Sailing and Mount Gay – An Old Rum Tale
Say the syllable ‘rum’ and a Pavlovian urge to celebrate International Talk Like A Pirate Day early comes into play.
But it’s not just Hollywood movies and crazy Aunt Ginny’s somewhat disturbing bedtime tales that have programmed your mind here – rum really is the tipple of pirates and of sailing in general, and always has been. What we understand as rum today came from the Caribbean which, like our own South Pacific, is basically a bunch of small to tiny islands surrounded by heaps and heaps of ocean. In this region for centuries the only travel options available were boats and/or larger boats called ships. And what better way to while away the long tedious days of sailing from A to B than with a glass of the Caribbean’s finest export at your elbow?
A Taste Of Paradise
Mount Gay rum have been front and centre of supplying sailors with their rum for over three centuries now – as they’ve been in the business of making Caribbean rum since 1703. So Mount Gay rum has seen it all; from 17th century oceanic exploration, the discovery of new lands and peoples, the burgeoning trade between these new countries and the old – and the pirateering that preyed on that trade. But it wasn’t just the pirates who drank Mount Gay’s rum, the explorers who returned to Europe from the Caribbean with amazing tales of blinding white sands, sapphire waters and emerald-covered islands often weren’t believed. At least until they busted out a bottle or cask of rum to give their doubting friends a true taste of paradise.
The Coastal Classic
Mount Gay have kept up their ancient link with sailing and the sea right through to today’s modern regattas in the Caribbean – and right across all seven seas including those here in New Zealand. Since 2002, Mount Gay have been a proud supporter of the PIC Coastal Classic. This boat race from Auckland to Russell has long marked the opening of the summer sailing season for many hundreds of Kiwi boaties and is one of the biggest of its type in the world. A key date in the New Zealand maritime calendar, Sir Peter Blake used the 1987 race as an opportunity to gain multihull sailing experience, aboard the boat that won the first ever Coastal Classic. Mount Gay is always there at the end of every race too, providing the yachties with much needed refreshment – whether they won or were just pleased to finish. Because that’s the beauty of sailing, the journey is as much a part of the fun as reaching your destination!
Sustainable Coastlines
And to help keep our oceans sapphire blue and our beaches blinding white, black or gold, Mount Gay have been on board as a supporter of Sustainable Coastlines since 2015. This is a charity that motivates volunteers and communities all around Aotearoa and the Pacific to connect people to nature and inspire change. Mount Gay is proud to announce that more than $25,000 has been donated to date and for every $5 donated, Sustainable Coastlines can pick up 15 litres / 2kg of litter from coastlines around Aotearoa New Zealand. If you’d like to help Sustainable Coastlines help clean up our beaches please join us by signing up at sustainablecoastlines.org/events
Buy Mount Gay Rum now from Glengarry.