Day 1- A Day at the Races: Beaulieu River to Hurst Point

Our first leg of our passage towards the West Country was a short early evening sail on the ebb tide down to Hurst Point so we could catch the next tide out West early the next morning. After dropping anchor in the bay behind Hurst Lighthouse, we had moussaka and fresh carrots for dinner with a glass of South African merlot.

The moussaka was a supermarket ready meal but fine for eating on board as it only took 25 minutes to heat up in the oven so the only preparation was slicing the new season carrots to steam gently on the hob.

Mussels on the beach

Last week, Jen and I escaped to the beach for an "al fresco" lunch. We took a large stock pot, pre-sliced carrot and onion, a sprig of thyme from the herb garden, a little butter, fresh bread and some chilled Muscadet. The mussels we bought en route to the beach so it was simply a matter of washing them under the cold water tap on the promenade, scraping off any barnacles with a pen-knife, pulling the beards off and washing them again. Note that any mussels which are open at this stage should be discarded.

Using a small camping stove and stock pot, we heated up the butter, fried the onion and carrots for a couple of minutes then added the wine, mussels and herbs. After a few minutes and a couple of turns, the mussels were open* and ready to enjoy in the sunshine! With a glass of Muscadet and fresh tiger bread - divine!!

* any mussels which remain closed after cooking should be discarded.

Tasty One

Plans to sail across the channel to St. Vaast were hastily revised in the light of the news that French fishermen were blockading various ports on the northern coast of France over the Whit Bank Holiday weekend. Plus the forecast for a rather nasty low over Cherbourg didn't help matters, so we decided to take the line of least resistence and sail on the south coast of England.

Our Dufour 425 - chartered from Hamble Point Yacht Charters - was actually called "Hasty One" but given that every time we called up a marina for a berth, they kept calling us "Tasty One" plus the usual focus on gastronomic delights, she was quickly rechristened. Tasty One was just 2 months old and equipped to a high standard in the galley. She had a 3 ring gas hob with auto ignition so no fiddling around with matches or gas wands this time, plus she had a grill which meant we could have proper toast for breakfast. One thing we didn't use onboard was the microwave although I can see the benefit if people were in port on shorepower and either didn't have time or didn't have the culinary skills to prepare meals from scratch. We still needed the large cooking pot which I always carry in my kit, as most pans on charter boats are not up to the job of cooking up enough for 8 people. With a cafetiere on board too, we could have decent coffee too - so all was right with the world.

Having geared ourselves up for a Friday evening departure for France, sitting in a pub in Hamble seemed a sin especially as the early evening was sunny with light breezes [q.v. forecast for heavy thundery showers]. Instead, we cast off for a short sail towards Haslar to find out how Tasty One could perform under sail. As our expected arrival in Haslar was for last orders at the Lightship, we had dinner underway. Urszula and David prepared Tim's Salmon and Salad Surprise with potatoes in between tacks...and very good it was too! See our website for the recipe. As it transpired, we enjoyed the sailing so much that we stayed out later than planned and heard the bell for last orders as we were approaching Haslar Marina. Nevermind, there were some emergency beers and wine on board which were originally for our arrival in France before we stocked up in St. Vaast.

Next morning, with the wind freshening and some fluky gusts kicking off, we set sail for Cowes but having wind and tide working together in harmony, we pressed on towards Yarmouth for a mid-afternoon arrival. And what a good move that was! By 1700, the whole world was trying to find a spot in the harbour to avoid the gales which were forecast for later that day. We managed to bag a table at Salty's for dinner and a birthday celebration. Despite the disappointment at not being able to set sail for St. Vaast, we did indulge in delicious oysters for starters despite there not being an "R" in the month. The guideline for not eating oysters in summer months is because this is when oysters reproduce and during this stage of their life, they have a "milky" appearance and are not as palatable.

Following on from our oyster binge - one plate was not enough! - we opted for fresh crab, lobster, mussels and cod from the menu all accommpanied by enormous bowls of chips which never quite reached "low tide". If you've never been to Salty's, you need to know that after the eating has ceased, audience participation in singing and dancing on the table is mandatory. Not all requests will be accepted - 80s elctro pop is usually met with a sneer - but we did manage to shape some of the tunes played. If that's all too hectic, you can pop up the road to the Yarmouth Yacht Club and gate-crash a wedding party and have a very civilised coffee and calvados before catching the last water taxi back to the boat.

Despite a bit of rain overnight, the really bad weather hadn't kicked in and with hardly any wind on Sunday, we set off towards Poole after a breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. After the obligatory pictures of everyone passing the Needles, we had brie on sesame seed rye bread with anchovies and olives as hors d'ouvres followed by Italian Tuna and Cannelloni Bean Salad with new potatoes whilst listening to Bob Marley, bobbing along in the sunshine near the Fairway Buoy in our own personal Sargasso Sea. Any thundery storms were well away from us inland and the secondary low from the French coast was taking it's time to get going. So we concentrated on light wind tactics and crawled along at 2 knots or less until we found a little more wind off Anvil Point.

Entering Poole Harbour, we chose to head for Cobbs Quay Marina for some shelter - even though this meant a bit of a faff waiting for the bridge to rise - in case the forecast was right this time and the gales kicked in overnight. Although we'd had a good lunch, thoughts turned collectively towards steak and chips and the restaurant at the marina delivered. Whilst eating our dinner, the wind suddenly increased several forces and our planned early morning departure through the 0730 bridge lift looked in jeopardy.

With the wind howling through the rigging at 30+ knots and the rain lashing down, our early morning departure was abandoned. Three crew members had to leave to take the train home so that they could be back by the evening. This was not without drama as the storms had caused problems with the railways and replacement bus services had to be put in place so it was a long slog back to civilisation.

Eventually, we cast off mid-afternoon to sail back to Hamble and had our emergency meal of pasta and pesto while we waited for Poole Bridge to open. Again, the forecast was totally wrong and the predicted winds of F3/4 turned out to be more like F6/7 as we beat our way across Christchurch Bay towards Hurst Point and the Solent. Fortunately, we had some pre-prepared rolls handy to keep our energy levels up and the valient crew managed to keep the tea and coffee coming between squalls.

Finally, we arrived back at base just as the wind eased about 0100 on Tuesday morning. All in all, a great weekend, lots of challenges - both in the galley and on deck - and great company. We managed to eat nearly everything on board including the emergency rations.

If you would like to share your Bank Holiday experiences, do add your post too!

Blue Skies and Good Breezes

Finally, the spring storms abated in early May and the crew of Freelancer - chartered from Fairview Sailing - were blessed with sunshine for 5 consecutive days! Starting off in Hamble with Wil's Maxi Shepherd's Pie [enough to feed the proverbial five thousand] and baked beans we sailed to Bucklers Hard in the Beaulieu River. As the Master Builder was closed, Patience prepared an amazing Chilli con Carne which was much appreciated after a great day's sailing.

There was a bit of excitement the next morning as our engine overheated within 10 minutes of casting off and steam issued forth from the engine compartment. The genoa was unfurled in an instant and fire extinguishers prepared in a flash. After weaving our way down river under sail, we spotted a pontoon which gave us the chance to sail into the wind and slow down enough to make an emergency stop. Having ascertained that our engine was not about to burst into flames, in true "how to cook on a boat" style, we put the kettle on for a cup of tea and served up the ginger cake while we waited for Sea Start to arrive. A broken impeller was the culprit and Nick from Sea Start soon sorted this out.

In the afternoon, a great sail over to Yarmouth, Wil's fish stew for dinner then a little night sailing under the stars. After a bit of a lie-in the next day, we caught the tide down to Poole and squeezed into a very tight berth - next to a Sunseeker motor cruiser the size of a house - in Poole Quay Boat Haven. Here Tim prepared mussels for starters followed by poached salmon and salad surprise.

An early start the next day with freshening breezes meant we arrived near Lymington about lunchtime so carried on towards Cowes despite an exacting sail across from Poole. All the chefs had the night off tonight as we walked, under a stunning sunset, to the Woodvale pub in Gurnard village.

Our last morning with Freelancer dawned misty and windless. So after some more MOB practice near Osbourne Bay, we headed back towards Hamble where the mists lifted to reveal another blazing hot day.


Wil's super-sized Shepherd's Pie

PS There were only four of us on board

Another Place

Another Place is a massive installation on Crosby Beach - just a few miles NW of Liverpool - that consists of 100 cast-iron figures by Antony Gormley who is probably best known for his sculpture "Angel of the North". The ghostly life-size figures - moulded from the artists own body - are dotted along three kilometres of the Crosby shore: sparse in some areas and becoming more congregated as they reach the sea front, so onlookers can catch the detail of those near and the shadow of sculptures in the distance out to sea in one eyeful. It's certainly a spectacular sight - especially at low tide.

So what's this got to do with cooking on boats? In my twenties, I lived in a flat overlooking this beach and the Welsh mountains in the distance. Braving the northerly winds for walks on the beach, there wasn't much marine life in evidence at that time. Today, wandering amoung the iron men, I was delighted to see evidence of razor shells, also called razor clams. I first ate razor clams whilst sailing in Brittany and had never seen them on the menu in England until recently. Razor clams can be stir-fried, chargrilled or steamed like mussels: which ever way you cook them, they are delicious! If you're thinking of gathering some for yourself, wear a thick glove - like a gardening glove - as the shells really are razor sharp. Also, you need to be quick as they burrow down into the sand in an instant. Alternatively, you can dig for them. Best attempted at low tide on beaches washed by clean seas and where there is a thriving population - only take what you need.

I'm going to have a go at catching some in a few weeks when sailing in the West Country

Sir Robin Knox Johnson on the rocks!

On Tuesday, I was fortunate to have dinner with Sir Robin Knox Johnson [as one does :-)] and he told me the story of when he and Sir Chris Bonnington sailed in the Arctic some years ago. They had visited Reykjavik and had been presented with 2 cases of Finlandia vodka. This was duly stored in the locker behind the heads - safest place apparently. As you can imagine, there was no shortage of ice so when the two intrepid explorers fancied a shot or two of vodka, all they had to do was reach over the side and chip off a bit of ice from a passing iceberg to add to their glass. Apparently, the the ice was so cold that the vodka fizzed and gave off vapour. Also, the water frozen in the ice was probably in excess of 10,000 years old!

Vodka on the rocks will never be the same again!

Spring Series Racing - Week 3

Finally, a perfect afternoon on Sunday after racing was postponed on Saturday due to rough seas and imminent gales.



On Friday, we had "Ramsbottom Hotpot" - not the part of the lamb which is used in this recipe but the name of the town in Lancashire where I created this luxury variation of the traditional hotpot for a hearty meal when I lived there for a couple of years. Now adapted for cooking on a yacht, this uses leg of lamb instead of the more traditional neck of lamb. As the gales howled through the rigging in the shelter of Haslar Marina on Saturday night, we had Taglietelle Bolognaise to keep our spirits up. A trip to the Light Ship for a post-prandial libation also helped.

Following a full English breakfast on Sunday morning [no exploding ovens this time], we set off at best speed for the start line at Gilkicker only to find that the morning was a real drifter with no wind at all :-( After some spinnaker practice, for the first time this year, jackets and scarfs were abandoned and the crew stretched out to catch some rays while we waited for the wind to come our way. Finally the wind filled in and we had a great race with great sail trim, great spinnaker work and a great finish [i.e. not last :-)]

We grudgingly made our way back to base wishing there had been another race as we really had the bit between our teeth but we'll have to wait until the summer now for the next racing round the cans in the Solent.

PS No pictures of the Saturday squalls as they're not very photogenic.