Food clarifications

One of us has expressed some concern that the previous posts do not accurately describe the food situation on board, so this post will try to clarify this.

First of all, the cats are well fed, with a choice of two types of dry food that are fish-free, and small cans of wet-food (turkey) that is also fish-free, for Zabelle. She only likes the food within the first 30 seconds after the can is opened, though, and can only eat a few mouthfuls, so the rest goes to the kittens. They also get fish-free treats every morning and evening, and whenever they have to be convinced to come down into the boat off the dodger/bimini.

The two humans have also been eating quite well. We stocked up the boat with staples, and filled the fridge with fruits and veggies before leaving Florida, and have been replenishing fresh food as it has become available. Nassau had a full-service supermarket across from the marina with every fresh food we could desire, and the Exuma Market in Georgetown was also well stocked. We noticed in Nassau that they had last-day steaks on sale in the morning, and a fair number of cruisers made it a point to be there to buy up LOTS of good beef for their freezers. We had to step in front of one guy who was discussing the availability of space in his freezer over the phone with his spouse, to determine whether to take ALL of the steaks, or just about 8 of them. In the islands, we found some really nice local tomatoes and peppers in Staniel Cay, and onions and potatoes are always available.

We are still eating some fruits from Stuart, over a month ago. The citrus fruits lasted quite well, and we still have the basil, sage, rosemary, and parsley plants, in spite of their being attacked by the red cat with great regularity. Today we had one of the grapefruit, which held up quite well. Unfortunately, the thyme did not survive - we think it did not like the salt air.

We have done some baking on board as well. This was a regular thing on land, but the boat oven has a hard time reaching baking temperatures, so we have been limited to focaccia with rosemary and sea salt (French(!) - not harvested off of our decks) and a cake. We found some good home-made bread (white, whole wheat, cinnimon raisin, and coconut) on Staniel Cay, which has been trementously appreciated.

So, we have NOT been subsisting out of cans, as some might believe based on the previous posts. Rather, we have enjoyed quite tasty meals, prepared with skill and care, using all of the various resources at our disposal. Even the pasta has involved goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and really nice Costco salmon(out of a can, unfortunately), and fresh herbs. The availability of fresh water has made this a bit easier, but we want to make sure no one thinks we are eating Dinty Moore stew heated in, and eaten out of, a can. In fact, we want to go on the record and make it clear that we do not have ANY Dinty Moore stew on board, anywhere.

The only item lacking so far has been fish, because we have been completely unlucky at catching anything. It has not helped that we have spent quite a bit of time in a national park that doesn't allow fishing. We have trailed as many as 3 lines at once, but the only bite occurred on the trip from Bimini, and it seems that whatever bit was BIG, with SHARP teeth, because it took an entire rig off the end of the line. We will continue to try to land a fish, or pick up a conch, as we move north, and will document any success.