4 ALBACORA 



in the Southern Hemisphere, and June in Iquique is raw 

 and damp and cold. 



I was shivering as I looked from the deck of the 

 Explorer across the black and rolling sea. I had pad- 

 ded myself against the cold in a heavy checked hunt- 

 ing shirt, a hooded parka and even long red woollies, 

 but the morning's bitterness had nothing to do with my 

 shivers. It was the excitement of what I knew must lie 

 ahead. 



The Explorer s destination was the Humboldt Cur- 

 rent, which carries cool water through the Pacific from 

 as far south as Antarctica and harbors some of the 

 most magnificent fish in the tides. Great marlin leap 

 up from the Humboldt. The fighting broadbill thrives 

 in its chilly flow. Within its current swims almost every 

 form of marine life — from the smallest sardine to the 

 largest whale. For thousands of miles the Humboldt is 

 rich in oceanic life and at one point, along the Chilean 

 coast, the riches flourish beyond belief. I believe that 

 spot is the crossroads of the fishing world and, since 

 I'm a "fishwife," who is delighted to match her hus- 

 band's tremendous enthusiasm for big-game angling, I 

 know it is the most exciting place I'll ever see. 



I had been fishing from Newfoundland to Denmark 

 for three decades at the side of my husband. Uncle 

 Lou, known somewhat more formally in business cir- 

 cles as Louis E. Marron, Chairman of the Board of the 

 Coastal Oil Company of New Jersey. We had set rec- 



