Two Who Got Away (Life On A Small Boat)

(Page 3 of 5)

July/August 1972
By Lynn Monfort  
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We live on very little money when cruising and our goal is to get by on none at all. Bob is an excellent skin diver and provides us with all the fish, conch and crawfish we can eat. Coconuts (another excellent foraged food) are almost always available on the Bahama Islands that we normally frequent.

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I've found that canning fruits and vegetables in season is both a great way to add flair to our meals and save dollars. One particular beach we know has several acres of wild cockplums and sea grapes. I can easily put up enough, in just a few days, to last a year and the sea grapes—especially—make some of the most delicious jam and jelly you'll ever taste.

We always have really good, nutritious and inexpensive bread because we carry a supply of wheat and a hand grinder. Whole wheat flour mixed with sea water, you know, can be "baked" in a pressure cooker on top of a kerosene or alcohol stove just as well as in an oven.

Brown rice is also easily stored, very inexpensive and nourishing fishing . . . but hardly exciting. So we transform the humble dish by adding a touch of curry powder and a side dish of homemade mango chutney (the store-bought variety costs $1.59 for a tiny bottle, so chalk up another notable saving for us right there).

We avoid expensive docking fees, bugs and other boats' noisy generators (not to mention noisy inhabitants) by "dropping a hook"—that is, anchoring out—when cruising.

Believe it or not, however, one expense we just can't shave from our Bahamas overhead is the cost of fresh water. The commodity is in short supply in the islands and the fresh variety carries a price tag of $.20 a gallon. Our boat has storage facilities for only 25 gallons so we go easy and catch as much rain as possible. We bathe by jumping overboard and do of laundry and shampoo with the rainwater that collects in our dinghy during squalls.

Recipes From The Monfort Sloop

"Nassau Salt Fish and Rice"

1 pound (approximately) salt fish
1 can tomatoes
3 cups water
1 medium chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 cup salad oil
1 clove garlic
2 cups raw rice

Soak salt fish to soften—first in salt water, if possible—then in fresh. Remove the bones and skin, and pick fish into very fine pieces. Saute garlic, onion, tomatoes and thyme in oil. Add fish, water and rice. Cook over medium heat till water disappears and rice is tender. We enjoy this dish with Tabasco sauce and lemon wedges. Note: Do not salt this recipe!

Sea Grape Jam

Wash grapes and boil until soft in sufficient water to cover. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour off water and put grapes through sieve to remove seeds. Then put pulp through finer sieve to remove most of the skin. For each pint of pulp, add 1 pound of sugar. Boil to consistency desired or until small amount holds its place when cooled on saucer. Pour into sterilized jars and seal. Note: This is excellent jam.

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