February 2017 | MONTH IN REVIEW

Here's a quick summary of what we were up to this month. We installed new batteries; one in the battery compartment on the rack we modified last month, and the other in the anchor locker for the windlass. We replaced the corroded wiring in the battery compartment.    We replaced the switch for the anchor windlass, cleaned and serviced the windlass motor, repaired and re-painted the windlass cover.  We repaired and re-painted the rubbing board on the port side. We replaced all the clam shells on the underside of the...

Read More »

Liming & Wining at the Carnival in Trinidad

2 years ago, we made it to the Carnival in Tobago. This year, we made it to the one in Trinidad!  Glad that we had our friends Daniela and Rolf with us this time around. We caught the local maxi taxi (6 TTD/person) in the early morning of Tuesday, 28th February 2017 (and by early we mean 9am) from Chaguaramas (opposite Power Boats) and arrived at the maxi taxi terminal in Port of Spain, in just half an hour! (Fantastic! We had smooth traffic!) We walked along with the masqueraders who were dressed in glittery, feathery, colorful...

Read More »

Recipe | Bite Sized Chocolate Fridge Cake

This is a no bake chocolate cake recipe inspired from Jamie Oliver's Chocolate Fridge Cake recipe. The first time I tried making this was in Singapore, suggested by a dear friend. Since then I've modified the recipe based on the ingredients we had on board and it works just as well. Makes: around 36 pieces Ingredients: 200 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) 150 g unsalted butter 1-2 tablespoons of honey A pinch of salt 150 g digestive biscuits, broken into small/fine pieces 150 g mixed nuts, roughly chopped (i.e. cashew, almond, walnuts) 2...

Read More »

How To Get Rid of Unwanted Guests (Ants & Cockroaches)

Several years ago and somewhere in the Indian Ocean, we discovered we had an ant and cockroach infestation. They probably snuck on board via our groceries. Unfortunately once they're on board, it's not easy to get rid of them. All the expensive store bought ant/cockroach sprays and baits did not work for us.By the time we got to South Africa, the infestation was out of control. I believe there were maybe a gazillion (hah, okay not quite a gazillion but definitely hundreds) of tiny baby roaches running around having a ball under the floorboards...

Read More »

We're on Google Maps!

We know we've been here too long when we're on Google Maps! Raptor has been here since 2nd March 2015. Her longest stay on the hard to date.  The last time we hauled out was 5 years ago in Phuket, Thailand at Coconut Boatyard for merely 2 months. Raptor on Google Maps Boat projects, boat projects, when will you end? We can't wait to be back in the ocean agai...

Read More »

My Sister's Hidden Talent

Okay, so this post is unrelated to sailing or travelling. It's a personal post for my dear sister to capture our memorable conversation over Whatsapp on the 5th day of Chinese New Year this year.   Feeling a little homesick, I sent her a photo of what I had made for lunch on the second day of Chinese New Year... "Nothing fancy, just plain noodles and stir fry veggies", I told her.    "Ah.. Royal mix noodle with superior veggie and golden egg!", she replied. 😄 I immediately sent her a couple more photos of what I had...

Read More »