Even though HYC is only a short hop from Port Washington, we always spend a little time here before heading home. I think part of it is preparing ourselves for re-entry… it’s a bit of a shift from cruising mode to life at home, and Port Washington is a good spot to make that transition. This time was a little different, because it felt like cruising mode continued.
Our main reason for stopping here this time was to have dinner at La P’tite Framboise, a wonderful French bistro. We usually have dinner there to celebrate our departure, but this year it didn’t work out, so instead we’re celebrating our arrival.
We use (and love) NoForeignLand to learn about the places we’re visiting, keep in touch with friends, and connect with other boaters wherever we happen to be. Another boat found us and reached out to say hi. We chatted back and forth, and made plans to meet up.
I’m not usually one to go socialize by myself, and until this season I didn’t really like operating the dinghy alone. But Chris had to go into the city, so I put on my big girl pants and stepped out of my comfort zone, and I’m so glad I did. Chris and Krissy Jo on Wind’s Pleasure are new cruisers and super cool people. They invited over a couple other cruisers they’d met (through the misfortune of dinghy outboard issues), and we had a really good time. It’s cool to meet more people around our age, and I was also excited to be able to share local knowledge and recommendations. We’ve had so many people do the same for us over the past couple years, and I’m happy to be able to pay it forward.
I headed back to Windara when I heard thunder, and Chris made it home JUST before the skies opened up. The temperature dropped and the wind whipped us around like a rag doll – we saw gusts up to 40kts. Fortunately it passed relatively quickly, and we were able to enjoy the nice cheeses Chris picked up at Murray’s for dinner. (He also picked up chocolates from Jacques Torres for me!)
Jay and Tanya on Minx arrived yesterday too – they were early cruising friends (ironically, we originally connected through Instagram) and we’re always excited when we’re in the same place and able to catch up. We were originally going to head back to HYC today, but we weren’t racing tonight so we decided to stay one more day so we could meet up. We had fun trading ridiculous sailing stories, and I even merited brief sniffs from both Peanut and Bessie (don’t tell Jack, but I was totally fan-girling over Peanut, who’s at least partially responsible for Jack becoming a sailing cat).
We also got a visit from a neighbor who knew Windara’s previous owners and came over to say hello. They’d just taken ten years to circumnavigate and knew the boat from before their circumnavigation. I’m actually glad we kept Windara as her name just for all the people we’ve met who know the boat.
I’ve had so much fun making new friends and catching up with old ones, and now I can’t wait to hop across the Sound and spend some time with our HYC family.
