The Unofficial Drink of Sailing? Works for Me

To our delight, when we brought our friends down to see Ge'Mara for the first time many of them came with a bottle to acknowledge the occasion.  David and I enjoy a nice single malt so most of them came with scotch.  However one colleague from work who used to serve in the Canadian Navy walked into my office one day and plunked down a bottle I'd never seen before.  It was Goslings dark rum.  He explained that rum is one of the oldest of modern spirits and the one most closely associated with the sea and sailing.  This I knew.  What he also said was that the Dark n Stormy is the unofficial mixed drink of sailing.  This I did not know.  But having been turned on to the charms of a properly made rum and coke by my friend Sean several years ago, I was eager to try it.  Later that week we made one in my office at the close of the business day and it was delicious.  Since that time I've been drinking them on the boat and at home and I have to say, I'm hooked.

It tastes best on the boat but I enjoy the odd one at home too

The Dark n Stormy is a simple drink made with 3 ingredients:  Ginger beer, Goslings rum and a bit of lime.  Devotees hotly debate which ginger beer is the best.  The favourite seems to be Fentimans, which I haven't been able to find yet but for my tastes any ginger beer with with a strong, spicy aftertaste works fine.

One thing that isn't up for debate is the type of rum to use.   It must be Goslings.  Apparently they have the rights to the name "Dark n Stormy."  I tend to agree that Goslings rum tastes good in the drink but I've taken to using Mount Gay Extra Old instead.  I like how it works in the drink but frankly it's a much better rum for any other application, including drinking neat.

On the matter of preparation:  Apparently the preferred way to assemble this drink is to first fill the glass with ice, then add the ginger beer and then softly pour 2.5 oz of rum on top.  If done properly the rum acts as a floater and forms a dark cloud over the comparatively light ginger beer.  I have no time for this nonsense.  I prefer to mix the drink perfectly prior to presentation so that the imbiber, be it me or a guest, doesn't have to mess around before taking the first sip.

A Milestone - and an Update

Today marks a milestone in the life of my little sailing blog.

Most mornings I wake up and after showering and ironing a shirt I sit down with a cup of coffee and check to see if anyone has commented on my blog.  Today, at long last, someone has.  Actually, this is technically the second bit of feedback I've received but the first was from my girlfriend after I asked her to post something just to make sure it worked.

On my post from February 20 of this year entitled "The Chandlery," somebody going by the pseudo "Pirates Cove" said "Great post!"  

And just when I was thinking of retiring my virtual pen.  They say nothing happens by accident and clearly that is the case here.  So to Mr/Ms Pirates Cove from somewhere in the UK I say, Thank You :)

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I haven't posted anything in a while but that isn't an indication that Ge'Mara hasn't been busy.  In fact quite the opposite.  We're having an unusually stellar summer here in Vancouver and the warm weather has kept us out on the water and at dockside regularly.  Most notably I went for a weekend trip with my friend Tom a few weeks ago and had a terrific time.  As odd as it seems, I had never taken the dinghy ashore anywhere while sailing.  Tom and I did that one morning on Gambier Island and had a great morning hike.  I realized after doing this how important exercise is to the boating experience.  Cruising is largely sedentary hobby and when you factor in rich food, drink and maybe the odd cigar it could be a less than healthy pursuit if some shore time isn't added to the mix.

I won't recount this trip in great detail but here are some of the lessons/highlights

• Waking up on day 1 to a glassy Long Bay achnorage
• Discovering Dean Fraser (thanks to Tom) and enjoying a smooth jazz take on Bob Marley on a sunny day
• Deciding to leave the BBQ on the rail at bedtime with a loose mount, only to find it upside down and open in the morning with all the grates at the bottom of the bay
• Paying for a slip at Gibson's marina so we could re-charge the batteries and go to Smitty's Oyster Bar only to find that:
• I left the power cord back at our home slip
• Smitty's has ample free moorage right outside the restaurant.

David and I are finishing out our fiscal year-end at work so this is a busy time but come August 1 we will be busy on the boat.  The month has a number of outings planned and I look forward to sharing them with all of you, especially Pirate Cove from the UK :)

Waking Up In Paradise

The view from our anchorage off Gambier Island this morning. Pretty alright.


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Location:Greater Vancouver,Canada

GoPro: DeepFlight Submersible - Searching for Whale Song

This is such an amazing video I thought I would post it.  Not sailing strictly speaking but a different and equally beautiful way of moving through the water.