Once all two hundred tubes were thrown into the sea, it was only a question of waiting two hours until the conger eels got caught in the traps. Having cast the line, it was time for a short break, for a meal. Around eight o'clock, he was in the habit of eating a second breakfast. The shadows of the tankers plying the Uraga Waterway bore down heavily on Hiroyuki's boat. Thanks to a fractional difference in course, there was no risk of collision. Compared to the massive tankers, the six-ton Hamakatsu looked like a mere speck of flotsam. Small as the boat was, there was a fair amount of space in the cabin, making it quite possible to spend the night should the need arise. As Hiroyuki relaxed and ate his rice ball in the cabin, he began to feel uneasy about the instability of the boat. As he had predicted, the southerly winds had grown stronger and were causing the boat to rock violently. The sky that had appeared clear enough during the morning was now covered entirely with dark threatening clouds speeding across the skylight.
