Coastal Creations & Design: What is "Seriously Seaworthy"

As a blogger writing about what I refer to as "seriously seaworthy" products, people, places and things, I am constantly reviewing pretty much everything that I can find in reference to our favored subject- nautical and coastal products, design and of course, lifestyle. And why do I do this you may ask? It's my business and we are experts in this field. As the President and CEO of Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery, I look at thousands of items each year as potential products for our store and we only choose the finest in products and artisans work created for the nautical enthusiast and the coastal homeowner. I do this seven days a week. We definitely live the life and walk the talk.

By Coastal Creations & Design standards, "seriously seaworthy" is defined as products and things of quality, whether authentic or replica, that will withstand the test of time. It also refers to people who really live the nautical/coastal lifestyle and places that are real coastal destinations.

Now into a new year, we've made a few course corrections and are "trimming our sails" to remove the fluff and improve our position.  We will tailor our articles to only write about "seriously seaworthy" products and avoid whenever possible, the cheap knockoffs and crafty lookalikes. We will also limit our articles to those people who truly live the nautical/coastal lifestyle and destinations that qualify to our subject. In other words, we are not interested in writing blogs about the "how to" make your own nautical crafts or products heavily produced and manufactured in places like India and China that have flooded our nation with cheap nautical junk. We do not plan to copy pictures and write about a decorating magazines take on nautical/coastal living as if it was our own...there's plenty of other bloggers to follow who are good at doing this and we are not selling advertising to pay to write this either.

Does this come across as being a bit cold or harsh? Well, OK. Look at us as the "piratical" source of the nautical/coastal blog writers. We dare to be different and we will tell it like it is.  I do not plan to write a blog a day or maybe not even a blog a week. We will post articles when we have something really worth writing about and not just to put something out there because it's expected and I have advertising to sell and advertisers to keep happy! We're not going to waste your time nor am I going to waste mine either. So, if you are looking for a more "serious" approach to the subject, then please follow this blog. If not, then there's plenty of the Coastal Living copy cats to follow. And, we cherish your real comments too, so share your views with us.

Joe Elder
Coastal Creations & Design
"Live the life you love, love the life you live"

The Tommy Bahama January Drink of the Month

Tommy Bahama drink of the month- the Meyer Lemon Drop

 

TOMMY BAHAMA'S MEYER LEMON DROP
January 2011


2 1/2 parts Tommy Bahama White Sand® Rum
3/4 part triple sec
1 part sour mix
1/2 part Meyer lemon juice

Squeeze juice from a 1/4 slice of Meyer lemon into a mixing glass. Add remaining ingredients. Shake 20 times and strain into a martini glass rimmed with sugar in the raw.

For best results, try visiting a Tommy Bahama Restaurant and have their bartender make it for you. 

Find a Tommy Bahama location here:

~DRINK RESPONSIBLY~

 

 

Live the life you love, love the life you live!

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Remembering Jonathan Livingston Seagull

A recent photo reminded me of this exceptional book. Photo by Joe Elder.

Remember the glorious little book titled Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach? We thought it fitting to revisit Jonathan and his words of inspiration and higher purpose in life, overcoming limitations and a renewed sense of freedom as we take off into the new year. Here are some of the most memorable quotes in the order of the progress of the story. Narration was added  where it is necessary to give background.

Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight – how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating.

Interesting dialogues between Jonathan and his parents:

“Why ,Jon ,why?” His mother asked. “Why is it so hard to be like the rest of the flock, Jon? Why can’t you leave low flying to the pelicans, the albatross? Why don’t you eat? Jon, you are bone and feathers!”
“I don’t mind being bone and feathers, Mum. I just want to know what I can do in the air and what I can’t, that’s all. I just want to know”
“See here, Jonathan,” said his father, not unkindly. “Winter isn’t far away. Boats will be few, and the surface fish will be swimming deep. If you must study, then study food, and how to get it. This flying business is all very well, but you can’t eat a glide, you know. Don’t you forget that the reason you fly is to eat”

After the failures Jonathan is disappointed :

As he sank low in the water, a strange hollow voice sounded within him. There’s no way around it. I am a seagull. I am limited by nature. If I were meant to learn so much about flying, I’d have charts for brains. If I were meant to fly at speed I’d have falcon’s short wings, and live on mice instead of fish. My father was right. I must forget this foolishness. I must fly home to the Flock and be content as I am, as a poor limited seagull.

When he discovers the technique of flying :

How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly!

The Elder of the Council bashing Jonathan :

“…one day, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, you shall learn that irresponsibility does not pay. Life is the unknown and the unknowable, except that we are put into this world to eat, to stay alive as long we possibly can.”

Jonathan raising voice against the Council :

“Who is more responsible than a gull who finds and follows meaning, a higher purpose for life? For a thousand years we have scrabbled after fish heads, but now we have a reason to live – to learn, to discover, to be free! “

What he had once hoped for the Flock, he now gained for himself alone; he learned to fly, and was not sorry for the price that he had paid.

Jonathan Seagull discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that gull’s life is so short and with these gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed.

The same rule holds for us now, of course: we choose our next world through what we learn in this one. Learn nothing , and the next is the same as this one, all the same limitations and lead weights to overcome”

When Jonathan asks, if heaven exists :

“No, Jonathan, there is no such place. Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect.”

The Elder explains :

“You will begin to touch heaven, Jonathan, in the moment that you touch perfect speed. And that isn’t flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn’t have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is being there.”

“To fly as fast as thought, to anywhere that is,” he said,”you must begin by knowing that you have already arrived…”

Each of us is in truth an idea of the Great Gull, an unlimited idea of freedom,”

“Well sure, O.K. they’re Outcast,” said some of the younger gulls, “but hey, man, where did they learn to fly like that?”

When a handicap gull asks if he can fly :

“Come along then.” said Jonathan. “Climb with me away from the ground, and we’ll begin.”
“You don’t understand My wing. I can’t move my wing.”
“Maynard Gull, you have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way.It is the Law of the Great Gull, the Law that Is.”
“Are you saying I can fly?”
“I say you are free.”

Jonathan addressing his Flock

He spoke of very simple things – that it is right for a gull to fly,that freedom is the very nature of his being, that whatever stands against that freedom must be set aside, be it ritual or superstition or limitation in any form.
“Set aside,” came a voice from the multitude, “even if it be the Law of the Flock?”
“The only true law is that which leads to freedom,” Jonathan said.
“There is no other.”
“How do you expect us to fly as you fly?” came another voice. “You are special and gifted and divine, above other birds.”

Jonathan sighs :

Jonathan sighed. The price of being misunderstood, he thought. They call you devil or they call you god.

“The trick Fletcher is that we are trying to overcome our limitations in order, patiently, We don’t tackle flying through rock until a little later in the program.”
“Jonathan!”.
“Also known as the Son of the Great Gull ” his instructor said dryly,
“What are you doing here? The cliff! Haven’t I didn’t I.., die?”
“Oh, Fletch, come on. Think. If you are talking to me now, then obviously you didn’t die, did you? What you did manage to do was to change your level of consciousness rather abruptly.

“Why is it,” Jonathan puzzled, “that the hardest thing in the world is to convince a bird that he is free, and that he can prove it for himself if he’d just spend a little time practicing? Why should that be so hard?”

Farewell of Jonathan

A moment later Jonathan’s body wavered in the air, shimmering, and began to go transparent. “Don’t let them spread silly rumors about me, or make me a god. O.K., Fletch? I’m a seagull. I like to fly, maybe…”

Live the life you love, love the life you live!

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A Wish for You...

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential.  

~Ellen Goodman

 

 

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Ringing in a "Seriously Seaworthy" New Year

I walk the beach looking for words and thoughts of inspiration

It's early in the morning and I find myself sitting here at my desk (as usual) looking for a bit of inspiration for writing the next Coastal Creations & Design blog. The end of the year 2010 is just a few days away and I'll have to say that I am really looking forward to ringing in the NEW YEAR! Not that 2010 was all that bad...it wasn't, but I can only think that each year is a stepping stone to the next and that each year we build upon our experience, knowledge and life skills and bring a little bit more to the next table. I think that years, like chapters in a book of life, needs closure and a new chapter opened to be written. I find that to be quite inspiring, especially now sitting here looking for the right "seriously seaworthy" words to express myself- to write something with great meaning to end this year.

But, instead of me sitting here trying to describe my past year and state my new resolutions for the upcoming year, I'd quite honestly rather hear about your year and your new years resolutions. What great things happened to you during 2010? What are you thankful for? What plans do you have for the upcoming year?

Hopefully you will write a comment and share your thoughts with us. If not, then I hope you take a minute and reflect on the past year, think about what you brought out of it and truly move into the new year with renewed energy and great expectations! What's the title of your new chapter?

Love the life you live, live the life you love.

Happy New Year!
Joe Elder
Coastal Creations & Design

Walk into the new year with great energy and expectations! Coastal Creations & Design.

Great Winter Weather Recipes from Virginia Living Magazine

Baby, It's Cold Outside

What better way to get warm when the weatherman whips up a recipe for cold days and nights than by savoring a steaming bowl of soup and sharing it with some of your nearest and dearest. Too busy this season to host another gathering? Say no more. Soup to the rescue! There is no better—or simpler—way to entertain friends and family at this hectic time of year than with a soup party: Two kinds of soup, several loaves of crusty bread, a salad and you’re done. Add easy-to-make brownies to the offing and you have the perfect casual cold-weather menu, a boon to the busy holiday host.

Here are some of our favorite soup recipes to get you started. Now, invite a few folks and get comfy. It's time to take turns stirring the pot!

French Onion Soup with Beer

6 large yellow onions, sliced very finely
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cups beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups lager-style beer
herb sachet: Tie into a bit of cheese cloth 1 bay leaf, 3 sprigs thyme, 2 sprigs marjoram, 1 small sprig rosemary.

Melt butter, add olive oil and sauté the onions until golden brown. Add the garlic and continue to cook on low heat for 5 to 6 minutes. The onions should be cooked at a fairly low temperature so they will not burn—this may take 20-30 minutes. Next, add the warm beef and chicken broth and the beer. Simmer with the herb sachet for about 20-30 minutes, and season well with salt and pepper.

For the croutons:
Use sliced French bread (or your favorite bread) and, for each bowl of soup, cut a crouton from the bread with a circle cutter. Toast the bread and rub with a smashed clove of garlic, then top with one slice of Gruyere cheese and 1 teaspoon of grated Parmesan. Pour soup into ovenproof bowls, and place a crouton on top of each soup. Brown nicely under the broiler.

Curried Winter Vegetable Stew with Brown Rice

1 large butternut squash
16 cups water
2 carrots
2 parsnips
2 ribs celery, diced
one small onion
1/2 ounce fresh ginger, cut into nickel-size slices
1 ounce fresh cilantro, with stems, chopped
2 tablespoons salt
2 whole cardamom pods, crushed
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small bay leaf

For the stock:
Peel the squash, carrots and parsnips, and remove the seeds and fibrous membrane from the squash. Place all the peelings and seeds in a large oven-proof pot with the water. Add the onion, cilantro, salt, cardamom, peppercorns, fenugreek, cumin and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, skim any foam that rises, and simmer over low heat for one hour, until reduced by half. Strain—you should have about 8 cups.

For the stew:
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 cups butternut squash, cut into 1-inch dice
2 cups parsnips, cut into 1-inch dice
2 cups rutabagas, cut into 1-inch dice
2 carrots, cut into 1-inch dice
1 head cauliflower, in florets
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

In a large roasting pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions for 4-5 minutes. Add the other vegetables—except for the cauliflower—and sauté over medium heat for 8-10 minutes. Add all the spices and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and the cauliflower florets. Add 6 cups of strained stock. Bring to a boil and bake, covered, in a 350-degree oven for one hour. Correct seasoning as necessary, and serve with brown rice.

Pork and Green Chili Stew

1/4 cup safflower oil
4 cups pork, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 1/2 tablespoons salt
2 large onions, diced medium (about 6 cups)
3 large poblano peppers, deseeded and diced medium
1 4-ounce can diced, fire-roasted green chilies

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. When very hot, add the pork and brown well. Remove the pork and drain on paper towels. Sauté the onions and poblanos 5-6 minutes, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the spices and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes. Return the pork to the pan. Add the diced green chilies and the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 40-45 minutes on low heat, until thick. Check the seasoning.

Visit Virginia Living Magazine online at: http://www.virginialiving.com/ 

"Live the Life You Love, Love the Life You Live"

Nautical Gift Ideas for Christmas Gift Giving...Perfect for All Occasions

Skipjack's selection of nautical belts are a perfect gift for the nautical enthusiast and perfect for all occasions!

Are you searching for the right nautical gift for holiday gift giving? How about for that "hard to buy for" person on your shopping list! We've hunted all over the world wide web in search of the best new nautical/coastal inspired gifts available today and have also included a few nautical classics. Here's a selection of seriously sea worthy nautical-inspired gifts that you should consider- perfect for Christmas and all other gift giving occasions.

Pictured above: The nautical signal flag belt is from the collection of nautical themed belts available at Skipjack and is a perfect gift for all occasions for both men and women.  $24.95. Follow the link here to: Skipjack Apparel

Step-Thru Electric Bike from Tommy Bahama

Love riding down the beach with the wind at your back, but dread the ride back? Our premiere beach cruiser has an electric motor to help you power up hills, race into the wind and cover long distances — the battery provides enough power to travel approximately 40 miles per charge! With top speeds reaching 20 mph, you can reach your favorite beachside destination in minutes.

Deluxe finishing details include padded leather handgrips, contoured padded seat, disc brakes and a bell... ding ding! Retails for $2,675.00.  Visit Tommy Bahamas website at: Tommy Bahama

We've also chosen from Tommy Bahama's hostess gifts and entertaining, the marlin bottle opener, sure to please the salt water fisherman on your list. A matching serving tray is also available. Retails for $38.00.  Visit tommy Bahama website at: Tommy Bahama gifts.

Tommy Bahama marlin bottle opener.  A perfect nautical themed gift for all occasion.

Another great gift idea are these seafaring nautical cuff links from Scrimshanders in Newport, RI. Solid brass cufflinks that have been gold plated to prevent tarnishing. This is the same setting I use with my ivory sets only these are set with a polymer reproduction of a ship. Scrimshaw by Brian Kiracofe.  1/2" x 3/4". Retails for $25.00. Visit their website at: Scrimshanders.com

Scrimshawed cuff links is a great nautical gift for all seafaring dads. From Schrimshanders, Newport,RI.

Perfect for the yachtsman on your shopping list, is Chelsea Clock's new nautical Carbon fiber flag clock in chrome.  The Chelsea craftsmen have been designing and meticulously building some of the world's most exquisite time machines since 1892. This new bezel clock is a sophisticated marriage of nautical style and elegant watch design, the Carbon Fiber Flag Clock features a 4.5 inch face, sport hand, a precision etched dial and enameled nautical flags representing numerals one through twelve. Durable carbon fiber material adds a unique accent to the clock dial. Forged solid brass, chrome finish. Traditional screw bezel. Two year warranty. Retails for $450.00. Visit the Chelsea Clock website at: Chelsea Clock Company.  You can also see a selection of new, vintage and antique Chelsea clock and barometers at Skipjack: Chsea Clock and barometers at Skipjack

Chelsea Clock's new nautical Carbon fiber signal flag clock in chrome.

A great nautical gift for the female sailor in your life is Barbara Vincent's sterling silver sailboat collection. Necklaces are available individually with five different sailboats to choose from or the total collection on a 20 inch sterling silver snake chain with bead dividers. Pendants can be purchased separately at $44.00 each and sterling silver chains are available in 5 different lengths starting at $24.00.

The Barbara Vincent sterling silver nautical sailboat jewelry collection.

These eight inch square nautical coaster murals are perfect for the sailor or lover of the coast in your life! The nautical chart of your choice is printed across the 4 coasters for a stunning and unique mural effect. With depth information and the outlines of hidden sandbars, nautical charts reveal safe passage to sailors. To the casual viewer, they evoke seaside memories and dreams of open water. Select your map from the options boc and artisans in New England will create a cork-backed, four-tile marble coaster set that reproduces a local chart.
The coasters are made from imported marble - carved from large marble blocks, no two tiles will ever be alike. Variations in coloring, small fissures and tumbling all add to the beauty of this natural stone.  Retails for $49.00. You can find these at the National Geographic web store at : National Geographic.

These eight inch square nautical coaster murals are perfect for the sailor or lover of the coast in your life!

Boating sunglasses are an essential piece of nautical equipment, whether you are competitive, a fisherman/women, or just go out occasionally for that fun weekend with your friends. When your out on the water the last thing you want to be doing is squinting or being blinded by the sun and that is why boating sunglasses are so important to your enjoyment.

Hobie produces some of the best sunglasses on the market today. Exceeding the standards of world champion watersport athletes, the Heritage Series features our highest quality thin, lightweight and durable Borosilicate Glass HydroClean polarized lenses, set in carefully crafted frames of Grilamid TR-90 and hand-finished Italian Zyl. The Heritage Series also features precision flex hinges for a custom fit and extra durability on some models. Megol Nose pads and megol Temple tips on some models as well. Each style in this series reflects Hobie’s uncompromising commitment to quality, innovation and design. Hobie has always stood for the highest quality polarized lenses available. With the addition of their new revolutionary HydroClean Plus™ and HydroClean™ lens coatings you get unmatched vision on and off the water. Retails for $170.00. Visit Hobie's website at:  Hobie sunglasses.  And if anyone asks, you can add this to my list!

Hobie's Heritage Glass Series- "Seabright" is a perfect gift for boaters and beach boys too!

Here's a great nautical gift for the fisherman in the crowd. The Humminbird Fishin' Buddy & Portable Fishfinder from Humminbird brings you the best in quality and performance to maximize your angling experience. The140c Fishin' BuddyFishin' Buddy Series.The 140c Fishin' Buddy offers a 256 color TFT 320V x 240H 3.5" display, Down and Side looking sonar with 1000 Watts PTP power output. The ultimate in portability, with an ergonomic clamp mount designed to use nearly anywhere. No rigging, wiring or transducer to mount. Retails for $249.49. For more information on this product and dealer listngs, go to: Hummingbird products.

A great fisherman's gift. The Hummingbird's 140c Fishin'. BuddyFishin' Buddy Series brings in the fish!

We will be posting other nautical/coastal gift giving products soon, so make sure to come back and visit us again. Your comments are always appreciated and please let us know if you have a recommendation or are dissatisfied with any of these items or companies. Have a great holiday season! Coastal Creations & Design.

Live the life you love. Love the life you live! Bob Marley.