Clarion dealt us a tough hand today beginning with twenty to twenty five knot winds and the expected undesirable sea state to go along with it. Fortunately the brunt of the hideous conditions did not arrive until about 0900 but regardless the offshore pursuit of tuna around the dolphins was hampered significantly and eventually shut down. We did see very good signs of big yellowfin early, including a couple of spots of straight 120 - 200 pound class fish, but everything we found was in travel mode and hardly gave us the time of day though numerous attempts were made to convince them otherwise. Such is fishing and fortunately we are not new to this game. By two p.m. the writing was clearly on the wall and we made one final pass outside before bidding Isla Clarion farewell until next season. We are now hoping to get back with the program tomorrow as Isla Socorro holds all the promise for a strong finish to this fantastic trip that has hit somewhat of a wall since departing the inside three days prior.

On another note we have again been wrangling with our satellite carrier that appears to have developed an unfavorable pattern of losing our daily reports that I have been diligently sending every morning. If the report is not up, rest assured the trouble is not on our end. In the meantime we are working to resolve this issue that has now plagued the last two voyages. I can assure all of you following these reports that no one is more aggravated by the lack of continuity in our daily posts than I as I thoroughly enjoy and take great pride in sharing the events and details of these incredible adventures. Reports for the 18th and 19th should be up by now but if not they soon will be.

Tim