This all began months ago when I was talking to Elizabeth about social events for the Buzzards Bay Boaters Facebook group she started. Most of the social events she organized were on land at breweries. I asked her if she ever did events on the water, and she said they were challenging for a lot of her members
The challenge is that the BBB group represents all sorts of boaters; sailboats, center consoles, fishing, and cruisers like us. The sailboats can’t go very fast, you can’t sleep on a center console, and they are exposed when a southwester blows up on Buzzards Bay.
Elizabeth organized a very fun Ice Cream Social with Sea Scoops off Bassetts Island, and we came up with the Cuttyhunk Meetup for August 27.
I reposted this on the My Buzzards Bay Facebook page, and a funny thing happened. Virtually everyone in the MBB Flotilla commented that they would join us.
The My Buzzards Bay Flotilla
- Relentless
- Vigilant
- True North
- Just Us Two
- Poppy Bay
- Precious Time
Given the limits of some of BBB boats, I wasn’t sure how many would make it to Cuttyhunk, but when I realized we would have six boatloads of party people, I decided to organize a progressive cocktail party.
The Cuttyhunk Progressive
The idea was a spin on the old-fashioned neighborhood progressive where everyone goes to a different house for each dish and then progresses to the next home.
We let each boat sign up for a theme, a dish, and a signature cocktail. Unfortunately, we lost both Just Us Too and Poppy Bay at the last minute, but looking back, six boats probably would have been too many.
Stop #1 – Vigilant
Tom and Terry drew the short straw and ended up kicking things off with a Mexican Fiesta around 1:30.
The plan was a raw bar, but sometime Friday night, after Tom had loaded the food on Vigilant, the marina had a power failure, and the food was ruined.
They made an incredible recovery and served a delightful NB Scallop Ceviche.
No big surprise on the cocktail front – Margaritas, but Tequila Terry took it up a notch with a classic, a watermelon, and a spicy version, complete with Tom’s famous muddled jalapeño.
Keeping it festive, Terry’s goofy mini sombrero made the photo rounds.
Stop #2 – Relentless
We decided to go tropical and started the fun with a rack of my signature Mai Tai’s.
I also made a batch of Shrimp Toast and a Charcuterie Board. They were great, but I was so busy tending bar and cooking that I forgot to take a photo.
A great time was had by all!
Stop #3 – True North
In the original plan, Doc Ruel was just another stop along the progressive dinner train. But when we lost two boats, True North became the host for the Main Course!
Doc, Joan, and Jean did not disappoint. They served up a platter of delectable Lamb Chops.
This was a true culinary feat. True North is a 34’ Pursuit and although it’s a big 34, it’s rather challenging to cook dinner for nine.
They grilled the chops on something resembling a George Foreman grill. They may well have been the best chops I’ve ever had.
The idea of serving chops also converted this fine dining entrée into finger food!
As soon I realized True North was also dinner for nine, I called Doc and volunteered to make Roasted Dirty Potatoes.
A few asked for the recipe, so here goes:
These are the baby round white potatoes rubbed in EVOO, Kosher Salt, and Cracked Pepper. I baked them ahead of time and pan-fried them on Relentless. When finished, I put them in a warm Dutch Oven, tossed them with raw garlic, Parmesan, and Parsley, then served them in paper cups to convert them to finger food.
At this point, the party was in full swing.
As we were getting ready to move on to the Dessert Boat, Elizabeth and the crew of Flotilly stopped by to say hello.
They were on their way to another dessert boat!
The Final Stop – Precious Time
Rick and Christine are the newest members of the MBB Flotilla. Their SeaRay 400 ended the evening as the Dessert Boat.
It was the perfect dessert platter with Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brownies, and little York Mint Patties.
At the night’s end, everyone knew that an annual tradition was born.
My Buzzards Bay 
Such a fun time! Thanks again Dave for organizing! Rick was happy he made the blog despite the ‘phone mishap’ 🤣🤣🤣🤣
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