|
It was a warm evening with the haze giving way to clear skies as our 8th Cruise for a Cause got underway. As usual, our restaurant friends came through with treats on the pier, hors d’oeuvres, sushi, oysters, samosas; and the Ridgetown Pub handled the on-board martini bar. A big round of thanks to these folks who got the cruise off to a brilliant start.
The Wayward Princess was full to the brim with guests enjoying the excellent three course meal, prepared on board by the crew of Nautical Adventures. And they were able to dance the night away to the music of Chuck Jackson and his trio. We can always count on Chuck to get people onto the dance floor - the boat was rocking!
You have to give it to the folks of Port Credit they certainly know how to party. In fact it seemed to be party night all round with Liz Smith and over thirty of her friends celebrating her husbands fiftieth. We also discovered that May 31 was the birthday of our resident photographer, Rachelle Rousseau. So, Johnny Bozzo of La Villa Fine Foods and Bakery came up with a suitable birthday cake. Knowing how retiring Rachelle is we set out to ‘surprise and embarrass’ and, judging by the pictures, we succeeded. Thank you Johnny, she loved it.
Rogers Television was on-hand to record the entire event, and yes, it was broadcast. We have a copy of the broadcast but what wouldn’t we give for the entire taping – there was a lot going on!
We had a wide and wonderful collection of gifts from our friends in the local business community to offer to our guests as prizes and silent auction items. Our guests, in turn, were generous with their bids. Again, thank you all.
Our guests with disabilities, and there were plenty of them, had a rare old time. For some reason being out on the water is something they really enjoy – which is why CharterAbility was formed in the first place. It’s always gratifying to see and an absolute pleasure to be a part of. As usual our friends from Oakville Community Living turned up in force. No doubt we will see them again in September.
Captain Eric Rogers took the Wayward Princess on a minor detour to inspect the suitability of Lakefront Promenade Park as an alternative to Snug Harbour. Amid cries of “Where are we?” Captain Eric expertly steered his boat, taking it close to the shore and avoiding other boaters (or maybe it was the other way round!). It was an interesting and informative interlude given the possibility that the dredging of Snug Harbour may be curtailed thereby excluding boats the size of the Wayward Princess. That would be a pity since Snug Harbour is a perfect place to dock. No doubt we will find out next year.
All in all, it was a truly memorable cruise with things going pretty much according to plan. Our measure of a good cruise is how many smiling faces we see and there were plenty that night. As organizers we spend a lot of time after the cruise looking at the pictures to get a sense of how things went and to find out what went on!
Hopefully we will be at Snug Harbour again next year, the last Thursday in May (29th). We look forward to seeing familiar faces again and to welcoming some new ones.
So, THANK YOU ALL – our sponsors, guests and volunteers who make the Cruise for a Cause possible – and a special thanks to Lydia at Impressionable Gifts for doing such a magnificent job of selling tickets. .
|
|
