When it's calm and there's very little wind and the crew are sitting on deck, it's usually not long before the topic of conversation turns to food.
More precisely, cravings for certain types of food the crew are going to enjoy tucking into when they get back.
We also talk about the food which the crew will be avoiding at all costs once they reach dry land.
For example, one crewmember, Chris, says he's never going to eat tuna ever again after this trip.
Nina says she may give it about a year before she entertains the idea of eating a pasta based dish.
I was only joking when I said that I wondered if there was a pizza company that would deliver to the North Atlantic but behold, yesterday, when the two crewmembers who were on "Mother Watch" produced a homemade salami and mushroom pizza, complete with green peppers and onions! Wow!
"...what I'd give for glass of Muscadet!"
Mother Watch is a 24-hour shift on the boat which starts at 2100 every night. It's made up of two crewmembers who's job it is, during that time, to look after the rest of the crew, preparing their hot meals, their drinks (tea and coffee rather than cocktails as this is a dry boat! Yes, what I'd give for glass of Muscadet!), and cleaning the boat which includes everyone's favourite, scrubbing the heads...or loos to you and me.
Being on Mother Watch is a bit like an extreme version of Ready Steady Cook. The two crewmembers get a "day bag" full of food and between you, you have to feed eighteen people with the bag's contents.
Obviously, this leads to some interesting and often innovative recipes.
Tuesday night's cottage pie a la corned beef was a great triumph.
Geoff and I get our shift on Mother Watch this Sunday. I just hope no-one's expecting a roast! I'm sure we'll come up with something edible or there may be a mutiny.
In some ways, I'm hoping it's not too rough as cooking in the galley is really hard work when the boat is rocking, and there's more chance of seasickness when you're dealing with food. However, the other part of me wants to come home and be first back to Cork. So bring on the wind and let's get moving!!
All the best, Andy and Geoff
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~23~RS~)