All happy with Cocktails event

The skies to the South of the island had turned grey Friday afternoon as Priscilla and I drove into Punda. And when we got to the ship Insulinde the breeze was quite weak. Luckily for us, Captain Phil and Laara had taken it upon themselves to ready the ship so all that was required was to set up the two bars. On the main deck we had the premium bar, including Chivas Regal and Black Label whisky, and astern just behind the wheelhouse there was the rum bar, which included the Barbancourt, Mount Gay, Bacardi, and a handful of other premium rum from the Caribbean.

What turned out to be a sign of how the night would turn out, as the first guests arrived, so did a mild but cool breeze that would accompany us throughout the night. The attentive bar tenders kept everybody's drinks full, as Laara, Priscilla and I passed out delicious home made finger food. Laara's killer seviche would be a hit with everyone onboard.

The night turned out just as I had envisioned it. A small but diverse, yet most interesting crowd mingled and laughed. Some exchanged business cards and promised to call first thing Monday
morning. Others told short stories while two older gents [who shall remain anonymous] told tall ones. There were pilot stories and there were cabin attendant's stories. Yet, all of these prompted a similar response when they reached the end, the roar of laughter.

In the end, as I bid farewell to our guests, the vast majority left me with the following statement: "We have to do this again". Nuff said.

I'd like to thank my crew, in particular, Priscilla who made the delicious finger food, and Paul Jonkers, who, as always, did an outstanding job in the bar area, and so ensured that the good times rolled. I could not have done this without you.

Our hosts, Captain Phil and Laara treated all like family and graciously helped a great deal. Thank you so much for allowing us to use the beautiful Insulinde as the venue for our fundraiser.

If you ever need to entertain guests on our waters or just want to take a day trip to Klein Curacao, I highly recommend you to use Insulinde. They're a great bunch of people with loads of stories and anecdotes that I promise you, you will not find on any of the other boats that call this island home! For more on the sailing ship Insulinde, please click here.

Thanks for reading and see you at the races!

Photo credit: own files.