Meal #1:

Spanish-inspired tapas with a bit of Italian bubbly

This is one of the meals that has the longest shelf-life but is always one of our first meals because it’s so irresistible.

Our usual boat tapas line up:  Jamon de Serrano, marconi almonds, cheeses, artichoke hearts, a can of olives preferably stuffed with anchoas (which Peter likes but you can’t tell him they’re anchovies in English because he doesn’t eat anchovies!), and any other little extras you feel like adding.  If I have stale bread, I make pan con tomate out of it by rubbing garlic on the bread and then smooshing tomatoes and drizzling olive oil.  If not, a nice cheese cracker will do.

 

Here, the Italian flare is accentuated by pecorino romano cheese (a very nice hard cheese that would last a long time if we didn’t use it for salads and dinners and…) as well as some arugula.  If you’re feeling more Italian, prosciutto and regular olives would make fine understudies.

Wait…we forgot the cherries!  They went nicely with the manchego.

 

Bring out the Bubbly

All this is accompanied by cava if we’re being strictly Spanish or in today’s case, a leftover bottle of prosecco I didn’t want to leave sitting in the fridge at home.

Any bubbly helps make it feel like a celebration and we always save a little for The Moon, a nod to the seafaring tradition of sharing libations with the boat and the sea.

When we opened up this very bubbly bottle (the cork read “Life is a Bubble”) it spilled out so Moon got her sip first!

Cruising up the New Jersey Coast

Peter’s watch saw us past Cape May in the early morning hours and all morning we cruised north-east toward Block Island, past all the seaside towns marked by amusements, water towers and the high rises of Atlantic City.

Off-shore Preparations

The best time to get something done on a boat is when you’re getting ready to go on a trip.  Somehow the motivation and the timeline kick us into high gear.

Getting Ready VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

After a busy spring, and sailboat chores supplanted by Day Sailer chores (yes, we’ve increased our fleet to three boats, not including dinghies!), we had a lot of work to do before going off shore, before spending any quality time on the sailboat.

When school got out, I spent the first several days catching up on house chores while Peter got started on some of his projects.  Peter’s list:  rebuild v-berth, uninstall old holding tank, install new one, install AIS system, install refrigeration, the list keeps growing.  My list:  clean the sailboat inside and out, provision and get all the little “necessities” that make a trip feel like vacation.

I write this as we motor-sail to Block Island with Peter still finishing his list! 

We decided not to rush the refrigeration as it’s an involved job so that was off the list early in the week.  That meant provisioning  would have to be either items that do not require refrigeration or another solution.

Summer Solstice Rally to Block Island

The Plan

Meet in Block Island for drinks at The Oar.

The Rally Defined

A rally by definition is not a race, but rather “a get-together of hobbyists or other like-minded enthusiasts, primarily to meet and socialize (dictionary.com).  In sailing circles it often indicates a group of sailors who plan to go to the same place at roughly the same time.  The energy of the group keeps everyone on target.


There’s a truism that I’ve seen and experienced first hand:  you’re never ready, you just have to go.  I’ve seen people work on their boats and work on their boats and never leave the slip.  I’ve argued heatedly with Peter about leaving our slip with the boat in total disarray.  But it’s true, you just have to leave and you can do some of the work on the way and some of it just doesn’t matter.  It’s important to just GO!

Click here to listen to this great SUMMER song!

 “Don’t you think it’s high time that you sailed away? Leave today, don’t fall behind!” (lyrics from “Summertime” heard Thursday on WXPN).

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Our Rally Lineup

Peter and I in The Moon; Mike and Andy on Mike’s boat, Bent; Al and Patty on their boat, Full Circle; Liz by train and ferry; and Pat and Jim, a few sailing friends of Mike’s possibly joining in their boats

Go Time

We all planned to leave sometime Friday evening at first, but then violent storms delayed the start for all.  Peter and I, exhausted from the surge of work done in preparation for the trip, decided to get a few hours sleep.  We planned to wake up at 3 and leave, but at 7 a.m. when the sun woke us up, we knew we'd overslept and we still had a few things to do.  

We got off about 9:30 to get to the fuel dock and then started down the Delaware River.  We guessed that Mike and Andy had left as soon as the storm cleared.  Al and Patty left a message around 6 a.m. saying they were leaving so we knew we were not far behind them.  We passed Pat’s boat on a mooring in Essington, letting us know he would not be coming.  We were down to three boats and seven people on our way.

Updates were posted via text messages, phone calls and VHF radio chats.  We were all looking forward to getting into Great Salt Pond in Block Island.

Daysailing through Spring

This spring, Andy found a new toy.  It wasn't long before Peter had to have one too!

First, we helped Andy & Julia bring their O'Day Daysailer down from Reading, PA.  A few weeks later, we found one in New Jersey and they helped us bring that back.  A few weeks later...

Photos of Daysailing through Spring

Montserrat—a final farewell

St. Vincent & The Grenadines

Still working on the story for our wedding and honeymoon.  In the meantime, here's some photos:

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