That's Dustin on the right, and his friend Dan on the left in Dustin's buccaneer-class boat "Seeing Red." The Carolina Sailing Club held the annual Governor's Cup regatta last weekend, and Smitty and I shot photos from our little ski boat.
OK, I admit it--there's not much of a connection between baking and sailing, but I was determined to feature my incredible son Dustin on today's blog post, so I found a way. (I am a Girl Scout, after all!)
Once upon a time I took beginner sailing lessons impress a certain cute guy who was an avid sailor. It worked! Thirty years later, Smitty and I have two great kids, and he passed the "sailing bug" on to Dustin when he was a little boy.
Dustin's regattas usually take place two miles offshore in Rhode Island, or somewhere equally inaccessible, so we were thrilled that the Carolina Sailing Club's Governor's Cup regatta was taking place just around the corner at Kerr Lake in Henderson, NC.
So, while the sailors were double-checking their gear, studying the racing rules and making last minute adjustments to their boats, I was making my own preparations for the regatta. I was BAKING!
The picnic menu included sandwiches and also hummus (homemade, of course)...and that meant it was time to make a batch of pitas. Fortunately, I had dough ready in the fridge.
You can see one pita rolled out and ready for the oven, and a dough ball on the left ready to be rolled flat. I included this photo because I wanted to point out that my favorite way to roll pita breads is to use one end of a tapered French rolling pin. A regular pin also works fine, but this is my favorite technique.
To see my more complete blog post about baking pita bread, click on the Bread Bible Alpha Bakers tab at the top of this page and scroll down to the post dated April 7, 2015.
To see my more complete blog post about baking pita bread, click on the Bread Bible Alpha Bakers tab at the top of this page and scroll down to the post dated April 7, 2015.
I also baked two vanilla pound cakes and wrapped the slices to hand out at the dock before the race. If you've read my blog before, you know how much I love to use my baking to connect with new and old friends. You make a lot of friends when you are handing out homemade pound cake!
Smitty and I shot 400 photos of the regatta! It wasn't easy to keep our little ski boat out of the course while handling a 50-200 mm zoom lens on a rocking boat.
Dustin and Dan in "Seeing Red" are in hot pursuit of Dustin's girlfriend Paulina and Jill in "Wasabi" as they round the orange marker. I love this photo!
Photos can't capture the spirit of our two days on the water. First they fly close hauled into the wind, taking all the sails can handle, heeled over and hiked out, riding the narrow edge between speed and capsizing, restraining the wind like jockeys, the main sheets like reigns on a thoroughbred.
Then they tack across the wind's face. A brief moment of scrambling under the boom. The sails grumble and luff, protesting their longing. The spinnaker is flown, the sails are trimmed, and the boat is carried on the palm of the tamed and silent downwind run.
There were 86 boats in this race! We couldn't get them all in one shot, but here's the best one we had of a large group of them.
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Here are the photos I really wanted. On the left, Dustin took his beautiful sister Jessica for a little sail after the race. On the right, that's Dustin's sailing partner Dan. Although they had some problems with the boat, it's still like watching a well-oiled machine.
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On the left is Dustin's girlfriend Paulina, and her sailing partner Jill is on right. They both sail on the NC State University sailing team. It is amazing to watch these young women sail.
Back to regular baking posts next, I promise!
Thanks so much for visiting my blog and for posting comments!
More info on Carolina Sailing Club here: http://www.carolinasailingclub.org/cscnew/index.php
Thanks so much for visiting my blog and for posting comments!
More info on Carolina Sailing Club here: http://www.carolinasailingclub.org/cscnew/index.php