Albatross Charters - Cozumel, Mexico

The Black Flag Cafe is the place travelers come to share stories and advice. Moderated by Robert Young Pelton the author of The World's Most Dangerous Places.

Moderator: coldharvest

Albatross Charters - Cozumel, Mexico

Postby Chimborazo » Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:59 pm

Jon is my oldest friend and we even share the same birthday. A few months ago, Jon called me to suggest we take a short vacation with our girlfriends for a few days in December to celebrate our birthday together. Our criteria were simple—warm; good fishing; good diving; good fishing. It didn’t take us long to decide on Cozumel.

With its excellent diving, quick access to deep water rich with sport fish, and easy to reach from our home states (Colorado and Virginia), Cozumel seemed an ideal choice. In the month before we left, I spent many hours researching charter fishing companies and reading client reviews before finally selecting Albatross Charters. After an e-mail and a phone call, our fishing trip was booked for the day after our arrival.
Unfortunately, Cozumel greeted us with cloudy skies and high winds, with the forecast equally dismal. On the morning we were to go fishing, we went to eat breakfast and wait for the boat to pick us up from the hotel dock. I was concerned about the high winds and seas and, sure enough, my fears were confirmed – Cozumel Harbor was closed until further notice. Just as I learned this, one of the owners of Albatross Charters, Burak, came to the table and introduced himself. We agreed that if the harbor were open we would go out the next day. We were keen to get in some diving, so Burak said he would include two dives in the trip since we only had a few days.

The following morning, as planned, the Albatross was at the hotel dock just before 07:30 with Burak at the helm and Captain Pedro and Manuel on the lines. Docking was not easy, as the winds were still quite high and the chop around two to three feet dockside. With everybody finally aboard, Burak opened the throttles, allowing the powerful twin Caterpillar diesels to push the Albatross through the unrelenting Caribbean chop. After introductions were made, Captain Pedro returned to the fly bridge and took the helm from Burak, who came down to greet us and offer us fresh pineapple, croissants and beverages.

After a short ride, we arrived at the first diving ground. Burak, Jon, and Katie suited up to go for a dive, but I was more interested in the fishing techniques we would use, and how Manuel would rig the ballyhoo (a type of baitfish). After about forty-five minutes, we had rigged several ballyhoo and set rods in the gunwale holders, the outriggers and downriggers were ready to be deployed, and the happy divers had clambered back on board. We headed south and started trolling toward the southern tip of the island, then moved west toward the windward side of Cozumel and continued with a north to south to north trolling pattern. We trolled around any debris we found, looking for any dorado possibly lurking underneath. We had a few missed hits and landed just a few barracuda. The only explanation I had for this was that there was a full moon the night before, allowing our pelagic adversaries to feed all night and leaving them unreceptive to our enticements.

By early afternoon, everybody was hungry. Burak went back up to the fly bridge and took the helm from Captain Pedro, who filleted the smallest of the barracuda and disappeared into the galley. About thirty minutes later, he reappeared with a bowl full of fresh barracuda ceviche and a bag of tortilla chips, heading back to the galley to make a pile of fresh cheese quesadillas to compliment his beautiful ceviche. Barracuda is not known as a particularly desirable food fish. The flesh can be toxic due to heavy feeding on smaller reef fish containing high levels of a poison called ciguatera. But I can honestly say that Captain Pedro's ceviche was the best I have ever tasted. I don't know all the ingredients he used, but the lime, roasted jalapeños, and cilantro were all incredibly fresh. After fattening ourselves up during more unsuccessful trolling, we headed back to the diving ground for one more dive before returning to the hotel dock.

In spite of the disappointing fishing, it was by far the best day of the trip. Burak, Captain Pedro, and Manuel were very gracious and friendly hosts. Burak, a nuclear engineer by trade, is a gregarious, intelligent person, full of interesting and amusing stories. So if you're ever in Cozumel or Playa del Carmen and want to do some fishing, don't hesitate to call Albatross Charters. No matter the fishing conditions, you will have a great day—especially if Burak is on board.

For information and reservations please contact Albatross Charters:
Toll Free Number (US and Canada) - 888.333.4643
Cozumel Number - 872.7904
http://www.albatroscharters.com/
"The terrain is just too wiley coyote for me to risk it. Slam into arch, rope breaks, in the distance as I plummet 'meep meep'" -Caliban
User avatar
Chimborazo
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 4219
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:12 pm
Location: RVA

Re: Albatross Charters - Cozumel, Mexico

Postby Chimborazo » Wed Jul 08, 2009 1:00 am

Captain Pedro on the flybridge.

Image

Manuel rigging some ballyhoo:

Image

Having a beer with Burak:

Image

Manuel going through one of his fish calling rituals:

Image
"The terrain is just too wiley coyote for me to risk it. Slam into arch, rope breaks, in the distance as I plummet 'meep meep'" -Caliban
User avatar
Chimborazo
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 4219
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:12 pm
Location: RVA

Re: Albatross Charters - Cozumel, Mexico

Postby Chimborazo » Wed Jul 08, 2009 1:02 am

Captain Pedro filleting a barracuda for fresh ceviche:

Image

Mmmmmmmm....ceviche....... Lots of fresh cilantro, lime, tomatoes and jalapenos:

Image

Image

Manuel and Captain Pedro:

Image

Enjoying the ride back:

Image
"The terrain is just too wiley coyote for me to risk it. Slam into arch, rope breaks, in the distance as I plummet 'meep meep'" -Caliban
User avatar
Chimborazo
BFCus Regularus
 
Posts: 4219
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:12 pm
Location: RVA


Return to Black Flag Cafe

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests