My husband, Bill, and I have spent a lot of time on boats, most of them sailboats that were home ported in places like Detroit, Sydney and Seattle. When Bill retired, we bought a boat in France…and to make a long story short, we spent nearly seven incredible years living aboard and sailing in the Mediterranean.
Thanks to our many boats, I have logged thousands of hours in spaces that were generously described as galleys…begging alcohol stoves to stay lit, fighting with sheets and pillows to access an ice box (yes, a real ice box that used real ice), and doing full body dives in an attempt to rescue a bunch of grapes or a random chunk of cheese lodged in the bottom of a very deep, chest-type refrigerator. And then I saw that Kadey-Krogen galley, complete with an upright refrigerator and a deluxe 4-burner stove. This former kitchen store and cooking school owner and cookbook author was awestruck.
My mind jumped ahead and I began to imagine us on a slightly-stormy afternoon, anchored in a quiet cove surrounded by lush green hillsides, and a pot of soup simmering on the stove. And the air filled with the aroma of fresh-baked bread and a fine bottle of Syrah open and airing on the counter, just waiting to be sipped! Now, just two years later, I am happy to report that we have experienced this magical scene repeatedly on our own Kadey-Krogen 48′ AE, fittingly named Kohea (a Hawaiian word that means warm, calm, serene weather).
When we took delivery last July, we went out to acquaint ourselves with the complexities of power boating, and to reacquaint ourselves with the waters of the San Juan and Gulf Islands. In May, Captain Bill departed north from Seattle to Haines, Alaska with our son and grandson as crew.
Provisioning for lengthy voyages is always challenging, and when the chief shopper, stower-awayer, and cook is not onboard for the cruise, that’s the making for some major glitches in the galley. So, I surveyed the crew, made note of their likes and dislikes, developed menus and made lists of ingredients and where they are stowed. The storage options on this Kadey-Krogen borderlines on infinite, so I was betting that without those detailed lists that not one crew member would ever—left to their own devices—guess that those extra cans of tuna were stored under the stairs adjacent to the guest cabin.
For me, my summer cruising began at the end of June when I flew into Sitka. We’re now cruising the northern, nature-filled Alaskan waters with several sets of friends and family on board. Days, weeks and months go by and I happily prepare meals in my favorite space … and whether we call it a galley or a kitchen, we’ll continue to raise our glasses and say “bon appetit.”
–Karen Evenden