Delightful DeLonghi

Yes, the appliance on the left is one of my favorite items on the yacht. It seems demeaning to call it an appliance, as it is so much more.... as vital as the anchor, as useful as the sails, almost as magnificent as the yacht herself.... The Espresso Machine!

Turtle Nom!

Yes, I know it has been a LONG time since the last blog post. We have been VERY busy with charters and improvements to the boat. More on that later. Today, I want to share a couple of very special photos. We were anchored in Rendezvous Bay on the south side of St. John for shelter from the 30+ knot winds and 10 foot swells last week. While I was snorkeling and checking the anchor, I saw the most amazing sight, a huge green turtle with two remoras chilling on his back. The turtle was busy NOMming on some (aptly named) Turtle Grass and didn't mind me hanging out with him for a good 15 minutes!

Leo & Deb visit!

This took a little while. BUT... Leo and Deb made some last minute plans and spent a week with us for Deb's Birthday!! We were pumped they had time to come see everything we've been working on. On yeah, and to just hang out and get to know each other better (aka kick our butts in dominoes). We started the week in Village Cay getting some work done, but then took off North because Leo had never made it up to Anegada and we were all hungry for some LOBSTER!! The week was a blast and we're so sad that the books are full because that means no more visits until.... JULY?? wow.

Dan Birthday Cruise II

What is there to look forward to now? That was what Sasha and I have been asking ourselves the past two days. After such an amazing visit with the NYC crew we're feeling a little lost. Our paradise is slightly less complete. In the past few days we celebrated our second annual "Dan's birthday cruise". From William climbing the mast to the Hippie Lounge II, and of course just sailing around the islands and morning watersports the days past quickly. We miss all of our friends!!! Thanks for a great few days!

Matt Bouis does SCUBA

Coming up in a few weeks I will have 6 people wanting to do a resort course together. Matt agreed to be my first student. Seeing as how we are in 9 feet of clear water with a sandy bottom he trusted me :) We talked through the skills which he executed amazingly down under. Hand signals were almost a second language to him by the time we were done. Sasha was in the water as well just to keep the cameras rolling and be an extra set of "hands". We were ecstatic to have an excuse to do some instructional diving! This next week we will get our fill. We have 2 guests doing there 4 open water dives with us on a universal referral. We'll keep you posted on that one!

Grass is always greener

So, we were in port the other day and sitting in a slip next to a huge megayacht. Of course the grass is always greener on the other side and I found myself thinking about how nice it would be to work on a larger boat. I watched the team of 5 cleaning the upper deck and bow... it's just Sasha and I over here. Then, I looked over and the captain and first mate were at their third floor patio railing looking over (down) at Hypnautic. I actually heard the captain say to his mate "Man, some days I wish I worked on a small sail boat like that one, you know just be able to sail around. But that job's A LOT of work." It made me smile and realize that the grass is always greener, no matter what size boat you're on :)

Berry Healthy Crepe

Yummy Breakfast.. or dessert !! You can eat crepes almost any time of day because you can put just about any combination of food inside. I remember as a kid we always did some combination of fruit, yogurt, and chocolate. I left out the chocolate here... but for kids I'll always add it in :) The sweetened ricotta can easily be subbed out for low-fat yogurt for a lighter choice and I usually use some type of frozen mixed berry for the fruit.

Basic Crepe
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat 1% milk
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons butter, melted
2 large eggs

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Combine milk, water, melted butter, and eggs in a blender. Add the flour mixture to milk mixture, and process until smooth. Cover batter; chill for 1 hour.

Heat an 8-inch nonstick crepe pan or skillet over medium heat. Pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into pan; quickly tilt pan in all directions so batter covers pan with a thin film. Cook about 1 minute. Carefully lift the edge of the crepe with a spatula to test. The crepe is ready to turn when it can be shaken loose from the pan and the underside is lightly browned. Turn crepe over, and cook for 30 seconds or until center is set.

Sweetened Ricotta Filling
1 c. part skim ricotta cheese
4 T. powdered Sugar
1½ t. vanilla

Spiced Blueberry Topping
1 c. water
¾ c. sugar
1 c. blueberries
1 t. butter
1 t. lemon juice
½ t. vanilla
¼ t. scant nutmeg

Combine water and sugar in a small pot, boil until dissolved. Add blueberries and other ingredients, return to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until berries pop (4 minutes more). This makes a lot, but chills to keep for at least a week and is great on ice cream, too!

Putting it Together
Lay the crepe on a plate. Spread one spoonful of ricotta or yogurt in center. Top with about 1/4 c. of just slightly frozen berries. Wrap the crepe in a way that keeps the filling inside (creativity is fine here). Top with the spiced blueberry sauce. Eat! Enjoy!!

What is a Hypnautic Vacation?

Well... we made it!

The latest charter was a great success. Only one night of "Breaking bad" per person... unless your name was Jo JO :) We started at Trellis Bay, hit the Baths and North Sound before heading down toward Norman Is. and the Bight. We finished up the week partying at Jost Van Dyke. The family was a great group from Chicago-- we even had our first IU grad aboard... unfortunately we also had a current PU student as well(JK). We were in a flotilla which meant we tried to meet up with 3 other boats every evening, but by the end of the week we were pretty much on our own (for better or worst). This week we went through -- 3 cases Bud, 3 cases Bud Light, 2 cases Carib, 2 cases Red Stripe, 1 case Presidente, 1 case Amstel Light, 2 btl. Grey Goose, 2 btl. Tanqueray, 2 btl rum, 1 btl. Absinthe, 1.5 gallons of wine, 1 case cigarettes, and 3 nights of drinks on shore!! Who knows how to P-A-R-T-Y?? We also caught 2 fantastic tuna and enjoyed some fresh sashimi. Yummie!

Back on charter...

... and it should be an interesting one, a "flotilla" with three other catamarans. Hope to have lots of great pics and stories for you soon!