Looking to escape for the weekend? Been imagining the feel of the wind in your face and the taste of salt on your lips? Feel like giving your fishing rods a work-out and cooking up a seafood feast for the family? If your answer is yes, then it’s time to take off on an adventure where you can stay and play all day and through the night.
Boaters have every excuse to be lax when it comes to food preparation and storage. Aboard many boats it’s difficult to sanitise without access to hot water to clean cooking and dining utensils properly. This coupled with the need to confine food preparation to a postage-stamp space saddled with erratic cooking and cooling devices further complicates the issue.
Avid boat enthusiast, sometimes chef and Haines Group Managing Director (Sales and Marketing) Greg Haines offers some timely tips that will ensure you don’t invite any unwanted guests into your galley that could leave you, your friends and family with more than just seasickness.
“The most important thing to remember is to keep food out direct sunlight – the “Danger Zone” – as bacteria multiply rapidly at warm temperatures,” Mr Haines said.
Food can become unsafe if held in the “Danger Zone” for over 2 hours so bring along plenty of ice and keep your cooler shaded or covered with a blanket to prevent food getting too warm.
“I would suggest taking two coolers on board, one for drinks and snacks and another for more perishable food.
“The drink cooler will be opened and closed a lot, which lets hot air in and causes the ice to melt faster. 
Another issue faced by boaties is cross contamination – this is often transferred via cutting boards, knives, plates, spoons or your hands – sterilise utensils by scrubbing with chlorine based cleaners or dousing with boiling water.
“When it’s time to start cooking things like meats, eggs, seafood and other protein foods, you can kill off any bacterial parasites by heating to 140 degrees or hotter,” he said.
Mr Haines advises throwing out any questionable leftovers as food that would normally keep in a constantly running refrigerator spoils twice as quickly when stored in an icebox or cooler.
“If you do feel confident about your leftovers, be sure to reheat them to steaming hot before serving warm,” he said.
A love of boating, fishing and seafood drove Greg to design and build the ultimate fishing boat complete with onboard cooking facilities and areas so you can cook your catch out on the open seas.
The Haines Signature 600C provides perfect daytime adventures and overnight comfort out on the water, equipped with all you need for fishing and cooking.
As the sun starts to go down and the time comes when you would usually head for home, the 600C lets you drop the anchor, and head to the galley which includes a stove, sink, icebox and plenty of shelves, making it the ideal place to cook your catch and enjoy a sunset backdrop.
There is nothing more satisfying than cooking your own catch so you might like to try Greg’s favourite Yacht and Boat recipes Prawn & Pineapple Skewers a delicious end to a fun and rewarding day.