mariachi music, no mas

Fall arrived this morning with a gentle rain that cleared quickly and left us with cool dry air.  Forecast for tomorrow has clear skies and a high of 76.  I hope to be on the water, the north winds of 10 to 13 kts carrying us down to the James River and back.

My LL Bean am/fm radio, the one that woke me in the middle of the night with mariachi music, died last week.  Too much moisture in a radio that was not designed to be water proof or water resistant was the cause of both the midnight music and the short life - only about 14 months - of the radio.  It had worked fine up until the storm on Abel Bay, but horizontal rain got to the radio beneath the small aft deck of Spartina and did it in.

To replace that radio I just purchased a Radio Shack am/fm/weather band emergency crank radio, photo above.  Cost was about $37 plus tax.  The store offered a one-year no questions asked replacement warranty for $8, which I also purchased.  "So I can drop it in salt water and get a replacement, right?" I asked.  Yes, I was told.  The radio seems to be well built, has a nice rubberized cover and gets very good reception in both am and fm modes.  I'm listening to the Redskins/Saints game right now.  There are functions I do not need such as a dynamo, flash light and weather radio, plus a receptacle for ear phones and a usb port.  I will use electrical tape to cover the unneeded buttons and ports.

For a fall trip, with both NFL games and baseball playoffs, a good radio is necessary.

I did a quick food survey and found we are in good shape for the coming trip.  We'll be using a variety of fresh and frozen foods, plus some pouch meals.  Above are three of the pouches we'll be trying out.

I used the tortilla stuffers on my last solo trip.  I chopped up a potato and sauteed it in a little oil, then added the pouch contents - seasoned rice, chicken, pinto beans and peppers - inot the pot.  A quick, easy, one pot meal.

Bruce brought along the Madras Lentils on our sail last spring.  Adding sauteed shrimp and andouille sausage, the turned it into a very nice gumbo.

The stir fry noodles are something new.  Two minutes to cook, with meat or fish added along with a little sauce, should make for another quick easy meal.

The nice think about pouches, as opposed to cans, is that they are easy to open and do not take up much space in the trash once used.

I received my copy, ordered through Amazon as a "used" book but in fact brand new, the other day.  I started to read it, then set it aside.  It would be a perfect book for a cruise.  I've been thinking about a four or five day solo sail on Tangier Sound in October - perfect time for fishing - and this might be the perfect book to take along.

steve