Curry Up With That Wine

Sunday January 13, 2012

While sitting aboard Rode Trip yesterday where we quickly stopped off before other adventures, I turned to Stephanie and noted, “We really need to have a sundowner on here”.  This random thought while hanging out comes somewhat from our first week on the hard when we were invited by fellow boaters to join them for one, but while on our way we ran into and started up a conversation with a completely different set of people in the yard and lost track of time (in actuality, Matt couldn’t stop talking boat), and we missed our sundowner invitation.  They actually had to come find us in the yard and let us know they couldn’t hold off on dinner any longer, and could we do it another time?  Very embarrassing.  Anyhow, knowing we wouldn’t blow off Brian and Stephanie  for random people on the street, I still wanted my chance at that sunset drink before we ever leave this town (which is probably never).  Even better than our last opportunity, they are in the harbor with beautiful views instead of up a creek where we sit.  Plans were made and they even promised to cook us chicken curry, something we’ve surprisingly never had before.

On the way we stopped at a local gas station to provide some libations for the evening.  I don’t know how strange I must have looked to people filling up their tanks as I’m trying to shove a six pack of cans and a six pack of bottles into a backpack that’s already containing a bottle of wine and my fuzzy slippers.  (What?, my feet get cold)  The thing barely zipped up, and the whole bike ride over I was expecting it to burst open.  Brain was at the dock ready to dinghy us over and within seconds of stepping onto Rode Trip we had each cracked a beer  and were enjoying the sun going down and casting golden rays on the homes sitting on shore.  Before we could get ourselves too far into relaxation mode though, there was work to be done.  Stephanie had graciously offered to cut Matt’s hair, something that hadn’t been done in four months, since our Delaware Bay crossing.

 It’s not a hard job, just buzzing the clippers across at one length, but after the last cutting we were finding hair in the cockpit for two weeks and I was not looking forward to that kind of mess again.  So this time, before the sun could get too low for us to be able to see,  situated at the bow with the wind to their backs, Matt was shorn and clipped and I just sat back enjoying my beer.  The clean-up was surprisingly easy, but I’m pretty sure that had something to do with the fact that his hair had grown so long that it gained enough weight not to be blown around in the breeze.  Instead of enjoying the show with me, Brian was down in the galley preparing dinner.  Once there was not a trace of a haircut up at the bow the rest of us moved back to the cockpit while starting our second round, and watching the sky turn from pink to a blazing red.

Food was soon placed in our laps and right away we began to dig in.  I have no idea why we never thought to make chicken curry before, it was delicious!  It seemed relatively simple too, comparative to lots of other meals I’ve been making.  It must be that elusive curry powder that’s sold in every single store but has never made it’s way into our spice cabinet.  The sauce on top of the rice was thick and creamy, and the raisins and cashews added were amazing.  I think we may have a new staple in our meals from now on.  When we finished there was no blueberry cobbler or ice cream to follow this meal, but we did have a fruity blush wine that I had been saving for our bon voyage with Rode Trip ever since they were originally supposed to make a break for the Bahamas back in Beaufort, NC.  We have certain wines aboard given to us by family or friends before leaving, and all of them have been saved for special occasions.  It was a nice chance to finally break one out again, even if the reason was bitter-sweet.

Keeping ourselves occupied in the salon now to get out of the wind, we talked long after the bottle of wine had run out, enjoying our remaining time together, since who knows when we’ll have the chance to meet up again.  There will be of course one more good-bye outing tomorrow night before Rode Trip heads back into the big blue on Tuesday, but since fate has thrown us a (very large) curve ball, this may be the last time the four of us ever sit together on this boat.  Tentative plans are for all of us to make it to or near Grenada for hurricane season, but plans can change in an instant and we could end up in completely different spots on the globe.  But as to quote one of my favorite movies, “I can’t think about that right now.  I’ll think about that tomorrow”.