Being at sea can turn some people green but for the crew of the Spirit of Bermuda it was greens of a different kind they had to stomach.

The chef's order for ten kilograms of broccoli unfortunately got lost in translation at a Spanish market, resulting in ten cases of the vegetable.

Michael Scott said: "We went to a local wholesaler in Vigo to order the broccoli but when he brought it back to the produce market, he brought back ten cases. So we've had broccoli ever since.

"It has been a big joke that we are the 'Spirit of Broccoli'. And if anyone didn't like broccoli before, they like it now."

The 45-year-old Bermudian chef said: "We did broccoli soup, tempura, and tuna and broccoli casserole, so we really made that broccoli work. But we still have to try broccoli bread, and so I am going to make this during maintenance week."

The Spirit is currently moored in Dockyard after completing two transatlantic crossings in the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009.

The ship's last voyage, from Tenerife to Bermuda, resulted in the crew being 20 days at sea, due to several days of no wind.

Mr. Scott, from Southampton, said: "We have had some great times on the ship. It has been a challenge trying not to repeat the same dishes week after week, but also fun.

"I have tried to change things up a bit, such as using barbecue sauce in the macaroni and cheese, which was actually really nice.

"We also made local dishes, such as mahi-mahi with rice and vegetables, fish chowder, Johnny Bread, and fish cakes and hot cross buns at Easter."

He said: "The whole trip has been just beautiful, just going to different places and meeting so many friendly people."