On the dock in Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos, I met Piegi, from New England. I called her Peggy; When introduced, I did not hear an alternative pronunciation, I detected no accent, so I went with "Peggy', the spelling of her name be damned. Piegi and husband on a big trawler thing, and their version of this boating thing so interestingly different from ours while in many ways the same. Making their way to these exotic corners through thought and persistence and discipline, but they unfettered with sailboat issues.
My introduction to Piegi was on an adjacent folding chair, during an impromptu evening dock social gathering. Piegi and I chatted, other crews mingling with others. Then from down the dock, Piegi and I overhear her husband: " We're going to sail it around the world". Piegi snickers. " Yes, we are" she says not to me but audibly. "As soon as Home Goods has a Sale". Which which of course is never, because that's the whole point of the store. So her wit escapes everyone else in the vicinity but lands with firmly with me and Piegi and I start laughing, uproariously; high level irony being my favorite form of humor. I do not know this woman at all, and she and I instantly connect.
This is how it happens in the sailing world. Everywhere you land, you gain new bonds. Lives touch yours in a unique way; we are all conquering small worlds and that makes for camaraderie.
A couple weeks later, Joe and I are still puttering around the Abacos, sporadically landing in the vicinity of Piegi and her husband, and sharing outings. The four of us all seemed to get along. The vote was taken to have a farewell restaurant meal, as soon we we would all be pulling up anchors and heading different ways, who knows when to cross courses again.
Via text, Piegi and I concluded she would cook the parting meal. She invited us to their boat. I typed back "Will bring salad. But to avoid any hurt feelings, Joe and I will not eat haggis, nor, in my opinion, should any human being". She concurred, adding "I agree. I hope however that you like lutefisk".
