Interesting Cookbooks in this morning's email

Amazon sent me an email this morning with some cookbooks I found interesting.

We have a difficult time buying bread here in St. Maarten. The French have very nice baguettes which we LOVE but it is inconvenient for us. It's not like when we lived in Paris and there were two bakeries on every block :)

So, this is a book I'm going to look at today...
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. Baking bread is one of the best aromas there is. It is so satisfying to eat the bread you made yourself. Five minutes? I can find 5 minutes for something as worthy as home baked bread.


I liked the title of this book: Bon Appetit, Y'All: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking. ''The playful title of this Southern-French cookbook belies its studious attitude to cookery. Willis, a chef who has cooked for the White House and stars like Aretha Franklin and Jane Fonda, grew up in Georgia and Louisiana, absorbing her mother's and grandmother's repertoire of grits, casseroles and gumbos before developing her professional skills at French cooking academies. The result is a hybrid cuisine she calls refined Southern, which applies traditional French technique and lighter ingredients to produce new versions of Southern staples."

I also think this one is worth a look...
Artisanal Cocktails: Drinks Inspired by the Seasons from the Bar at Cyrus. Working with charter yachts, new cocktail recipes are always welcome. The problem with for us personally, is that we don't have a supply of ice on board So It Goes, so having a frozen sundowner is problematic. We do have a hand-cranked blender though!


Here's another one for desserts!
Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
"Think again. Not every baker wants to re-create Grandma’s pound cake or cherry pie. Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito certainly didn’t, when they left their advertising careers behind, pooled their life savings, and opened their dream bakery, Baked, in Brooklyn, New York, a few years back. The visions that danced in their heads were of other, brand-new kinds of confections... Things like a Malt Ball Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting, which captures the flavor of their favorite Whoppers candies (and ups the ante with a malted milk ball garnish). Things like spicy Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits that really wake up your taste buds at breakfast time. Things like a Sweet and Salty Cake created expressly for adults who are as salt-craving as they are sweet-toothed."

I have to deal with our emails and then I'll take a look at these :)

Cookbooks might be a handy thing to have on your Kindle... Check it out!

Enjoy!

Heineken Regatta 2009: Game Over

The 2009 St Maarten Heineken Regatta is over and the boats are leaving the anchorage. Soon, life will be back to normal... if you can call it "normal" :)


Passat wins our honors for "best dressed" boat.


And here is our winner for "boat with the most flags".


Willow and Buffy are watching the boats depart.

Here's a link to see the Heineken Regatta results.

Hope y'all had a great time and will come back to the islands soon.

Photos by Paradise Connections ©2009 - Please do not use without permission.

Heineken Regatta 2009: Sunday afternoon

More of what's happening from my perspective in Simpson Bay, St. Maarten for the 2009 Heineken Regatta...


This Formula 40 didn't go out today... not sure why, but we'll give them the "most raked mast currently at anchor" award.


With nine fenders out on his starboard side (can't see the port side), this catamaran won the "boat with the most fenders out" prize for today.

Well, everyone is coming back from their final race of the Sint Maarten Heineken Regatta 2009.


Obviously these folks had a bit of a mainsail problem. As soon as they anchored a crewman zipped up to the top of the mast and retrieved the scrap of sail up there.


The Gunboat catamaran Cream coming back in...


and also the Gunboat Safari a bit farther out.

For the Gunboats:

• 1st place: Cream
• 2nd place: Sugar Daddy
• 3rd place: Safari

Team GoldenDog coming in to anchor close to the beach. Team GoldenDog won first place in their class. Congratulations. Great birthday present for Jeffrey. Happy Birthday, Soc from a fellow Pisces.

Photos by Paradise Connections ©2009 - Please do not use without permission.

Heineken Regatta 2009: Anchoring Antics

I admit that we have had our "Days of Shame" and we'll probably have a few more, no doubt, but watching people anchor can be quite entertaining, as long as nobody gets hurt.


This boat seems to have a great deal of trouble anchoring. They have 4 or 5 people up on the bow and they drop maybe 15 ft of chain (just enough to touch the bottom). Then they power back without letting out any more chain until they back up about 25 feet then the person in charge of the windlass control lets go of about another 10 feet of chain while they are motoring back at quite a speed, then a tad more chain. They feel like the anchor hasn't properly set, so they then retrieve their anchor and try again... and again... and again. Actually I only saw them do it 3 times on this occasion (maybe they were practice runs?) and they decided the 4th time was good enough. They are off to our starboard but the wind could always shift so that they'll be in front of us... Oh no!

The other day there was a boat (might have been them) that did a dozen tries in a similar fashion, and then they tried another location and were happy after 5 tries there. Perhaps they are better at racing :)


While that fiasco was winding up, we had another boat (Moorings) anchoring to the port side of us. I took pictures in case of there being an interesting cock-up but they did OK. Good show! But just as they were tidying up and settling in, a Sunsail boat came directly in front of them and was going to place their anchor smack dab on top of theirs.... Duh!


The Moorings boat got their attention and said something and made gestures, so they abandoned that idea. It then seemed like they were going to do a little parallel parking maneuver directly behind the Moorings boat but then the wind shifted and changed the overall scheme of things and they moved on.


The couple on a non-racing boat that anchored behind us a bit this morning came out while the first boat I mentioned got a bit too close to them (with 7 or 8 people on the boat, at least one person should be looking in the direction the boat is travelling!) and stayed outside to enjoy the shenanigans.

Later, Dash... remember Dash? They returned the other day to find someone who was not at home squatting on their buoyed anchor... Well, they came by in a dinghy asking us if we had seen their fender which was attached to the anchor they left. I had noticed a small boat that was in their general vicinity that had a rope to their bow.


In fact, I was/am going to post their photo because I liked that they had so many fenders tied to both sides of their boat for protection. I quickly looked at the morning's pictures in iPhoto and told them the name of the boat who might have been the culprit. Hope they find their anchor.

Everyone play nice :)

Photos by Paradise Connections ©2009 - Please do not use without permission.

Heineken Regatta 2009: Blow out sale... uh sail

This is actually kind of sad and I hope it never happens to us, but...

At least he can say "It's not my boat!"

It was a bit breezy today (Saturday) and we heard that there were quite a few mishaps with sails.

Heineken Regatta 2009: More Stuff, this and that

I must say, just to prove that I'm really not a grouch, that I was impressed with Carib Kiss yesterday. When they hauled up their anchor yesterday morning, they got quite close to us, but because they knew at that point that there was not much chain left down, they put their boat in reverse and dragged their anchor away from us. When they were well in the clear, they proceeded to pull up their anchor. So nice to see some COMMON SENSE! Thanks, guys!

Buffy keeps watch

Later that afternoon, a Bendy-Toy 50 or similar bareboat was attempting to anchor somewhere to starboard of us. We weren't aware of it until the view of their transom completely filled our salon windows. What???!!! Bob jumped out in the cockpit and was ready to deploy a fender. There were 7 or 8 crew on board but nobody was looking in the direction that the boat was actually going. When about 2 feet from T-boning us, the man at the wheel looked over his shoulder and seem surprised that we were in his way... He told Bob that he was under control... no "oops", no "pardon", no class :)

Fenders are a necessary part of your racing inventory

Here's some news from the Heineken Regatta that we've heard about, plus you can check out their Press Release for Day 1. Here are some excerpts:

It was not a day for the meek of heart or the weak of hull. For after a brief series of morning squalls, a northerly breeze packing gusts over 30-knots swept in with a vengeance, and the steady, pumping winds that accompanied them generated gear-busting seas of 8-10 feet and more. Torn sails, bruised sailors, broken equipment—as well as a dismasting, numerous collisions, and a near sinking—soon followed.

The carnage began after the respective racing, cruising and bareboat classes came hard on the freshening breeze off Plum Point on the island’s western flank in the early stages of the day’s traditional round-the-island race, a 30-nautical mile course for the all-out racing divisions, and a slightly shortened 25-miler for the non-spinnaker and charter fleets...

Before all was said and done, at least two other crews would be thanking their lucky stars that the serious mishaps that befell them weren’t even more disastrous. The first was the team aboard the Melges 24, French Connection, who lost their mast off Point Blanche in the final stretch of the race, which ended nearby in Philipsburg’s Great Bay. The second was the crew of the Beneteau 47.7, Yo Yo, which was holed in a collision off Tintamarre, and with the boat beginning to flounder, made it to safe haven and the travel lift at Bobby’s Marina in Philipsburg in the nick of time.

“We jibed with another boat and right afterwards there was a collision,” said a Yo Yo crewman soon after the boat was safely in the slings of the boatyard hoist. “Their stanchion pierced our hull. We tried to plug the hole but as quick as we could get it out, it was coming right back in. We all put on lifejackets immediately and bailed as quickly as possible, but we couldn’t get ahead of it.” While French Connection and Yo Yo may have suffered the worst mishaps, there were countless other misadventures, as well. “There were some spectacular t-bones in the bareboat class, right at the windward mark,” said David De Vries, who had a ringside seat aboard Ian Hope-Ross’s Beneteau 36.7, Kick ‘em Jenny. “Then a squall came through and you could see all these spinnakers tearing and popping. It was wild.

“We clocked 32 knots of wind in the Anguilla Channel and 34 knots in the squall,” he added. “The waves were great with this enormous swell.”

Of course, it wasn’t all gloom and doom; in fact, amidst the fray, there was some tremendous sailing and boathandling. “We had a helluva ride,” said Billy Burke, a crew aboard the Newport, Rhode Island-based canting-keeled Cookson 50, Privateer. “Down the coast, we were surfing at 16-19 knots in a 4-6 foot swell, which we rode pretty well. It was a pretty spectacular spinnaker run.”

But even Privateer had their trials and tribulations, breaking their boom vang after the kite wrapped in a jibe just a few miles from the finish.

We saw quite a few boats returning early to the anchorage. Better safe than sorry.

Due to a forecast of continued heavy winds and swell, the Heineken Regatta race organizers have rescheduled racing on Saturday and Sunday for safety concerns. Courses will now be set off Simpson Bay.

Saturday’s party and entertainment schedule in Marigot will continue as previously planned. A water taxi from the St. Maarten Yacht Club to Port Royale Marina will be running between 5pm and 1:00am. Regatta participants can catch a water taxi from their anchored yacht into the Yacht Club and transfer to the Marigot Party Water Taxi.


Here's the beginning of the race from our vantage point...



Quite a ways in the distance but a nice sight!



So we hope everyone has a great time and returns back safely.

UPDATE: We heard that today's catamaran & Gunboat races have been cancelled.

More Heineken Regatta 2009 Bits & Pieces

More bits & pieces about what's happening around us in Simpson Bay and the Heineken Regatta 2009...

Here's a picture I took last night of Buffy out on patrol to keep an eye on the crowd of boats that are around us.



Buffy is still doing crowd control this morning. She is very outgoing and always says hello to people who stop by. Willow is a bit freaked out by all this activity though :)

.

Yesterday, Dash came back after racing to find that someone is squatting on their moored anchor. The thieves were not aboard, of course, and were still not back several hours later. Come on guys, this just isn't on. What are you thinking? We're going to keep an eye out today to make sure that doesn't happen again.


Dash & Squatter

Boats this morning ended up a bit close to each other. This tends to happen when everyone is bunched up and the wind and swell shifts.

.

We just heard on Island 92 radio that there was a report of a dismasting off of Pelican. Hope that's just a rumour, but we did see a few dismastings last year.

We did have a pretty rainbow this morning just after the boats started to head out. We've had a few squalls since then.



Photos by Paradise Connections ©2009 - Please do not use without permission.

Have fun, everyone. Be safe!

Heineken Regatta 2009: Gunboat sightings

Here's a couple of photos of Gunboat catamarans heading into the Lagoon.
March 5, 2009 - Simpson Bay, St Maarten - Heineken Regatta


Gunboat catamaran, Sugar Daddy - Photo by Paradise Connections ©2009


Gunboat catamaran, Safari - Photo by Paradise Connections ©2009

Remember, Safari is a charter yacht. If you are interested in chartering Safari, contact us for more info.

Heineken Regatta 2009 Stuff: Special BRIDGE TIMES etc St. Maarten

This and that about the Heineken Regatta 2009...

• There are special Dutch-side St Maarten bridge openings during the Heineken Regatta (March 5-8, 2009):

Here are the opening times:

• 7:30 am - Special Heineken opening
• 9:00 am - Outbound
• 9:30 am - Inbound
• 11:00 am - Outbound
• 11:30 am - Inbound
• 3:00 pm - Special Heineken opening
• 3:45 pm - Special Heineken opening
• 4:30 pm - Outbound
• 5:30 pm - Inbound

• Lots of boats out in Simpson Bay. A bit too close for my comfort. Please don't pee off your boat in my direction when you are 15 feet in front of me. That's just not polite when we are having cocktails on the foredeck.
  
  

• Due to expected high winds and swell, the Saturday course has been altered and will not be ending in Marigot, yet the party Saturday evening will take place as scheduled on the Marigot Waterfront. There will be special water taxi services available to take people there, and of course you can dinghy over there.

• Kudos to the practicing Bareboat Racers (Team Extreme SxPack) who rescued passengers from a downed helicopter just off Cupecoy on Wednesday. READ THE STORY HERE.

Photos by Paradise Connections ©2009 - Please do not use without permission.

Team GoldenDog in Heineken Regatta 2009

UPDATE: Team GoldenDog won 1st place in their class at the St Maarten 2009 Heineken Regatta. Congratulations!

Once again, Team GoldenDog will be participating in the Bareboat Division of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.

Team GoldenDog's goal is to help homeless animals the world over find their forever homes. They participate in events such as this to raise awareness of the plight of homeless, needy and abused animals. The net proceeds of their fundraising efforts go directly to worthy organizations who provide for animals in need.

You can hear Chairman, Jeff Sochrin's alter-ego "SOC" on St. Maarten's Island 92 FM radio station.

Just heard that SOC will be broadcasting LIVE today (Tuesday) at 11am until 2pm from the Team Goldendog sailboat which is docked at Halsey's restaurant on Airport road/ Simpson Bay Lagoon. Tune in!

• View Team GoldenDog's website: CLICK HERE

Best of luck and keep up the good work!

Time Out Boat Yard March 2009 Flea Market Postponed

Today we stopped by the Time Out Boat Yard which is located near the Sandy Ground bridge on the French side of St. Martin.

Dominique told us that the Marine Flea Market / Boat Jumble which is normally held on the first Saturday of every month from December to May or June, was to be postponed due to the Heineken Regatta.

It will be held on the 2nd Saturday this month, March 14, 2009. It begins at 8am, and vendors should arrive a bit earlier to get things set up. There is no charge for vendors or visitors.

So, check it out! We'll be there with a few things to sell.

Hope to see you there!

Gunboat Catamarans in St Maarten just prior to Heineken Regatta 2009

There are a few Gunboat catamarans currently in St. Maarten and we expect to see a few more in the lead up to the Heineken Regatta, March 5-8, 2009.

Here's a bit from the local St. Maarten newspaper The Daily Herald, January 22, 2009:

SIMPSON BAY--Gunboats have returned to St. Maarten. This year the fleet is bigger and includes the newly launched 66 series. A new breed of racing cruiser catamaran, the Gunboat was designed to hold provisions for up to six months of cruising and still able to race with all carbon spars and Kevlar shrouds. The Gunboat, named for the fact they win or take the gun at so many finish lines, consists of composite construction of vacuumbagged, epoxy foam sandwich and Aramid Honeycomb Nomex with carbon fiber inner skins & Kevlar outer skins for impact resistance. The fast 48 foot version, capable of speeds in the mid 20’s, will be sailing the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta the first weekend of March. “Gunboat is excited to have one, and maybe two of our latest series, the Gunboat 66, at the regatta,” said Chandler Collins from Gunboat. “This new 66 embodies luxury, comfort, and SPEED! The 66 was launched this winter in Cape Town, and she has just completed her maiden voyage across the Atlantic to Saint Maarten.” Also expected to race Heineken, like last year, are Gunboat 48s and 62s.

We went and took a few photos of the Gunboat catamarans that are currently in Simpson Bay and in the Lagoon in St. Maarten: Looking for Elvis (Gunboat 62), Kanaloa (Gunboat 66), and Safari (Gunboat 62).


Looking For Elvis - Feb. 25, 2009 - Simpson Bay, SXM
(Photo by ParadiseConnections.com ©2009)


Looking For Elvis - Feb. 25, 2009 - Simpson Bay, SXM
(Photo by ParadiseConnections.com ©2009)


Kanaloa - Feb. 25, 2009 - Simpson Bay Lagoon, SXM
(Photo by ParadiseConnections.com ©2009)


Safari - Feb. 25, 2009 - Simpson Bay, SXM
(Photo by ParadiseConnections.com ©2009)


Safari - Feb. 25, 2009 - Simpson Bay, SXM
(Photo by ParadiseConnections.com ©2009)

Safari is available for crewed yacht charters. Contact Paradise Connections for more info.

We looked at the entries listed on the Heineken web site and for the Catamaran Class it shows the Gunboats Cream, Safari, and Sugar Daddy. They only show a total of 175 entries but in a recent newspaper article they said that had 200-some, so their website probably hasn't been updated yet.

Looking For Elvis - Gunboats in St. Maarten

This morning we went looking for Looking For Elvis, a 62-foot Gunboat. They've changed the graphic for their boat name since the time I showed it here on the All About Boats blog in 2006.


Then (2006)


Now (2009)

I like both.

The home port on the transom is LAS VEGAS :)

Today in Simpson Bay, St Maarten 2x3 masts

This morning we have two 3-masters in Simpson Bay, St. Maarten.



We expect the anchorage to be filling up soon with boats for the Heineken Regatta.

I'll have to remember to take the camera with us when we run some errands (must buy kitter litter!). We saw the Gunboat "Looking for Elvis" dinghy yesterday. Visitors to this blog seem to like photos of the Gunboats so we'll see what we can do.

More soon come, mon!