Rambling

Posted on March 20, 2013 inWelcome

Wow! It’s been awhile since I’ve caught everyone up to date with what’s happening. But fear not – another season will soon be upon us.

Seasoned readers will notice that I’ve added a new category – cookin’ for the crew. The captains that taught me to sail also taught me that the best way to keep a happy crew was to feed them well. So I’ve tried to have something for the crew to eat after every race or during every cruise. Some recipes have worked well. Some, well, we won’t do those on the boat again. And I’ve had to find these recipes in my large collection of cookbooks, because every sailor-specific cookbook I’ve purchased so far (well, 3 right now) have assumed you have about as much available to work with in the galley as you do on land. Since my boat is a wee bit smaller than that, I’ve had to adapt – either by cooking it all at home, making it cold only, or making it something I could cook up or heat up in a hurry on my alcohol stove.

As I said, some recipes worked well. Some weren’t worth doing on the boat again. So I thought I’d try sharing a few of those ones that worked well. And who knows – if the collection gets big enough, maybe I can put them in a book.

Other things that have happened lately: my mom died on Christmas Eve. So Christmas Day, I went sailing. My boat is still my happy place and that’s where I wanted to be for this time. It turned out to be a beattiful day for doing it. As I tell people, the positive side of Global Climate Change is that my sailing season is extended.

But back to the sailing. Yes, I needed a jacket, and started with gloves and hat. But after a bit of time out there, I shed the gloves and hat and unzipped the jacket. The wind was great. The waves weren’t too high. And I had that portion of the river to myself. It was heavenly.

So starting the season. This year will be interesting. Budget is tight so the extra spring projects won’t get done. In fact painting the bottom will have to wait a bit, too. And I guess I’ll just slap on a coat of ablative, rather than having the bottom smoothed out by the folks at the marina as I planned. But she’ll sail. She just won’t be as fast as she might with a smooth bottom.

Here’s to 2013. May it be a better year!