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.

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

Tarte Tatin

There are many variations on the classic tart tatin and here is one way of creating a tasty tart on board. Everything is prepared in one pan which should be suitable for putting in the oven. I use a 24cm non-stick frying pan with a metal handle for this.

Ingredients

For the tart
1 pack pre-made puff pastry (thaw if frozen)
Some plain flour for rolling out
6 large eating apples (Cox's are good) peeled, cored and cut into halves
10g unsalted butter
1 tbsp caster sugar

For the caramel
50ml water
100g caster sugar
25g unsalted butter

Method
* Heat the oven (190C / mark 5 at home, high on the boat)
* Dust a clean smooth chopping board with flour and roll out the pastry until it is about 2-3mm thick, and wide enough to cover your pan, using an unopened wine bottle if no rolling pin is on board
* cover the pastry with cling film and leave somewhere cool for about 30 mins

* To make the caramel, add the sugar and water to the frying pan and let the sugar absorb the water
* Put the frying pan on the hob, bring to a rolling boil then simmer until it turns golden brown
* Stir in the butter and take off the heat

* Arrange the apple halves cut side down in the pan and fill in the gaps with any left over wedges of apple, leaving as little space as possible
* Cut the butter into cubes and dot over the apples
* Place in the oven for 5 mins then take out and spread the melting butter over the apples with a flat knife then sprinkle over some caster sugar
* Return to the oven for another 30 mins or until the apples are partly cooked

* Take the pan out of the oven and place the pastry over the top of the apples
* With a knife, cut around the rim so that the pastry becomes round, then tuck the edges in at the side of the pan
* brush wih a little milk and return to the oven for about 30 mins or until the pastry is golden brown
* Once cooked, remove from oven and leave under the sprayhood until barely warm so that the caramel can set.














* To release the tart, use a knife and go round the side of the pan to release the pastry.
* Put a large dinner plate over the pan and turn upside down, holding the plate and pan together

* Slice and serve with double cream or creme fraiche

Serves 6-8 people
Suitable for in harbour or flat calm sea

Cooking on board - the Clipper Round the World Race

If you think provisioning for a week's cruising and cooking at sea is tough, spare a thought for the galley on the yachts in the Clipper Round the World Race. Here are some food-related extracts from their blogs.

Dawn Evans on Sprit of Australia says

"Steal your pets eating bowl. All meals are consumed out of lovely green plastic dog bowls. Next time you prepare your favourite pets’ meal swap your lovely porcelain for their bowl. Try eating your first course then swill it out and have some pudding. Lovely."

"Visit your local supermarket, buy high quantity of chocolate bars, heat in oven, in wrapper, attempt to eat when cool. Chocolate snacks are in abundance aboard Spirit of Australia. How lovely you may think. A cup of tea and something sweet. However no matter how carefully and nicely packed penguin cake bars, fudge bars and Crunchies may be when it comes to eating them they have been reduced to a pile of sticky mush. We have taken to sucking chocolate out of wrappers - not a good look but one that needs practice."

Orla Mellett on Cork took charge of provisioning in Rio...

"A fresh fruit and veg run is the last run we do before we hit for sea and having learned from our experiences on Leg 1, we stocked up on loads of citrus fruits, melons, apples, cabbages, onions, garlic, carrots – anything that we think will go the distance. With the galley rammed full of all this fresh produce, the last couple of days have seen us enjoy fresh veggie soup (yes, that’s the rustic unblended homemade variety Mama!) and pineapple and melon desserts – Not too shabby, eh!"

"Cork’s crew are feeling extremely detoxed and healthy at the minute as a result. Long may it continue!"

"Regardless of how prepared you feel, you will inevitably forget something or fail to meet everyone’s expectations. Thankfully, we have a crew here on Cork that seem to eat pretty much anything that’s put in front of them, without a grumble (well, at least not in my ear shot!), which makes what could be a thankless and soul destroying job, one of the most rewarding on the boat."

Award! The Alexander Catering Rose Bowl

howtocookonaboat.com has been awarded the Alexander Catering Rose Bowl for creating and publishing "Recipes from the Little Ship Club Galley". After being presented with this beautiful silver trophy by Commodore Rupert Wallace(Royal Navy), we only had the trophy in our grasp for a couple of hours during the prize-giving dinner at the Little Ship Club. Sadly, when dinner ended, we had to give it up to the trophy cabinet but Julie & Caroline will have their names engraved for posterity. And we get to keep a medallion as a souvenir.

It was a total surprise to us and we just hope that "Recipes from the Little Ship Club Galley" continues to sell well.

Pimp My Beans

Baked beans are a store cupboard staple onboard but on their own can be a bit boring so why not try adding a couple of ingredients to jazz things up?

Ingredients
1 can baked beans
half a chorizo
2 good pinches of paprika (Spanish is best)
drop of oil (whatever is in the galley)
freshly ground black pepper
toast (optional)

Method
1. Heat the oil in a pan
2. Lightly fry the chorizo and add the paprika, stirring well
3. Sling in the beans and add a little black pepper
4. Serve on toast

Preparation time - 5 minutes
Serves 2

For more recipes click here

Hang on to your hats!

The crew of Cassiopeia - chartered from Fairview Sailing - had provisioned efficiently for our week’s cruise by ordering on-line and arranging delivery to the marina. Everything was still in the crates when we arrived which cut down the amount of ‘lifting and shifting’ dramatically with an added bonus of the crates fitting neatly into the storage space on our Bavaria 37 thus reducing the need to unpack everything.

Sunday night in Hamble kicked off with pitta bread and houmous starter followed by Greg’s chorizo casserole with pasta which was really simple to prepare and very tasty. Monday night found us moored in Royal Clarence Marina in Gosport, next to Dee Caffari’s Aviva, where Toby prepared a hybrid chilli con carne from kidney beans and haricot beans which was much appreciated after a fast sail down from Hamble.

Following a beat towards Cowes on Tuesday morning, which include a hi-line recovery exercise with Coastguard Rescue, we moored up in the Medina river for an excellent lunch of sausages in pitta bread accompanied by succulent cherry tomatoes and rocket in the cockpit. After a blustery afternoon's sailing, with winds gusting over 30 knots, we headed for shelter at Bucklers Hard in the Beaulieu River. Here, Neil prepared an onion salad starter, cooked us pork in disguise served with mashed potatoes and carrots and served up a cheesecake which set us up nicely for an after dinner walk along the river path to the Master Builder for a nightcap.

The forecast for Wednesday was still F6/7 so we abandoned our original plan to sail to Poole. Instead, we put 3 reefs in the main and sailed into Christchurch bay then onwards to the fairway buoy. Plans to have cornish pasties and beans for lunch were abandoned when the gas ran out and with rough seas giving 3-5m waves, we opted for a quick cheese sandwich instead. Returning to the Solent at about 8 knots, we headed for Yarmouth with the wind whistling through the rigging. Tonight, the galley had the night off and we eat ashore at Salty’s instead.

With the south-westerly wind still blowing a hooley, we stormed up the Solent to Wooton Creek then dropped the anchor in the shelter of Osbourne bay for lunch of cornish pasties and beans – this time cooked with a full gas canister. After practicing anchoring and MOB under sail, we headed for the relative calm of East Cowes marina and Neil’s sweet and sour chicken with rice. Neil had used a whole chicken which he jointed. The extra chicken pieces where cooked in the oven, with a special marinade of tomato ketchup and brown sauce, to have as a midnight feast when we returned from night sailing practice later on.

During the week, we eat mainly cereal and toast (courtesy of the electric toaster when on shore power) for breakfast varied with bacon butties one day and a full English breakfast on the last morning. Lunches were simple sandwiches or heated sausage rolls / pasties supplemented by a cup-of-soup - ideal for sailing in strong winds and moderate to rough seas.

PS no hats were lost overboard!

Photos by Toby Denham