Temporary Pad

 

 

 

 

These are a few shots of our temporary pad. Also known as "the house for wayward sailors". The guest house belongs to a new found friend who is used to having all types of sailors pass through her doors. The guest house is exactly what we needed- just a little space to land for a few nights. We've had TONS of rain down this way and according to the local reports it's supposed to be much of the same coming at us. Roads are flooded, sisterns are spilling over, every dog in town has been wet for a week. Please make the rain stop!!

Crew Hand-Over

The hand over went well! We have never had a crew hand a boat over to us, so twice now we have just made it up as we went along. The process is really a one-man-show starring Sasha. The first three hours were spent talking about toilets, until I reminded everyone that the entire process should take a day (day and a half if needed). Sasha was a saint and gave the owner a huge binder lovingly referred to as "the bible". The binder is an organized mash of schematics, electrical coding lists, trouble shooting guides, daily task lists, etc. Some of the info was found around the boat, other material downloaded off the net, a few pieces ordered from Catana, but Sasha wrote most after the refit and again after finding that we were being let go. There is no way he could turn this machine over without detailed to-do lists and a certain level of trust that the next caregiver will understand the level of maintenance all the brand new equipment deserves.

We are now staying on land- moved into a wonderful little guest house owned by a friend of a friend on Tortola. Except for the flash floods and roads being washed away it is the perfect spot!

Today will be spent taking a ferry to STT in order to collect the last of the mail for Diadem. Hope to have it delivered to the boat this evening as they plan to depart Sunday morning for an island-hopping adventure.

Last few of the Cabins

 

 

 

 

Just before the boat show I was able to finish up a last little sewing project. The boat had great little privacy curtains when she came off the line and the tracks were still in good shape so I searched and found some simple bamboo leaf print material for new curtains and a matching (but smaller print) material for pillows in red, java, and onyx. Love the cool calm feeling it gives the cabins!

The Great Quiche Challange

 

 

To make a quiche you have to plan ahead and set aside the proper amount of time. Now, I’m not talking about a store bought piecrust in which you throw some eggs and spinach (not that I don’t love those in a pinch). I’m talking about a real deal proper quiche. For whatever reason all the time and steps involved have put me off of really wanting to make quiche, even thought Sasha LOVES them. Well, finally I’d been teased enough! ☺ I planned to make the quiche for breakfast, but it wasn’t until… about 11:45 before it was done and ready to eat. It was soooo good, or we were just really hungry.

Sushi Hai!

 

In case you missed it, here is a great photo from a little social we hosted! During boat shows it is customary for vessels to have crew or broker socials in the evening to highlight boat upgrades or anything else special you'd like to show off. During the past boat show we had someONE to show off! Our great friend Nancy is breaking into the take away sushi business here on Tortola. She used to host Thursday Night Sushi down at the Royal BVI Yacht Club, but has decided to refocus herself. In the past three years of knowing Nancy I've been after her to cater to the yacht industry and finally she has agreed!! Taking things slowly, she is going to be helping chefs aboard with supplies and tools (or pre-rolled sushi) to serve to their guests!! We are very excited for her new adventure!

On the Road Again

Well, the good news is that the refit is nearly complete!!! The last few projects include the install of a redundant watermaker that will run off the solar panels all day from about 9am to 4pm, and a beer/ wine fridge drawer. All projects are schedule to be finished up by the end of the month- and then we are no longer needed.

Yep that's the bad news. Six months of breaking our backs to get this boat in shape to cruise south for the adventure of a lifetime and just when the final projects are coming to a close the owner tells us that he no longer needs a crew. He can take it from here. Are we the world's biggest suckers, or what??

Thank you Diadem for all that you have taught us. We were able to gain valuable skills and perspective through our employment and termination.

What's next for us? We've been offered may interviews already but will probably opt to take some time off. Breath, travel, or be with friends and family.

Have no fear-- we will still be blogging through our time off. There are loads of pictures yet to be posted, and who knows... maybe we will be offered a deal we can not pass up and find ourselves back on a boat in the fall. That's life after all and we'll keep you posted!

Crew Foods

Sasha offered to make dinner the other night and I was cleaning the boat for the CharterPort boat show. I was planning to bleach out the fridges so there wasn't much left to choose from. Still, he whipped up a great spread. Sasha chopped some carrots and other root veggies and did a wonderful red curry/ tofu simmer. Over top of the Jasmin rice it was amazing!




I've really thrown myself into the alternative foods research. I've found a great blog for vegan, gluten free, nut free cooking. I tried out the focaccia and it was really good. It is a little more dense than what I wanted, but the taste and texture were spot on!

Rain, Rain

Woke up to rain around 5am. Got up with the rain still coming down around 7am. Ran a few errands around Road Harbour.. in the rain. Played around the boat.. catching rain water. We figured in a light rain shower we can catch about 2 gallons per minute just collecting the run off from the cockpit hard top. (that is a lot!)



Around 1pm we had a 20 minute window between clouds so we took advantage and got out of there. We had been on the dock over in Village Cay the past couple days with contractors stopping by quoting and setting up for the next round of improvements. The dock is a great location in town- walking distance to almost anywhere. Though, when the rain starts coming down- watch out! The entire town and surrounding hillsides all drain right into the harbour. We're talking about everything that drains does it all at once into the marina. The smells and colors in the water are amazing. Heading out to sea is the best option-- and that's what we did. It was a wet ride, but watching the patches of rain sweep over the islands is beautiful. Below you can see a sailboat just before a wall of rain overtakes her- keep in mind that this shot was taken around 2pm- that is some dark rain!

 

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Roll

 

 

I began making "Monkey Bread".. but forgot the exact recipe and didn't want to bother with looking it up. In the end I took little canned biscuits, cut them in half and rolled them in cinnamon and sugar. Then, stuck them together in a single layer in the bottom of a small baking dish. Next I chopped some apple and added them with a sprinkle of rasins. Topped the apple with another layer of biscuits- of course rolling them in cinnamon and sugar, too! Popped the whole thing in the oven. Cleaned up the masterbathroom because we pulled the washing machine out for a fix and clean yesterday. Thirty minutes later the bathroom was clean and the roll was baked! Fantasticly easy start to the day.

Catch of the Day!

 

 

 

 

This 20# Dorado (Mahi-Mahi) was hooked on the north side of Anegada with a cheap little lure- bright pink in color. It took our friend a few minutes to reel him in and as he came close to the boat there was a whole school of other dorado just swimming along side, maybe his ladies? Either way, once we got the gaff in him we knew what we would eat for dinner that night... and the next three!!

As you can see from the photo stream, dorado are beautifully colored fish with bright greens, blues, and yellows in combinations you could never dream up. When they die you actually watch the color drain out of them until they are just blue and silver. You differentiate male from female dorado in the shape of the head. Males have a huge bulge in their forehead and large dorsal fin, while a female has a smoother taper to her forehead and a small dorsal fin.