I want another boat

It’s time to shift our focus to harvesting, so we won’t be at the growers market this weekend. Catch us back in Los Ranchos next Saturday, July 4th!

I’d like to tell you a little story about some boats in my life.

I have enjoyed living and working on boats and around boat people. The tightest quarters was on the F/V Halcyon back in 1997-1999. Originally a 38 foot fiberglass LeClercq, it was stretched to 41 feet to safely flood the fish hold to 23,000 pound capacity. The 4 bunks were tight to the bow with shared foot space, so you hoped for short crew with a good sense of humor. The Halcyon had an Adriatic diesel stove for heat and cooking with a small inverter for a dorm fridge and small power tools. 100 gallons of cold water allowed week long trips, at most, from the home port of Alitak, Alaska. She was the envy of the fleet in the late 1970’s and a top producer at that time. Running on low fuel and with little ice in the fish hold, the Halcyon has a shallow draft of 13 inches. She is capable of seining salmon in 10 feet of water, rolling along a sandy bottom in small seas and a light wind. When a storm popped up, we could stick it out to 4 foot seas before we would run for cover to the Alitak cannery or anchor up and ride it out with a nap and a few good books (Hugo’s Les Miserables and Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land). It was a good introduction to commercial fishing and a great boat to learn the basics of seamanship. Fishing the Halcyon with good friends you could trust with your life was like camping with a small paycheck.

The most luxurious boat of my career was the 58 foot F/V Aleutian Belle out of Kodiak, Alaska. 6 large bunks for crew with warm storage for all your gear. The captain’s quarters includes a roomy bunk with a comfy pilot house on top. The galley can serve 6 for a month at sea with hot showers and washer + dryer. Fish hold capacity of 119,000 pounds of pink salmon held at 34.5 degrees F. Diesel fuel use of about 100 gallons per day. Satellite radio & tv, wide screen, 300+ movie collection, espresso machine, all electric full size oven/stove, full size fridge, chest freezer, toaster, microwave…EVERY amenity! The Belle has a deep draft, 8 foot waterline most of the time with a heavy deep net built for heavy seas and gale force wind in deep water on capes in heavy currents to catch the most fish. Aleutian Belle fishing is a serious commitment for pros only. These guys keep running hard, 18 hour days for 90 days straight (and that’s just salmon). It earned me good money and life long friends. I had the best set of my career on the Belle, we hauled 69,000 pounds of salmon in 20 minutes!

I have a boat idea in my mind that I want to share with you. I want to create some of the boat experience without the cold water and sharks. I want a cellar underground to cure meat and ferment honey for myself and others. I want to bury a 30 foot fiberglass or wooden boat in the middle of my New Mexico farm. My style of B&B will privately sit in a sea of wildflowers and food growing all around. Is anyone interested in a farm tour culminating in a landlocked sailboat with appetizers made on site beside an oak fire with a glass of boat made Sovereign Meade I make from local honey and hand picked fruit? Entertainment to education, or maybe a bit of both, we call it: edutainment. What is the value of this experience? From farmy to fancy…

Common topics and salons:

Commercial Fish Training 101

Smoke Salmon like a Pro

Knife Sharpening and Ax Throwing

Sovereign Meade Prospectus

Honey Ice Cream Prospectus

Hunter-Gatherer Stories: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Spontaneous Healing through Food and Fellowship

Church of Food

Sustainable Living

Thanks everybody, have a great week! Now I’m hungry, I’m going to fix lunch.

Cheers,