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Lizzie May - Gastronomic Sailing
Laurie Mills is the skipper for this voyage but wears two hats; Captain and Chef.
When Laurie is not skippering Lizzie May, he has his own business as chef for private dinner parties, and performs cookery demonstations at farmers markets using the best of Scottish seafood and organic produce.
Laurie made a name for himself running an award winning restuarant in Royal Deeside for over 10 years but now loves bringing his masterchef skills right to the table on Lizzie May, so guests can learn about the food that they eat.
Laurie has good contacts and suppliers all over the West Coast of Scotland, and much of the fresh fish or shellfish can be collected by boat with a bit of planning and a phone or VHF radio call.
The weather affects fishing boats and shoreside suppliers as well as pilot cutters, so the menu plan might be a bit opportunist, but if you like the hunter-gatherer thrill of not knowing quite what the catch will be- rather than the certainty of a resturant menu - then Lizzie May's gastronomic voyages will provide you with entertainment, guest participation and a fresh taste of Scotland's rich bounty on a characterful boat.
So if you happen to bump into the odd fishing boat or two - it might not be a happy co-incidence -and do not be surprised if find some langoustine, lobsters or crabs coming aboard.
Highlands Slow Food Campaign & Sustainable Fisheries
Laurie tries to source fish from sustainable fisheries where practices do not damage Scotland's rich marine ecosystem. He sources hand-dived scallops rather than from a scalloper which dredges the seabed, and mussels are rope grown. North of Lismore you can buy fresh oysters, and creel boat fisheries are the best environmentally friendly source of crabs, prawns and langoustines because the pots are after a specific catch do not drag up loads of young or pregnant langostines in their burrows on the seabed like the by catch from trawling.
A langoustine is a huge prawn with claws - also know as Dublin Bay prawns or Norway Lobsters, and not an exclusive product of Brittany, as the French fishermen would have you believe.
In addition to that Scotland has some excellent Aberdeen Angus steaks, Arbroath smokies, venison and late but delicious fresh berries. All the fresh food will be as available for the voyage and any dietary requirements you express will be taken into account.
Work up a healthy appetite sailing a traditional boat
Not to forget that this is a sailing voyage and you will find plenty to do to work up an appetite for the excellent food on board Lizzie May, and you can try your luck at hand lining for mackerel off the back of the boat.
Safe at anchor Laurie is happy to show any interested guests how to prepare and cook fish and seafood, and if the sailing is straight forward Lizzie May has plenty of deck space to sit and learn to open scallop shells if you want.
Short breaks, no experience required.
Lizzie May's gastronomic voyages are typically a three or two day short break as working guest crew starting from either Oban (gateway and ferry port for the Hebrides) or Largs (easy to reach from Glasgow).No sailing experience is necessary as you will be given full training so you can be an active part of the crew.
If you are visiting Scotland from abroad, then this activity based holiday package gives you a wide range of experiences and scenery viewed from an interesting angle.Sailing an eye catching wooden pilot cutter will usually introduce you to some interesting characters in ports and anchorages.
LM1023 Seafood & Sailing - Gastronomic voyage from Oban (2 days) 3-5th Sept 2010 FULL
LM1024 Seafood & Sailing - Gourmet voyage from Oban to Fort William 10 -14 Sept 2010
