 July 1945. She was attempting to outrun a Japanese submarine. She was used on occasions as a target by the RAAF, which dropped dummy bombs.

There is an old photo of her here: Ship Pictures.

She spent about two years as a Liberty Ship, nearly sixty now as a sea bird roost.