■ Wednesday, June 26, 2002, was a peaceful day at the Hale‘iwa Small Boat Harbor. A successful North Shore Hanapa‘a Fishing Tournament had just ended a few days earlier. Though the fishing was slow, a rumor was in the air that “someone would bring in a big one,” a day late and many tournament dollars short. So it would be, as sure as the wind was blowing 15 to 25.
I received a call at around 2:30 p.m. from owner/captain “Gabby” Gabriel Gonsalves of the fishing vessel CAROL JO. His call, filled with exuberance, set the scene for an astounding afternoon.
Five and one half hours earlier and 19 miles from Hale‘iwa, outside the “J” buoy, Brandon Gonsalves, number-three son and youngest of this well-known fishing family, was at the…
