There are stories of barracuda lunging at fishermen and ripping out flesh. With the barracuda safely suffocating, I enquired about the appeal of fishing “Tranquillity,” mused Mr Lawson “Escapism.”I discovered that the fish are into escapism too A few minutes later, a hooked wahoo rose and flexed wildly The captain thrust me a rod. Following the fishing manual to the letter, I pulled the rod up in order to turn the head of the wahoo to face the boat, and lowered the rod as I reeled it in, the idea being to get the fish to swim towards me. After about five minutes, I’d brought the wahoo to within a few feet It was at least four feet long Make that six Okay, three. As a hungry reception committee stood poised with fish hooks, I was salivating at the thought of grilled wahoo with a squeeze of lemon, when – ping! – the line snapped. “It happens,” philosophised the captain, trying to break off my shoulder “You did nothing wrong.”On we churned Most of the 365 Exumas have already been snapped up. “You cannot touch an island here for less than $1m,” says Mr Lawson “Buying is the cheapest part.

You also have to escrow money to develop it…”A third fish leapt from the ocean “Mahi mahi,” drawled the captain, coolly handing me a rod “You mean ‘lunch’,” I thought Mahi mahi, aka “dorado”, is the most delicious fish. As I reeled lunch alongside, my taste buds were screaming in anticipation of mahi mahi steaks baked with lemon grass and fennel, rinsed down with a lightly chilled chardonnay… when lunch wriggled free.To lose one fish is unlucky; to lose two is hilarious for everyone else. “That’s why it’s called ‘fishing’ not ‘catching’,” laughed one of the party. “Funny isn’t it that you have a brand of frozen fish named after you?” pointed out another “Ross Frozen Foods Open the packet and… hey, where’s the fish?”Ashore, I saw no advantage in minimising the scale of my disappointment, and duly promoted the four-foot wahoo to a seven-foot monster with whom I grappled fully for 30 minutes until finally let down by faulty tackle.

That’s what I call escapism.Traveller’s GuideWhen to go: The Bahamas are warm and humid all year, with the highest temperatures between June and October. To avoid the worst of the rains and storms, travel before May or after November.Getting there: British Airways (0845 77 333 77, ) flies five times a week between London Heathrow and Nassau, for an economy fare of around £580 return. The lowest Club World fare is £2,089 return.Staying there: Seven nights at Musha Cay for 24 people sharing the island on an exclusive and all-inclusive basis including private charter flights between Nassau and Musha costs £6,775 per person.More information: Bahamas Tourist Office, 10 Chesterfield Street, London W1J 5JL (020-7355 0800, ). Musha Cay’s UK agent is Roxton Bailey Robinson (01488 689700, ).. As Gore was saying to Woody, “All politicians are corrupt.