Sailing time

Friday, February 17^th.

This is funny, last Friday I was working out to fit in my party dress. But it feels like we've been gone for a month! The Captain feels the same way, specially after the road trip in Dominica.

We woke up at six and started our journey to a different place, St. Pierre, Martinique, 62 miles away. It was a perfect day for sailing. This time I was the one talking to my brain, instead of my stomach, so I could enjoy having cereal and a decent lunch. I was even able to cooperate with Captain Rumfelt, easing and harding the genoa sheet, coiling them and pulling fishing lines. By the way, our rêve (*) of catching a Mahi-mahi didn't come true. There was a lot of sea grass along getting on the lines and hooks.

We got to Martinique just in time to enjoy the sunset, but we didn't anchored in St. Pierre until eight. My first impression of this town, devastated by a volcano in 1902, was arriving to one of the European towns I've just seen in a movie.

St. Pierre used to be the Capital of Martinique. It was known as the Paris of the Caribbean and was the commercial, cultural and social center of the island, with a population of 30,000 people. After the explosion of Mt. Pelèe, the volcano, called Ascension Day, the 8^th of May in 1902, there were only 2 survivors in the town; Loen Leandre, a cobbles who was in his cellar and the famous Cyparis, imprisoned for murder, in a stone cell. St. Pierre was never rebuilt to be the same, and some of the survivals walls can be seen as part of a new house (*).

Now the Capital is Fort the France, which is our next stop.

Learning how to garden on a sailboat,

AnechyNotes

(*) dream or wish in French

(*) Extract from 2005-2006 Sailors guide by Chris Doyle

Wendie's Oat Bran Bread

Just out of the oven

My friend Wendie from Chapel Hill, N.C. is a great cook and baker, last summer we spent a lot of time together. She taught me how to make bread, one of my ancient dreams. She has a very good diet, specially since she is lactose, gluten and wheat intolerant, all her recipes are based on a good and healthy nutrition that goes in harmony with her body.


One of my favorite recipes of many she has made is her Oat Bran Bread. This bread is as light and delicious as healthy and filling, good for breakfast and travelling, specially by boat. It is very simple and fast to put all the ingredients together and baking it takes less than 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 cup oat bran
1 cup whole-grain buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 cup rice milk


Preparation:


In medium bowl combine first 5 ingredients and set aside. In small bowl combine last 4 ingredients. Add eggs mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. Bake in greased 8" or 9" round or square pan at 400* for 25 minutes.


On my experience, when it stars smelling is almost ready, so I stick a butter knife in the middle and if it comes out dry it's done, I take it out of the oven and it's ready to eat. I also put some rolled oats on top before baking for decoration. Next morning you can heat it up in the microwave for 30 second and it taste like it just came out of the oven. If you are baking on a boat be careful, the boat's oven gets hotter, so don't set it too high and keep an eye on it.


Well, I hope you enjoy it, I just got one ready as we are sailing tomorrow.


It smells good!


AnechyNotes