Sea Eggs, as we call them are quite common in Barbados, they are a species of Sea Urchin.  You will normally find them slightly camouflaged, hiding amongst the reef.  

Their spines measure anything from 1-2 cm in length, but when threatened they can reach 10-15 cms!  It is important to be cautious where you place your feet when snorkelling the reef barefoot, as these spines are venomous.  If you are unlucky enough to stand on one, try to remove the spines carefully as they break very easily, then immerse the affected area in water as hot as you can stand for at least half an hour to relieve the sting.  Without question, prevention is definitely better than cure with these fellas, always look before you stand!

In recent years there has been a noticable decline in the sea egg populaton and the Barbados Government implemeted a ban that now only allows harvesting from September to December.   They are highly prized and the roe is seen as a great delicacy which can be steamed, sautéed or as the locals prefer, eaten raw. 

Look what we found today!  Gorgeous isn’t it?  However, beautiful as it is, this Queen Conch (Strombus Gigas) is actually a sea snail, which is somewhat less glamorous sounding than its lovely exterior. 

Queen Conch live between 20-30 years, feeding off algae and detritus and achieve their full size between just 3-5 years of age and can weigh up to as much as a hefty 5 pounds.  Throughout the Caribbean, they are prized not just for their attractive shell but also for their edible meat.  Throughout the islands you will frequently see conch on the menu, in the form of conch curry, conch chowder, fritters, cerviche and latterly even conch samosas, it is a well respected delicacy.

Conch shells are also used as a wind instrument and can be blown like a trumpet. In days gone by, local fisherman used them to announce to the local community that they had returned to shore and fresh fish was available for sale.  To this day, you will still often hear them blown at Carnival time.   It is an ancient practise and the Greek God, Triton, was said to control the ocean by using his conch shell trumpet.  They are even listed by the US Coast Guard as an approved sound-making device!  

We are really excited about the launch of our new 'Dinner Cruises'.  We wil set sail and return to our berth at Port St. Charles Marina, so no need to worry about getting wet, simply slip off your shoes and step aboard ready to enjoy a perfect evening.   

We will depart Port St. Charles at 4.30pm and return at 7.30pm and while we sail along Barbados' prestigious 'Platinum Coast' we will serve you a three course luxury dinner.   Tempted?  If so, a sample menu and prices can be found on our 'Cruise Rates' page.  It's the perfect answer to private dining.  

As with all of our cruises, we will always do our best to accomodate any special requests, or dietary requirements, just give us a call, we are always delighted to try and help make your cruise special. 

It has been quite an exciting week for us, what with the launch of our new website, our first ever blog and also the launch of our new 'Sushi Cruises' which we piloted last week.  

Ryan and I consider ourselves extremely lucky to be living our dream and one of our favourite things is sushi, so we thought why not?  It turned out fantastically, the food was visually stunning and the sunset spectacular, it felt like everything worked together to try and please our guests.  The California Rolls were delicious and the warmth of the Miso soup was lovely, it was a huge success. So much so that we are now planning several more themed cruises, such as Indian and Thai.  We are so spoilt here with the quality of food and availibility of produce. 

One of our guests from the 'Sushi Cruise' suggested that we throw out a rod and try catching a tuna so that we could make our own sashimi!  We're always open to new ideas so who knows....  Catch your own supper nights anyone? x