Hi, its Tia I’m writing the blog this time. I’m going to be writing about loads of things because I have done loads in the two and a half months I have been here. My blog is about my three-favorite thing about boat life, a little about what I don’t like, what we eat, the places we’ve been, and the people we have met, hope you enjoy!
What I Like About Boat Life
The first thing that I like about living on a boat is lying on the trampoline at the front of the boat at night. We sit up there at night after supper and watch the moon rise. Usually, at that time, it is dessert time!! If we are not having my special avocado chocolate pudding or fried plantains with Nutella and the wonderful sweet papaya that you can get in these wonderful Caribbean countries, then we have chocolate. Anyways, we sit on the trampoline, eat chocolate look up at the stars and try to find constellations. There is this one constellation that looks like a dipper (but much, much smaller) so we have named it the mini little dipper. From time to time we can hear the big fish underneath of us jumping around at our scraps from supper. In Antigua there is this one anchorage called Hermitage Bay, right in front of this resort called Hermitage Resort, most nights there is a man that plays the steel drums on the beach which we can hear from our boat. Which is another thing to do on the trampoline.
Another thing I like about living on a boat is trying all the different tropical fruit. Since we are living in a tropical place we have tried four different tropical fruit. We have tried
sugar plum which was not plum more mango like, but it was sweet. Plantain looked exactly like an overripe banana when ripe (do not eat uncooked it’s absolutely horrible). We also tried a fruit that tasted like the sugar plum, but I forgot its name. That one we ate a little too late and it was a little rotten and did not taste too good, but you could still tell that it would be a good fruit if it were perfectly ripe. We also tried passion fruit, I have always loved passion fruit flavor, but I have never had the fruit itself, I’ve one only ever had it in juice. All these fruits where wonderful and I can wait to try some more!!
The third thing I enjoy about living on a boat is making wildlife friends. We have only made one actual “friend”, but we have seen quite a few cool animals like goats, puffer
fish, flying fish and tons of turtles. The one animal we have made friends with is a tiny little silver and yellow fish that we named Chum Chum. When we went snorkeling on the wreck Chum Chum started to swim under us as if we were some sort of big predator and we were going to keep him safe, he followed us all the way back to our boat. We felt bad when it was time to get out of the water and leave him :(.
What I Don’t Like About Boat Life
The one thing I hate the most about living on a boat is flushing the toilets. You must literally stand there for five minutes pumping water in and out, it’s so tricky and I hate it.
Time on the Boat
The thing that is different about living in the Caribbean is the day and night. There is an hour time difference but that does not change anything once you get used to it. It’s more
that the sun goes down around 5:30-6:00 pm and the sun gets up around 5:30-6:00 am (this happens because we are so close to the equator) and as a sailor we wake up and go to bed with the sun. It means that around 7:30 pm we are exhausted and by 8:00 pm we are usually in bed. Then by 6:30 am, we are usually awake making breakfast. Now the whole family is used to it and it is normal, but before when mommy just arrived daddy and I were doing this and mommy and Hughie and Owen thought we were weird.
Meals on the Boat
Our meals are very typical and aren’t much different from home. For breakfast, we usually have different things, like Owen and I usually have yogurt and granola. Hughie, mommy, and daddy usually have eggs, but they will sometimes have yogurt. After that we all have toast, but we don’t have a toaster, instead, we toast our bread over the propane stove using a special little grill. Mommy has promised that we will have crepes from time to time as well ;p. For lunch, I don’t even know what to write we have had so many different lunches like wraps with cucumber (the cucumber is very good down here), chicken and avocado, or hot dogs with parsley. Finally, supper, for supper we have had a whole load of things, like my quesadillas, and salad with BBQ chicken (chicken is very cheap here, so we have it a lot), and we have pasta with chicken, mushrooms, onion, and broccoli. We have had some red snapper but not very often (mommy and daddy are hoping to have it more often (I’m not)). Lastly, dessert and snacks, for a snack we have crackers cheese and apples, and for dessert, I have already written about dessert, so I think you get the picture. I am the chef on the boat on top of being the dingy Captain which means that I’m very busy, but I like it.
We have even gone out to a few different restaurants, like Melinis which is an Italian restaurant (only daddy and I have gone there). We have gone to this roti place that I forget its name but there roti where very good, we expected that because every roti we have had here have been delicious (probably because it is a Caribbean specialty), I never actually had a roti before I came here. One place we have gone with mommy is al Porto, it was also Italian. The day that we went they had a two for one special which we thought would mean we could order one pizza and get one free, but no, it meant for every person you have to get a whole pizza and half of them are free, which meant we had four large pizzas for five of us. We even had to convince them Owen didn’t need a pizza otherwise we would have ended up with 5 large pizzas!! Their dessert was to die for though.
Where We Have Been
So far, we have only been to Antigua and Sint Maarten, but we explored Antigua a lot and we have been to all the places on this map below.
In Antigua, Jolly harbor was not the nicest place to anchor the water wasn’t clear at all and there are tons of other boats. However, the anchor hold is very nice there was a beach with clay for snorkeling so that was loads of fun.
Hermitage Bay was next to Jolly Harbor and very nice, the water was not too clear, but we could get WIFI and listen to the steel drums. There were never more than three other boats, so it was quiet and private.
Deep Bay was nice, the water was clear, there was a wreck we could snorkel. Also, it was quiet and not very populated.
St. John’s was the capital of Antigua we did not anchor there overnight but we were all fine with that because we know that we would not have gotten any sleep because of the gigantic cruise ships.
English Harbor was very nice there we a yacht charter show which means there were tons of gigantic ships, but the anchorage was horrible there was very bad hold. However, the beach there was wonderful, and we saw tons of turtles and the water was the clearest, but sadly there were tons of sea urchins.
In Sint Maarten (Sint Maarten is the Dutch side of the island and Saint Marten is the French side of the island) on the Dutch side of the island, we have been to Philipsburg and Simpson Bay. Philipsburg was a very touristy place because it is where all the cruise ships dock. It was very fun to wake up in the morning and see what cruise ships are in port. We saw the four biggest cruise ships in the world.
Simpson’s Bay was a very nice anchorage with tons of big yachts. We have moved to Simpson’s Bay Lagoon which is a lagoon in the middle of the island and we had to go under a bridge to get in. We cannot swim in the water, but it is still cool to explore. We have not anchored on the French side of the island yet, but we have taken the dinghy and got some fresh chocolate croissant. All the islands have been beautiful, and I can’t wait to explore the next one.
Friends We Have Made
As for friends, we have made loads already. Firstly, we made friends with a boat called Anchorman they are very nice they are from London they have a three-year-old girl, a six-year-old girl and a nine-year-old boy. Then we made friends with a boat called Nova Vida from South Africa who had a one-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl. After that, we made friends with a boat called Enigma
who had a six-year-old girl and a ten-year-old boy, who led us to another boat called Huapaé who had a 3-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl. The latest one was Akita, who were from Germany,
they had a ten-year-old girl and eight-year-old boy and a six-year-old boy. We have made tones of friends and it’s been very fun.
In conclusion, we are all having loads of fun but still doing school work and fixing the boat. This trip has already been life-changing (in a good way) and loads of fun. Thank you for reading my blog I miss everybody back home. If you have any questions, comments or if you want the recipe for chocolate avocado pudding (or anything) you can email our blog.
Thank you
-Tia
Tia: if your mini-dipper is off to the right of Orion, maybe it’s the Pleiades. Your skies must be dark and clear and your eyes must be good if you can pick out it’s individual stars.
There’s a picture at the bottom of this page:
https://electricbill.home.blog/2019/01/30/orion-to-hyades-to-pleiades/
Thanks Tia. Very thorough food analysis which I appreciate – will know what to expect! I can imagine how much you miss your friends and fam back in Ottawa… but it also sounds like you’re having the experience of a lifetime. Keep on enjoying!
Tia – that was a great report – you had me laughing out loud!! I especially liked your clarity and true feelings…we don’t get the truth often enough! ( ie: toilets and fish!!)
Thank you so for writing such and entertaining and interesting story of you and your family’s experiences!
Sharon, Dave, Gemma & Evan
Thanks Rudnikis
Hi Tia ! Your cooking is very tasty. I can’t wait to try.You growing too fast.
Hello to everyone on Sea Sparrow.
See you soon .Love babcia
Hi babcia,
Miss you to. Can’t wait till you come visit. You will be our first visitor!!
Hi Tia – wow – everything sounds so amazing and your Uncle Rob and I are so happy for you and the boys and your Mom and Dad! You are truly on the adventure of a lifetime! It’s been great to read everything you’ve been seeing and experiencing (and eating…I’m all about the food)..Your blog post was great and wonderfully written – I can almost taste the papaya and feel the heat….Having spent a fair bit of time on the water myself when I was your age, I can relate to your ‘toilet flushing’ complaints haha, but a small inconvenience in exchange for everything else I guess!
It sounds like you’ve been doing a fair bit of cooking – my kinda girl! If you like we can exchange recipes sometimes, and if you ever have anything in mind you’d like to make, and would like some input, shoot me an email!
Sending so much love to you, Hughie, Owen & Mom and Dad xxxooo
Auntie Ang
thanks Auntie Ang,
I’d love to do an email exchange and get some of your recipice… why don’t we start with your spagttie recipe.
and here is my avocado cocolate pudding:
2 medium avocado
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla
3 tbsp of coco powder
3 tbsp of maple syrup (you can use more if you like sweet)(you could also use sugar)
3 tbsp of milk
first you peel, pit and mash the avocado then add all the other ingredients one by one stirring as your adding. then use hand mixer or blender until there a no more chunks of avocado. Lastly put in freezer for 15 min, while in the freezer you can cut up some fruit for dipping or you could eat it as pudding after you take it out give it a little stir, and ENJOY!!
Tia xoxo
That was a wonderful blog Tia, your trip sounds amazing! Such an adventure for you and your family. I would love your chocolate avocado pudding recipe when you have some time to send it to me. Alexandra, our daughter in Australia, has a big garden and she has a passionfruit vine……they are so tasty.
I’m not sure when I will be back in Ottawa to see my friend Wendy (your Nana) but I am hoping that she will come to Vancouver again to visit me soon.
Have fun and enjoy life on the boat,
Carole
hi, a passionfruit vine…Wow!!
the recipe is :
2 medium avocado
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla
3 tbsp of coco powder
3 tbsp of maple syrup (you can use more if you like sweet)(you could also use sugar)
3 tbsp of milk
first you peel, pit and mash the avocado then add all the other ingredients one by one stirring as your adding. then use hand mixer or blender until there a no more chunks of avocado. Lastly put in freezer for 15 min, while in the freezer you can cut up some fruit for dipping or you could eat it as pudding after you take it out give it a little stir, and ENJOY!!
Hi Tia!! I’m so sorry it took me so long to respond! This is a really busy time of year for me with paperwork for the business so Uncle Rob and I have been eating a lot of frozen pizza or Thai take-out haha. I have to admit, that since I don’t really have a recipe for the spaghetti – I’ve always just ‘made it’, I was having a hard time putting it into a recipe format so you could follow it, so I decided to make it for dinner tonight so I could jot the steps down as I went to reply to you, so I’ll write it the way I make it and if you have a hard time finding any ingredients or means of making it, just improvise!! Remember, cooking is not an exact science and if you have to change things up, don’t worry, just keep tasting as you go, you’ll know what’s right and what isn’t. So here goes, I will try and make this as easy to understand as I can.
Ingredients:
lean ground beef (about 3 lbs)
about 6 cloves of garlic
red & green peppers (1 each)
celery (about 4 stalks)
sweet onion (1)
cremini mushrooms (about 20?)
about 2 tbsps./each of basil and oregano
about 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
half bottle of red wine
1 large can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
1 large can of tomato paste
1 reserved cup of pasta cooking water
dried or fresh spaghetti (I use whole grain)
tbsp. of olive oil + a little more
Salt & ground pepper
Start by boiling a big pot of salted water, when it reaches a full boil, add a little bit of olive oil, just a drizzle into the pot
add your pasta and keep an eye not to over cook, (about 5 minutes at full boil should do it). remove from the heat and carefully remove a cup of the water the pasta was just cooking in, set that aside. Drain your pasta and rinse in cold water so that the pasta doesn’t keep cooking. Drizzle a little more olive oil on the pasta and and lightly massage through it to keep the pasta from getting sticky. Set that aside.
While your pasta is cooking you can start chopping all of your veggies. I like mine chopped small, but you can chop to whatever size you like.
In another large, heavy bottomed pot, put in your tbsp. of olive oil. add your chopped garlic, onion and celery. Stir it around on med. heat until you can start to smell it and your onions look translucent. This is called ‘sweating’ and do this for about 5 minutes (stirring occasionaly). Add your ground beef and cook it until you see no more pink. Add your oregano, basil and chili flakes. You can also add a little salt and ground pepper now. Now add the rest of your veggies. Keep on stirring everything for a minute or two, then add your tomato paste and mix well into everything else in the pot. Once mixed, grab your can of tomatos and you have to stick your hand right in the can and squish them, with your hand, right into the pot (along with the juice in the can), Squish them really good, they don’t have to be completely squished, but pretty squished…lol
Stir everything up and now you can add your cup of pasta water that you saved and the 1/2 bottle of red wine – give the other half to Mommy to drink haha – you can also add the balsamic vinegar now.
The most important part is to let this simmer on low for about an hour, otherwise it will be very runny when all of the water from the veggies and mushrooms comes out. You have to cook this off, so that is why the simmering is so important, so the water evaporates and the flavours come together. Depending on how lean your beef is, you may notice a skim of fat on top of the pot.. You can skim this off with a spoon, or choose not to and just stir it back down into the pot. That is what I do, because I think the fat contributes to the flavour.
After it’s all been simmered for a good long time, put your pasta into bowls and ladle your sauce on top with some grated parmesan cheese for topping! Enjoy!
If there is any part of this that doesn’t make sense, or you have a question, just message me back!
Also, I loved the avocado chocolate pudding recipe! It was delicious and I’ve made it twice. I am going to make it for Felix when I go to visit him in Toronto in a couple of weeks.
We love you very much – hope to see some more pics soon and send love to your Mom and Dad and Hughie and Owen from Uncle Rob and Auntie Ang xxxoooo
Great post Tia! Its very interesting to follow the journey and hear all your stories. I would love to have the recipe by the way for choc avocato pudding!! 2 things that I love.. but its hard to imagine them together.
thanks, the recipe is :
2 medium avocado
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla
3 tbsp of coco powder
3 tbsp of maple syrup (you can use more if you like sweet)(you could also use sugar)
3 tbsp of milk
first you peel, pit and mash the avocado then add all the other ingredients one by one stirring as your adding. then use hand mixer or blender until there a no more chunks of avocado. Lastly put in freezer for 15 min, while in the freezer you can cut up some fruit for dipping or you could eat it as pudding after you take it out give it a little stir, and ENJOY!!
Great job Tia. Thank you so much for sharing details of your adventure. I’m looking forward to reading additional blogs. ❤️
Love Aunt Laurie
Thanks, Aunt Laurie
What a fabulous report on life in the Caribbean Tia!! You wrote so well that I could just picture all the food you’re eating and the adventures that you’re having! Please keep writing and give Mummy, Daddy, Hugh and Owen a hug from Aunt Cathi. Take care x
Thank you Aunt Cathi
Awesome job Tia lots of great detail.
Thanks you Auntie Carolyn
Hi Tia, Thank you for sharing all of your adventures. I enjoyed your blog and would absolutley love it if you could send me the recipe or share it with me.
Glad you are meeting lots of friends. What a dream to lie on the trampoline each night. Amazing! And to see the sunrise and sunset each day. I can’t think of anything more beautiful. ENJOY!!!
thanks, we really are enjoying our selves. The recipe is :
2 medium avocado
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla
3 tbsp of coco powder
3 tbsp of maple syrup (you can use more if you like sweet)(you could also use sugar)
3 tbsp of milk
first you peel, pit and mash the avocado then add all the other ingredients one by one stirring as your adding. then use hand mixer or blender until there a no more chunks of avocado. Lastly put in freezer for 15 min, while in the freezer you can cut up some fruit for dipping or you could eat it as pudding after you take it out give it a little stir, and ENJOY!!