CAPT. MIKE IN THE MALDIVES: DAY SIX

  Well another day begins with coffee at dawn. Breakfast and a stop at two reefs for some snorkeling before stopping at a sand bank for lunch (04 03.253N, 073 23.460E).

At another nearby sand bank a work boat was anchored near shore.

They were collecting sand to be used in various construction projects possibly at one of the many new resort projects that the Maldivian Government has approved to bring more tourism to the islands.  Meanwhile Issac was trying to catch some fish who were creating some excitement near the reef.

 Unfortunately, nothing landed on the hook.  Still as I sat up forward the scene just called out for a beer:

 As Maldives have no local brews. A Tiger beer from Singapore will have to do and it does. Speaking of Capt. Mike drinking a beer.

Well, even though Issac was unsuccessful we still had past successes to enjoy for lunch:

Two more snorkels followed in the afternoon. Making a total of four for the day. It's just delightful to spend a good amount of time in these waters and not just above them as the variety and amount of fish is amazing. We stopped Velassaru Faru and anchored near the Laguna Maldives resort (04 06.928'N, 073 25.635E) for the nights anchorage:

A little after sundown I noticed a pail with some Mackerel bait on the stern. These are called Moshimus locally.

We were relaxing on the trampoline forward reading our Kindles while waiting for dinner. Then we heard some commotion at the stern. Issac and Ibrahim had something on one of the hand lines they had dropped over the side:

You can tell by the smile on Ibrahim's face that he is pretty pleased with the catch;



Who could blame him after catching a nice Red Snapper like this on a hand line:

 

 

It was not long before Issac was scaling and cleaning the fish or as Ibrahim liked to call it "doing a post mortum".  

 

After Issac was finished back in the galley Ibrahim was still smiling at our good fortune as he gave the Red Snapper filets a final rinse:

 

There was a little change in the menu for dinner as Ibrahim provided me with another pinch me moment as he served up some pan fried Red Snapper that was landed less than an hour before:

 

Now that's what I call eating fresh fish. But, that's not all! Neptune was in a generous mood this evening as he also gave us another Red Snapper too. Which Ibrahim holds up before he begins the "post mortum" on this 30 lb beauty:

 

 

It's our last night in the South Male atoll and the Red Snappers are almost like a parting gifts to remind us of our wonderful journey through this part of the Maldives. Tomorrow we head north.

CLICK HERE FOR CAPTAIN MIKE IN THE MALDIVES: DAY FIVE POST

CLICK HERE FOR CAPT. MIKE IN THE MALDIVES: DAY SEVEN POST