Soterion on Soggy Dollar Webcam

Another beautiful day in paradise!!

Back on Charter!

Soterion's 2012-2013 season is off to a great start!  We had four couples from RI on board for a quick 5 day get away that inclued one entire day at the spa on Scrub Island.  

The diet was Vegan so Tara spent most of her time in the galley this week.  This was one breakfast - Cinnamon Tahini & Apple Bread Braide served with Cool Blueberry Soup.

The final evening was spent waterskiing with this as our back drop.  

Not too shabby at all. 

Culinary Competition

Another way to be involved during the Boat Show is to compete in the culinary competition.  This year this year there were three categories - Starter, Entree, Dessert - and about twenty chefs from boats ranging from 112ft. motor yachts & 76 ft sailing yachts with dedicated chefs to 45ft charter boats with chefs like myself who play hostess, chef, deck, mate, etc.  The fun of the competition is to have the top restaurant chefs in the area tasting and grading your work against their own very high standards.

The last few minutes of prep.  You can't tell in the picture how badly my hands are shaking. 

Mini Hibiscus Mofongo & Saltfish Croquette
(First Place)

Braised Oxtail + Wahoo Parcel w. Local Spinach & Harvest Risotto Cake
(Second Place)

Banana Colada Ebelskivers w. Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
(Second Place)

The judges & professional photographers.

CYS Boat Show 2012

Yes we did!
 This was the 31st annual CYS boat show and after 30 years of hosting the event at Village Cay Marina we made a move to Nanny Cay Marina and the show was a raging success!  Sasha climbed a hill during the show to snap a few pictures of all the boats in the marina.  Do you see Soterion??


Recognise this motley crew?  One of the nights of the show boats host a "Broker Hop" where they have snacks and drinks on board.  We decided to take the party to the docks this year because we were picking up charter the next day.  The idea was very well received-- along with our shots of home infused rum :)

Down the hatch without a scratch!  Mango Rum & Banana Spice Rum.

Upgrades & Improvements

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better...

We hired E&S to sand down and refinish the shelf at the front of the salon.  Through years of sun and saltwater spray the varnish had begun to discolor so a light sanding and new coat of varnish has her shiny and new again.  

The AirCon unit in the salon has been trying to die for about a year.  The heat of last June and July was too much and the compressor finaly bit the dust.  We had Marine Maintinance instal a a slightly bigger/ stronger unit and they even diverted a bit of the cool air down to the galley!  Chef is happy!

Upon inspecting the old windlass there were significant cracks in the main drive shaft, so we installed a new windlass.  Again, this one is larger and we are sure it will do a better job of pulling up our anchor.

Last but certainly not least, we added extra sound proofing around the front of the generator.  Sasha is on a mission to make the bow area a relaxing, quiet, after dinner conversational spot.  Last summer we had a seperator installed on the generator exhaust to bring down the noise at the water level, now we are working at the deck level.

Honeymoon Part 2

Well, the first part of the honeymoon went just as most married couples would expect.  We rented a car and drove from one B&B to anothe as we explored the Carolinas.  Too bad that was just a pit stop on the way back to de islands, mon!

We already have a full season booked and there were a few spare projects we've been meaning to get around to, so we hit Tortola a little early this year.  First up was organizing the Soterion storage unit.  

Most charter boats own more stuff than they can carry on board.  We have, for example all our holiday decor, bits and pieces we've taken out of the crew cabin to make it feel larger, all 27 jerry jugs used to carry fuel when the boat was delivered from France, tupperware full of Soterion swag, etc. 

I'm tired of looking at a heap of stuff in our storage unit... so it's time to install shelves and see what we can do to bring a little organization to this place.  Here you see Sasha squatting on a layer of cinder blocks -- what's with those blocks you might ask?  Flood protection!  We are on the ground level and in the summer this area is known for flooding.  

We bought some heavy duty brackets and installed three large shelves.  

Top shelf is for all the jerry jugs, they will come in handy for the next big adventure!
Second shelf is for extra "tools".  Captains and chefs rarely throw things out because none of these things are actually their personal property, and you never know what the next crew on a yacht will find useful.
Third shelf is for decor and other stuff that is not taking up perminent residence.
Ground level is for tuppers full of Soterion swag.  

Sorting what little swag we had leftover from last year.  

Husband and Wife

Click on the photo to see more pictures from the wedding!

Hauled out!

Soterion is safe and sound in the boatyard at Nanny Cay! 

Have a great summer and see you in the fall!!!

Underwater Lights

Soterion has had underwater lighting for a while now (technically they are on-water lights as they are not mounted below the waterline but have the same effect without putting holes in the boat under water).  The lights make the yacht more visible at night as well as attract sea creatures such as minnows, tarpon, sea-rays, and squid.


We recently installed color-changing LED lights in the bow area.

That got me thinking that our tender needed lights as well.

These are also color-changing LEDs.

TOO COOL!!

Days off

Our guests often ask what we are planning to do on our day off between charters.  Will you go to the beach?  Maybe read a book?  Well, first we have to do a few chores:

First, laundry!

Normally we just clean the interior.  Since we had more than a single day "off", Tara decided to completely replace all the head (bathroom) fixtures.  She learned quite a bit about plumbing fittings (from metric PEX to 1/2" IPS), as well as what it feels like to be crammed into a little hole upside-down juggling two wrenches and a flashlight with water dripping onto your head trying to loosen a stuck nut.  (When I am in that position, sometime I feel like I am the nut!)  Anyway Tara did such a great job on all four heads with a minimum of grumbling and now we have not only new faucets and showers, but new towel rings and soap dishes to go with the fancy new LED lights.

Meanwhile, I was wiring up the new batteries that we had to install because the old ones were no longer holding a charge.  The batteries keep the operation running when the generator is off, powering all the lights, music, and appliances.  Tara helped me carry these beasts weighing in at over 150 lbs!  I also installed a new "pure-sine" inverter which provides high-quality, clean power to all the outlets.

In addition, I installed a monitoring system that keeps an eye on the health and charge of the batteries.

After several long days of work, a shot of house-made fruit-infused RUM was well deserved!

As was a relaxing afternoon reading in the cool breeze under the shade that Tara designed.

Happy Easter!

We have a family on board this week and the kids love books so the Easter Bunny did well this year!

Check out the home made bud vases- I stretched colored baloons over shot glasses.

It's not easter without coloring eggs- followed the next morning by egg battles :)

Easter Egg hunt- do you spy the green egg?

Soggy Dollar Sunday

Soterion on the Soggy Dollar webcam!

We swam ashore and enjoyed the drinks that were left by our friends for us on the clipboard behind the bar (thanks Emily and Michael)!

Fish On!

One happy fisherman!

Thank goodness for my Cutco fishermen's knife :)

yum, yum!

Paddle Boarding 101

 

 

 

 

You fall a lot when you are beginning.