Monday 29 November 2010

Tim Tams and Tea

On a recent sailing trip on Juno, the Aussie bowman introduced us to Tim Tams - a chocolate biscuit from Australia. Apparently, 1 in every 2 households (presumably in Australia) contains a packet of Tim Tams and around 35 million packs are sold each year.


For the non-Aussies on board, at first sight, Tim Tams appeared to be identical to the British McVites's Penguins and indeed the concept is the same. However, Tim Tams are 'double-coated' with chocolate and this could be source of their strength in the Tim Tam Tea challenge. The rules of the game are to bite off each end of the biscuit and then suck hot tea through the centre before the whole thing collapses into the bottom of the mug. The winner is the person who can draw tea through the biscuit in the fastest time. (You don't have to drink all of the tea by the way).

For the next round, we substituted Penguins for Tim Tams and were disappointed to find that they crumbled too quickly and unfortunately weren't up to the job.

So thanks Dutchie for bringing Tim Tams on board and idle moments afloat will never be the same again.

Monday 4 October 2010

Day Twenty-six : the final leg

Just after midnight, we slip our mooring and depart Dittisham towards the entrance to the River Dart. The storm has blown through although the sea is still choppy. With a decent breeze behind us, we make the tidal gate at Portland Bill and are abeam the Needles by 1400. We're back in the Beaulieu River by 1630 and the sun is shining again. But after 950 miles there's no time to relax as we have to change over from cruising mode to racing mode for the British Classic Yacht Regatta which starts tomorrow.

Once most of the jobs are done, we relax with a well earned G&T in the cockpit and have a simple supper of pasta and tomato sauce.

Day Twenty-four & Twenty-five : still storm-bound

The weather forecast is still grim, so we decide to sit tight in Dittisham. Half the crew head back to London and I check into the Red Lion Inn for the evening. Outside, the clouds race past and the rain starts to lash down. At the Channel lightship, gusts of 52 knots were recorded that night with a wave height of 4.5 metres.

Next day's forecast is for SW veering W 5 to 7 occassionally 8 with sea state being rough and occasionally rough at first. So it looks like we'll be sailing the day after.

Saturday 2 October 2010

Day Twenty-three : storm-bound in Dittisham

We clear off the Town Quay by 0830 (because you have to make way for the ferries which operate during the day) and motor up the River Dart towards Dittisham. Gales are forecast in sea areas Plymouth, Portland and Wight so we're heading in land to avoid the storms over the next couple of days. After finding a mooring, we do some jobs then go ashore for a wander. We discover the Red Lion Inn and stop there for lunch: hake for some, sea bass for others. It's all delicious and very well priced but not the same as catching it ourselves. But we still hadn't caught any sea bass anywhere so paying for it was a justifiable option at this point. Finish with 'thunder and lightening' ice cream which is vanilla ice cream with pieces of honeycomb mixed in.

After a leisurely wander back to the boat, some of the crew still have room for an afternoon tea of scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Needless to say that nobody is particularly hungry at supper time, so a light salad with cheese and crackers fits the bill nicely.

The weather is looking truely awful now and we are very glad we are tucked up in Dittisham rather than making an night passage towards Portland.

Day Twenty-two : Falmouth to Dartmouth

After a very quick shop for scones, pork pies and cornish pasties from Rowe's Bakery, we cast off. Starting with one layer of clothing is a little misguided as when we round St. Anthony's Head (see photo opposite), showers mean that the full wet-weather gear is deployed again. We see 3 dolphins south of Dodman Point, after a lunch of warm cornish pasties and baked beans, and pass south of the Eddystone Rock at 1530. The weather is fair at this point but the clouds are building along the fronts behind us.

As we approach the entrance to the river Dart, the weather is fair and some smoked salmon needs using up so we make some canapes to nibble before we change course for Dartmouth.

We tie up at the Town Quay and decide to give the galley a night off. Instead, we eat at Rockfish which was opened this summer by Mitch Tonks just down the quay from his flagship restaurant The Seahorse. Here we feast on local crab salad - absolutely lovely! But the highlight of the evening was meeting Mitch himself and having an in-depth discussion about the mystery 'cod' we caught off Baltimore. Really wish I'd taken a photo of the mystery fish before it was prepared for cooking but that would have meant the rain ceasing. So we have to make do with a verbal description and Mitch comes to the conclusion it could have been a Pollack.

Time for a quick nightcap and the Dartmouth Yacht Club and a check on the weather. More storms forecast, so it' s uncertain if we'll continue eastwards tomorrow.

Monday 20 September 2010

Day Nineteen to Twenty-one : Across the Celtic Sea

After a morning of rain, the skies finally clear. We decide to set off for Falmouth tonight as there appears to be a weather window for the next 36 hours before more gales kick in.

This means a trip in the dinghy over to Castletownshend to reprovision for the passage from the only store in town. Chicken salad wraps and ham and cheese sandwiches are prepared for the crossing and after these are done, there's not a lot left to do but wait until it's time to depart in the evening.

Dinner before we weigh anchor, is a store cupboard stand-by of wild mushroom risotto.

Then, it's time to depart and once out of the shelter of the harbour, the sea is still moderate to rough after the storms the previous evening. After a bumpy start, the swell subsides further out in the Celtic Sea and we make good progress, hitting the tidal gates for Land's End and the Lizard spot on.

We arrive in Falmouth 38 hours and 210 NM later and the sun is shining! After the first hot shower in what seems like days, I check the ship's stores and write a new shopping list for the crew to do a quick shop. Barrie and Nicola return with a lobster, some crayfish tails and some hand-dived scallops from Arwanack's. The lobster is already cooked, so is served as a starter with salad - delicious! For the main course, the crayfish and sauted scallops are combined with a little vegetable stock and white wine then served with linguine. What a treat!

Day Eighteen : Sherkin Island to Castletownshend

Today, the plan is to sail about 25 NM from Sherkin Island (see photo) to Castletownshend with the LSC yachts, drop anchor and have dinner at Mary Ann's. However, the wind is light and right on the nose. Despite tacking at regular intervals, we make no progress so eventually give in and switch the engine on - the coastline is very rocky so this is for safety reasons.

As we approach the entrance to Castletownshend, the rain lashes down again and the wind starts to blow up. Everyone decides that is now too rough to launch the dinghies to go ashore, so the evening at Mary Ann's is cancelled. Instead, we have sausage, baked beans and new potatoes at anchor.

Now, we need to decide if we press on towards Kinsale or head across the Celtic Sea towards Falmouth tomorrow - weather permitting.

Friday 10 September 2010

Day Seventeen : Around the Fastnet Rock

We don't usually eat out for breakfast but today we made an exception and walked through the country lanes to Rolfs Country House on Baltimore Hill. A change from our usual muesli on board, we had sourdough bread and a full "Irish" plate of eggs, sausages, bacon and black pudding (looked identical to a full English to me).

Then back to the quay to await the delivery of the repaired mainsail and hoping it would arrive in time for us to depart as planned. The rain gathers momentum and visibility turns quite poor as we motor out the harbour entrance and set sail for the Fastnet Rock. Frustratingly, the wind is right on the nose and as it's quite a rocky coastline, we feel it's safer to proceed with the engine on.

After Clear Island, we lose sight of land in the mist and set course for Fastnet. Last year, I raced out here in the Rolex Fastnet Race and never saw the Irish coast as the lighthouse is a mark of the course and is rounded to port before setting course for the Isles of Scilly. Thus, I hadn't realised how close the Irish Coast actually is to this famous light house. As we approached, the waves were crashing against the rock and the rain intensified. Once round the rock, we headed back towards Baltimore and did some fishing in the harbour entrance hoping to catch that elusive sea bass before heading in. 5 mackerel and 1 unidentified pollack-type fish later, we still didn't have any bass so packed up the lines and headed towards Sherkin Island.

Tonight, we were supposed to meet up with the other crews for a beach barbeque but with the weather raining stair-rods, understandably this was postponed. Instead, we gutted our 'pollack' and stuffed it with the fennel leaves (picked from the Iles of Scilly) lemon, onion and parsley before baking for 45 minutes and serving with new potatoes, carrots and white wine. There was more than enough for 4 people and it was absolutely delicious - whatever it was.

Meanwhile, in England there is a heatwave.


Day Sixteen : Baltimore

Wind and rain give way to sunshine for our lay day in Baltimore.
The mainsail is collected by courier for repair then we visit the one and only grocery store in town - Gala - and stock up with provisions from a rather limited choice. Prices for basics, such as cheese, are even more expensive than in Crosshaven and again we are left wondering how local people manage. Strangely, there is a wide selection of newspapers and magazines available in French and German as well as English but we find out later that there are well established French and German communities here.

We walk out of town, past abundant bushes of fuschias, towards the headland to get a close-up of Lot's Wife which we missed yesterday from the water. There is an amazing micro climate on the cliffs with marsh plants, such as sedges, on the top of the hills which is quite unusual. We spot some people fishing from the rocks below and wonder firstly, how they got down there and secondly, if they have caught any sea bass. So far, we haven't caught any sea bass but are hopeful that we will before our voyage is over.

Dinner tonight has been arranged at "The Lookout" so a shower is required and some fresh clothes found for the occassion. Showers are at the local pub - Jacob's Bar - and cost 3 euros a time. For this price, I'm expecting Bulgari soap and fluffy white towels, but the showers are in the store room and the tile are cracked and quite dirty. The water is hot and runs for as long as you want so at least it doesn't cut out after 3 minutes or anything. There is no Bulgari soap or fluffy white towels.

About 30 people from the Little Ship Club convene for drinks at The Lookout and we all enjoy a decent meal. Despite consuming a large quantity to fish over the past few weeks, I go for the salmon and mackerel salad to start, followed by the local cod.

Day Fifteen : Glandore to Baltimore

Gale warnings are given over the radio so we depart Glandore before the weather closes in. It's only 17 NM to Baltimore, so we should get in before the gales hit this area. Forty-five minutes out of Glandore, the visibility deteriorates so we stay well offshore to avoid the numerous rocks which pepper this coastline.

The entrance to Baltimore is tricky to spot as the cloudbase is right over the cliffs. It should be really easy as there is a massive white day mark - "Lot's Wife" - on the eastern side of the approach (see photo). However, today it was hidden and therefore no use whatsoever.

As we wiggled through the entrance, swarms of kids in dinghies were zipping about - oblivious to the rain and having lots of fun. Baltimore is a major sailing centre and there are several schools here which run summer camps for children. After managing to avoid mowing down several of the Lasers, we found our way to the town quay and rafted up in the pouring rain.

The key objective now was to get the mainsail repaired. Bizarrely, there are no sailmakers in Baltimore and we eventually found one in Goleen some 20 NM away who would pick up the sail and repair it.

Tonight we eat ashore at the Jolie Brise Restaurant. I chose the local Galley Head prawns which were absolutely tasteless as they were practically still frozen. At the other end of the scale, the white wine we ordered had not been chilled so had to be sent back. Verdict: avoid.

PS: photo above of Lot's Wife was taken the next day when it wasn't raining.

Day Fourteen : Crosshaven to Glandore

Finally, we cast off and leave Crosshaven towards Glandore. The scenery is stunning as we sail westwards passing Daunt Rock and Galley Head. It's still quite blustery and on the final approach to Glandore, the mainsail rips. Fortunately, it's near the foot so we reef down and carry on.

After 9 hours sailing, we pick our way through the tricky approaches, leaving 'Eve' to port and 'The Dangers' to starboard. It's very shallow in places and the anchorage at Union Pier is quite crowded but we find a suitable spot to drop the hook. Afternoon tea is taken somewhat later than usual - at 1830 - on account of the earlier bumpy passage. Out come the fishing lines and the catch of the day is 1 mackerel and several small crabs which are returned to the water.

Dinner tonight is chorizo with butter beans and a little rice. This is very quick to do - about 20 minutes.

Day Thirteen : Still in Crosshaven

We're still in Crosshaven as the forecast for sailing to Kinsale isn't looking very good. Another day in Crosshaven means we'll have to skip Kinsale, which is a pity as this town is considered to be the gastronomic captial of County Cork, and go on to Glandore.

So instead of sampling a Kinsale restaurant, we have Sunday dinner on board with all the trimmings using the lamb chops bought yesterday from Kidney's. I make roast potatoes for the first time on a boat much to the delight of the crew. Served with carrots, broccoli and red wine gravy, our dinner goes down a treat.

Monday 6 September 2010

Day Twelve : Crosshaven, Ireland

Today, we focus on provisioning as this is the last chance before heading westwards. First, we visit Crosshaven Farmers Market in the Village Square which is held on Saturdays, 10am – 2pm. Here, we sample local cheeses at Cheese Please and buy a good selection. We chose St Killian - a Camembert style cheese - for lunch today as it's quite ripe and may not survive subsequent days' sailing. As a 'keeper', we go for Mount Callan - a traditional mature Cheddar - which we think may stay the course, except it's so delicious, it may disappear quite quickly. Wicklow Blue - a mild, creamy blue-veined cheese - has to be tried and we're intrigued by the venison salami so we have to have some of that too.

Next, we call in at the local butcher who - believe it or not - is called Kidneys.
Shopping here is the total antithesis of buying meat in sterile plastic packaging from supermarkets. It involves a lot of chat, careful selection from the meats is on offer and waiting patiently while it's all prepared. We opt for a rack of lamb, which is converted into chops, and a dozen rashers of bacon. Everything is wrapped in greaseproof paper and then we're relieved of rather a lot of Euros - quality does not come cheaply in this part of the world! We're left wondering how local people can afford to buy their groceries. It's not just the Sterling-Euro exchange rate - these prices are genuinely steep! Still, the only competition is the local supermarket and we wanted to give Kidneys a try.

After a marvelous lunch aboard in the sunshine, two of our intrepid crew are dispatched to Lidl's in the afternoon to do the provisioning of the dry goods. Here, the prices were rather more reasonable and goodies included brioche with creme patisiere.

Once everything has been stowed, we smarten up for dinner at the Royal Cork Yacht Club which is the oldest yacht club in the world. I enjoyed a silky vegetable soup followed by pan-fried salmon with a plate of 3 desserts to finish. Yummy!

Day Eleven : Crosshaven, Ireland

Another lay day in Crosshaven, so we take a short sail over to East Ferry on the opposite side of Cork Harbour to do some exploring.

Tonight, we enjoy a drinks party at Salve Marina. What we thought were just going to be 'nibbles' turned out to be almost a full-scale buffet prepared by the owner's daughter. It was hard to resist homemade delights such as smoked salmon on soda bread, delicious cocktail sausages coated in barbeque sauce and bit-sized vol-au-vents. This didn't leave a lot of room for dinner, but we valiantly made our way to a local pub which many had said had a good reputation for fish. We managed to bag a table and ordered the ' turbot' which seemed very reasonably priced. When the plates were served, we were somewhat mystified by the fish on the plate which looked more like a small plaice than a turbot. Nonetheless, whatever had ended up at our table was delicious and the hand-cut potato wedges were a great alternative to deep-fried chips.

Day Ten : Crosshaven, Ireland

Today is a lay day and we meet up with other crews from the Little Ship Club to visit the gardens at Lisselan in Clonakilty. As well as rare trees, the spectacular rock garden and the extensive Rhododendron garden, the Fuschia Gardens are a particular highlight. We were given access to the walled fruit and vegetable gardens and invited to pick strawberries and raspberries from the bushes.

Then it was time for afternoon tea on the terrace with sandwiches, fairy cakes and homemade scones with strawbery jam from the estate.

After such substantial fare, we opt for a Mexican themed supper on board of freshly prepared guacamole with red bean and red pepper salad.

Day Nine : Crosshaven, Ireland

We arrive in Crosshaven 24 hours after leaving Isles of Scilly. After a much needed shower in the Royal Cork Yacht Club, our safe arrival is celebrated with a drink at the bar. Appetites for the Celtic Sea crossing were not voracious and the pre-cooked sausages from yesterday have been untouched. So tonight, bangers and mash with onion gravy are on the menu.

As dinner is concluded, the wind howls through the rigging and the rain lashes down. It seems we timed our passage just right!

Day Eight : Isles of Scilly to Crosshaven, Ireland

After all the preparations have been finished, we finally sit down for a hearty brunch of bacon, spinach, poached egg on an english muffin. For the passage across the Celtic Sea to Cork, sausages are prepared for a snack on the way and chicken ceasar wraps stored in tin foil so people can help themselves when on watch.

We depart New Grimsby Sound at 1400 for the 135 NM voyage. This is possibly our last weather window for a few days as strong winds are forecast by the end of tomorrow. It's a bit bumpy to start - with short, confused waves - as we leave the Isles of Scilly but the sea settles down as we get into deeper water. Although we depart in fair weather, as the day progresses we can see the weather fronts clearly defined by the clouds on the horizon.

Lots of ginger nut biscuits and dark chocolate for the ladies' watch through the night.

Sunday 8 August 2010

Day Six & Seven : Falmouth to St. Mary's & New Grimsby Sound

After another consultation with the weather oracle over an espresso in 5 Degrees West, we decide to sail overnight towards the Isles of Scilly. This gives us more time to complete final preparations, last minute provisioning and have a final shower.

Lunch is a Nicoise style salad served in the sunshine with herb flat bread. Then it's onto preping the pork tenderloin and flageolet beans for tonight's dinner so that it's just an assembly job when we're underway.

We depart, as planned by 1800, and it's smooth sailing down to the Manacles. Once round the corner, the swell coming in from the Atlantic starts to build as we head towards the Lizard. Luckily, doing all the prep this afternoon for tonight's meal paid off but it was still a challenge to plate up without everything escaping from the bowls. By this time, the wind has backed and is firmly on the nose, so we have to motor sail towards St. Mary's.

On night watch, we discover that plain chocolate (70% cacoa) and Foxes ginger biscuits eaten together are a terrific combo, especially paired up with a steaming hot cup of coffee - guaranteed to keep you going.

The hours slip by and very soon, through the emerging daylight, we see the outline of the islands. We pick our way through the rocks and shallows to have a look in Port Cressa to see if there is anyone achored there that we know. 'Silver Tide' is anchored there but either they're still asleep or gone ashore as there are no signs of life.

Onwards then to St. Mary's and here most of the Little Ship Club yachts have spent the night. It's extremely crowded so we thread our way through the moorings and eventually find a free mooring buoy. After catching up on some sleep, we blow up the dinghy and head towards the quay.

Lunch is in the Bishop and Wolf which has enticed us in with the promise of fresh crab sandwiches as proclaimed on a blackboard outside. Alas, there is no crab today so we have to 'make do' with smoked salmon or Atlantic prawn sandwiches which turned out to be delicious.

Afterwards, I'm keen to see what can be foraged from the shoreline in Port Cressa, so walk up the road and onto the craggy beach. Here, there are limpets aplenty on the granite rocks. In Madeira, limpets are a traditional hors-d'oeuvre - the "lapas" are placed in sizzling garlic butter and become perfectly cooked in the time it takes to get from the kitchen to the table. As the ship's stores are well stocked at the moment, I don't fancy giving the limpets a try. Walking away from the shore I find a plentiful supply of wild fennel and sea chard by the embankment. This is definitely worth collecting for use over the next couple of days.

Reluctantly, it's time to stop beach combing and head back to the dinghy (there are no water taxis). While we've been ashore, the swell from the SW has really got going and we're rocking and rolling on the mooring. All agree that we're not going to put up with this all night, so after afternoon tea, we pick our way through the rocks and shallows towards New Grimsby Sound. Everyone else has had the same idea but we find a spot to anchor by 2000 and the fishing commences while dinner is being prepared.

The plan was to have a light supper of melted goats cheese on ciabatta with rocket but the arrival of a large pouting on board meant a quick change of plan. While the pouting was being gutted, celery and carrots were sliced into strips to be stir-fried with red onion. The fish was so fresh that, despite being now headless, it was still twitching and flapping about in the pan. Adding a little olive oil, lemon juice, chopped parsley and salt, the pouting was loosely wrapped in tin foil and bunged in the oven for 25 minutes. Filets were served with the stir-fried vegetables and were absolutely delicious. Followed by the goats cheese salad then plain chocolate with a dram of whisky on the side, supper turned out to be not so light after all.

Friday 6 August 2010

Day Five : Fowey to Falmouth

A relatively short hop today from Fowey to Falmouth and again there is high pressure and sunshine. We drop our mooring line at 0730 and hop the headlands to St. Anthony's Head and the approach to Falmouth. It seems very busy here, with yachts - classic and modern - streaming out of the harbour, after a few days on quiet moorings but this is an important stop as it's the last chance we have to stock up on provisions before setting sail towards the Isles of Scilly.

After the recent instrument refit, the depth sounder clearly needs calibration as we steer towards the Town Quay with the depth reading - 0.6 metres, which is somewhat disconcerting! As the larger yacht in front of us didn't go aground, we figured we were ok to keep going.

For lunch, we had a quick round of ham and cheese sandwiches before dividing up tasks and heading into town for food, a replacement gas canister and internet access to get the latest weather so we could decide if tomorrow was going to be a good window for heading towards the Isles of Scilly. Falmouth is an ideal pit-stop for provisioning: as well as a large supermarket, there are bakeries, fishmongers and one of the best hardware stores in the country - Trago Mills.

After supplies of food and boaty bits are on board, it was time to welcome a new crew member and get ready for dinner at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall. Here, we met up with other yachts from The Little Ship Club for a pre-dinner contest with the model yachts powered by fans in each corner of the indoor pool. Then it was up to the second floor with a stunning view of the harbour as the sun went down and a dinner of tapas, fillet of Cornish beef with dauphinoise potatoes and Mediterranean vegetables followed by fruit salad. The tapas selection included scallops wrapped in parma ham, which were absolutely devine. Next, the beef was fantastic - tender and succulent - but the fruit salad was disappointing.

On our way back to the Town Quay, we noticed that Rick Stein had opened a fish restaurant since we had last visited the museum. Here, mackerel were being sold for £8.50, so at this price we reckoned that we'd caught £85 worth so far. Better keep those fishing rods going!

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Day Four: Dartmouth to Fowey


Another hot and sunny morning. We depart the Dartmouth early and head towards Start Point with the fishing lines out, hoping for some sea bass near the rocks. Several fishing boats were bobbing along, so the area looked promising. However, we didn't catch a single tiddler going along the coast here but we did see many cormorants and a common seal on the rocks below the lighthouse. Further up the coast, we did eventually catch 5 mackerel of Hillsea Point and kept 3 for dinner.

Onwards towards the River Yealm to for lunch - our last stop in Devon. After negotiating the tricky approach, we drop the anchor in soaring temperatures and enjoy Greek Salad to complement the Mediterranean atmosphere. It's tempting to stop right here and not continue to Fowey but we resist and crack on westwards. There was lots to see on the way as a naval exercise was in progress - hopefully no live ammunition was involved this time! Warships on the horizon did not deter us from our afternoon tea of fresh scones - bought that morning in Dartmouth - clotted cream and strawberry jam.

After passing Looe and Polperro and some amazing Cornish coastline, we arrive in Fowey in the early evening and take the opportunity to fill up the water tank which has lasted well so far. Mackerel and lemon baked in foild with roasted tomatoes and new potatoes.

Monday 2 August 2010

Day Three: Portland to Dartmouth

High pressure meant a clear sky early in the morning in Portland Harbour. We dropped our mooring at 0600 to catch the tide for the inner passage around the notorious Portland Bill. Here, the Portland Race is caused by the meeting of the tides between the Bill and the Shambles sandbank about 3 miles SE. Strong currents break the sea so fiercely that from the shore a continuous disturbance can be seen and even large vessels are at risk of breaking up if sucked into the Race. Fortunately, we have timed our westward passage well and have fair tide accelerating us past the Portland Lighthouse.

Here, the water is teeming with mackerel and we quickly catch 7 in quick succession: 5 keepers and 2 small ones returned to the sea. We haven't had breakfast yet, so the fresh mackerel - with thei iridescent skins - are quickly gutted and filleted. Into a pan with a little butter and a squeeze of lemon and a twist of freshly ground black pepper, the fish are ready to serve on wholemeal toast within 15 minutes of being caught. The light, delicate flavour of fresh mackerel bears no resemblance to the stronger flavour of the same fish bought in the supermarket.

After such a lovely breakfast, lunch was simple cheese on toast.

Arriving in Dartmouth, we stocked up with fresh provisions, then joined up with friends on 'Lazy Life' for pre-dinner drinks then went en masse to "The Frying Pan" fish and chip shop for a take-away fish and chip supper to eat in the cockpit back on the Town Quay under a blue sky.

Day Two: Solent to Portland

The morning is sunny with a distinct lack of breeze. After the last shower for a few days, we cast off and head for the Needles. Underway, muesli with banana and strawberries is munched for breakfast. Muesli is the driving force on 'A Day at the Races' and no morning would be complete without a big bowlful of the stuff. We like the Dorset Cereals varieties and some of the own-brand luxury packets from most supermarkets. I'm not very keen on Alpen - in fact I don't like it all. It's like eating mouthfuls of sawdust and is overly sweet.

Still no breeze, so we continue motor-sailing towards Portland with chicken salad sandwiches for lunch and a small glass of beer. Just as we're finishing eating, a safety vessel from the firing range comes alongside and warns us that there is live firing practice today. We alter course slightly to avoid the practice area and arrive at the entrance to Portland Harbour just after 1600, picking up a mooring buoy just before 1700.

Local dinghy racers start whizzing by our mooring and we have a grandstand view from the cockpit of the local sailing clubs' evening racing. In 2012, this area will be really buzzing as the Olympic sailing events will be held here. After the racing, it's time for linguine with bolognaise sauce washed down with a glass of chianti.

We plan the next day's passage and turn in under a warm summer sky.

Sunday 1 August 2010

Day One: preparing for a long summer cruise

Preparations are underway to get ready for a long summer cruise from the Solent to the West Country, Isles of Scilly and Southern Ireland. I draw up a shopping list for the ships stores for all the heavy items that can be taken down by car as we'll be in some fairly remote places, so canned food, bottled water, beers and wine needs to be bought now.

There's time to get ahead of the game and cook two meals in advance at home: lamb and prune tagine and bolognaise sauce. Sharp knives and other culinary instruments are selected from the home arsenal and packed carefully for the voyage. Also, a selection of herbs and spices which we'll need along the way.

After a massive session at the supermarket, the car is bursting at the seams with all the provisions and it takes three trolley loads to move all the provisions down to the boat. Eventually, a home is found for everything and after changing from the racing sails to the cruising sails, we settle down to lamb and prune tagine with cous cous and a courgette & carrot salad with sesame seeds. Plus a nice drop of Rioja as a reward for all our hard work.

Now, 'A Day At The Races' is definitely in cruising mode as the waterline sinks 2 cm more than usual with all the extra gear on board. We check the weather and all looks good for an early morning departure the next day.

Monday 7 June 2010

Food Galore at St. Vaast

From a recent cross-channel sail, here are some samples of the food galore at St. Vaast-la-Hougue on the coast in Northern France. For more about our trip to St. Vaast click here for the full article.

Devine croissants and truly brilliant brioche.
The cafe we visited did not serve food for breakfast but recommended a boulangerie nearby. After a quick detour and armed with still warm croissants and brioche, we returned to the cafe for a cup of coffee.



Here is a mobile wood burning oven at the start of the market. Legs of pork and lamb were gently roasting on the top shelves with chicken and sausages on the bottom shelf. The aroma was amazing!


Nearby was a stall selling horse meat. I unknowingly ate this once and it was delicious. The meat looks amazing but as a former horse owner, I'm a bit reluctant to buy some.




Beautiful fresh white cauliflowers picked that morning from the fields.







Various duck products: pates, confits and a type of foie gras.






A wide variety of soups including lobster bisque, crab bisque, langoustine bisgue, seafood soup or bouillabaise, mushroom, chicken and celery.

Wednesday 2 June 2010

We've all gone crackers!


When I first started offshore racing, there always seemed to be couple of packets of Jacob's Cream Crackers on board which remained unopened, if not intact, on our return to port. Were they on board to ward off evil spirits or be thrown overboard as an offering to Neptune? Apparently, the idea was that crew, who were feeling a little green around the gills and couldn't face the prospect of a square meal, could sit in a dark corner and nibble on said crackers to quell their queasy stomachs. What's wrong with ginger nut biscuits then? Jacob's Cream Crackers remind me of those daft drinking games people play when they are teenagers e.g. who can eat the most JCCs in 2 minutes and stuff. So thumbs down for JCCs.

JCCs have been around for centuries and I was only thinking the other day, what has happened to TUC crackers? Well, Tony Turnbull writes in the Times:

"We chanced upon the ideal biscuit, one I hadn’t consciously eaten in 20 years. I didn’t know that they even still made TUC crackers, but those golden yellow, pin-pricked octagons turned out to be the original crowd pleaser — sweet enough not to be entirely savoury, but cheesy enough not to be sickly; not so crumbly as to splinter over the seats, but thick and dry enough to drain the saliva from your mouth and render you mute. Some say that they are named after the Trades Union Congress (a billboard providing the inspiration when the cracker was launched in the UK), others that it stands for The Unique Cracker..."
Source: The Times - April 22, 2010

So, TUC are still alive and kicking but not much in evidence on board.


Ritz crackers? Only seen them in the last couple of years as part of the canape selection (with Primula cheese spread - how 70s!) at the British Classic Yacht Regatta but what do you expect on wooden boats which have 'character' instead of modern galleys.

What has become the cracker of choice is Jacob's Savours. We can't get enough of them on Juno or dry land. Kate started the trend by buying the Sea Salt and Rosemary version and it's been a slippery slope since then - once the box is open, there is no going back until the last one is demolished! Jennifer describes the Cracked Black Pepper and Sea Salt "as addictive as heroin". Mind you, she says that about Tiger bread too. I too am hooked and have neglected my trusty Nairn oatcakes (rough or smooth milled) as of late in favour of a Cracked Black Pepper and Sea Salt thin with cream cheese and a slice of fresh cucumber but sometimes I can't wait long enough to put something on top. This is no hardship, as the crackers are just as delicious on their own.

This isn’t a definitive analysis of the most popular crackers on board boats and more research needs to be undertaken this summer.




Tuesday 13 April 2010

Gas or Bisto: key decisions on Eowyn

Eowyn is a 40ft Hallberg-Rassy currently sailing in the World ARC event and is on passage towards Tahiti at the moment with Graham Payne and Mike Birch on board. Before departing on this leg of her world tour, her last post describes Eowyn's approach to cooking on board.


"We take it in turns to cook. Our styles are different but the common denominators are garlic, onion and ginger. Our most important 'British' ingredient is gravy and we are getting through the Bisto rapidly, onion gravy being the favourite. Propane is in short supply as we may not get our bottles filled until the end of April, so we must always economise and avoid recipes which use a lot of gas. Of course, bread is made in an electric breadmaker and we use the Remoska electric cooker for cake baking. We have to run the engine for these devices and the watermaker so diesel is another precious resource to conserve along with the propane and Bisto."

Wonder if they've caught any fish yet?

Sunday 11 April 2010

Juno's first offshore race

Charles has just splashed out on a brand new X34 named Juno - a mean lean racing machine built to win! After a couple of outings in the Warsash Spring Series - Juno is currently in first place in her class - the plan was to race in the Junior Offshore Group (JOG) series over the Easter break. JOG had arranged two races: one from Cowes to Cherbourg and rather cleverly from Cherbourg to Cowes. Unfortunately, storms and squalls with even more bad weather forecast meant that the outbound race was postponed by 24 hours.

Our provisioning plan was for breakfasts and lunch on board plus two evening meals whilst on passage - the aspiration being that we would be enjoying 'fruit de mer' and other tasty plates on the other side of the Channel. To conserve provisions, we had dinner at the Victory Inn in Hamble village on Thursday night. The 'legendary' beer-battered fish and chips with home-made tartare sauce was devine and the steak and ale pie went down a treat too. Prices are reasonable but beware: the portions are BIG! Foredeck, mast and pit still managed to have room for dessert and opted for banoffi pie or maple syrup & pecan pie served as an individual tartlet.

With the postponement still in force on Friday, dinner was courtesy of the local chippy as an early night was called for before racing on Saturday and there was still a lot to get ready.

Saturday morning came around quickly and we set off to the start line near Cowes with the pre-cooked bacon and sausages warming in the oven before serving in bread rolls. After a great start, the weather deteriorated and there weren't many takers for the chicken salad wraps which had been so carefully prepared the night before. Not too many cups of tea were had either, although several attempts were made. Must remember to pack the thermos flask in future.


After a 14 hour squally crossing, we made it into Chantereyne Marina and as soon as everything was lashed down and secure (more storms forecast for overnight) we had a hot chocolate with a couple of Minstrels melting in the bottom finished off with a splash of single malt whisky. Then it was time for Kate's spaghetti bolognaise served with garlic and herb flatbreads. Juno's oven is brilliant - the temperature can actually be controlled and things heat up when you expect them too. The L-shaped galley and the nav desk are both protected by padded coverings which a) stop the brand new woodwork from getting scratched (which was the original intention) and b)reduce the bruising when you are hurled against either station (a positive unintended consequence).

As we'd lost a day, the start of the race back was on Sunday morning but we decided to scratch and cruise back giving us time for lunch at Cherbourg Yacht Club before departing. A smoother passage back meant that we could now avail ourselves to the treats in the snack locker, actually eat a chicken salad wrap and have Mark's chicken curry with saffron and cardomon rice en route.

Arriving in the small hours of Monday morning, Juno was put to bed and we had a 0300 feast of Wenslydale and Apricot cheese with crackers washed down with the wine which JOG had provided in lieu of a reception the previous day.

Finally, muesli followed by bacon and sausage in bread rolls for breakfast before the final tidy up and departure.

Monday 15 March 2010

Frostbite Racing

Last weekend was the final race in the Little Ship Club's Frostbite Series. Although not actually freezing, the temperature was not far off during Friday night. To combat these cool temperatures, our menu for the weekend on A Day At The Races was:

Friday night
Onion bhajis with raita dip
Kedgeree with spinach plus garlic flatbread
Lemon cupcakes and tea

Saturday morning
Muesli with banana
Blueberry or chocolate chip muffins


Saturday lunch

Lamb koftas in soft tortilla wraps served with plain yoghurt
Baby plum tomatoes
Cucumber slices

Saturday evening
Prize Giving Dinner ashore at the Max Aitken Museum, Cowes - Isle of Wight

Sunday morning
Muesli with banana
Blueberry or chocolate chip muffins

Sunday lunch
Vichysoisse soup
Bacon rolls with melted emmenthal cheese

Plus we had some rather sinful donuts during the race which probably need a 3-day offshore race at least to work off, not to mention the lemon cupcakes and choc-chip cookies too. Could mean a new set of sailing kit soon - a size larger!

However, there was lots of leaping around on our approach to Cowes Yacht Haven on Saturday afternoon as, due to an engine problem, we had to sail into our berth. Maybe it was a good job we had those donuts afterall!

PS
A Day At The Races came first in the LSC 2009/10 Frostbite Series