Nautical But Nice: Spiced Blackberry Jam

Day off = raining = hubble bubble, jam pan on the boil could spell trouble! Not in this case though!

It's not been a great year on the old produce front but I have got some cracking blackberries. Two recipes on the mix tidy, the first is bottled already.

Spiced blackberry jam is so easy to make , equal quantities of blackberries and sugar plus some fresh lemon and a dollop of mixed spice.

I like to macerate the fruit overnight in the sugar, getting a better set. Slowly bring to the boil and jam....done. It's delicious.

Currently got a muddled berry jam on the go which is a mixture of blackberries, black currants and raspberries, although you can use any combo of soft fruits for this. Add orange to the lemon with this one and away you go. Should be ready to boil later.

Another job for the day is to bottle up the blackberry liqueur made last winter...it will be special brew by now and is swooper as a tipple or lush to put over vanilla icecream.

Won't be long now and it'll be all things sloe........

Macerated fruit



On the boil


Spiced blackberry jam....done!


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The Season Is Nearly Over

After three fab weekends despite the traumas of last weekend, the season is winding down. I have been on call most of the week, so swailing plans for this weekend were for today only as in work all of yesterday.

Weather was gorgeous yesterday from what I saw along the corridors of the NHS, today is a different story .....torrential rain, lashing down. Grumpy and tired chops is giving swailing a wide berth. It would be no fun even in wet weather gear.

Das captain has been on a tarpaulin shop by the looks of things for wrapping her up for winter. We may get a good winter deal to keep her in...that would be good but nothing is coming up trumps so far.

We,re hoping we can get a good weather window for next weekend so ELG can get a final swail with us this year, we know post that the chances will be slim and she is due out towards mid October.

Worst season on record, although we have had fun....not many projects for the winter other than the standard bot maintenance plus refurbishing the floor boards, which will make her look more spanking than ever. Plus....not long til the Vendee Globe which we are both mega excited about. Let's hope Brittany Ferries sort their strike action out by then which is going on at the mo....the curse if the Roffeeeees strikes again!


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Some Rest n Relaxation

So after our traumas of Friday night it was a weary crew on sat am first thing.

Whilst still stiff the patient was much better and we had a good old rant over the events from just hrs earlier.

Lovely day outside so we headed for a swail and then the Yealm, there is nothing like the Yealm for some r n r and that was just what we needed.

We ripped along the sound with both sails up, cruising along at 6-7 knots. We headed into the river bang on the turn of the tide to avoid a mad rush on a barmy September day.

Good timing from das captain as we were able to pick up a mooring buoy and avoid the paddys market that is the pontoons, bang in the middle of the river basin it was a perfect spot to watch the world go by in the sun.

Confined to the boat, no boat to dingy transfers for us this weekend we spent a fabulous afternoon and evening putting the world to rights over good food and beer!

Yesterday we were greeted by dull skies and rougher seas on the way back but was softened by a breaching dolphin chasing mackerel at the entrance to the river on our way back.

Whilst blowy it was lovely so made the most of the great outdoors.

Back at the marina washing down the boat we were told of another pontoon incident....a man opposite my inlaws stood back to admire his boat before departing for home and fell in....thankfully no harm done. There must have been something in the air this weekend!




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Pontoon Accident....but where was the care and compassion from the NHS

We take it for granted getting on and off the boat, it's like riding a bicycle for us. Any guests are given a tutorial and most first timers get to do it in daylight. On Friday night due to a late start off time we didn't get to das bot until 9 o,clock and it was dark except for the light from the electricity meter at the front of the pontoon.

It all happened very quickly, we had pulled the boat in as the current was pushing it out, a hesitation from our guest and the next thing we knew...a crack against the pontoon, a leg in the water but saved by das captain from going fully overboard.

Fast forward then to the local hospital where two hours post accident our guest couldn't walk....we needed stronger analgesia and a check up to see nothing more sinister had occurred, that we had missed in the check through post accident.

Bar the kindness of the triage nurse that we saw over two hrs in, it was quite the most hideous experience ever.

From check in at reception where there was limited eye contact and we were treated as an inconvenience, lack of privacy at triage where we were in full view of the waiting room, to slouchy shoulders all round from nurses who just didn't care less, it was less than functional.

We then had Junior Doctors writing their notes on bins and "you can't stay here any longer, it's nearly 4hrs". Were they tired or fatigued I don't know but the whole experience there was no engagement or compassion shown to someone who had had a nasty accident and couldn't walk when she arrived in their care. I felt totally ashamed to be a nurse.

The final straw which almost made me cry was the response to a lady in the next trolley who informed the nurse that she had thought about jumping in a front of a car that day having buried her husband on Thursday.....the response no acknowledgement she just walked away. Where is the care or compassion in that?

As for us, with some stronger analgesia and confirmation that nothing was broken we eventually left....relieved to be out of there and made our way back to das bot.

Here is an example of care and compassion, the night bosun helping us find some steps in the boatyard at 4am in the morning to get us back on board.....small things make a big difference.


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Very Very Excited.Com

Whilst das captain slept this morning I was the galley slave on a mission and it wasn't on the galley front.

We have for several years wanted to go over and see the start of the Vendee Globe round the world race in Sable D'Olonne. We always watch it avidly via the TV and Internet but have never put the plan into action.

Well not this year, we may have been late in the planning stage and I have spent hours scouring for accommodation but I finally found some yesterday and didn't come up with fully booked sign....so we,re off for a week in November to see all the action!

Very excited and can't wait!! Das captain has already drawn up a new wish list for the GoPro..yawn

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Autumnal Feeling

It's in the air, you can feel it. Waking up to thick pea soup and dewey decks, the slower burn of the day for the air to clear....yep Autumn is on its way.

We have had though 2 glorious sunsets over the last 2 nights which have been simply stunning. The marina is very very quiet, lots of bots already have been lifted out, JJ,s was unusually quiet for a Friday night when we went there for supper after a long slog at work last week. We are pontificating keeping her in longer than the original plan for lift out at the end of October. Christmas day aboard RedSnapper maybe for us this year...we,ll see.

So after the pea soup lifted out we went and had a cracking sail towards the Eddystone Lighthouse and back.

We passed Mairadon, out beyond the breakwater for the first time and growing in confidence. She looks fab on the water under sail and our mission is to get them and the inlaws to at least the River Yealm before the season is out!

We had the added bonus of two separate sightings of single dolphins, foraging for food, das captain heard the blow and there they were. We had the GoPro set up so are hoping they were captured on video for viewing later.

On the way back we dropped the pick at Cawsands but our stop was called short as a huge fog bank started to roll in so up and back we came. Not to worry a cracking day out on the water and they will be few and far between over the coming days and months.

On the family front ELG survived the week and high school for the first time and the grandparents survived seeing her off...photo below....hilarious!




Most importantly its my Ma,s birthday today, we celebrated earlier in the week. Happy Birthday Ma, have a swooper day with Pops...love you more than words can say x


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Time Flies......

It's a big day today....school is no longer out for summer but first day of secondary school for one very special young lady.

It doesn't seem yesterday that this pink lady (photo from Grease musical production at the end of last term) hatched...now all of a sudden it's high school!!

So ELG...enjoy this next phase of your school days, I am sure you will have a blast.

Love
Aunty Birdy x
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