Sailing to Byzantium - 3

Weather Grib file for Tuesday 1800 hours

The reports for tomorrow’s weather have remained quite consistent for the last few days and the passage to Sardinia will be dominated by a north-westerly airflow. Winds are not as fresh as originally forecast but may freshen to over 20 knots by Thursday evening as we approach the south west corner of Sardinia. We may dock on Friday at some stage in a moderating wind but shortly afterwards the direction is set turn into the east as another weather system takes hold over southern Italy. This may the first sign of some significant hardships to come however, forecasts for that far in advance are merely a guidline as to what can happen and are not necessarily to be treated as an absolute certainty. We will continue to monitor the forecasts with added interest as we proceed.

There was a noticeable chill in the air at dawn and the north westerly airflow is having some effect already. Fenix has been readied for departure; yesterday the storm trisail was inspected and the storm jib was hanked on to the inner forestay for use as a staysail while reaching, or to be set when conditions are less than clement. This sail plan is particularly effective for Fenix and we will most likely set the asymmetric spinnaker off the bow reaching most of the way to the Sardinian coastline.

The water, dry and non perishable goods were purchased and stowed over the last two weeks. All that remains now is the provisioning for the perishable goods. To date I have prepared a leek and potato soup and a roasted tomato and sweet corn soup which have been frozen and buried in the freezer. A few portions of Bolognese sauce have also been frozen along with portions of mixed roasted vegetables. These can be used when the fresh food runs is in short supply or if preparing and cooking meals is just not feasible. We expect to log just under 2000 miles on the passage and there will be times during this period where the weather puts its own limitations on the use of the galley and the types of meals that can be served out.

Leaving the perishables until the very last moment guarantees these items will remain fresh for the longest period of time while the boat is at sea. Typically, I try to go to local markets to stock up on locally produced food and vegetables. To my mind you rarely are compromised on quality and the prices are always competitive with the supermarkets. Apart from that, you are guaranteed seasonal produce and it is simply more exciting finding and going to these places even if means an early start.

Cheese is absolutely great on a delivery being full of flavour and goodness. A good cheese plate is always a crowd pleaser and difficult to resist. I generally seek out locally produced varieties which are easy to serve on a plate accompanying other savouries on a lunch plate, or in a bowl if things are a little wild. The cheeses selected today were a Spanish manchego curado, and an antique hard cured Menorcan cheese. Along with these I have selected a number of old reliables such as brie, camembert and rochfort to cater for all tastes.

Other dairy products such as cream cheese and yoghurt are much in demand on deliveries. Some vegetables such as pimentos blancos can be eaten uncooked being crisp and quite sweet. Cured meats such as chorizo, sobrasada and jamon navidul are also popular for supplementing lunch plates or for use in a main course for the evening meal. Some meats such as chicken can be frozen but I prefer not to resort to freezing the fresh produce.

A few dozen eggs have been stowed away. With a good oven you can not only boil and fry the eggs, but it is also possible to make crème caramel (if you are careful) and cakes for those who have a sweet tooth. If conditions are good and relatively stable I may even make a quiche.

The entire crew are keen to eat fish as much as possible on the trip. The fish identification cards were placed an on deck pack strapped to the aft rail. The pack also contains torches for working at night and binoculars for those on watch. Nothing has been left to chance and we expect a few catches to complement and add to our stores. We intend to have two lines out for most of the passage and hopefully a tuna or other tasty fish may come our way. Tuna and bonito will be hot on the trail of the shoals of sardine and anchovy and our route will follow this Spring migrations of these fish all the way to the eastern Mediterranean. The Straits of Messina are famous for swordfish and it is possible that we might see them rolling or breaching the surface of the water there. Catching a swordfish may not be possible for us, but we may see the sophisticated, eccentric swordfish vessels from that part of the world prowling the narrow straits hunting for these majestic creatures.

A rich roasted tomato, red pepper, garlic and onion mix prepared this evening

To encourage a successful catch I intend to only stock dried fish in the form of bacalao, or salted cod. This can be rehydrated overnight in a basin or container of fresh water and baked with all manner of sauces and or vegetables. This afternoon, I roasted a tray of tomatoes, red peppers, garlic and various types of onion and shallot in a rich fruity Sardinian extra virgin olive oil. By tomorrow morning the roasted vegetables will have reduced further and be perfect for blending and being transformed into a creamy tomato sauce which can be used to cook with borlotti beans, the salted cod, not to mention pasta or a large grained brown rice.

I shall try and get another post out tomorrow evening as we clear the land and before we loose phone signal. If we do not come close enough to Menorca to get a good strength signal the next post can be expected by the end of the week as we aproach the Sardinian coast. New options will arise with decisions to be made as the weather system develops to the east of us.