A Companion to Pool Drinks

Retire from the grind.
Not from the good life.

Stories, recipes, and second-act blueprints from people who walked away from their careers and built something they actually love.

Read the Stories Join the Crew · $10/yr
Scroll · The horizon awaits
The Idea

What if the second act was the good part?

Pool Drinks was about finding work you love before you punch out. Sunset Boat Drinks is about what comes after. The CPA who became a course ranger driving a cart for free golf and a paycheck. The trial attorney who guides fly-fishing trips in Montana. The cardiologist who teaches grandkids of his patients how to sail.

Retirement is not a finish line. It is a redeployment. The question is not whether you keep working. It is what you finally get to work on. From the introduction

This is a community for the people who refuse to spend their best decade watching cable news. Bring your story. Pour a drink. Stay a while.

From the Galley

Drinks worth the sunset.

Every recipe comes with a story. A boat. A bad joke. A reason to call somebody back. And a zero-proof version for whoever is at the wheel.

№ 001 · Caribbean

The Second Act

Dark rum · Mint · Lime · Sugar
  • Aged dark rum2 oz
  • Fresh mint leaves10
  • Lime juice¾ oz
  • Demerara syrup½ oz
  • Soda watertop
Mocktail Variation Substitute 2 oz spiced ginger beer + ½ tsp vanilla extract for the rum. Or use a non-alcoholic dark spirit like Lyre's Dark Cane Spirit.

Bill spent 38 years auditing pension funds. Now he runs a tiki bar three nights a week on a marina in Sarasota. This is what he hands you when you sit down.

Read Bill's Story →
№ 002 · Lowcountry

The Caddy's Last Round

Bourbon · Peach · Lemon · Honey
  • Kentucky bourbon2 oz
  • Peach preserves1 tsp
  • Lemon juice¾ oz
  • Local honey½ oz
  • Angostura bitters2 dashes
Mocktail Variation Substitute 2 oz strong cold-brewed black tea for the bourbon. Or use a zero-proof whiskey like Spiritless Kentucky 74.

Tom retired from corporate law at 62 to caddy at the muni course where he learned to play. Says he makes a third of the money and twice the friends.

Read Tom's Story →
№ 003 · Pacific

Last Boat to Catalina

Gin · Cucumber · Elderflower · Lime
  • London dry gin2 oz
  • Cucumber slices4
  • Elderflower liqueur½ oz
  • Lime juice½ oz
  • Tonic watertop
Mocktail Variation Substitute 2 oz juniper sparkling water + extra cucumber for the gin. Or use a botanical zero-proof like Seedlip Garden 108.

Marilyn was a hospital administrator for 30 years. She now teaches seniors how to fish off the Newport pier on Tuesday mornings. The drink is what waits for them after.

Read Marilyn's Story →
№ 004 · Big Sky

The Closing Argument

Rye · Vermouth · Bitters · Cherry
  • Rye whiskey2 oz
  • Sweet vermouth1 oz
  • Aromatic bitters3 dashes
  • Brandied cherry1
  • Orange peel1
Mocktail Variation Substitute 2 oz cold black tea + ¼ oz maple syrup for the rye. Or use Ritual Whiskey Alternative. Use non-alcoholic bitters such as All The Bitter.

After 27 years at the prosecutor's office, Frank guides fly-fishing trips on the Madison. He says the river never asks for a verdict. Just attention.

Read Frank's Story →
✦
Captain's Standing Orders

The captain does not drink. Ever.

Not one sip until the boat is moored, the keys are stowed, and the lines are tied. These recipes are for passengers enjoying the sunset, never for the helm. Boating under the influence is illegal in every state and dangerous in every harbor. We will say it twice because it matters: the captain does not drink while the boat is moving.

If you are driving anything tonight, a boat, a car, a golf cart, an opinion, choose the mocktail. We put a virgin version on every recipe for exactly this reason. The sunset hits the same either way.

All recipes assume readers are of legal drinking age in their jurisdiction and consume responsibly. Sunset Boat Drinks is published in good faith for the enjoyment of capable adults. We take no responsibility for choices made on the water, behind the wheel, or anywhere off the page. Drink with people you love. Then drink water. Then sleep on it.

From the Captain's Log

Real people. Real second acts.

Members share where they came from, what they do now, and how they got there. No fluff. No motivational posters.

Sarasota, FL · 38 yrs in accounting

I closed my last 10-K on a Tuesday. I poured my first drink on a Friday.

Bill walked out of a senior partner role at 64. Six months later he'd bought a faded tiki bar at the marina and was opening three nights a week. The first month he netted $1,200. He says it was the best $1,200 he's ever made.

Bill K. · Former CPA · Tiki Hut Owner
Bozeman, MT · 27 yrs in law

The first season I made less than I used to bill in three days. I didn't notice.

Frank traded the courtroom for a drift boat. He guides 90 days a year on the Madison and Yellowstone. His old firm thinks he lost his mind. His clients send him Christmas cards.

Frank R. · Former Prosecutor · Fly-Fishing Guide
Newport Beach, CA · 31 yrs in healthcare

My grandkids asked what I did all day. I said I taught senior citizens how to catch fish. They cried laughing.

Marilyn ran a 400-bed hospital. Now she runs Tuesday morning fishing clinics off the public pier. She charges $40 a head. She has a six-month waitlist.

Marilyn D. · Former Hospital Admin · Pier Instructor
DAVID A. STREEN
Sunset
Boat Drinks
A SECOND-ACT FIELD GUIDE
The Book

The follow-up to Pool Drinks. For the years you actually saved up for.

Forty-three profiles. Twenty-seven recipes. One simple framework for trading the career you built for the life you wanted all along.

This is not a retirement planning book. There are no asset allocation tables. There is no chapter on Medicare. This is about the part everybody forgets to think about: what you actually do on Monday morning when nobody is paying you to show up.

43Profiles
27Recipes
9Frameworks
Pre-Order · $28
Continue the Voyage

Three doors. One sunset.

The site is the lobby. These are the rooms you actually came for. Tell your story, map your next chapter, or send up a flare to the rest of the crew.

I.

The Captain's Log

What if the book your grandchildren read came from your voice, not your obituary? A complete memoir service for people with stories worth keeping.

Learn About The Captain's Log →
II.

The Voyage Brief

Ninety minutes on the phone. We figure out what your second act actually looks like and you leave with a real plan. No pitch. No fluff.

Book a Voyage Brief →
III.

Send Up a Flare

If you have already walked the path we write about, the crew wants to hear it. Your story might be the next one on this site.

Share Your Voyage →
Join the Crew

A small membership. A serious community.

Ten dollars a year keeps the spammers out and the conversations real. That is the whole pitch.

$10/yr
Less than a single round. Cancel anytime.
  • Post your own second-act story and photos
  • Comment on stories and exchange notes with the crew
  • Submit your favorite drink recipes for the archive
  • Monthly members-only letter with new profiles and a fresh recipe
  • Early access to events, releases, and live Q&A sessions
  • The quiet satisfaction of supporting a place that does not sell your inbox
Join the Crew
No ads. No data sold. No funny business.