2026 Sailing Trip - The Days in Toronto

The days we spend in Toronto on boat vacation are always a highlight and tend to run into each other. Was it Saturday we had that incredible butter chicken roti or was it Sunday? I know we haven’t gone to bed before 1:30 am any of the nights here, but was it Monday or Sunday when we sat around the fire playing guitar and singing? And that day we walked 18 kilometres just wandering around, was that just yesterday or a couple of days ago?

Last night was our fourth here at National Yacht Club and it has been so much fun. Magnus and Stella were with us all weekend and we shared some great meals in and out, cockpit happy hours, watched the final World Cup game in a crowd of hundreds at St. Lawrence Market (the winner predicted by Swimbappe, the prophetic goldfish), explored life and destiny during late night chats, and they even invited some of their friends to spend time at the boat. Other Newport buddies arrived over the weekend – Daryl, Lydia, Zach, Greg, and Sharon, and then our friends Dave and Kira, filling out the dream team. It’s been a busy, crazy, fun, few days in the big city.

Ana and I sometimes think we’d like to have a place in Toronto. We’ve thought of buying a condo that Magnus could rent from us, subject to us having exclusive use of the hide-a-bed when in town. The Toronto condo market is in a trough currently so there are some reasonable deals to be had, but still, they are very expensive and would not be cash flow positive. Additionally, Toronto has clamped down on Air B&B’s so you cannot legally rent a place you don’t live in permanently.

Compare that to being in Toronto on a boat. We have reciprocal deals with all the yacht clubs, which means we can either stay for free or cheap. There are also a few free anchorages nearby. Or even if we have to pay full price at a marina, it is still less than a hundred bucks per night, which is a fraction of what you would pay for a hotel. So, considering the greatest time to be in Toronto is during the summer, it seems wise to spend our time here on our boat instead of paying for a year-round condo.

Magnus and I had a great discussion on cities when he was here.

“What city do you like better, Toronto or Montreal?” I asked him.

“I love them both. They are amazing in different ways. But I would say that when I’ve been in Montreal, there’s always been a feeling that it’s a club you can visit but never be a real member of. It’s not like that in Toronto. Once you’re here, you’re in the club.”

I don’t feel like we’ve spent enough time in Montreal to really understand the city, but I would say his assessment of Toronto is spot on. It is a cultural jambalaya, a festival of colours, a place where you see one of everything and not too much of any one thing. There’s no majorities. There’s no minorities. Everybody is a participant. And people are nice. I don’t think anywhere else in Canada is like this. I don’t know if anywhere else in the world is like this.

Would I want to live in Toronto permanently? Probably not. We love our home in Paris. But the close proximity (by car, train, bus, or boat) to such an incredible, world class city is something I would not want to give up.

2026 Sailing Trip - Toronto's Beaches and Aussie Rules Footy

It is past dawn and time to leave. SeaLight slides out of her slip at 5:30 am, does a ninety-degree reverse turn, then motors towards the exit. It is still smoky, the visibility is poor, and the winds will be in our face, but the water has flattened and we hope to make the 55 mile run today to Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club. There will not likely be any sailing today.

The passage time goes quickly. We have to pay more attention on this run as we pass through a very popular fishing area and, sure enough, have to twice dodge small fishing boats on collision courses with us, not paying attention and not yielding our right of way. I graciously alter course and pass behind them but do try to get close enough to snag their lines in my keel.

There is just enough chili left over from two previous meals to craft magnificent chili dogs for lunch. For some inexplicable reason, Ana can’t understand the chili and wiener combination and requests a hot dog without the chili, so I serve her a plain dog and eat the rest of the chili on the side.

We motor into the still smoky Ashbridges Bay and squeeze into slip 101 on White Dock. After securing the boat, we take a walk, very happy to be back in Toronto and less than 10 miles away from National Yacht club – our destination tomorrow and for the weekend with a gaggle of our boating buddies from Newport.

For me, the Beaches neighbourhood in Toronto is always a surprise. It’s a surprise because one would not expect a clean, mile long beach near the downtown of a huge city on a freshwater lake. Ocean city, sure. But a lake city? And because of the insanely diverse ethnicities of the beachgoers, if you were dropped onto the beach from an airplane, blindfolded, you would simply not have a clue where you were. Dubai maybe? Brazil? Sydney? Greece? Oh wait, there’s the CN Tower – must be Toronto.

We walk along the beach boardwalk then turn north and head to busy Queen Street and find a Firkin pub where we have drinks and a plate of nachos. On the television is a sport that initially looks like rugby, then I realize it must be Aussie rules footy after seeing it was being played in front of a crowd of tens of thousands in Geelong stadium. The only reason I would know this is because my Aussie buddy Johnny used to try to teach me how to bounce the oblong ball on the ground while running, which is impossible for non-Australians. It is a game played on a football sized pitch and you seem to be allowed to do pretty much anything with the ball – throw it, kick it along the ground, handball it to a teammate, punt it, or run with it until another player takes your head off. I had to text Johnny to ask him why there would be an Aussie rules footy game playing in an English pub in Toronto. He had the answer. The Poms are refusing to watch soccer anymore after their semi-final loss at the World Cup.

Back at the boat, we take care of a few chores in preparation for the weekend. I wash the exterior and clean out the weeds from the AC water intake, Ana vacuums and cleans the inside, we inventory the food and booze situation, do a load of laundry at the clubhouse, and start looking for indoor things to do with the kids on Saturday, which is expected to be rainy.

After a late dinner of chops, sweet potatoes, and salads, we watch a bit of tv then call it a day.

July 12 – Island Lounging, Baby Peacocks, and a Dinner with Team Olson

“Well, it’s my last day in Toronto Dad, I wonder what I should do?” said Stella, shortly after her awakening ceremonies had been completed. Her and her brother would be staying at his place tonight then taking an early train back home the next morning.

“Options are unlimited here,” I said. “What would you like to do?”

“Maybe I should find a yoga class.”

“Come help me with the boat projects this morning and I’ll teach you boat yoga – it’s way more effective than a class,” I said as I stretched down into a Warrior Two position with wire strippers in my hand.

“Uh, well maybe I’ll see if I can find a cooking class instead.”

“Easy, why don’t you help us make lunch and supper – you’ll learn far more making boat meals than listening to those Toronto chef-phonies,” I said as I double flipped a spatula and spun a tomato on the tip of my finger.

“I’m going to see if Mom has any ideas.”

Today was the first day in a very long time that I hadn’t woken up to thoughts of boat maintenance. We’d done some significant boat improvement projects this year and I realized this has weighed heavily on me as they had been outside of my comfort level and produced a fair bit of anxiety. Putting the wraps on the solar wiring was a major milestone and I was able to test my completed solar power setup today to excellent results.

We left National shortly after 11am and motored the short distance across the Inner Harbour to Island Yacht Club, another of our favourites on the lake. We checked in with the dockmaster and tried to pay but were told we had paid already. We weren’t sure how that was possible as we they did not have an online payment option, but maybe they had our credit card on file from previous visits. We didn’t see any charges on our card but weren’t going to argue with her as she insisted we were all set.

It was a beautiful, hot day with not a cloud in sight so our second order of business after first tracking down the resident peacocks with their two freshly born peacock babies, was to settle down at the club’s pool. It was glorious. I was one of two men there and the rest were the “ladies who lunch” or, in this case, marinate in the pool all day with fancy cocktails mixed up by the poolside bartender. I imagined all their husbands at work making business calls, doing deals, liquidating assets, investing in projects, and developing sweat stains in the armpits of their high end collared shirts while I was here nodding off in a lounge chair soaking up the sun. Life is good.

We wandered back to the boat around 4pm and I sat on the back of SeaLight for a beer and a Cuban cigar watching the swans floating around in the bay as reggaeton played on the stereo. The girls were downstairs in the AC and I just sat there by myself thinking of little, doing little, and relishing in the luxury of an empty mind.

At 4:30, right on cue to ruin the start of the weekend for the workers, the black clouds rolled in out of nowhere and it started to rain. And it rained hard. This has been a common occurrence this summer with rain appearing regularly on Friday evenings, Saturdays, and Sunday which is the ultimate piss-off after a series of beautiful weekdays.

Ana, Stella and I donned our rainsuits and took the free courtesy tender into the city as we were taking the kids out for dinner on our last night together. We took the long walk east across downtown back to the St. Lawrence Market area and got a table at the Hothouse restaurant, a place we’ve never visited but the menu looked great. Magnus arrived shortly after we were seated and we were served four incredible meals, which we ate slowly as we talked and laughed.

I took a mental photo of us in that restaurant which I will store away as a moment I felt exceptionally proud of my family. We still feel like a team despite the kids now breaking out on their own and Ana and I moving into a different phase of our lives. I relished this moment as I know they will become less frequent in the coming years, which means we just need to appreciate them more when they happen.

After getting swarmed on a street corner by a bridal party mob of Toronto ladies in short red skirts looking for some Friday evening party action, we grabbed Ana a coffee from Timmy’s, said goodbye to the kids, then had a long, slow walk back to the pickup location where we caught the last boat to the island.

We were back to a team of two and the weekend had arrived in the big city.

July 10, 2024 - Downpour and Solar Wiring

Dad and I were up early and immediately went to work. Today was the day to finally finish up the solar wiring. Earlier in the year we had purchased and installed a dinghy arch in preparation for a big trip coming up this fall. The arch is a large and shiny aluminum contraption that bolts to the back of the boat and is useful for many things: hoisting a dinghy, mounting large solar panels, serving as a diving board, hanging ropes from, doing pull-ups, stringing hammocks, and other fabulous uses we are still yet to discover. I installed it over two weekends in May with my mechanically gifted friends Sina and Dave and it turned out beautifully, but I had yet to connect everything for the solar wiring as it had taken me a while to figure out exactly how to do it and to get the supplies and equipment I needed. Final wiring was today’s job, and what better time to do it than when I had an electrical genius on board.

The girls left to do some administration and shopping and Dad and I worked on it until noon. It involved taking all those solar cables we had fished through the boat the other day and connecting them to a backing board with the new solar controller then shoving the whole works into a small cabinet. The final result was impressive and I now have a three circuit solar system on the boat capable of producing a theoretical total of 1330 watts, but realistically probably around 1100. It was immensely satisfying seeing those little green LED lights on the solar controllers start to flash.

We celebrated this achievement by walking down to the Indian Roti House at the harbour front for a couple of extra spicy rotis. The weather today was atrocious as the remnants of hurricane Beryl was barreling through Toronto so we wore raincoats as we walked from the roti shop up to Dundas Square, but in this sort of downpour raincoats can only do so much. By the time we arrived, we were mostly soaked through and we looked like a couple of drowned out rodents standing in the lobby of the mall waiting for the ladies so we could go and see a movie. Magnus had finished his classes for the day so he met us too and we watched A Quite Place – Day One. It was okay. I liked the creatures and the jump scares, but the side stories were just too simple and felt forced. But there hasn’t been much of anything good coming out lately so it was the best we could do.

The rain had finally started to let up by the end of the movie so Dad, Magnus and I walked down to the Town Crier pub for fancy German and Belgian beers while the ladies continued on with their shopping adventures. We met back at the boat for a long and leisurely dinner then put the wraps on a soggy, but fun day in the big city.

July 29, 2023 – Rainy Day in the Big Smoke

We didn’t see much of the kids during last year’s boating season. With Magnus driving and Stella working every Saturday, it just didn’t work out very often and we thought they had both really lost interest. Which is why we were so happy they both decided to join us for parts of this boat trip. They are both at or near a junction in their lives where they are making big decisions so we always have plenty to discuss, as we do over breakfast this morning with Magnus. He is on the tail end of a gap year and looking to make his next move, which will likely be school, and he wants to get started on something in January. So we decided last night to walk over to George Brown college today and have a look around as they offer some programs he is interested in.

A big nasty system rolled in last night and it is pouring outside. I dress up in my full rain gear – pants and jacket, which Ana and Magnus just wear jackets. After walking for a short while through the torrential rain we slip into Shopper’s Drug Mart to pick up two umbrellas as Ana fears a major makeup malfunction. From there we have a long, drawn-out coffee stop at Aromas Espresso Bar then continue on our long walk to George Brown through half empty streets, unheard of for a Saturday in Toronto.

The first George Brown college building we reach looks closed but we find a back door entrance and give ourselves a tour. The entire building is deserted and there are construction works in progress, giving it the feel of a set on a zombie apocalypse movie. We go over to the culinary arts building which isn’t hard to find because we can see people through the streetside windows in there wearing kitchen whites and making bread and cookies.

We walk in and it smells heavenly. There is a single administrator working and she gives us a brief overview of George Brown and points us in the direction of the adjoined Business department which offers the program Magnus is interested in. We take a quick walk around then decide it would be best to continue our discussion over lunch so we find a nearby Thai restaurant and go crazy with the curries. Magnus positively loves this area of this city as it right in the middle of all the action – Front Street, St Lawrence Market, the Financial district, and within walking range of the entire downtown.

Ana finds a thrift shop and thrifting ensues. I duck out early with a big bag of our purchases and Ana’s umbrella which I am charged to protect and go outside to sit in the park. The rain is finally letting up and bits of sun are peeking through the clouds. When Ana and Magnus come to get me I, of course, leave her umbrella hanging on the back of a chair and don’t realize it until we’ve walked a couple of block, so I race back and of course it’s gonzo. I creep around the park hoping to yoink a similar umbrella from another hapless doofus who left one lying around, but no such luck so I return empty handed and feel great shame.

We make the long walk back to the boat then have a nice chill out session in the cockpit for a couple of hours, then Magnus heads back into the city for a solo coffee and Ana and I go over to a nice lakeside seating area in the marina that has a firepit, Bluetooth speakers, comfy loungers, and a resident mink that peeks out from under a planter every once in a while and scratches the back of his head on the wood while he looks up to the sky with glee. We have a drink and enjoy the beautiful sunshine that’s finally made its full appearance. Life is good.

Soon the Thai curry wears off so we walk back downtown, meet Magnus, then have spectacular rotis from my favourite place to eat in Toronto – the Indian Roti House, just across from Amsterdam Brew House. Ana goes for a slice of pizza instead as she claims Indian food turns her insides upside down and we don’t want to risk any permanent damage to the boat’s plumbing.

It’s getting close to dark when we get the call from our friends still moored in the islands. Our presence is required. So we jump in the dinghy and accidentally motor right through the restricted zone beside the airport runway. The giant white marker buoys which are so easy to see during the daytime are much less so at night and we get totally confused with where we are. Fortunately no police boats come chasing after us and there’s no botched plane landing.

We settle on Chris and Miriam’s boat for a drink and visit and confirm that yes, Daryl and Lydia were stalking us last night, but gave up and went out drinking and clubbing instead. Man, those guys have energy.

We play it safe on the dinghy ride home and take a wide berth around the buoys but still manage to accidentally cut through half of the forbidden zone, but now we just feel like marine commandos on a midnight mission.

As we pass by the phenomenal Toronto night skyline headed to the boat I think again how incredible this city and this moment is.

And tomorrow, we will head home.

July 28, 2023 – Coffee Mishap, Exploring Toronto, and a Midnight Visitor

We drink instant coffee on the boat. It’s easy, it’s fast, and it tastes pretty good. We do, however, have the capability to make great coffee on the boat and that is done with the Aeropress, a type of French press, but with the capacity of only a single cup. Whenever we have boat guests I always crack out the Aeropress to make coffee. Angela’s coffee comes out perfectly and I serve it to her in the cockpit. Now, Sheila’s. I set the Aeropress down on the top loading refrigerator, dump at least two tablespoons of coffee into the chamber, pour in boiling water, then mix it up with a spoon. As I flip the Aeropress on top of the coffee cup to do the plunging, something goes wrong and it falls and comes apart, spilling boiling hot coffee ground water all over the counter and into the edges of the fridge, splattering all over the food and drinks within. It is a goddamn mess and over the next 3o minutes I go through half a paper towel roll and several rags to clean it up. It’s all Sheila’s fault.

After breakfast we toss the lines and motor into Toronto’s National Yacht Club, where we will spend the next two nights for the low, low price of free as they offer gratis slips to reciprocal members of other yacht clubs. We have a hugfest on the dock with Angela and Sheila then they are off to retrieve their car and drive back into Brantford. Which leaves Ana and I all alone with a full day ahead of us in this amazing city.

We begin by jumping in the dinghy and motoring across the harbour to the Dock Shoppe to return a boat part I didn’t end up needing. From there we go on the outside of the Toronto islands to the beach on Ward’s Island. Once again, there’s an incredible amount of activity on the water – little kids in sailing school, that giant three masted ship, and dozens of sail and powerboats. We dinghy right into the beach, lay out a towel, and sit in a sand for a while watching all the action. Once sufficiently heated up, we go for a swim to cool off then hop back in the dinghy and continue the circle tour around the islands. As we are motoring on flat water, at the perfect temperature, with an inviting breeze on our faces Ana says, “Remember this moment, this exact moment right now,” and she leans over and kisses me. “We’ll come back to this memory in January when we’re suffering through winter.”

I love my wife. She is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and she makes me so happy, especially at moments like this.

We make the full loop around the islands and end up back at the boat where we quickly change clothes then head out to walk Toronto. It is hot as Hades so we stick to the shady sides of the streets where we can and we take it at a slow pace – there’s no rush.

As we are walking down Queen’s Quay a young girl holding a clipboard and flyers stops me.

“Have you ever heard of the Little St. Nick children’s charity?” she asks me, smiling widely and suspicously.

“Sorry, what’s that you say?” I reply as I squint through my sunglasses at the brochure she’s holding and am horrified to see an image of Santa Clause.

“Little St. Nick, it’s a children’s charity,” she explains.

“I hate Christmas,” I say bluntly and we walk away. Ana’s surprised as I’m usually pretty kind to strangers interrupting my free time with things I don’t care about, but today, on this beautiful hot day, in July, seeing an image of the Christmas elf reminds me of the 6 painful months of the year in which I despise the weather and complain endlessly as I question our life and residency choices.

We stop for cold drinks, walk around for a while, then find two free Adirondack chairs on the fabricated, but still lovely, HTO beach near the Harbourfront Centre. As soon as I lean back in that comfy chair, I am out. When I regain consciousness, I see Ana’s been eavesdropping on some other beachgoers. One dude and his buddy are flirting hard with a girl and we can hear everything they are saying. Before long, a well dressed dude walks up on the other side of us, sees a pretty girl sitting alone on a bench and says, “Mind if I sit here?” He starts chatting her up, then we hear, “I like your look,” and man is she digging it! She slides a bit closer to him and they get engaged in deep conversation. Over on the other side of Hook Up Beach one of the first dudes is now touching his target’s arm, then her leg, and she’s laughing and having fun.

“I didn’t think people knew how to do this anymore,” Ana says as she looks back and forth at the pick ups in progress.

“And they’re doing it without the use of an app. Amazing.”

We head back to the boat as we’re expecting Magnus – he is taking the train out to spend the weekend with us. I pick him up in the dingy at Trillium Park around 8 and we have a great visit with him as we make a dinner of Korean short ribs, sweet potato fries, and salad. We consider taking a walk into Toronto and finding somewhere to go for a drink but he’s pretty tired out from a busy week at work so we just hang in the boat and I go to bed at the ridiculous hour of 10 pm. Normally, this would not be possible when Lydia is around as she is this innocent looking thing who, on the first day we met her, claimed her bedtime was 10:30 and she never stayed up beyond that. Well, what a scam that was. We learned very quickly that she likes drinking wine, laughing, and telling stories until 2am and forces everybody in the vicinity to have fun right alongside her. Since she is isolated on the islands, I don’t miss the opportunity for a few extra horizonal hours.

Just after midnight I am woken up by Ana’s poking finger.

“What? Huh? What’s up?” I ask all groggy like.

“There’s something outside,” she whispers. “An evil presence.”

I listen carefully. There is a slight sloshing of water against the boat. Maybe a duck? Or a goose? Or some carps making love?

Then, the squeak of dinghy PVC against the hull and an unmistakable laugh.

“Shit!” I hiss into Ana’s ear. “It’s Lydia. Don’t move, don’t make a sound.”

“Oh no,” Ana says as she freezes and pulls the blanket over her head.

Her and Daryl have found us. She could probably sense from miles away that we were trying to go to bed early and is here to put a stop to it. We can hear them moving alongside the boat, undoubtedly peeking into the windows looking for signs of life.

Then, “Kriiiiiiiiissssss. Aaaaaaaanaaaaa. Come out and play.”

We are frozen with fear. She’s an unstoppable party machine and she’s here to destroy our good night’s sleep. We keep quiet and motionless. My mouth is dry and I start to picture how nice a beer would taste right now.

“Damnable voodoo! Devil woman! Now she’s invading my thoughts!” I whisper to Ana as I shake the image out of my head.

“Be strong,” she says.

We hear them circle the boat, then get off the dingy and up onto the floating dock. They won’t give up. But we wait them out, and soon we hear some yelling and screaming and laughing coming from a boat, probably on the other side of the marina. A pattering of feet. A splash of water as they jump into the dingy. The sound of an outboard engine firing up. They take off to investigate the party noises, and within minutes will be in somebody else’s cockpit making friends, laughing, and having fun.

The danger has passed.

Balls ‘n Wieners

After a comfortable and easy overnight sail we arrived in Toronto, 21 hours after departing Kingston. Arriving in Toronto harbour was as magical as ever with the bold skyline, improbable beaches, and the exciting congestion of ferry boats in the inner harbour zipping back and forth between the waterfront and the Toronto Islands. We motored across the harbour and past the Billy Bishop airport into a public docking area in the islands known as Hanlan’s Point.

The Point is a long curving sea wall along a wide channel with good depths mostly throughout. There is a large and wide stretch of grass bordering the seawall which is dotted with picnic tables and firepits making this a very desirable place to park your boat for a day or two. After tying up you are required to walk down to the dockmaster shack, pay your dockage fees (which are very reasonable), then post the receipt on your boat somewhere visible. The wall was already packed full of boats when we arrived but we managed to find an open spot towards the furthest end.

We lathered up with sunscreen as it was already hot and sunny and set out on a walk. This particular island in the chain is known for two things. First is the Billy Bishop Airport from which a lot of small commuter jets fly from, and there is a cool underground passenger tunnel linking the mainland to the airport. Secondly, is the nude beach on the west side of the island which faces out to Lake Ontario, and is also an extremely popular anchorage for boats, especially those with powerful stereos.

We walked nearly all the way down to the airport then circled back on one of the many surfaced paths towards the beach. We weren’t ready to strip down and get naked but we did walk down a path to the beach to have a peek. To myself I was thinking Here comes Boob City! but a I was a little disappointed to spot nothing but balls and wieners. Ana explained to me that this was primarily a destination for gay men, and once she mentioned that I did notice and awful lot of manly couples walking around. If you were an energetic gay man with a nice boat you could have a lot of fun in this place.

After a quick stop at SeaLight to load up on fluids, the three of us jumped in the dingy to go for a cruise. The channels that separate the many islands are perfect for dingy exploration and we saw all sorts of animals and humans along the way. We went past a mother duck and her ducklings, all swimming in formation. Stella spotted the ducks, then looks at me and says, “Let’s catch one.”

“What? Are you serious?” I asked.

“Let’s go, they’re getting away!”

I revved up the mighty four horsepower Mercury outboard and we put the chase on the ducklings. I think they were used to people because they let us get quite close and Stella actually reached overboard to grab one but of course it was way too fast and easily scurried away. But I admired her evil inclinations and brief exposure of the sinister thoughts that clearly fester beneath that pristine veneer.

We tied up the dingy at Centre Island and got out to do some exploring. This is the island that has a small amusement park and a few restaurants and is generally teeming with people throughout the summer, as it was today. I was pleasantly surprised to see most people wearing masks, even while outdoors, which made sense with the tight congestion of people in some areas. Seem the pandemic is not quite finished yet.

I decided it was time for a swim so walked over to the beach on the south side of the island while the girls got in line for a beaver tail – a horrific Canadiana dough bomb covered in chocolate and sprinkles and sugar and peanut butter and any number of other toxic toppings. My swim was simply glorious and the water was clean and cool. There was a lifeguard on duty, but instead of sitting at the top of a beach tower, she was in an ancient looking rowboat paddling around in the cordoned off swimming area without any shade whatsoever. But I guess a summer job is a summer job.

After walking the paths for a while we got tired of all the human activity so jumped back in the dingy and went for a nice long ride throughout the islands, passing by several marinas and snooping around all the fancy sailboats. We eventually found our way back to SeaLight and collapsed in the shaded cockpit for an extend chill out session. For me, this was probably the most relaxing few hours of the trip. I drank a beer, read a novel for a very long time, and even had an accidental nap in the warm cockpit stretched out on the comfy seat cushion. I don’t typically do a lot of relaxing on these trips as I’m usually either at the helm, navigating, fixing something, breaking something, cooking, or otherwise keeping myself occupied. So this was a welcome break.

It turned out Thursday was Steak Night! I scorched up a few New York Strips on the grill while Ana put together all the sides and Stella set the cockpit table. We enjoyed a lovely, and I mean really lovely meal in the cockpit, drank some wine, enjoyed the perfect temperatures, and didn’t run out of things to talk about until it was time for bed.