This final day of travel always seems freighted with a certain sense of anxiety as the reality of the fishing soon to come weighs on final preparations. Again drags are checked, again splices are evaluated, again anglers and crewmen alike go over the check off list doing their best to eliminate the possibility of an unpleasant surprise when the action begins. In essence, the third day is when it all comes together. The old man comes down and lays out the game plan as he sees it, and then, the final wait begins.

I can say from vast experience that this final day is always the longest. Even the most stoic anglers at this point are wound like coil springs barely able to contain a youthful anticipation akin to that a child harbors the night before arriving at Disneyland. This is the culmination of weeks, months, perhaps even years of yearning, anticipation, and preparation. The moment is on the verge. I can only hope that everyone one of you reading this are as passionate about something as these anglers are about fishing. Actually, I wish everyone was as passionate about fishing; even better as passionate about fishing on Royal Star.

And so approaches the best portion of the voyage tomorrow and beyond as we get down to the business we came for. Everything we can ask for is presently aligned. It is now up to the fish, and our wits, to make it happen.

Tim Ekstrom