Conch For Lunch

February 15, 2012February 1, 2012 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

#sailing Anyone hungry?

These queen conch make a fabulous conch salad but take a lot of work to get into a bowl. The easy part is finding them. The folded over lip means they are old enough to be harvested, otherwise they need to left alone at the bottom of the sea.

How does one make a salad?

First use a hammer and screw driver to make a hole in the shell.
Proceed to get the conch out.
Clean the skin off. (a slimy messy job)
Hammer until soft.
Soak in lime juice, to make it softer.
Cut into small cubes.
Mix with tomatoes, red pepper, lemon, lime, onion, and touch of hot sauce.
Get some crackers, invite your friends, and yum yum, it’s lunch time.

Sailing and Kayaking Together

February 1, 2012January 29, 2012 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#sailing The Bahamas provides a wide range of wind for a cruiser. Sometimes it too much and we have to find a protected anchorage. Sometimes it’s too little for windsurfing.

So for the light wind day, our friends brought out the kayak – sailboat. It’s an interesting contraption. For kayaking, the rider pedals the boat to propel it forward. If it’s windy, then the wind does the work.

There’s always a new way to spend time and here is Matt trying out the gear.

Check out the colour of the water!

Sailing Dogs Get Tired Too

January 27, 2012January 20, 2012 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

#Sailing The best way to keep your dog happy while underway it to exhaust them first. Farley and Jasper had a 5K beach run before getting onboard for a day of deep sea fishing.

I’d say they look pretty happy. And so were we after catching Tuna and Mahi Mahi.

Fishing Off a Catamaran

January 25, 2012January 20, 2012 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#sailing Does it get any better than pulling a Mahi Mahi up the back steps of your catamaran? Bahamas offers incredible deep sea fishing. The catamaran offers a great platform to fish from.

Get your gaff ready, fish bag open, and pull it aboard. Then get ready for a fantastic meal.

Beach Dogs

January 20, 2012December 25, 2011 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#sailing Our dogs love the beach. While we’re windsurfing, kiting, kayaking or swimming, the dogs are able to entertain themselves. Farley and Cali have become BFFs. They watch with concern while the gang gets geared up for another windsurfing/kiting session.

There are many uninhabited islands in the Bahamas and this means the dogs spend hour after hour off leash. There’s nowhere for them to disappear to. There’s nothing that can hurt them – well, that’s not quite true.

The sting rays can be a problem for dogs. If your dog is prone to chase them, they are likely to get stung. Not a fun experience.

The dogs keep fit digging, running, swimming and chasing crabs.

Sea Turtles

January 18, 2012December 25, 2011 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

#sailing Part of the fun of cruising for the winter is the wildlife. This sea turtle swam right past our catamaran.

The dog barks frantically, telling something is amiss. I guess he’s not sure what’s in the water and so close to our boat.

Cruising Dogs Need to Swim

January 13, 2012December 25, 2011 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment

#sailing How may people does it take to get a dog on a boat? Apparently four.

Two to swim with the dog, one to lift the dog onto the boat and one to clap encouragement.

I say this in fun, but there are many situations where your dog has to swim.

Here we couldn’t get the boat closer to the beach, so the only way for us to get on board was to swim.

Before you take your dog cruising, make sure it can swim.

Farley doesn’t love it, but he can do it.

Goats and WI-FI?

January 11, 2012December 25, 2011 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

#sailing

Getting wi-fi while cruising the Bahamas can be challenging, but it can also be funny.

For the first time in my life I’ve been to a store where I can buy wi-fi and a goat at the same place. How is a woman supposed to make that decision?

A goat on the boat. Hmm? That might be difficult to explain to my husband. I mean there are shopping impulses, but this could be seen as a little extreme.

In then end, I gave up the idea of having a goat and bought the wi-fi card. I just couldn’t figure out where the goat would sleep.

Catamaran or Monohull

January 6, 2012February 5, 2012 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

#sailing. Mattina, our Lagoon 380 S2, is sailing along the Bahamas Banks with Different Drummer, a Bristol 47.

Sailing in the flat water on a windy day is exhilarating on either boat. We are sailing from Norman’s Cay to Pipe Cay. One of those “once in a lifetime” days that we seem to be getting a lot of.

This has been a windy season in the Bahamas. The wind has been kind and come from the East, and we’ve had more days than usual where we can sail the banks under full sail.

We’ve sailed from the Bahamas to Aruba and back with Different Drummer. For that trip we were on a Niagara 42 sloop.

Whatever you sail, the opportunity is there for an adventure.

Windsurfing and Kiting At Compass Cay

December 28, 2011December 25, 2011 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#sailing Our friend, Wayne, is on the kite board. Matt, my husband, is on the windsurfer. Both are having an exciting ride in the shallows between Compass Cay and Pipe Cay, Bahamas.