Piranhas?

Some cruising guides mention large amounts of small fish in the anchorage, the size of a hand, the larger ones are maybe a foot long. They are supposed to clean the hull of boats from algae, growth and barnacles. We don't have barnacles, we got fresh antifouling paint in South Africa. But along and above the waterline we did have some growth. As the books mention, the fish were there, eating away, while we were still doing the anchoring dance, still letting chain out.

One book suggests a relation of these fish to Piranhas, we are not sure about that, this is salty ocean water, not the Amazon river. But these fish do behave like Piranhas: We fed them a few pieces of bread, chips, chocolate, meets, and once they figured it out, swarms of these fish were fighting for a bite, sometimes moving on top of each other, out of the water.

BLACK DURGON/"BLACKFISH" / Melichthys niger

"Prolific is the word which comes to mind. A member of the Trigger family, it is found in most tropical waters, but nowhere is it so overwhelming as off Ascension. The many colours of the blackfish are brought out by flash light. It is a scavenger and will eat most things. At night they sleep on their sides on the seabed."

Dirk did hang a foot in the water, which was inspected closely, but had no takers. What would happed when you put a piece of bread between the toes?

Besides, the water is too cold for a swim, to us.

We spent the day playing with fish, some maintenance on the boat, and watching the RMS St Helena being unloaded.