ROSEMARY ABBOTT | Culture
DROUGHT ON THE OCEAN
Billy Williams, 33, once again came back from a fishing trip without any actual fish.
Going out on his mate Craig’s boat around the Bay of Islands, Williams spent six hours optimistically thinking he would reel in a big one, yet just ticked off another completely failed journey on the ocean.
“I mean, yeah, catching a fish would be cool,” Billy added, his voice trailing off. “But it’s really about the vibe. It’s about the journey. If a fish happens to hop on the line, then great, but that’s not the real prize, is it?” lied Billy, desperate to get a snap with some sort of large fish.
Craig, who has reluctantly become Billy’s fishing companion by default, chipped in. “Yeah, sure, mate. It’s about the ‘journey’—if by ‘journey’ you mean staring at the water for hours and pretending like you’re not obsessed with catching something.”
By the time they packed up, Billy’s rod had seen no action—again. Craig, who’d caught a decent-sized snapper on his second cast, didn’t even bother asking how Billy’s day had gone.
As they pulled into the dock, Billy pulled out his phone and called his partner, trying to sound upbeat.
“Hey, babe, yeah, just heading back now,” he began, staring at the completely empty cooler. “Yeah, didn’t catch anything again… but it was still a great day. It’s not all about catching fish.”
More to come.
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