http://rosadvfrenchcanals.blogspot.ca/

http://www.veledaiv.ca/ Click on The Logs > By Series > Series 18

Here's a brief summary of the route we took:



Preparing Your boat for the French Canals
Paul has written several New Boat Blogs about setting up the boat with fender boards and fenders and options for taking your mast down so I'll direct you there for this technical information.


Weather
We had a mixture of very wet weather and lovely sunny spring days in May and early June but after spending previous summers in the cold wet climes of Ireland, Scotland and Scandinavian countries we were so happy to be warm that we didn't mind the rain!

Late June and July, as we moved further south and were further inland away from the cooling effects of the sea, we had quite hot weather – up to 32ºC (90ºF) – but we didn't dare complain about the heat after moaning about the cold wet weather we had experienced in the UK and Scandinavia the previous summers. Here's a link to average temperatures and precipitation for various cities in France: http://www.weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,Paris,France

Sheryl and Paul Shard
SY Distant Shores II
www.distantshores.ca

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Traditional Irish Stew

Ireland's national dish is traditionally made with mutton (less tender sheep over two years of age which has a stronger flavour than lamb) but lamb is what Nana always used. You can also make this recipe with beef if you don't like lamb or it's not available. Nana also added carrots and onions and occasionally parsnips or barley but the true traditional recipe is said to be with mutton (probably neck bones, shanks and trimmings) and potatoes only. I think this hearty peasant dish was made with whatever affordable local ingredients were available at the time so feel free to be creative. Root vegetables add flavour and nutrition plus thickens the stew as well.
Ingredients

• 1-2 tablespoons of oil for browning meat.
• 2 lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces or as you prefer.
• 1 large onion roughly chopped.
• 2 carrots peeled and cut into large chunks.
• 1 parsnip, peeled and cut into large chunks (optional).
• 3- 4 potatoes depending on size and preference.
• 3-4 cups of water or beef stock, enough to cover meat and vegetables while simmering.
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Herbs of your liking such as thyme, rosemary, etc.
• Fresh parsley chopped for garnish

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large frying pan or Dutch oven. Add half the lamb pieces and cook, stirring gently, until evenly browned all over. Season with salt and pepper. Remove, repeat with remaining half of meat. If using a frying pan move half the cooked meat into a casserole dish and layer with half the vegetables. If using a Dutch Over return meat to the Dutch Oven in the same fashion layering with the vegetables.
2. Stir in enough water or broth to cover the meat and vegetables saving any additional liquid to add to the stew while cooking to keep it covered. Cover the casserole or Dutch Oven with a tight fitting lid and cook for about 2 hours or more in the oven or until meat is tender. If using a Dutch Oven you can also cook this on the stove top by bringing to a boil then simmering at low temperature for an hour or more which is faster. A pressure cooker speeds up the process even more if cooking onboard. At home you can simmer it all day in a slow-cooker. Just make sure the meat and vegetables are cooked through. If you don’t like your vegetables mushy, you can add them half-way through cooking.
3. When everything’s cooked but if stew seems too liquidy, leave lid off for a while and continue simmering.
4. Serve piping hot in bowls garnished with fresh parsley.

He gave him the old one as a souvenir for his mantlepiece.

Rhodes is one of our favourite stops in the Greek Islands. The harbour is surrounded by the walls of the medieval town and castle making for a magical setting however it's a very crowded harbour and often difficult to find a spot especially if you arrive Friday to Sunday. These are the turn-over days for the charter boats that are based there and most berths are reserved for them at this time. Best to plan a mid-week, early afternoon arrival in Rhodes. Once you're docked it's a lovely place with many things to see and do, good shops for provisioning and well-stocked chandleries and hardware stores within walking distance.

While we worked on the boat our good friends Chrissy Arvanitis and Irene Zifias who taught us how to eat sea urchins in the Rhodes and Symi episode of Distant Shores (see the Vol. 5 Greek Islands and Turkey II DVD ) dropped by for cheerful visits with their kids and Chrissy (pictured on the left) couldn't stop cooking for us - and what feasts she and this friend prepared!

West through Aegean Sea
But finally, with windlass installed, a repair made to our grounding system that seemed to be affecting our autopilot, and Euro provisions loaded, it was time to say goodbye and begin our voyage west across the Aegean Sea. We left Rhodes on September 13 and our first stop was at the island of Symi, an afternoon sail away, then on to Yiali, Astapalia, and finally to Santorini - a volcanic crater believed to be the site of the lost city of Atlantis. You can sail right into the center of the crater along with cruise ships and tour boats and make the climb to the town perched like snow on the rim of the crater above.

Next stop was Milos, where the statue of the Venus de Milo was discovered and then on September 21st we made landfall on the Peloponnisos at Monemvassia, a wild and mountainous place, so different from the islands. There is a lovely old historic town there and we wandered the narrow streets imagining the days of old. It was here we waited for a good weather window to go south around the capes (versus going through the Corinth Canal which we did when we arrived in the Greece a few seasons back) and make our jump to Malta. But more on this in our next newsletter...

Before we close we'd just like to mention a few new things we're doing.

Cruising in the Middle East - New DVD
This week we'll be releasing the latest Distant Shores DVD, “Cruising in the Middle East from Turkey to Egypt”. This special 3-disk set contains all 13 episodes of Season Four which takes you on a voyage from Turkey, to ports in North and South Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Egypt and has some very special features on “Dealing with Piracy”, an important issue when cruising in this region and many others around the world.

Piracy
In the “Dealing with Piracy” features on the new Middle East DVD we interview people such as Rod and Becky Nowlin aboard SV Mahdi who have experienced pirate attacks first-hand and who generously give their advice on how to prevent and protect yourselves from encounters with pirates. The cost of $34.95 US/$39.95 CDN is an excellent deal for the up-to-date safety information and peace-of-mind we feel these new episodes and extra features provide.

More Podcasts
The long-awaited podcast #4 with David Anderson discussing weather information and technology for cruisers is now up in the Podcast Directory on our web site. While cruising this summer we recorded some more podcasts with technical experts and interesting cruisers “out there” which we'll be uploading on Distant Shores shortly. These online talk shows focus on cruising topics and have been really popular! We thank you for sending in your comments and ideas.

Wishing you Fair Winds,

Sheryl and Paul Shard
SV Two-Step