Wednesday 4 January Scallops and Otehei Bay

The two Dave's were our designated hunter gatherers this morning with Chrissie and I as safety surface cover in the dinghies. Although surface temps were skin burning 24c (due to a depleted ozone the sun in NZ is vicious) the water was hovering at 19c.  My Dave was laden with enough neoprene for a British water Dave, other Dave had a 4mm full length and hood. You could tell it was CD Dave's first dip in cold water for a while by the noises he made as the seawater seeped into his wetsuit.  My Dave added a hat and sunglasses for the 'cool' effect. 

Do you recognise this man?

CD Dave managed 35 minutes underwater before surfacing with his bag full of scallops. Jackster Dave with more neoprene stayed another 15 minutes before he came up. While we were still out in the channel and above the scallop beds we measured each one and threw back any under the 100mm minimum take size. There's another year and another breeding season before they can be taken.

Scallops straight from the pan. Scrummy!

Scallops are easier to shuck than oysters, far easier and quicker than cleaning mussels and better tasting than either oysters or mussels in my limited experience.
In preparation for the scallop fest in the evening we decided we needed some land exercise. Jackster David suggested we tootle along to the bay at the south of the island where we'd seen people camping on earlier visits. We set off in both dinghies because I thought it was a long way. I was wrong. Two bays to the south and we came across the a bay full of boats, a heli pad, the ferry dock, DOC (Department of Conservation) huts, café and manicured lawns. Somehow it looked different from the bay we'd seen from the lookout point atop. Perhaps because this was a different bay, not visible from the look out. I'd have called it Serendipity. The map called it Otehei.
CD's outboard spat the dummy as we approached the jetty and wouldn't start again. How fortunate to have both dinghies* today to throw them a line. Ashore we stomped up the hill for a view over the bay and out to Cape Brett and the stomped back down the hill to check out the bar and café but with our scallops and plenty of chilled home brew on board we passed and headed back to Otaio.
On board CD Chrissie and I cooked up a storm in the galley and served pan after pan of tender, sweet scallops. As Dave says “job's a good 'un”. Yumliciously true!

*today's useless fact. The word dinghy comes from the Indian word for a small boat, dingha, and was introduced into common usage by Captain FitzRoy of HMS Beagle.