Skipperette's Log: The Travels & Tales of S/V Trillium

There seem to be a few things that attract a good volunteer crew:

• A good boat
• Good food
• And, of course, a pleasant Captain!

On S/V Trillium, we try to provide a good ride and sailing experience AND really good food! The tips from Julie Palm made my provisioning for last year’s Caribbean 1500 very easy. I planned the meals, taking into consideration:

• The ride we might be having
• The condition of the crew’s stomachs (no red sauce on the first night!)
• The ease of preparation
• And a good variety of healthy meals and snacks
• And of course, plenty of non-alcoholic drinks and water

All meats, rice and pastas have been pre-cook and frozen so they require minimal time in the galley. I have learned how challenging it can be to have everything sliding at me – or away, which is better! I have assembled the non-perishable ingredients for each recipe and placed them into a labeled grocery bag.

Depending on the events of the day, I select a meal, pull the perishables from the freezer and the bag from the locker to assemble the meal. By pre-cooking rice and pasta, it just needs to be dropped into hot water for a few minutes. No waiting for it to cook completely or absorb all of the liquid – just long enough to heat it.

Experience has shown which items are most appreciated. A couple items were swapped out for new ones this year. Sandwiches of various flavors are often served at lunch time with chips and fresh vegetables and fruit. Salads are served with dinners until we run out of lettuce. Our menu consists of the following:

Main & Lunch Meal Entrées For Caribbean 1500 Rally
Beef Burgundy over Egg Noodles	Sloppy Joes
Shrimp Scampi over Linguini	Chili with Corn Bread
Spaghetti with Italian Sausage Meat Balls	Corn Chowder (a crew favorite!)
Chicken Cacciatore with Gnocchi	White Chicken Chili
Beef Stroganoff over Egg Noodles	Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Beef Stew	Chicken Noodle Soup
Curried Chicken over Rice	Potato Soup
Chicken with Wild Rice Casserole	Clam Chowder
Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce	Beef Barley Soup
Chop Suey over Rice	Hamburgers or Turkey Burgers

And the Snack Bag is always available with various bars, candies, fruits, cheese and crackers, etc. The crew has access at all times. Sometimes I flavor the water with lemonade just to give us a break from the plain water. We also use concentrated unsweetened (without artificial sweetener, too) juice to flavor the water.

As the Galley Manager, I have the right to decide whether or not it is safe to cook on the stove. If not, a cold meal will fill the stomachs. We had shrimp cocktail, cheese and crackers and fresh fruit for dinner on one very rough night! There will always be something to fill the crew.