Rainy day in Nagu - 20 July 2018

Where are we? The map below represents the archipelago sea and its 60,000 islands.We are now in Nauvo/Nagu (all places have different name in Finnish and in Swedish!), a week after having entered the Archipelago sea in Hanko.

The Archipelago sea

 Sailing in the Archipelago sea has proven to be extremely challenging, because of the shallow waters, number of rocks of all sizes, and area poorly documented in the nautical charts. We had to revert in areas where we ended-up with less than two meters of water while we were outside of the six metre line. In the planning process, one should zoom in ++ in oder to be sure not to miss a bridge somewhere, which could result in a very long detour in this labyrinth.

Now, we plan to visit friends in Brändö before heading towards Mariehamn in the most direct way.

We had a warm rainy day, very appropriate for grocery shopping, and renewal of the sous-vide food that has been so appreciated in the first part of the cruise. Below is the setting in the kitchen. An Ikea plastic trash bucket as the cooking bath, a cooking device (on the boat, I am using the Champion Sous Vide Precision Circulator, which is cheap), a set of food bags, food and spices.

Belisama kitchen corner

 First I cook two pieces of pork (côtelettes, 5 cm thick). One bag for each, a bit of salt, pepper and garlic (dry), and two spoons of oil. I vacuum the bags by chasing the air through immersion. For such piece of pork, 6 hours at 56.5°C is what is indicated on my favourite websites.

At the end of the six hours, I put the bag in cold water to chill the piece, before putting it in the fridge where it can stay for a month before eating.

At the same time, I cook a couple of bags of haricots and of asparagus (30 minutes at 84°C). On the left, a bag of fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) prepared at home and bagged directly (no cooking). With some rice, we will be ready to welcome friends on board for a good Koložvárska kapusta!