Monday, May 11, 2009

This morning was noticeably cooler than the last two or three. But, it wasn’t raining, so that was a plus! Maureen spent most of the day in the marina laundry room catching the WiFi signal and taking care of some mail, bills, correspondence, updating the blog and other business. Gale was busy with some of the finer details around the boat.
We met Bill Derry & Joan Meadows of St. Georges, DE, who were in the boatyard working on their 36 foot Pearson Ketch, “Windborne.” They were eager to share their cruising knowledge, especially related to the New York Harbor, and graciously invited us to enjoy a “Sundowner” with them. According to Bill & Joan, a Sundowner is the traditional evening gathering in the Bahamas where anyone interested is invited to bring an hors d’oeuvre and their own drinks to a previously agreed upon host boat and share a meal and a few hours of camaraderie. Bill picked us up at the marina around 6:15 pm and took us to their home where we had a glass of wine, a nice plate of hamburger/vegetables/guacamole nachos, and some raspberry pie. They filled us in on living on a boat in the Bahamas, gave us some ideas for anchoring spots in New York Harbor, and shared some valuable tips with us as we begin our cruising lifestyle. We hope to catch up with Bill & Joan in the Bahamas this winter!
We both felt better about sailing away from our harbor tomorrow having spent this extra day regrouping. Bill & Joan had us back at the boat by 8:30 pm so we could get to bed and rest up for our first day of cruising.