We've had a fun few days here, although we haven't had the best of luck in getting out to dive. The winds continue to kick up the seas, thus visibility hasn’t the best, since it’s been getting rather stirred up (story of the month, apparently). But, we still had our fun with Ally, lobstering from the dinghy and simply hanging out on the boat. Ron is getting much better with the lobster snare, yet despite all our efforts on Friday, we managed to snag just one tail. The water is cooling off now (a couple of degrees colder since our arrival a month ago) and after a good hour of swimming and snorkeling, we all were chilled to the bone! We couldn’t wait to return to Equinox for hot showers aboard.
Christmas Day arrived beautiful and sunny (albeit windy) and the focus was on the marina cruisers' dinner, courtesy of South Side Marina manager and Dock Master Simon Anderson and his wife, Charlyn. Simon was the chef extraordinaire and dinner was a much-awaited affair attended by all the cruisers in the marina -- folks from several boats, various continents and all walks of life. We dined under the cabana on the marina waterfront, with dinner being a truly traditional English Christmas dinner, from the appetizer of sliced smoked salmon, to the standing rib roast and Yorkshire pudding, Brussel sprouts, carrots and roast potatoes. Equinox added a few items to supplement the menu (since we had quite a large crowd) with a baked ham, Daphne’s mashed sweet potatoes, steamed green beans, caprese salad of vine-ripe tomato, mozzarella and fresh island-grown basil, orzo salad and champagne. A roast turkey appeared, as did some other offerings from other boats, so we had a veritable feast!
Everyone socializing after the many courses |
Conversation was animated, wine flowed freely, plates were piled high and we all indulged happily!! The food was all delicious, which we enjoyed leisurely amid interesting tales of boating, folks' backgrounds, memories of holidays past, and hopeful plans for the coming year. Which is the best aspect of cruising: having people come together, share stories and appreciate everyone's different backgrounds, customs and experiences! As if all that food wasn't enough, dinner was followed by a homemade plum pudding, with rum butter and cream as one of the dessert choices, followed by yet more traditional fare: a very British tawny port to accompany the Stilton and Brie cheese platter. Folks literally couldn’t move after dinner -- we were pinned to our seats, sated and full! We all remained, lingering over the table long after the last bite, just enjoying one another's company.
The port and cheese platter, rounding out our feast! |
So...in the spirit of the season, we wish everyone a happy, healthy holiday!!
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