PAELLA, PAELLA! I JUST HAD A DISH CALLED PAELLA! (CARIBBEAN)

GOURMET CHARTER MEALBeing a ‘Gourmet Chef’ was an evolution for me. An evolution that took a while. When Whitey and I first started working on charter boats I was very much a novice in the galley, kitchen, whatever you want to call it.   Luckily our first jobs as crew were in the British Virgin Islands, which is charter boat center in the Caribbean, which meant there were many chef’s to network with, swap recipes and get lots of ideas. All the networking provided all of the newby chef’s valuable assistance as we planned meals and cooked for our charter guests.

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IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DUCK (SAN FRANCISCO, PANAMA CANAL, BVI)

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Being towed behind the boat

We have a duck! Yes, that is right. Deek is the easy child or guest you always wanted. His needs are simple, he doesn’t eat, has no complaints – just sits on the boat with a happy grin on his little beak. He prefers sunshine but is content on the boat if it is raining. Our duck is called ‘Dr. Deek’ which is short for ‘Dr. Decoy Duck’.

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MOVIES AND BREADFRUIT (SAN BLAS ISLANDS, PANAMA)

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Victor and Lisa’s Island

We had become friends with Victor and Lisa, the Chief and his wife of the Western Hollandaise group in the San Blas Islands. One day, Victor showed up at our boat, ‘Tamarin of Tortola’, to collect the $5 Monthly Cruising Tax. It’s just a little fee for anchoring in their little group of islands.

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Nargana in the San Blas Islands

The Hollandaise Islands are approximately 7 miles from the main land of Panama. The nearest populated islands were Nargana and Corazon de Jesus, two crowded islands that were joined together by a bridge. Victor and Lisa were from Nargana, which is also known as Rio Diablo after the nearby river. They and their extended family were in charge of the group of islands known as the Western Hollandaise.

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