Drop Biscuits

Yesterday morning, I woke up early and went up on the foredeck to do some laundry and wash my hair. It was a beautiful time of the day (5am). Absolutely no one else was around, it was low tide, birds were chirping, jellyfish were floating by and the sun was rising. You would think it couldn’t get better! Unless you were curled up warm in bed... And you would be right! After years and years of wishing I could be a morning person, I am somehow unable to sleep past 5am these days. It’s great for productivity. Anyway, I heard some splashing nearby and looked up thinking it was someone swimming only to see a couple of dolphins lazily frolicking by!

A couple of turtles popped their heads up and announced their presence with their big spurt of air before going back on their way. It was a great start to the day!

There is a place in Tin Can Bay were you can go and feed the wild dolphins that show up there every morning. As far as mixing the general public with wildlife goes, I think that this place does it pretty well. They have rangers coordinating the feeding, you are not allowed to touch the dolphins, and they are careful to only feed the dolphins 1/8 of their daily dietary requirement so that the dolphins don’t become dependent on this food source. Bryce and I had been planning on going over there that morning to check it out and it just so happens the dolphins that I saw earlier were on their way over there for breakfast. We thought it was a bit overpriced for what it was but still worth doing! We were able to each feed them one fish and then have our photo taken with them. Afterwards, we had a shower at the public pool and morning tea at a local cafe. Bryce then made his way back to get Aquabat and Tim, while I made my way into town to resupply. They brought Batty into the fuel dock to top up her tanks and I met them there. From there we had a quick sail up to Pelican Bay, where we anchored for the night. It was a rough night! The wind came up to the point where water was splashing through out hatches and Bryce was out checking on the anchor several times.

 















This morning we headed north again, leaving at low tide to give ourselves plenty of the high tide at the other end. For the first time we had the space and the time to put Batty through her paces and see how she responds. We tacked and jibed our way up the waterway and did a few man-over board drills and were happy with how she did! We, on the other hand, are a bit rusty! Coming into Garry’s anchorage, we had the autopilot on and a sandbank came out of nowhere. Some new lessons learned! The autopilot is wonderful for longer stretches but in this instance hindered us and how quickly we were able to change our course. Bryce quickly reversed out of it, no harm done. The first of many groundings, I’m sure!

So here we are anchored in the lee of Fraser Island. Fraser Island is the worlds largest sand island and home to so much unique wildlife, including the purest pack of dingoes. Tim and Bryce went ashore this afternoon to get the lay of the land and are now back fishing off the back of the boat. Tomorrow we are going to hike to a nearby freshwater lake.

After not much sleep last night, we woke up at 5 am this morning and right after breakfast weighed anchor and were on our way. Needless to say by 10:30-11 we were pretty hungry. These were amazingly easy to whip up underway. Granted we didn’t have any swell and the winds were fair, but I could see them working in circumstances that weren’t so favorable. We flipped them over and smeared jam on the flat side while they were still warm. Mmm, delicious! As you can see, there are many options listed as possibilities for the sweetener. If you prefer to use butter or margarine instead of the oil or milk instead of the water, go ahead. My preference when cooking and provisioning is to carry things that can be used in many different capacities, thus simplifying our lives. Also, the less we carry that needs to be refrigerated, the better!

***My photo uploading stopped working for this photo. Will hopefully upload it soon. In the meantime, trust me, they look delicious!***

Drop Biscuits
Makes 16 biscuits

3 cups plain flour
6 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp brown rice syrup (agave/honey/sugar)
3/4 cup oil (rice bran oil, any neutral flavor)
1 1/4 cup water

1. In large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder & salt. If using sugar add it here.
2. Add oil to dry mixture and cut through with a fork until coarse crumbles develop. If using a liquid sweetener, add it here.
3. Add water and mix until well combined.
4. Drop tablespoon-sized scoops of dough onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 F.
5. When golden brown, remove from baking sheet and eat immediately!