Chris had disappeared for some time; lost in his little garage at home conjuring up some type of fiberglass hull that he assured me was well worth the hassle.

It was still dark when Chris and I launched the Flying Fish from Tinley Manor, a mission that I was not too familiar with and not too optimistic about. The optimism came from the skipper who was not wearing night vision goggles but was none the less raring to get his newly built boat out into the deep. I off course wanted to do some fishing without having to paddle my lure around the reef as this was my usual routine. We reached the reef about 1 km North of the launch and had still seen no hint of the sun other than a less dark sky above. From my sad and limited pack of tricks I decided to put my good and faithful tried and tested red head deep diver lure out, the proof of this being evident by all the teeth scars covering the lure. Chris put out his little secret weapon and I can’t remember what it was as it was still a little too dark to see. The droan of the motor was soon joined in by the screaming of a reel, we both looked at the reels behind us and then simultaneously at each other. It was my reel screaming away and in hind sight should have given it to the skipper to pull in the first fish on his boat. These lessons we learn later, any how there was action.

After an enjoyable fight I landed a +- 6kg bonny, not a great fish but was certainly better than no fish. We were both excited and continued the hunt. The morning slowly began to crack through the horizon mirroring the glassy blue and orange surface of the water. The feeling was awesome, two mates on the water, a fish in the hatch and an entire morning ahead. There were no more fish that day but the memory lives on.

A few years have passed since then and The Flying Fish had been sitting in the driveway for some time getting smashed by the elements when I finally plucked up the courage and asked Chris to sell her to me. The answer was slow and hesitant a bleak decision but due to circumstances an agreement was reached. I handed the bundle of cash over to Chris, his eyes lit up for a moment and then he gave me a kind of ‘if to any one to you’ silent gesture.

We, my girl friend Vanessa and I bought a 25hp Yamaha less than two weeks after settling the bill with my friend. After some maintenance Van and I were in the dam that week end to run the motor in. I could not sleep the night before as the excitement was too much. We hit the dam early before all the meat heads arrived. Like any chap running in a motor the control you have to practice is almost indescribable as you just want to open up and feel the power and wind in your face. I managed to control the speed urge and after +- 5hours the 25l tank was spent. We returned for round number two the following day, and the Flying Fish was just that, she glided through the water like a bullet through paper, she turned on a pin head and hit the plane in about 3 seconds with a crew member aboard. An amazing little boat just as I remembered her.

My friend Chris has a serious talent, as this was his first attempt at boat building and the boat is so functional and well thought out that it is kind off scary. Well done Chris the Flying Fish would be a commercial success but I’m happy to be the only part owner of the only one.

Willo