Sorry to hear about the inhuman conditions you have to toil in all day. It's
terrible to not have a local store with month old produce and medicated
meat... forcing you to rely on the bounty of nature. It must be
frightening to actually see the bottom of the ocean clearly at 20 feet. Rest
easy knowing I'm labouring under a similar burden....

I can understand your envy of Bob..... as I consider him the luckiest
sailor here. Driving from apartment to marina... motoring out of his posh
marina, stopping only to reprimand way-ward sailors who dare cross his path.
His Bristol sail boat contrasting so well against the miasma of toxic sewage
he sails upon. He can set canvas at his discretion and elect to day sail or
make a 40 mile destination into passage to rival the Voyage of the
Argonauts. He always has a bevy of girls on his boat.... he dines at the
best restaurants and his boat has a movie lounge. I am not worthy.

Glad to see you did not fall victim to the Kraken...... enjoy the best of
times where you are.

CM






"Capt.American" wrote in message
om...
| "Capt. Mooron" wrote in message
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|
|
| 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
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|
| 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