Protein In The Pantry

We have had a wonderful week in our self-isolation paradise, and thankfully we are still living on the set of Swiss Family Robinson.  I realize that it would only take one event to make us contestants on Survivor, but for now we are still in SFR mode!  This week we have mastered the skill of conch fishing (I’m not sure what they call the process of collecting/catching conch) like a Bahamian.  

Keith gets into the water with his mask and snorkel, and I tow him behind the Whaler.  When he sees a conch in the grass bed he releases the line and dives down to get it.  We have had extensive conversations about the importance of my role vs. his.  I have tried to tell him the the tow-er is just as important as the tow-ee, but he insists on getting extra points for being the tow-ee.  I mean seriously, without a tow-er there can’t be a tow-ee...but fine!  I have given him 20 extra points for being the tow-ee (please don’t tell him that the points are worthless😉). I will admit that as I watch him being towed through the water I am reminded of the trolling scene from the movie ‘Waterworld’.

We have found a great grass bed at just the right depth to make a happy home for numerous mature conch!  Keith has named it ‘Conch Garden’.

We caught 4 beauties that day, but we stopped at ‘Not Fixed Address’ on our way home and shared our bounty!  You can see how well camouflaged these creatures are...imagine spotting one in a grass bed 15 feet below the surface.  Keith has earned the ‘Master Concher’ award!

The next day they invited us to their lovely boat for conch fritters, and we made a conch dip (using my crab dip recipe) both dishes were amazing!  Unfortunately, I didn’t plan well in the picture department.  I forgot to take my phone and only have the pictures Vicki took with her phone.  They are wonderful pictures, but she isn’t in any of them.  I will be sure to get a picture of her and Aren during our next visit.  

DISCLAIMER:  Since both couples have been totally sequestered on our own boats for more than two week, we felt certain we did not pose a virus danger to each other.

Preparing the conch to hang in the water.  Ronnie taught us how to do this, and said the conch would stay alive for at least a month.  I sent this picture to my brother (he happens to be an engineer who designs tools for Dewalt).  His response, “Their is no limit to the problems we can solve with DEWALT tools!”  I think we found the next marketing campaign.

It feels great to have extra protein in the pantry, and the means to easily get more!

We have had plenty of time, this week, to scrutinize our provisions and resources and identify the weak areas of our plan.  My only resource concern at this time is regarding the amount of propane we have onboard.  Propane provides our primary source of fuel for cooking.  Our stove, oven, and grill are all propane.  I realize that we would be much better prepared if we had some type of electric burner so we could take advantage of our abundant supply of electricity thanks to solar.  On the bright side, we do have a microwave, electric coffee pot, toaster, and an Instant Pot (definitely the best thing I have ever purchased!)  So...in an attempt to conserve propane (we have enough for 3-4 months) I have been attempting to use the IP for more cooking.  I made (steamed) bread in it this week and it actually turned out pretty good.  It was a little more dense and chewy than baked bread, but it made excellent French toast.  After topping the French toast with lemon curd and blueberry jam we both agreed this was a Swiss Family Robinson breakfast, not a Survivor breakfast!

Keith’s main resource concern was in the area of gasoline for the Whaler.  We left numerous gas cans at home believing that 3 cans (that totaled 13 gallons) would be more than enough.  Particularly when you consider how little gas the outboard actually uses.  However, when thinking in terms of long term survival and using the Whaler to acquire protein we were wishing we had more capacity.  The funny thing is, we have been reading a book (Charlotte’s Story) about a young couple who are trying to live on an uninhabited Key in Florida during the early 1930s.  In this book (which is supposed to be a true story) they seem to find everything they need by beach combing the island.  Every time they need materials they find them on the beach.  This happens so often in the book it started to sound quite impossible.  Anyway, Keith said to me “I want to visit the beach store to see if I can find any jugs with lids that we could put some gas into (I know...now is not the time to lecture us on ‘approved’ containers)”.

So we dinghy over to our beach.  Yes, this is our beach, on our island.  This is the side we are anchored on and the beach is about a mile long here. Since our friends on ’No Fixed Address’ left this morning to meet some of there friends a few miles south (we are very sad 😢) the next closest boat is anchored more than a half mile south of us.  While walking along the beach Keith finds a very clean gallon sized Dear Park bottle with the lid...SCORE!  I said, “see, the beach store does provide what we need”.  His response was, ”then where is my red gas can with a lid”.  I joked, “ just wait, we aren’t finished shopping.”

We were searching for a trail that cuts across the island to the rugged east side.  We came across several of these huge mounds.  My research leads me to believe these are termite nests (I could be wrong).  The water table is so high on this island that the termites will start in a rotted log, but will build up instead of down into the ground.  I think this nest has long been abandoned...we saw no signs of any insect nearby. Well, we eventually found the trail, and after some bushwhacking to get through we made it to the other side.  Unfortunately we left the camera in the boat, but we will return this week and get pictures.  This side of the island has clearly been capturing plastic trash from fishing vessels for a very long time.  We walked the beach unearthing a lot of broken plastic containers.  As we approached the end of the beach I spotted a red container up in the weeds...could it be...??

YES!  And to our delight and surprise we found two containers with lids..unbelievable!  The gas can had a small pinhole in the corner, but was otherwise in excellent condition.  The water container had a total of four punctures.  Both containers were very clean inside with just a little sea water.  As soon as we got back to the boat Keith googled how to repair HDPE 2 plastic.  You simply can melt another piece of HDPE 2 plastic to seal the hole.  We were prepared to take another trip to the beach store to retrieve an extra piece of plastic when I realized the empty Folgers can on the counter fit the bill!

Keith was able to repair both containers by using his soldering gun to melt the coffee can plastic into the holes.

Both cans passed the airtight test when he was finished!  We have just doubled our gas storage capacity.  Together they will hold 13 gallons.  That will teach me to be a beach store skeptic!

During an amazing kayak/ paddle board expedition we found a large shallow cove that is surrounded by mangroves, and most definitely acts as a nursery for turtles and sharks.  We saw at least 30 turtles there, but they ranged in size from 12-24 inches.  We also saw a small shark, and hundreds of other fish.  This is one I have not been able to identify.  It had a huge dorsal and anal fin that it used for propulsion, and was oriented on its side when swimming.

We are also amazed that we can sit on the back deck drinking coffee in the morning (in 12 feet of water) and watch blue crabs under the boat.  They pop out of the sand, run a few feet across the bottom and quickly disappear back under the sand.

Cleaning the bottom of the boat.  We have owned this boat for 7 years and Keith has religiously used the hookah (not your kind of hookah Arda) to breathe underwater while cleaning the bottom of the boat.  He has always offered an opportunity for me to join him and I have always declined.  I have told him that once we are in a place with crystal clear water, I will help him.  Well, today was pay day...of course all of the years I’ve been saying that I never realized that so many sharks came with crystal clear water...be brave.  Alright, I’m game.  I didn’t see one shark, but was absolutely amazed that I could clearly see the chain hanging from the bow while I was working on a rudder 50 feet back.

Keith discovered this cute little colony of tiny ‘aquarium’ fish living in the shaft tunnel.  The largest fish in this picture is an inch long.  Keith decided to leave them alone, and not scrape away their food source.

Everybody loves a clean bottom!!

We sincerely hope that everyone is safe and able to maintain a Swiss Family Robinson approach to dealing with this crisis!