10 Aug 2010
The Big One
This is the third year for our family to go to Thetis Island to one of Capernwray Harbour’s Holiday Bible Camps. This year we totally changed our mode of transportation and flew to Vancouver using Aeroplan points. We then rented a SUV (using Aeroplan points again), hopped on the ferry to Duke Point, drove to Chemanius, caught up with Opa and Oma and caught our second ferry but this time to Thetis Island. So what in the past has taken us three days, a couple nights in hotel, many kms in the confined space of a minivan, took only 10 hours. The kids still got to ride on the ferry and I was in a much better mental state.
Ok, so the Big One was not the trip out here. So, what was it? Capernwray has many activities but one that Alyssa looks forward to the most is to go Ocean fishing. The fishing trips are done on a lottery system because there are only 8 spots and with over 100 guests the chances are pretty slim to get your name picked. Well in typical Langendoen (my maiden name) fashion for the past 3 years we have managed to get our names picked to go fishing. The first year, Alyssa and I went, the second year, Dave and Mark went and this year, Alyssa and I got to go again.
At 6:00am this morning Alyssa and I assembled all the necessary fishing gear – snacks, fashionable hat, camera (charged and with lots of memory), lucky fishing dress and last but not least we sent our chai wallah (Dave) to go and get us coffee and hot chocolate.
We were ready!! After a 20 minute ride in the fishing boat it was time to drop our lines. This being Alyssa’s second time she demonstrated the pro that she was and first caught a rock cod (which waved at us with spiky fins), then a greenling, then a sea cucumber, and then to finish the trip off Alyssa caught the Big One! A Ling Cod that was easily over 5 lbs. Still not quite big enough to keep but pretty impressive all the same.
