Day 166 Fish for dinner

At 0800 Fiji time our position was S16º15 W175º30 and we had travelled 104 miles since departure. We have a little over 200 miles to go until we reach Fiji waters and the plethora of reefs that we will have to negotiate. At that point, we will have crossed the geographic date line (our longitude will be in degrees East and will be decreasing as we travel West) and will have left Polynesia and entered Melanesia.
Fiji alone is larger than all of Polynesia (French Polynesia, Samoa, Cooks Islands and Tonga) in population, land area and number of islands. From what the guide books say, it could occupy a whole summer of sailing and exploring all by itself. Since we will be there only a short time I expect we will just scratch the surface.
Yesterday Liahona had three fish on their lines at the same time and lost all three lures. We had one strike on the pole line but when we reeled it in, we had no fish and no fish hook. The hook had been sheared off just at the place where it bends. Assuming that it was done by a large fish, it is just as well we did not try to catch it. Any fish that strong deserves to stay in the sea.
At about 3 PM we were discussing what we would cook for dinner when the pole jumped and we had a fish on the line. Mark reeled in a 42" dorado and our dinner plans were decided. Dorado is an interesting fish. When it is in the water it is either blue or green and the same fish can display both colors. Once out of the water it turns an iridescent golden yellow color and is quite beautiful. When it is on the menu it is called mahi mahi and is delicious in a butter sauce.
Otherwise the day was uneventful. The wind is very mild and the sea quite calm so we entertain ourselves changing the sail trim every now and then to try to get some speed out of the meager wind. Usually the result is an immediate increase in speed for about 10 minutes which makes us feel like we accomplished something even though soon after we are at the same speed we were before we made the changes. At least is is a constructive pass time.
During my watch, I could see the masthead lights of the other two boats in front of us. This is the first time we have sailed with other boats since the first day out of Mexico. After all the sailing with nothing around us, it seems a bit like we are not really at sea when there are other people within eyesight. It is a little like Daniel Boone's idea that when you can see the smoke from your neighbor's chimney, it is time to move. This is our ocean - what are they doing there.