by Max Patterson – Guest Crew
36 45N 43 11 W Atlantic Ocean
These past few days the crew has enjoyed the privilege of the soft lullaby of a diesel engine to soothe us into a deep sleep.
With the winds almost constantly, either too weak or coming from a terrible angle, motoring has become our only option. Today was the first day in a while in which we have managed to keep the sails up for more than a single watch session. It is not all bad though, due to the low wind, the sea state has been very calm which has made for some good wildlife watching. But alas, the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is akin to a desert, although we have been graced with the odd pod of Dolphins and a gray lump of a whale, with light winds, there is very little else to truly occupy us at the helm.
Yesterday however during the late morning we did have a bout of excitement. During a time when yours truly was up on deck, the fishing rod started to pull. It pulled some more, then all of a sudden the rod was hovering above the water, out of its holder and only held to the boat by a small strap. After quite a bit of confusion and some frantic wailing, I got the skipper and mate to help me reel in a whopping Yellowfin Tuna! After subduing the fish, we noticed a pod of dolphins following close by, most likely annoyed at us for taking their meal, ack.. C’est La vie, after all, it is survival of the fittest out here, in this chum eat chum world.
Ceviche was served for lunch that day, with tuna steaks for dinner. Today we had yet more Ceviche for lunch, with still one bag of tuna cuts left for dinner (that’s how big it was). However amongst all this fishy business, there was time for lessons on baking bread, an art form I intend to utilize well for the remainder of this journey and my life.
Addendum: Upon the completion of writing this, I feel I must inform whoever is reading this, in case they start to worry, that we will make landfall as scheduled as the engine has in fact been put back on, lulling us to sleep soundly once more.
Tuna Ceviche:
200 g tuna steak, (raw)
1 small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked and finely sliced, stalks finely sliced
2 limes, zest and juice
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped, (optional)
Mix it all together; As the acid from the limes hits the tuna it will begin to cook it so you only need to mix lightly.Serve with salad leaves – (optional)