10-8-12 – Leaving Avalon Harbor,
Catalina Island – Day 98
The fun in the sun of the Channel
Islands has unfortunately come to an end.
We are heading back to the mainland to begin our harbor hopping down to
San Diego. The islands have been a great
experience and I’m happy we made the decision to visit them. Santa Cruz Island with its many anchorages
and rugged trails, Santa Barbara Island with its mean wind where we
unfortunately didn’t make it ashore and Santa Catalina Island. Catalina Harbor with its peaceful laid back
feeling until Buccaneer days came along with a more “bustier” and crazy party
feeling. Avalon Harbor with its
beautiful houses and nicely laid out, though very different to those new to the
area, mooring field. Not only are we
leaving behind the beautiful islands but all of the new friends (hopefully only temporarily) we have met and
re-met in these anchorages. That leads
us to the question: what is the etiquette for the ever present and always
appreciated “Sundowners”
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| Leftover boatmade cake for Ellie's Birthday |
Inviting people over for Sundowners
is almost required protocol when meeting new people or reacquainting yourself
with old friends. It doesn’t necessarily
mean you know these people very well. As
was the case when we invited two couple over to share in Elizabeth’s birthday
cake. We had met both of them less than
24 hours earlier, but everyone had the commonality of simply being in the same
anchorage.
That and being on a sailboat
and heading south, which does count for a lot.
We had a great time sharing our boatmade birthday cake and a couple of
two dollar bottles of wine. But what is
the protocol of Sundowners? What time
does this ritual take place at? Do you
bring something with you? Are you
obliged to reciprocate the offer? How
long do you stay? Is a two dollar bottle
of wine ok, or do you need to break out the good rum? Shoes on or off? Tie up your own dink or let the host tie it
up where they see fit?
Our experience has been quite
varied but there do seem to be some themes emerging. (this is just my experience and I could be
way off base, so let me know if I’m wrong)
There has been the Sundowner that lasts until well past moonrise where
the bilges seem to be full of rum and next thing you know you’re smoking cigars
and having dinner (Annie). There are Sundowners
that start at 3:30 and end at, you guessed it, sundown; with a glass of wine
and good conversation. So this ritual
seems like it can take on a life of its own depending who you are with. Including our get together we have shared Sundowners
with six different boats in the last nine days.
That’s a fair number of people to hang out with that you didn’t really
know all that well. It’s sort of like
arriving at a hotel and then knocking on the door next to yours to see if they
want to come over for a drink and some conversation.
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| Two Harbors - Friday before Buccaneer Days |
The common theme seems to be:
start around 4:00 to 5:00, spend about two hours and then be on your way. As the invitee it doesn’t seem to be required
to bring anything with you. This is a
change as in the normal world you almost always take something with you when
invited over to a friends. Light snacks and wine are pretty common. The brand of wine doesn’t seem to really
matter and isn’t why you’re getting together anyway. Follow the hosts lead on quantity and pace and
understand that every beer you drink they probably had to haul back to their
boat in a backpack from the grocery store two miles away. So in many ways offering you beverages and
snacks is quite generous, so don’t abuse it.
If there are enough days before one or the other departs, reciprocity is
good form. You are basically hanging out
in someone else’s home so be respectful of their stuff and realize that their dirty
underwear might be laying on their bed so you better not blush easily. Everyone’s boat has that thing you probably
shouldn’t grab onto or shouldn’t step on, so tread lightly it’s different for
each boat. When talking avoid
things like religion, anchor choices or
what you used to do; since we are all cruisers now and that’s what counts. Finally, remember that the people you are
spending time with very well may be the same people you are calling in an
emergency out on the ocean one day; and you hope to leave a good enough
impression that they will come to your aid.
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| Avalon Harbor - Nice place for a Sundowner |
That’s my impressions of
Sundowners at this time. It’s a custom
more people should propagate in the “real” world. The number of people you cross paths with
over and over again is incredible. You
never know who you’ll run into next, who they know and where you’ll meet
again. Then the next day one or the
other of you depart and someone new drops their anchor next to you, and it
starts all over again.
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