Havana Nights

from Grosse Pointer Summer 2022

In Harbor Rendezvous and Father’s Day Weekend

Friday, July 21

The Marine Activity Center was transformed into old Havana, Cuba. Members enjoyed a very exclusive Rum tasting & cigar pairing event. In addition, Executive Chef, Eric Voigt, prepared an extraordinary stroll thru authentic Cuban cuisine that was nothing short of spectacular.

On the lower floor of the MAC, a live steel drum band set the mood while members were greeted with a tumbler of premium Plantation XO reserve rum to sip. Under the tropical plants and Cuban flags, Kishor manned an antique chrome sugarcane press, making fresh cane juice to mix into fresh juice Daquiris that, without a doubt, Hemmingway himself would have approved.

Visiting GPYC from Miami, the Cuban-born Fernando set up an impressive display. He handrolled cigars for members to pair with fine rums while enjoying the best possible place to be on a warm midsummer night, feeling the breeze in our beautiful MAC perched on the lake.

Upstairs, guests were treated to a panel of premium, and rare rums at a sit-down tasting presided over by Saylor Frase and Andrew Keene that reviewed flavors and the heritage and provenance of the rums and distilleries. The beautiful night was further punctuated by introducing a new Grosse Pointe Yacht Club tradition: the “Splicing of the Main Brace” for new members. New members were presented with historically correct replicas of the ½ Gill cups, engraved with our GPYC burgee and year to commemorate.

This tradition has a long deep-rooted maritime history. The story of the British Royal Navy rum ration might seem bizarre but remember that at many points in history, water was not always available or safe to drink. This was especially true on long voyages at sea when water supplies could turn rancid. To avoid this, beer was the original rationed drink for sailors, but it too could spoil quickly at sea. Around 1655, many ships switched to a rum ration of two 1/2 Gill cups (about 2.5oz each) a day instead. Rum did not rot inside barrels and didn’t take up as much room as beer, freeing precious space for cargo. In 1740, Admiral Edward Vernon faced not only the worry of dysentery from bacteria in the water but also scurvy by the lack of Vitamin C on long trans-Atlantic voyages and introduced a concoction of watered-down rum mixed with lime juice. This “grog” prevented illness and hydrated the crew. And yes, this is where we get the term “groggy” and the namesake of our very own Harbor shop.