Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Old and New Friends

Most of the time I've lived on the boat, I've been at marinas.  In this time, I've met a lot of people that are actively cruising, preparing to cruise, or just living aboard their boats.  I figured sooner or later I would run into someone I had previously met...and this happened just after returning to Brunswick.

I was walking over to the marina bath house (admittedly, it is the most likely trip at a marina to run into someone) and came across a couple I had originally met in Hammock Beach FL. It was a nice surprise. We ended up having drinks and catching up that evening.

During the Thanksgiving dinner that was put on by Brunswick Landing Marina I ran into another couple that I had met the last time I was here.  The marina was so full that I had not noticed their boat still at the dock where they had stayed when I left.  They were getting ready to sell their boat when I left and it is now "under contract".  Another chance to catch up.

At Brunswick Landing, there is a covered wooden section at the head of each dock.  It is kind of like a wooden patio balcony you might find on a home in our old neighborhood.  There is a grill and a number of chairs.  It seems to be a regular event when the weather is nice, to congregate there in the evenings for sundowners and conversation.  I've met a number of my dock neighbors at these gatherings and it is a good way to wind down after a day of working on the boat.

It still amazes me how much better I know my transient neighbors than I ever knew my neighbors in my subdivision back home.  For people that can take their homes and come and go as they please, there is still a much better feeling of community in the cruising world.  You can pretty much count on fellow cruisers helping you out if you need it, or providing advice (particularly valuable for a new cruiser like me).  If there were still such things as a community barn raising, the cruising community would be where you would find it in practice. It is too bad that most of our society seems to be getting more and more isolated behind long work schedules, computers, TV, and political nonsense.

Maybe if everyone could feel a bit more of a sense of community we could better deal with our differences and learn to work together as a society once again.


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