...Latest technology invades RYC kitchens...

Finally after a long stop at Lantau Island Hong Kong and an overnight in Anchorage Alaska, then three more days in the Fedex warehouse in Memphis, our iPad arrived.... and immediately put to work surfing epicurious.com to keep those RYC chefs on the straight and wide path to salivating taste buds... tonight's menu: Crab Cakes on a Avocado and Chili sauce, with a side of Quinoa grain from Peru.


Soft Shell Supreme

It does not get any better than this... deep fried hotel soft shells just dredged in a seasoned flour and dropped into the vat. This done outside so that the odors do not linger for several days! RYC's obsessive chefs and assistant chefs selected sushi seaweed as the accompanying green veg, marinated slow grilled eggplant and miniature roasted Yukon Golds ! For dessert see prior post.

Lunch Special at the RYC Restaurant

Freshly flown in from Malaysia, a huge fillet of tuna sliced into 1-1/2" steaks and then marinated in plum and ginger sauce, then seared on a 700° cast iron pan inside our Jenn-Air grill for a few moments, enough to seal the outer surface. We also grilled fresh asparagus prepared in a sesame seed and toasted sesame oil dressing. Another spectacular lunch served on the upper deck of the yacht club....

The Crabs Come Marching In

Summer's delight! Our first crab harvest of the season yields 16 eager crabs bound for the steaming pot along with melted butter, Old Bay seasoning and two to three hours of intense dissection concentration..... these crabs were "fat" with lots of yellow butter found in the tips of the shell - add melted butter and a glass of Chardonnay... what a way to welcome in summer! Instead of going green, RYC is going blue, blue-crab that is, the ultimate self-renewing free food resource from the Rappahannock River!

The Wedding Getaway....

About 20 miles up the Rappahannock lies the pleasant property of Heron's Landing, outstanding location for a very special wedding. We checked out the getaway boat for the lucky couple!

Big Croaker Tournament

The weekend was spent in high activity mode, capturing the highlights of the Tappahannock Rotary Club Big Croaker Tournament in the Rappahannock River. Fishing started at 6:00am and weigh-in at 4:30pm revealed the biggest ever croaker in the seven years of our tournament - 3.62 lbs to Chris Belvin's (pictured) boat with Tommy Greisz the lucky angler. We had 108 boat entries! Check out www.bigcroaker.com

The Creme has been Burnt

One of the RYC's specialite de la maison is Creme Brulee.... Tonight's variation is pistachio....

An Occasion to Remember

We set out on our evening cruise to celebrate Dr. Phil's graduation - that is Phyllis Eberline now expert bone, joint and muscle therapist - we are going to need that attention very very soon!

On our sunset cruise we toast with Kluge Rose Champagne and shrimp - JT, Thompson, Jen, DB, and Dr.Phil - what a wonderful evening at the RYC restaurant followed with a menu of smoked venison, soft shelled crabs and seaweed, completed with pistachio creme brulee.

SMS Duck Race

Spring Family Weekend means Rubber Duck Derby - the duck herders are ready for the challenge of shepherding over a 1,000 ducks to the finish line and recovering them so that they are ready for the next race. This duck race provided a challenge with a westerly wind which blew the yellow ducklings away from the lee shore of the SMS campus out to the middle of the river. The winning duck provided the lucky owner with a wide flat screen HDTV. Check out the rest of the day, crew races and rubber duck derby (scroll down the photo gallery).

Spring inspires Gourmet Lunch at RYC Restaurant

Click images to see full size....

After a long week of projects, meetings, hardware and software installs, the RYC club members relaxed a little this Friday lunch time - large fresh U10 Atlantic ocean sea scallops seared on a 600°F cast iron skillet in a ginger-plum marinade and served with sauteed spinach with pine nuts and raisins, accompanied by a crisp Colchagua Valley Chardonnay / Viognier blended Chilean wine - served dockside under the shade of parasol.... life is looking up!

First 2010 Visitors to RYC

Tailwagger of Strathbrae, a long time RYC member, was an early visitor this spring to the Yacht Club. Three generations were on board enjoying the early 80° April weather. Next time please call ahead and the chef will have lunch ready to be served either on the dockside dining area or the air conditioned sun room.

A sad day on the creek as a young boy fell off a nearby dock and drowned within a few minutes. The USGS Coastguard sent up a helicopter with infra-red imaging to locate the body, however after about 90 minutes, the local divers located him in the muddy river bottom in some 15 ft of water.

First Mates Night Out....

First mates Claudia Jackson of the Ranger and Margaret of Tardis of Tappahannock celebrate an evening ashore at the Beach Bistro on Longboat Key FL. Claudia is now highly successful in promoting books for Telemachus Press.

Gordon the Navigator

Sadly this week in Tappahannock, Margaret's father Gordon (top right) passed away peacefully at the illustrious age of 87 years. Gordon was a Bomber / Navigator with the 493rd Heavy Bombardment Group with the 8th US Army Air Force and was assigned to Suffolk England in January 1945 with his B17 crew. Having flown his requisite 25 missions over targets in Dortmund, Hamburg, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Kiel, Royan and survived despite horrendous odds, he was sent on another 5 missions and returned safely to the USA in June. When he was introduced to a young German lady Ben brought home after traveling with her across China, Tibet and the Karakoram Highway, Gordon asked where she lived "Oh yes I remember dropping a few bombs on your town!" Gordon is now navigating the celestial heavens...

Last night on the Nile

We board the "Crystal Nile" for the last evening in Egypt, buffet
dinner, and entertainment including the inevitable belly dancer and
whirling dervish dancers. As we leave the dock, there two heavily
armed police boats continuously circling us for the entire evening to
keep us safe from the ever present threat of fundermentalist action.

Son & Lumiere

Navigational Orientation - Mecca

Five times a day Muslims face Mecca and pray - our hotel room by the pyramids had a green arrow pasted on the ceiling to let the true believers point correctly. Hosni, our guide shows the correct ritual at the Mohammad Ali mosque in Cairo's Citadel. First prayer of the day as we entered the airport today was 5 am.

Lighting of the Candles

The nightly Meridien Pyramids lighting of the candles ceremony.... db

Ships of the Desert

From ships on the Nile to ships of the desert.... a skill you
definitely have to acquire.... or just put it down to one of life's
experiences you can best remember!

Navigational marks

Now obsolete due to the regulated water flow, many years ago there were substantial differences of seasonal water levels and flow. After the high dam was built, the locks on the lower dam became redundant. Now boats are taken up in pieces and reassembled.

Egypt connections

Reflecting on my family's Egyptian connections I remember that my
father fought under Field Marshal Montgomery at the turning point of Rommel's North African campaign and defeat at El Alamein. Some thirty years later he returned as a horticultural specialist working for UK parks and monuments responsible for the military sites scattered throughout the Western Sahara and Middle East. His priviledged access to prohibited sites across the region allowed for his secondary role of collecting military intel on location and identification of the local forces in a tense stand-off with Israel.

Jihadist Training

They made me do it!!!
Forced to wear galabya to celebrate the last night on the Nile

Navel Matters, NOT Naval

First Cataract on the Nile

Powered our way upstream with the smoky old 40 hp Suzuki going full
pelt we passed between the rocks with a few feet width to spare,
finally reaching the Nubian resettlement village after the Russian
funded upper dam flooded their homeland.

Sailing backwards through the Nile Cataract

Other feluccas seem to making it upstream - must be the crew - had to get a tug to tow us up to Kitchener's Island

Nubian boatman ferries us to Philae

Khzan Aswan cistern between high dam (1960) and low dam (1902) is the setting for the Temple of Philae

Collision at Philae

Tour boats collide as leave Aswan for the Temple of Philae located between the lower and upper sam at Aswan

Relaxing morning coffee - guards are vigilant!

Sun is over the Yardarm

Relaxing in our play pen between early morning and late afternoon
temple visits - a little nap, then a cold beer, next lunch. Margaret
and SMS alum Heather Wood enjoy the shade as we overtake another
cruiser.

Standby to Repel Boarders!

Heading up the Nile in a southerly direction at about 12 knots we jockey for the Western Desert shore at 24-57 N 32-52 E. On our way to the Temple of Kom Ombo.

Our captain....

.... is a 72 year old Egyptian, steering the joystick with his toes,
navigating the 6ft deep Nile from memory!

Raiders of Ramses III's Tomb

The RYC expedition takes to the depths.... hundred feet below the surface of the Valley of the Kings, admiring the hieroglyphics and the sun-god Ra sailing his sacred barque across the skies.... then back to the surface where a sandstorm descends on us. I was reminded that several scenes from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was filmed here....

Terrorist defense are in place!

"Death on the Nile" takes on a new aspect - cruise boats on the Nile have two guards posted on the stern rail equipped with a variety of automatic weaponry. We pass through the "hotbed" of Islamist fundamentalists and sympathetic Al-Qaeda in the area bordering on middle Egypt - the Egyptian government take their security very seriously with armed guards assigned continuously to our expedition. Tourism is the number one revenue source for this part of the world and they are serious about protection.

The Return of Ranger

After a two year rest in Sarasota, Captain Steve Jackson and Claudia are planning to return to the Rivahaven Yacht Club on the Rappahannock aboard their long range cruiser Ranger, a Nordhaven 35 - one of the most solid boats I have ever had the pleasure to cruise in. The last visit culminated in the publication of Steve's blockbuster "Death of a Cure" - we understand the next mystery novel is in the works. Welcome back Steve & Claudia!

Siberia on the Rappahannock

Is this the third or the fourth winter storm this season? I've lost track! Storms go through, then they come backwards or they go around in a circle... now I know why certain creatures hibernate! You can click on the above photo to see the full view - this is a photo composition using 5 individual photos that is stitched together in Photoshop CS4. The only global warming thought I have is that in two weeks time we will be in the Nubian desert on a RYC cruise up or down (not sure which direction) the river Nile.

Sailing on the Map

Over the last year, we have been progressively updating Panoramio with sailing locations of RYC expeditions all over the world - sailing is used in it's broad-est terms meaning sail or powerboat, yacht or ferry or even cruise excursions on the water. Check out the locations of RYC expeditions going back as far as the 1970's! Almost al locations are automatically updated to Google Earth and the little blue squares you see when browsing Google Maps.

Paddle Steamer Winters in the Creek

Every year the "City of Fredericksburg" journeys down the Rappahannock to spend the winter at the cruise dock on Hoskins Creek - the "Captain Thomas" has by now headed further downriver to the Bay and the winter facility at Buzzard's Point, Reedville. The 100 foot paddle steamer reminiscent of the bygone era of steamboat travel and nostalgic and romantic cruising is usually based at the City Dock on Sophia Street and offers dinner, dances, weddings and special events.

Bermuda Triangle - the Eastern Tip - Expedition Goes Awry

Return with JetBlue from SJU cancelled due to mechanical, arbitrarily rerouted via BQN a day later and over a 100 miles away on the NW corner of Puerto Rico. On the Rincon Peninsula tsunami signs abound, indicating that you have reached a safe height above sea level. Surfers were in surf heaven with healthy swells reaching these NW Puerto Rico shores. Finally rerouted via JFK a day later and several hundred dollars sucked out by rental car and hotel!

Bio Bay night swim

On the southern coast of Vieques lies one of the world's most amazing natural experiences that is likened to legal LSD - the bio bay. Best experienced at night without a moon, you kayak into Mosquito Bay (the body plentifully lubricated with eucalyptus and baby oil) and swim in the luminencent waters, energizing the photo sensitive particles with every slight movement, creating milky swirls and trails as your body is in motion. The blue-green light is produced by trillions of micro-organisms - over 750,000 tiny dinoflagellates plankton per gallon of water... (photo from guide book - too risky to take a valuable camera on a trip like this!)

Sent from my iPhone

RYC Expedition to Vieques

Ahoy there matey! Coastal surges and riptide warnings for Vieques, the swell was so strong the local ferry from Puerto Rico was unable to dock, so no fresh veggies were available!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to All Members and Friends!

A White Christmas at RYC

One of the worst snow storms on the East Coast in the last 10 years spared us the grief that hit DC and areas further North.... we had a suitably seasonal and scenic six inches, enough to make the festive season in keeping with tradition.....

No Wonder It Doesn't Work!

Recent high tides caused a problem to re-occur. The remote 2.5 ton electric lift motors stopped working at high water!! This time we decided to remove the under-the-dock cable and rewire it through the roof of the RYC boathouse. The problem soon revealed itself as soon as the old cable was removed from the conduit pipes... which were not sealed, no watertight unions or bends! As we extracted the cable we found the 5 wire spliced to a another piece of extension cable using wire nuts! What an electrical nightmare especially in a marine environment.... that *&$%@#* electrician should be taken to the end of the RYC dock and administered a particularly brutal Spanish torture with the remaining piece of cable!

Ida Leaves a Wet & Soggy Trail

After spawning in Central America and making a beeline for New Orleans, Hurricane Ida dissipated in Louisiana into a Tropical Storm that arrived in Virginia a day later, then stalled between a high in New England and a low in Georgia and then started moving backwards dumping a lot of rain and generating high winds for 48 hours. The third highest recorded high tide in the Chesapeake had a modest impact at RYC with some dock electrical failures.

Meanwhile somewhere off the Coast of Ireland....

Had to chuckle when I received this video. Last year I received another version, again with a US warship, in a similar confrontation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

Watching the ships (ferries) just roll on (shuttle) by.... RYC long
weekend in San Fran.... not much sailing.... but plenty of navigation
using Zagat. Rolling home will be the operative word....