ALBACORA 125 



though." Lou lifted himself from the chair heavily and 

 walked from the stern into the cabin. I moved into the 

 empty seat with my twenty-four-thread outfit and swiv- 

 eled around to face the wake. Mario and Gus were 

 scanning the ocean, Mario covering the starboard side 

 and Gus staring out to port. "Ho," Mario suddenly 

 cried to Walt Gorman. "Albacora. El mismo. Same one. 

 Albacora. Alld.^^ He pointed, and my gaze followed his 

 finger. Through the choppy water I saw that black fin 

 once again. 



"Howard," I said. "I'm going to try this." 



Howard looked at me and scratched the back of his 

 neck. "Please, Howard," I said. 



"What are you gonna use for legs?" he wanted to 

 know. 



"I'll manage." 



"If you say so," Howard said, "but . . ." Then he 

 brought my twenty-four-thread outfit to me. 



Actually, you can get by on one leg in this type of 

 heavy-tackle fishing. You are harnessed to the rod which 

 rests in a sort of brace called gimbals, set into the 

 chair. The back of the chair is removed and there is a 

 foot brace to help utilize all the strength that lodges in 

 the muscles of the back and legs. While a great deal of 

 force can be helpful, overwhelming power is not an ab- 

 solute essential. The closest comparison I can think of 

 is jujitsu. Despite the advertisements, I doubt if the 

 100-pound woman really ever pins that 250-pound 



