We have gone dinghy fishing on Flying Venus Reef outside of Takuua passage, as we are limiting the use of the big boat to save fuel for our passage to French Polynesia. By order of the yummiest first we have caught one Yellow Fin Tuna, two Barracudas, one Bluefin Trevally, four Rainbow Runners, and two Dog Snappers. We were a little concerned about eating the barracudas because of ciguatera toxin so we asked the locals and they said not to worry as there is no ciguatera in Penrhyn, and we gave them the bigger barracuda to be sure. A couple days later we asked about the Dog Snapper and someone suggested not to eat the fish because it was a bad fish, so we fed the sharks the dog snapper. Sara rolled her first sushi rolls while preparing the Yellow Fin Tuna and we have tasted this and the other varieties of fish cajun seared, panko crusted, and tempura battered as the locals suggested frying the fish.
We have not used propane for two weeks, not because we are without propane, but because we have 5,220 watt’s of solar on the boat. We purchased, before leaving Hawaii, a Precision Nuwave Induction Cooktop for electric cooking while we’re at anchor. It is so bizarre because we have not been to a grocery store or shopped for supplies since the Thursday before we left Honolulu (two and a half months ago), yet we are doing really well. We still have three packages of eggs in the fridge that are on rations, but besides that we have plenty of spices, meats, carbs, canned veggies, etc. As Sara has enjoyed cooking as a hobby, each meal is a bit of a yummy experiment. Yesterday, was Sara’s first all in one pot pressure cooker experiment which turned out to be a success. Not sure what to call it, maybe close to a gumbo?
Pressure cook for 15 minutes all in one pot, you can either release the pressure after the 15 minutes or turn off the power and go snorkeling because it will stay hot until you return. Makes 4 servings 1 cup of brown rice
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1 can of of diced tomato’s (with juice)
1 pint of Suki’s pickled peppers (drained)
1 can of kidney beans (drained)
1 package of boneless and skinless chicken thighs cut 1″ pieces 1 package of kielbasa sausages cut diagonally into 1 ” pieces 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 tablespoon of McCormick Montreal Steak seasoning (instead of salt and pepper)
We received permission, Monday, from the Deputy Mayor to allow us to anchor away from both villages at a southern part of the lagoon, which we call Olson’s Oasis. Finding an anchorage was a little bit stressful because bombies surround the area but we found two spots one at a depth of 40 to 45 feet but a little too close to a reef and the other that goes from 45 to 72 feet depending which way we swing on the anchor. Being this far south we have got to explore new motu’s and we were able to find the abandoned church. This church is a fallen down, dilapidated thing, and hard to see through all the brush and vines covering it, but the mystery is solved. We figure the only reason there is any evidence of a building is because it was made of stone. One of the locals explained that they would crush the broken coral for lime and add water to make a concrete to paste together large rocks to form the church.
Near the church we found somewhat easy to reach young coconuts, as the trees were horizontal over the water. We used our boat hook to pick about a dozen and yesterday we tried our first ever canning project but without much guidance we treated the coconut meat and juice like green beans. The flavor after cooked was good but might have been cooked a little long, so the experiment continues. Sara remembered how much she loved climbing trees when she was a kid but was quickly reminded how old she is when her attempt to get to the top of tree failed by sliding upside down on the tree trunk. Wade gallantly rescued her from falling in shallow water and preventing her injuries to minor scraps from the tree.
Two Sunday’s ago was white Sunday, being the first Sunday of the month, everyone dressed in pure white for church to receive communion. Next Sunday we plan to do family photos for each of the families in the village. We brought extra printer ink and paper for such an occasion.
We have had some electronic bad luck recently. Sara accidentally synced her iPhone charts over the chart plotter charts and half of the Fanning articles she was writing has disappeared, like the actual file is there but half the text is gone. We are still safe as we can still use the charts to navigate and we have a spare just in case.
We hope all is well!
Wade and Sara
