This morning was a boat project morning. Tommy ran the watermaker, evaluated the latest weather reports, did work on charting routes, investigated our salinity meter’s calibration and different standards for salinity in drinking water, and installed a plug-in for our blog so people that comment can include pictures in their comments if they like. Note the picture Paula put in her comment for Day 31-her first attempt at island jewelry for Tommy. Sadly, he seems underwhelmed by her efforts. Next, he set up our fishing gear to be ready for the first trolling opportunity.
Paula mended her bathing suit hem and communicated with friends and family. The latter is a favorite part of her day. She then tried her hand at making Johnnycake, a Bahamian bread/cake that is the traditional accompaniment for souse. She also plans to try to make her own modified version of souse tonight. If it doesn’t work out, she has some pan-size fish (bought, not caught) to bake. Oh, and she learned that what she thought were juniper berries in the souse she had at Curly’s Fish Fry restaurant were actually whole Allspice berries. Reading tells us that this is a mandatory souse ingredient. And, amazeballs, Paula had some in her spice storage. Estelle supervised Paula’s essential on-board spice provisioning when Tom and Paula first took up boating. These “must have” spices fill one spice rack and three plastic lidded containers. We might not have researched cutting-edge fishing equipment before this trip, but we can produce cardamom and turmeric in a New York minute!
Then she cleaned. We know Paula mentions cleaning a lot in her blog writing. It’s not that she’s OCD, but on a boat, you are only a thin skin away from living outside. Dust and salt, leaves and pollen blow in. When we open the cockpit companionway doors tiny flies enter what they think is nirvana only to wind up dying lonely and alone on the higher shelves and inside the porthole rims. The normal crumbs and bits of stuff that wind up on the floor in any home are also contained in a much smaller area than the typical house or apartment, so the density of the detritus seems higher. Finally, it is an essential part of maintaining a critter-free galley and boat to sweep up crumbs every day.
After lunch Paula made the souse base and Tommy wrote a retrospective blog post about the first C Ghost. He found some killer pictures of the boat, kids, and dogs. We laughed for an hour looking at them and remembering stories of times on the boat with the whole family aboard.
We made it down to the beach at about 2:30pm and spent some more time reading and marveling at the beauty of the water and surrounds. It was too windy for us to want to swim, but perfect for dozing by the water. The featured picture today is looking back at the Palm Cay lagoon and beach from out at the edge of the boat entrance channel.
Weather update – we’ve decided to stay here through the weekend. While the conditions look favorable for a departure tomorrow, they deteriorate rapidly again late Saturday and through to Monday morning. Most of the time this weekend the wind will run from S to NW and be in the high teens to low 20’s. That wind direction makes a lot of the nice bank side anchorages in the Exumas both uncomfortable and exposed. The wind is finally supposed to shift more to the east next week, which will make those very same anchorages much more enjoyable.
13 Responses
Mommy you look hot!!
#smokeshow
You mean burnt…
Tommy… it sounds like you’re a hell of a captain, keeping the boat ship shape and planning the legs of your journey! Paula… you look fantastic! You also seem to be a heck of a captain and a fantastic cook. Doing Mom proud! If you should need any fishing info, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ve done my fair share of salt water fishing (in the keys and on the Gulf coast) and am willing to share any of my knowledge! March is a good time to catch wahoo, mackerel, and some tuna in the Bahamas. All can be caught trolling. Also, look for small patches of floating sea grass or flotsam, as these often hold small groups of dolphin (mahi-mahi) nearby!
Okay, great! We wonder what type of lures and weights do you prefer for the dolphin ( I think they sometimes call them dorado here) wahoo, tuna, and mackeral crowd?
And most of the websites I looked at recommend cutting the ventral artery and bleeding the fish to kill it and to improve taste of the fish. Do you agree? I am not fond of the idea of swinging a fish billy in the limited space we have in our cockpit (it’s kinda crowded) and the “spike” method seems to require a lot of precision and knowledge of individual fish brain anatomy. The tequila method is out since we have none. But I think I could get in there with my kitchen shears and cut the artery. Whaddyathink??
Ok. I’m posting some lure pictures. Easier than giving you all the crazy lure names. I find there are three choices depending on if you want to use lures or bait. I’ll post pics of both! Bait… ballyhoo rig is the way to go. Lures… squid style lures or hard lipped and unlipped trolling lures will fit the bill. All three of these types of lures will catch anything from mackerel, king mackerel, and wahoo to dolphin (dorado)! As for color, there’s so many choices and guys have their favorites of course. You can ask the guys at the tackle shops what’s hitting, but I find that if you like the color, fish will too! As for bleeding the fish… if you’re going to filet them right away then no need. If it’s going to be a bit before you filet them, then YES you can bleed them. Cutting the ventral artery works or cutting the gills also works! Depending on the fish, one may be easier than the other, your choice. Good luck and let me know what lures you choose and your success level!!!
And these!
One last question. What kind of gaff did you buy? If you got a spear style gaff, they are a bit hard to swing. I like the hook style. That way you hook from under the fish as you pull up! Then you just lift the fish up! Picture included!
I had read of the planned Johnnycake bake attempt coming on previous blogs – now it’s happened and we all need to know how is tastes? It sure looks good! Now about the ‘souse.’ Never heard of it, so I looked it up. This url http://www.bahamasfoodguide.com/souse/
describes how it’s sometimes sold on the side of the road – maybe you can sell yours at the docks. Lol. Note: The lambs tongue version sounds great- not. What will be in your recipe?
The Johhnycake was delicious-Tommy thought it was as good as what we tasted in Bimini, but I think I need to use more butter. As far as the souse goes, I cheated from the traditional recipe I was given, but on line I found many variations. I didn’t put in the potatoes, because we already were having tons of carbs with the Johnnycake, and I substituted celery for green pepper in the stock. I used some chicken which is traditional (but thigh meat, not wings), and a few scallops cut up, and we dipped the baked fish in it. I didn’t use as much vinegar as some of the recipes call for and I left out the bay leaves. Tommy said it was bold, but tasty. If you like, I will make some for you and K when you next come to C Ghost.
As far as sheep’s tongue, I am suspicious of the taste of anything where the cooking instructions specifically say, “Boil the sheep’s tongue until tender and then THROW OUT the water you boiled it in.” I won’t try to make it, (a sheep’s tongue is bigger than you might guess) but I might sample it at a Fish Fry restaurant.
Wow Paula, you are so dark, soaku g up the sun
I didn’t realize how brown I’d gotten ’till I saw these pics. Guess it’s cause we pretty much live outside. We do go to the skin doctor regularly. Probably I’ll look like an alligator when I’m 80.
I am proud of your spice stock – essential for good cooking. I am concern about your skin tone. Skin cancer is real and not all my friends beat it. Use a sun block. In addition the eyes need to be protected on the sides. Cataracts are more prevalent among marine scientists due to their water exposure. This was my experience with my coworkers. Good luck with the fishing.
Jean – as I mentioned in some previous comments, the lighting in some of these pictures makes the skin tones look darker than they really are. I can assure you Paula is not as dark as she appears in several of the pictures. We’ve got plenty of sunscreen and wear sunglasses (both of us have prescription sunglasses) when it’s not cloudy. We also have wide brimmed sun hats that we wear when walking on sunny days.