Home

Boat

Crew

Routes

Journals

Pictures

Links

Misc

Linda's Journal

Thoughts on Sailing for a year

We have now been on the boat for almost 2 months with the exception of being home for a week at the end of June for the funeral of my mother in law. I am semi-adjusted to the cruising lifestyle, but I still have a ways to go. I really don’t miss the material objects at home with the exception of my king-sized bed, but I do miss the daily contact with my friends and remaining family. E-mail helps, but we have periods where that is not readily available. I am looking forward to going home for a few weeks in August and then Lyn (my good buddy) will come back with me for a little more than a week.

I have decided that I really don’t like to sail for long periods of time (e.g. overnight sails). I am perfectly happy with 5 hours or less of light winds and not too much heeling. Our first two long passages were ones that I would like to forget, but the third one was at least light wind, calm seas, and a full moon. I describe the first two as 21 hours of riding on a roller coaster at Worlds of Fun to go a distance of 75 miles. Throw in some seasickness and I truly wondered why I wasn’t back in Kansas.

The main difference between Paul and me is that I like being at the various islands and he likes getting to them. He looks upon a hard sail as a challenge and I look upon it as something to endure. My challenges are trying to keep the boat clean and orderly and deciding what we are having for dinner. Paul avoids those areas if at all possible.

Cooking on the Boat

Cooking on a sailboat is somewhat of a challenge, but one that we seem to be adjusting to gradually. It is done in a small, hot area with a limited amount of supplies so the key is flexibility. It seems like you either need to use up produce that is about to go bad or you are making substitutions in recipes for ingredients you don’t have. I still have my evenings where I would just like to run out and get a bite to eat, but when the nearest place is miles away, then it’s just not possible.

The galley (kitchen) is an area roughly four foot by two foot. There is room for two people to stand, but when it heats up then one is usually excused. The counter space is limited to the top of the chest style refrigerator. The sink is slightly larger than double bar size. The dishwasher is human and the rule on the boat is that if you cook, then you are excused from doing dishes. This mainly applies to evening meals. The stove is a three burner stove with a small oven. Unused pots and pans are stored in the oven with the remaining pots and pans stored in an area by the sink. The refrigerator is large (by boat standards), but you occasionally have to stand on your head to find errant items that have shifted while underway. Usually the thing that you need is on the bottom and it’s a matter of removing several layers before reaching it. The pantries are any locker that will hold large quantities of dry and canned goods so "food on hand" lists are essential with location listed beside it. Inventories are done and redone.

Jennifer and I both like to cook and have attempted to utilize local produce when it is available. We have been able to visit markets on most islands and get our fill of fresh produce. The "supermarkets" are not super and are sometimes not much more than their version of a 7-11. The biggest challenge for us has been having to weigh the produce in the French markets and trying to match up the pictures with what we were buying as all of the names were in French. Another challenge was being bombarded by 5 rastas in an open market with each one telling you at the same time that their produce was the best. I finally bought something from each one to get them to leave me alone.

Favorite Recipes

Lentil Burgers

Ingredients:

1. Soak the lentils 30 minutes, then cook in 2 cups of water for 25 minutes, when all of the water will have been absorbed.
2. Fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until well browned. Mix the cooked lentils with the fried onions and garlic, then add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Shape into patties and fry in small amount of olive oil until browned. Turn and brown remaining side. Serve on buns with whatever condiments you prefer.

Stuffed Christophene

Ingredients: 

Wash christophene, cut in half lengthwise and boil in salted water until tender. Cool. Remove seeds with a tablespoon and scoop out flesh., keeping shells intact. Mash flesh with salt, pepper, celery salt, and season-all to taste. Add butter, then cheese. Add bread crumbs. Mix well and place back in shells. Place in a shallow baking pan and sprinkle with additional crumbs if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

Stir together first six ingredients. Combine pumpkin, sugar, milk and eggs in a bowl. Add dry ingredients and butter and mix until well blended. Stir in nuts. Spread in a well greased 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until done.

Local Food

Here is a list of various local items that we have cooked or eaten at restaurants.

Linda's e-mail home