"Capt. Mooron" wrote in message ...


Greetings Capt. Mooron,

Its so sad to here of your conditions. It must be hell to be stranded
in such a dark and dang place. The smell of that old forest rottening
in the background. And having to eat squid, a good bait, but a nasty
meal.

Close your eyes and dream of this paradise.

A small lagoon on the south shore of Maui. You can see your anchor 30
feet below dug into black gravel bottom shimmering in the morning
golden sunrise. Off the port bow is a 120 foot cliff covered with
ferns and flora of all types, a sweet aroma hovers in the lagoon. You
have a granite ware perculator filling the cabin with the smell of
freshly ground Kona coffee. Not a single sound but the bubble of the
coffee pot and the early morning calls of tropical birds. Off the
starboard bow is a jungle with a small Tiki type hut 3 miles from the
nearest road, and the view just climbs up a tropical forest covered
mountain. The Sky is SSSOOOOOOOOOOOO crystal clear, not a hit of
pollution anywhere. We did not sail today either. We rigged a cockpit
cover and snorkeled the coral near the lagoon entrance, speared a gray
grouper. For lunch Melody fixed the Ono we caught trolling just off
the west coast of Maui. It was 22 pounds. We cut it into 1/2 pounds
steaks. We loaded all our fixins into a cooler and swam to shore. Some
past sailor buildt a rock oven/mound with 2 cast iron shelves. We
stoked it up with local wood and coconut husks and had a bed of coal
in no time. Melody Broiled the ono with Shiitake mushrooms, Bok Choy,
green onions, carrots, butter and sherry wine. Mixed in some prawns
that she marinated in sugar, shoyu, rice vinager, sherry, semese oil,
ginger and garlic. On the top shelve she made a pot of white rice
(uncle toms)and a sauce of coconut milk, cream, Butter,white wine,
peppercorns, vietnam chili paste, sugar, clam stock, lemon grass,
white onions, ginger, cilantro and I think a little corn starch to
thicken it up. Oh did we fill the air with flavor. She filled a plate
with a bed of sticky rice, laid the Ono filet on top covered it with
the shrooms &veggies, laid on the sauce then garnished it with seseme
seeds,parsley, and coconut flakes. We savored our meal than just laid
around and enjoyed the afternoon. Later that evening we meet our host
and he took us for a 40 mile bikecycle ride. It took over 3 hours and
we never peddled once.
Hung around his house sampling the local tobbaco and played poker till
3am. My host suggested we move the boat to a local marina and stay in
his guest house. The lagoon we where at is visited by
pirates(Locals)often. We did. Its swanky and roomy to say the least.

We all can not all be as lucky a bobspirt and sail every single day
with models in turd infested chemical treated waste water,But hey we
will just have to trudge along.

Capt. American















I took full advantage of the rain, fog and total absence of wind today. I
did all shipboard laundry and enjoyed wolfing down 2 pounds of fresh, pan
fried scallops. We caught quite a few Tinker Mackerel in the last few days
sailing and I had them in brine for smoking. I transferred the split fillets
to the smoker today and they should be ready late tomorrow. I took a walk
down to the shore earlier and decided to rake up some fresh mussels. The
water was so clear and calm it was like looking into an aquarium. The
mussels were a deep blue against the gold of the seaweed. I harvested about
a bucket of the tasty morsels. They are steaming right now in a white wine,
cream, butter and herb sauce for a late night snack. I heard the squid are
starting their run so I should have "calamari" within a few days. The other
day I showed my niece how to prepare sea urchin and periwinkles. I have
dried dulce in the basement which is wonderful as is but can really add
flavour to soups or stews requiring a marine flavour. A feed of crabs takes
about 30 minutes to harvest with a crab pot.... oysters are plentiful....
clams are available from the sand bar about 300 yards away. Yup... it's a
rough life here on the coast.

Oh.... did I mention farm fresh eggs from my hen house, racks of locally
smoked bacon and the tenderest cuts of local grown beef from cows that never
saw commercial grade feed or medications?? I have 10 lbs of home churned
butter in the fridge. I get glass jugs of goat's milk on a regular basis. I
was just given a pair of the biggest turkeys I have ever seen. I'll breed
them this year and should have all the turkey meat I need for years to come.


Overproof got her decks washed in fresh rainwater today while I tended to
shoreside tasks I had long put off. The Loons quit calling at sunset and now
the peepers and crickets have taken over the evening entertainment. I can
smell the ocean and the subtle aroma of a moist boreal forest wafting
through my open window right now.

I wonder what it must be like to sail out of a city, traffic noise, sirens,
people, gunshots..... on a sewage laden and polluted body of water where
swimming ... let alone consuming anything extracted from the water is akin
to playing Russian Roulette. Oh well at least they get to go sailing almost
everyday while I have to tend to chores.

CM