Somewhere between Shelter Island and Bocas del Toro our cook Harry Reppert set out to make beans and franks for dinner. He saw no problem with the fact that the hot dogs were frozen solid--until the gas burner refused to light. A little research found the culprit: an empty propane tank. “No problem”, said the captain. “All we need to do is switch to the backup propane tank. We better idle the engine since we will need to get someone down on the swim step to disconnect tank one, retrieve tank two, swap them, and connect tank two.” We coasted to stop and John and Harry bent to the task.
There was only one remaining problem—the second tank was empty, too. So how many Boy Scouts does it take to cook frozen hot dogs on a cruising yacht? (BTW: There are no ex-Boy Scouts. Once a scout, always a scout.) Harry suggested that we might be able to cook the hot dogs on the engine block. I suggested that the hot water warmed by many hours of motoring was probably running about 180 degrees. I also thought maybe one of Virago’s two oil lamps could be pressed into use. I don’t know why no one suggested a camp fire. As we discussed this dilemma, the one non-scout on board entered the deliberations.
Marj had been sound asleep, but awakened to the diminished sound of the engine in the aft cabin. She instantly leapt to the conclusion that must be a serious engine malfunction. She came out into the main cabin. Knowing better than to jump into a testosterone bathed discussion, she waited to hear the explanation. Upon hearing that the problem was how to cook frozen hot dogs, she thought, “There must be a problem with the inverter or they would just cook them in the microwave oven.” Carefully and with proper deference she asked why we didn’t just use the microwave.
Duh! The three scouts gave her a sheepish grin, put the engine in gear, turned on the inverter, and cooked diner. A good laugh and fine dinner was had by all.
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