Adventures at sea

Some friends of ours have a boat, and we often join them on the weekends when they take it out to go to a little deserted island and hang out on the beach, wake-board and all sorts of other fun stuff that is nice to do now that the weather is better and before it gets too hot.

This weekend was one such occasion and after fun and frolics we headed back to Abu Dhabi, probably a little bit later than usual since we all noticed how much the tide had gone out a lot when we had to get towed off the beach by a friendly passing family (many thanks to them).

The adventures really began however, when we found ourselves in the middle of the sea but going over rocks that were scraping the bottom of the boat – worse still was when the boat stalled and wouldn’t move. We were sand-banked. Gulp.

The boys got out and (avoiding the millions of big black sea urchins that were scattered willy-nilly) attempted to shimmy and shake the boat over to deeper water. No joy. So we called the police, who were sympathetic, but frankly there was not much they could do since we were completely surrounded by very shallow water and they would have needed a veeeeeeery long rope to be able to pull us out – not to mention the further damage that would have happened to the boat since we were also surrounded by rocks on all sides.

With the sun going down and the prospect of spending a somewhat chilly night on the open water it was with a substantial amount hope that we spotted another boat hanging about on the edge of the sand-ledge we were stuck on. The owner of the boat (S) waded out to the other boat in water half way up his shins and came back with a couple of other chaps who after some um-ing and ah-ing advised us to make our way back to their boat.

S was adamant that he was going to stay with his vessel but when he considered how low on the horizon the sun now was, the fact that the police couldn’t actually do anything to help and that it would be quite some time until the tide came back in he decided to drop anchor and join us on our rescue ship.

We then embarked on a rather bizarre and surreal 400m trek across the seabed to the other boat. It was truly fascinating to see the urchins up close – they were very black and very spiky. I was glad for my beloved Havianas, though I doubt how protective they really would have been had it come to it. They got a much needed cleaning mind, so all is well. I also spotted some purple coral (I think) adorning one of the rocks as I walked past but felt I couldn’t stop and sight see since our kind rescuers were waiting.

We got to the rescue boat and after clambering aboard in a most unladylike fashion I made sure to express my deep thanks to our host. He told me not to thank him but to thank the Sheik (I’m still not 100% sure which one) who was sailing by, saw us marooned and sent someone out to get us since he’d been similarly stuck once before and knew the worry that someone might not come for you (many, many thanks to him). It was very kind and we were dropped off at the nearest marina, all a little tired and sad for the boat left out there all by herself but otherwise unharmed and now all with a great tale to tell in the future.

As far as I know the boat was recovered safely though S has said that there is a story to tell about that too so we wait eagerly to find out what further excitement was had.

Gourmet Abu Dhabi

I cannot express how much I hope this becomes an annual event. Running from the 5th to the 14th of February a glut of international chefs and food related celebs descended on this fair (though currently rather sand-whipped) city.

The festival involved 2 special guest chefs, 13 masterchefs (with 22 Michelin Stars between them), 5 master patissiers, workshops, masterclasses, talks, seminars, food safaris, special dinners, gala receptions, chef’s table lunches and dinners, forums and a kitchen party.

Due to our issues with the internet and not being able to book tickets to events over the phone (grrrrrrr), it was only the kitchen party that O and I were able to attend. There was not a lot of information about the even anywhere online (“An informal dinner…that takes place in a commercial kitchen”) so I was a little unsure about what the party actually entailed, and when I called the hotel to confirm the start time the event was described as a kitchen table dinner so I picked my outfit for the evening and we set off.

I was mildly surprised when we arrived at the venue to see tables loaded down with chefs’ hats and aprons (though the aprons are very cool), the camera man and photographer were also rather unexpected but I was getting very excited by this point. We were informed we had to wear our hats and aprons – if I could raise only one eyebrow I would have been doing right then – and we were led into the kitchen! We found food stations with chefs behind them preparing a large variety of different foods, a bar set up near the fridges and no seats. Gulp. I’d unwisely elected to wear my high high-heels because of the length of my trousers…yadda yadda yadda. Which is to say, it was an unwise footwear choice for me that evening since it was a three-hour event and I was to be on my feet for the whole of it! After a second “gulp” we got stuck in.

There was a chocolate fountain which I actually didn’t touch because the rest was so fantastic, a vegetarian wrap/sandwich type station, freshly made sushi and sashimi, amazing Brazilian BBQ, charcuterie, pasta, fresh breads, deserts and lots and lots of wine. I stuffed myself on fresh-sliced Parma ham, salmon sushi, parmesan pasta, duck marinated in orange and papaya, cheese breads and… chicken hearts. Yep. That’s right. The hosting chef insisted that we try it and after letting O go first, who pronounced it “ok” I dived in after finishing my glass of pink fizzy stuff. I was VERY apprehensive, generally not being a fan of most things offal, but this was actually quite delicious. Strong and meaty in the way kidneys are, but without the powdery texture or completely overwhelming flavour that so often comes with innards (I’ve found). It was a real treat actually, all the more so because I was expecting the worst.

The evening flew by with the whole kitchen full of people running around in chefs hats and aprons, and when the band came out and started singing La Bamba it was clear why this was called a kitchen party. The chefs were so SO welcoming to us all, they really seemed to be happy to have us there whereas I was worried we were in the way and it was nice to be able to tell the actual person who cooked your food how much you enjoyed it.

Bring on next years event!