I thought today of that scene from Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman running errands for the boss including retrieving a dead snapping turtle. I was out with some friends trapping turtles in a lake, they were biologists searching for non-native species that are invading the area. They found a few of the non-native ones, and they also found this native snapping turtle. Unlike the turtle in Cool Hand Luke, this one was very much alive and angrily snapping away.
Bruce and I had our phone conference yesterday, going over the route, meals and a few other items. Everything sees to be shaping up just fine. Part of our provisioning plan includes trolling for fish and also trying to pick up some soft shell crabs from the watermen along the away (several villages we will visit are working watermen ports). With this in mind I'll make sure to pack some seasoned corn meal for breading and also some scissors (every set of directions for cleaning soft shell crabs starts with some version of the phrase "first you cut off the face.")
I also updated my SPOT profile, adjusting the information from the solo sail in coastal Carolina to show that there are two of us on board on Chesapeake Bay. You can see a screen shot of some of the information that I put in the 911 section below. I describe the boat, the equipment and our plans in case of an emergency - stay with the boat as long as possible.
I was going to fine tune the information in my "need assistance" message which, in the past had instructed everyone on the email list to contact my brother in Florida to make sure he was contacting Boat US with my location and membership number. It was only when trying to find the message that I remembered I had changed the service, at a fee of a few dollars I think, to "SPOT Maritime Assist." No phone call is needed, SPOT contacts BoatUS directly.
I'm starting to peek at, but not quite believe, the weather forecasts. Right now it looks pretty good for the start of the trip. I haven't yet checked the wind forecast, won't do that until Thursday I expect.
Two more days of work, then I head to the airport to pick up Bruce.
steve
4 comments:
Yes, first you cut off the face. It would do you good to use the same technique when dressing a snapping turtle. Nasty critters they.
We had a demo at the CIA on how to kill and clean a snapper. I'd never try to do it on my own! But there was this place in Philadelphia when I was young called Kelly's on Mole Street. I can still taste the snapper soup laced with sherry.
There's got to be some recipe for crab faces but I shudder to think what it might be.
It is possible -- though difficult -- to grill a softshell crab. It might be easier sauteed with butter as the sun goes down. Happy sailing and happy eating, Steve and Bruce!
When Luke(Paul Newman), said deader than hell but won´t let go, he was talking not just about the turtle, but he was talking, specially about himself.
Great point, Rogerio!
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