On a quiet Friday afternoon I got the call from Jason that he was going to launch ‘El Pescador’ his Makaira 925, and run it up the coast to it’s marina berth in Whangaroa harbour. The only issue was that Jason’s truck was not rated to tow the five and a half ton vessel, so a contractor was on his way with the ultimate tow vehicle, a big tractor.
Once ‘El Pescador’ was launched I was instantly impressed by the high level of detail, being my first time on a finished 925 Makaira I couldn’t help but notice the perfect welds, the immaculate stitching on the roof lining and vinyl covered dash – everything was finished to a level that I had never seen before in a trailer boat, it was a super yacht standard.
Once we had navigated our way out of the Kerikeri Inlet, we streamed out of the Bay of Islands, past the Cavalli Islands and into Whangaroa harbour. ‘El Pescador’ just ate up the ocean, it wasn’t flat with about 1.3m of swell, and over 20 knots of wind, but we still managed to cruise at 28 knots, and hit the mid 30s on occasion to have a bit of fun and break up the trip.
Jason had a smile on his face the whole ride up, and spun yarns about “El Pescador”, and the many adventures he had planned for the summer. Jason was also eager to show me all of the features his Makaira had, like the 22” Garmin sounder, the hidden TV that lifted from the dash with the flick of a switch, and he raved about the D6 Volvo Penta. But when I asked Jason about his favourite feature he didn’t mention any of this ‘fruit’, but he commented on the quality of the ride and how safe he felt in the boat with his family. Jason then told me the meaning of “El Pescador” which is Spanish for ‘The Fishermen’ – The boat is named after the parable of the Mexican fishermen. Jason said it’s a story that resonated with him and that it should be shared, so here it is:
El Pescador is a Makaira 925, the equivalent in the new Gen3 hulls is the 950.
The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman
An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “only a little while.”
The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.
The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”
The American scoffed. “I have an MBA from Harvard, and can help you,” he said. “You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middle-man, you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening up your own cannery. You could control the product, processing, and distribution,” he said. “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually to New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “Oh, 15 to 20 years or so.”
“But what then?” asked the Mexican.
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time was right, you would announce an IPO, and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!”
“Millions – then what?”
The American said, “Then you could retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos.”
(Source: Probably Heinrich Böll’s short story Anekdote zur Senkung der Arbeitsmoral)