My husband and I went crabbing again this weekend, and we caught 4 decent sized red rock crabs. After cooking them, and picking the meat from the shells, Steve thought it would be nice to make crab stuffed pasta shells the same as he makes with leftover ham. The results were absolutely delicious and very rich.
Posted in crabbing adventures, seafood
Tagged crab, Crab Stuffed Pasta Shells, pasta
Posted in crabbing adventures, salads, seafood
Victory!
On Friday, we FINALLY got out on the ocean, in a boat! And it worked!
We got up at a reasonable hour, loaded up the boat with all of our paraphernalia…a packed lunch, thermos of tea, crab traps, bait, lifejackets, fish finder, bucket, gaff, etc. Then we drove to the boat launch in Sidney. It wasn’t very busy, possibly because the weather was overcast and nippy  although the weather channel had predicted sunshine. (Of course, the weather channel has advised us that Thursday was supposed to be rainy, so we didn’t attempt to go out…and then it didn’t rain until nightfall. Typical.
Posted in crabbing adventures
So…we buy a boat. We have a wonderful time getting the trailer licensed and insured so that we can move the boat around. It took 3 separate trips to the insurers to get it done.
Just after buying the boat, we departed for a two week holiday in the interior of BC. We went to Horse Lake with our 5th wheel trailer, and met our oldest friends, Diane and Blair, Â there.
It’s supposed to have really good fishing, but  our bad luck followed us there as well, and my husband and Blair only got three nibbles in six hours of fishing. No one else was having any luck either…maybe one person caught a fish every two days.
Posted in crabbing adventures
As you may know, we bought a boat earlier this year, with the intent to go crabbing and fishing. We had several attempts at getting it in the water, which were frustrated by a lack of access (no parking, or the water too choppy for our inflatable boat). When we did FINALLY manage to get it in the water, I rowed about while my husband attempted to get the brand-new motor to work (it didn’t). We had to give up, and that very same day, we sold the boat.
Continuing our attempts to get our boat into the water and catch crabs, we arose early on Saturday morning, loaded the boat onto the truck and headed off for Island View beach. For once, everything came together for us. Â The water was slightly choppy, but not too bad, there was lots of space in the parking lot and the boat ramp was clear. Huzzah!
We backed down the ramp, hauled the boat off, loaded it up with the crab pots, bait, bucket, safety equipment, anchor, gas tank, and other sundry items and put on our life vests. We carried the motor over to the boat and attached it. Then we put on rubber boots, and Steve went and parked the truck while I babysat the boat.
Posted in crabbing adventures
Today we went crabbing again. Got up slightly after the crack of dawn (dawn comes a bit too early these days) and tootled off to the nearest pier. We brought chairs for comfort, and set them up before baiting our traps and chucking them into the briny deep (shallows, actually- but deep sounds better).
Pretty place, isn’t it? There was a LOT of seaweed in the water, along with jellyfish…I made a video of one about the size of a dinner plate, opening and closing up. Looked a bit like a sunflower, or a fried egg:)
I also saw a couple of seals, a heron and quite a few Canada geese. Â Back to crabbing…
On Canada Day, we attempted to go crabbing, and failed miserably. We were not even able to get into the ocean. Since then, it seems the fates are against us. Every time we are able to get out (day off from work), something happens to prevent us getting the boat in the ocean: the sea is too rough, it’s too windy, it’s too foggy, there is no access, there is no parking…ad infinitum. It seems some people (us) are not meant to get out on the water. Perhaps the Fates are trying to tell us something? Perhaps we should cut our losses whilst we can- sell up and remain landlocked?
I LOVE crab for supper…or lunch, or anytime. I am not fussy when crab is on the menu. Crab with butter, crab cakes, crab in salad, crab on toasted cheesebread…you name it, I’ll eat it.
So, when my husband thought we should buy a boat and trap some crab, I thought it was a lovely idea.
So, we bought a boat:
Now, a boat without a motor isn’t much use on the ocean, so- we bought a motor:
Then we thought wheels would be nice, as it is a lot easier to wheel a boat to the ocean than it is to carry it. So, we ordered wheels off the internet, and they arrived promptly:
