32 New Things: Drink Wine On A Boat

 
Here’s is something you should know about my 32 New Thing list, friends.  Sometimes, I just get so excited about crossing things off said list, I will jump at any opportunity to do so.  Regardless of how suitable the opportunity is.
A few weeks ago, I was visiting friends in Sydney and we decided to take the ferry to Manly.  Minnesota isn’t exactly rife with ferries, so I saw this as a chance to drink wine on a floating vessel.  We were so keen to do this that we splashed out on the fancy ferry and shrieked (at 9:00 am) at the poor ticket seller”Is there a bar on board?!””Yes.”

“And does it have wine?”

“Does the bar on the ferry have wine?  Yes, it does”

(Here you can imagine his eye-rolling over two shrill Americans asking dumb questions about getting drunk on a 20 minute ferry ride on a Sunday morning..)

But because we’re laaaadies, we saved the wine-drinking for our return voyage at 5:00 pm, when we each plunked down $7 for a mini bottle of wine and a plastic cup.

Now, friends.  I know nothing about wine.  Nothing.  I know it comes in red and white and I know that I don’t like the white kind that makes me jaw bones hurt under my ears.

But I do know this.  The wine I bought on that ferry was quite possibly the worst wine I’ve ever had.  It tasted like vinegar mixed with dish water.

And sadly no views of the opera house or sunsets along the harbor could make me finish that glass.  Sad trombone!

I am, however, clever enough to realize that not all wine on every boat can be bad.  So I will happily continue to jump at the possibility to imbibe aboard whenever possible.

Have you ever ate or drank anything special on a boat? 
(In my initial fantasy, I was drinking a nice Shiraz on a yacht with a bunch of attractive people like a scene out of The Talented Mr. Ripley.  Except without that whole messy sociopath Matt Damon thing)

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17 Comments

  1. kate

    How timely. I'm about to "embark on trip" Saturday morning that involves Bloody Mary's, margaritas, and lotsabeers. It's a good time.

    My favorite memory of eating on a boat though was feeding the boy I made out with the night before a cookie (and eating yummy pasta) while on a tall ship (the Appledore in Bay City.)

    thanks for prompting the fun memory.

  2. Robin

    Best drink I ever had on a boat was Zambuca in Corfu Greece. I was on a tour through Europe and part of the deal was a boating excursion that involved swimming in caves and cliff jumping. It was a strange ride on a refurbished fishing vessel with some terrifically sweet yet strange friends I met along the way. The captain arranged a little adventure in the cliff caves. We had to swim under water to access the cave with the bottle of Zambuca. It was a heavenly day! P.s. I can't drink wine for the same reason – facial pain and migraines. i suggest sticking to hard liquor 🙂

  3. Sarah Von Bargen

    Robin, you're a girl after my heart <3

  4. Emily Lospennato

    I have had wine on a boat and it was magical at first (we also brought french baquettes, basil, and brie), but then I spilled it all over my dress. There is a permanent stain reminding me of this special day:)

    xo
    Emily

  5. Kelsi

    I live in Milwaukee, and we have booze cruises here. You can ride a ferry along the river and tour several different microbrewery stops along the way. There's also the option of buying a ticket for a party boat that follows the coast of Lake Michigan for a couple of hours, so you can drink whatever you like from the on-board bar while gazing at lovely views of the city skyline.

    The Riverwalk Boat Tours have anything from Margarita Mondays, Tiki Tuesdays, Sunday Bloody Mary Cruises, private parties, and so on.

    Come down, hang out with me, and we'll check it out! True story!

  6. CJR

    I was lucky enough to enjoy an afternoon aboard a sailboat last summer in Lagos, Portugal while sipping the best sangria I've ever had!

  7. CJR

    Just realized my picture is in fact from that very boat ride!

  8. Amy

    I've drank on boats more often than I should probably admit 🙂 I charted a yacht in the Boston Harbor as a surprise for my boyfriend's bday years ago. We all hid on the boat and surprised him and there was lots of drinking!

    But I think my favorite time is when we took a boat on Loch Ness to visit a castle and we had scotch on the boat ride. That was truly amazing.

  9. doniree

    Ha, I LOVE this! I mean, I'm sad your wine sucked, but love that "drinking wine on a boat" made it on a to-do list of yours! I have, in fact, drank wine on a boat. Last summer, the BF and I were on a vacation in Reno, NV and ventured down to Lake Tahoe for a 2-hour catamaran ride. There was wine on the catamaran! So, we got tipsy while hearing stories about Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra visiting Reno and Tahoe and all the places in between.

  10. Kim

    Jacob's Creek was your first mistake.
    Merlot was your second. :p

    At least the view looks like it was pretty!

  11. Jo Darby

    Sorry to hear your drinking-on-a-boat experience wasn't all you'd dreamed. Though I think the Antipodes is a fabulous place to attempt this.

    My drinking-on-a-boat experience was in Wellington, where my auntie lives and owns a yacht; it's about 20ft, nothing too flash.

    After sailing for a while with a small crew, where I took on the role of moveable ballast, we headed back. Once moored back in the harbour, my auntie cracked open the olives, cashews and amazing Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc. I switched from a Chardonnay drinker to a Sauv Blanc fan during my time in NZ and have never looked back.

    I became incredibly fond of the Kiwi was of life when I was out there. Each evening involved drinking great wine and eating gorgeous slabs of Whittaker's chocolate. You must have had that, right?

    Jo x

  12. Amy --- Just A Titch

    I loved this story when you told it to me, and the photos are PRICELESS.

    Also…cat dress!

  13. Savvy Pants

    I love water and boats more than I love life so every time I have to take the ferry accross the Hudson I call it a cruise. Sometimes I'm hungry as I leave work so I bring along a snack. I call that the cruise's buffet.

  14. Bella Blithely

    I was lucky enough to sail out of Sydney at sunset on the beautiful Oriana. There was most definitely champagne involved 😉

    Have you ever drunk wine on a train?! They have those tiny bottles of Jacobs Creek wine on the tilt train here in Queensland. I don't remember much about that particular trip… other than it being hilarious!

    And I can confirm, the wine is not very tasty.

  15. Janelle

    Reminds me of when Neil and I went to Mexico in college. We got some wine, a Cuban cigar and almonds for a romantic sunset on the beach. The wine and the cigar were TERRIBLE, but we were bound and determined to say that we had done this, so we'd take a puff and a sip then wash out the taste with the almonds.

  16. long island used boats

    Thank you for sharing your experience on a boat. It sounds so cool.

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