Scurvy is a deficiency that is caused by a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in a person’s diet. Vitamin C is essential for the maintenance of the normal structure of the connective tissues. Scurvy causes your teeth to fall…

Up and down the Keys voices are raised, forks are waved and opinions are shouted as the debate rages on. This is an issue of major importance down here. The issue, the correct topping for Key Lime Pie, meringue or…

Everyday on a sailboat is a learning experience. Sitting at a remote anchorage one day, the thought of sushi crossed my mind (how else was I going to use up 20 lbs of fresh tuna?). I could almost taste the…

Cruising teaches self-reliance. In this spirit (and the need for morning toast), I eagerly read the recipes for bread. Forbidden Planet has a 2-burner pressurized alcohol stove and no oven. Regular bread is out, but on the ‘net, I found…

So once you’ve chased down the little beast (or better, bought some from a fisherman), what do you do with your lump of white shellfish? Conch fritters of course! I suspect that it’s a law that every restaurant in the…

There are two ways of getting the edible conch out of its beautiful shell. If you want to save the shell, try method B. A. Using a hammer, make hole in the shell of conch, in space between 3rd &…

Banana History The true origins of the world’s most popular fruit are to be found in the region of Malaysia. By way of curious visitors, bananas traveled from there to India where they are mentioned in the Buddhist Pali writings…

After a long day of sweating over an engine, there’s nothing like a sunset cruise. So one day, we grab a cocktail and start rowing around the canals of the swamp (oh right, the housing development) to enjoy the sunset….

In the six seasons I’ve been cruising things have changed in the galley. Not only have I become way better at cooking in a bouncing shoebox, the products available are so much better. This years find was ready cooked bacon….

The fisherman fends his dinghy off Forbidden Planet with one hand and waves at our flag excitedly with the other. “Hola Canada! Me brother, he in Canada, he in Toronto,” says the fisherman holding onto our boat. “Toronto? We’re from…

I love street food. I love bright coloured carts with local specialties, pots of oil, grills, wierd fruits and stuff I don’t recognize. The best conch salad carts are right beside the water. The conch are kept in the water…

All lobster in Cuba belongs to Fidel. It is illegal for fishermen in Cuba to sell lobster, anything they take they must turn in to a cooperative. It is illegal for tourists to buy lobster. We would never do anything…

1 cup warm water (sea water is fine) 1 tsp sugar 1 packet yeast 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp olive oil 3 1-2 cups flour Dissolve the sugar in the water. Add the yeast and stir. Wait for 5 minutes…

Don’t panic, it’s not Flipper. The most common fish in the Florida Keys is the Dolphin fish, called this because because of it’s big forehead and pointy nose, not because of who it’s related to. North of the Keys this…

Ah the humble cabbage. It keeps for weeks on end unlike a lettuce which will wilt before you get it home from the market. To make a cabbage go further, never slice it, peel off the leaves and slice them….

2 cups cabbage, thinly sliced 3 large carrots, coarsely grated 1 small onion sliced 2 red or green peppers sliced thinly 1/4 cup good quality olive oil 4 tbsp white vinegar 1 clove garlic lots of salt and pepper to…

2 cups coarsely chopped cabbage 1 large carrot, coarsely grated 1 small onion sliced 1 red or green pepper sliced 2 tbsps vegetable oil 2 cloves garlic 1 inch ginger, minced 3 tbsps sesame seeds 1 tbsps sesame oil 1…

Recently a fellow cruiser asked me how I would provision differently on the next extended voyage. I have to say, not very. With lots of practise I am really good at calculating how many pounds of pasta we need for…

Provisioning, you either love it or hate it. It’s still got to be done. Some of us think it’s kind of fun, actually, it’s a lot of fun. Cuba 2001 proved to be quite a provisioning challenge as we were…

2 cups cooked rice 2 cans crab meat, including the liquid 1 small can pineapple chunks, or 1 cup fresh pineapple 1-2 cub finely shredded cabbage 1 finely grated carrot 1 finely sliced pepper (red or green) 1 cup sprouted…

1 onion 4 cloves garlic large pinch saffron olive oil 1 bay leaf 1 cup rice 1 1-2 cups water Heat the olive oil over low heat. Brown the onion and garlic, add the bay leaf and saffron. Add the…

So there we were, on a starboard tack, ripping along at a steady 7.5 knots when one of the crew mentioned lunch. Again. A racing crew sails on its stomach and require constant feeding. The crew of Shock Therapy are…

Langosta 10 lobster tails 2 limes butter 4 cloves garlic Clean the tails, remove the shells by snipping up both sides, pull the shells off and remove any stringy veins that appear. Rub the tails with the cut garlic cloves….