This Changing Life... better..? or worse..??

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Does anyone else feel as I do that the sailing world has degenerated over the last 2-3 decades..??

[/FONT]
I'm looking for answers from folk who travel the sea's.. visit harbours and bays more than 500miles from the port they may regard.. or once regarded as home..[/FONT]

Of course times have changed. I've been sailing for 7 years on my own boats, yet aren't worthy of posting.

[Khagan1227]

Originally Posted by avb3

Haven't been on a stoned date since the.... errrrr... Early 1970's.

In my younger days, that's to only date I could get..

[Prairie Chicken]

There is no doubt the world has changed & cruising has too, although perhaps less so than in other aspects. I think the bigger community/smaller community aspect applies to cruisers too. There weren't so many boats in the anchorage in the old days--you could stop by & say hello to most who might speak your language. And, certainly we depended on local knowledge--now we go on line. Those were days when our biggest concern was the sea--now it's a criminal of some sick variety.

I believe most folks respond in kind to the way you treat them. If you're friendly & welcoming, you'll get that in response. If you pass by with your head down & nary a wave, you'll get that in response. Still, there seem to be fewer cruisers waving before we wave at them...

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Of course times have changed. I've been sailing for 7 years on my own boats, yet aren't worthy of posting.

Well I kinda figured if you only sail locally everyone knows ya.. and cliques are established..
its supposed to be about new faces n places.. and how folk interact today.

[goboatingnow]

I think, in general I understand parts of boatys perspective on this but I don't in general agree. Years ago, this was a smaller more exclusive activity, often a lot of the participants knew each other, and it was a fairly tight group.

Today's we have far larger participation levels, just look at the growth of the ARC for example, ( it's now two rallies ) So inevitably that sense of a tight network has broken down.

What has also happened is the scruffy circumnavigated in a tattered boat has been replaced by expensive western sailing technology, with the resultant concerns. I remember a few years ago in Las Palmas, watching a bearded chappie rowing around the anchorage looking for a party and being generally rebuffed.

Yet I've spent delightful times in say various French Marinas ( definitely no loud stereos , or smoking BBQ s allowed ) where people strolled by, exchanged a few pleasant bonjours, enquired about your lifestyle ( and me with my school French etc ) , etc. All very sociable.

So yes, I don't think we all pile into our mates boat, and drink the night away, but I don't think it's as bad as you point out Phil, but them I'm a much younger 53 !!

Dave


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[boatman61]

Dave.. we likely hang out in different circles..

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by avb3

Haven't been on a stoned date since the.... errrrr... Early 1970's.

The Supremes - Stoned Love (Original Version) 1970 - YouTube

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Well I kinda figured if you only sail locally everyone knows ya.. and cliques are established..

lol roflmao


most of the boats around me in the mooring don't go anywhere, so since I do I don't really know them at all

[SaltyMonkey]

You're time tripping again there Boaty. Think it's time to quit sniffing the Acetone.

Tell me the story again about the Catamaran

[JPA Cate]

Boatie, whaddaya think of this? Maybe it is that the new cruisers are more self-sufficient? They hang out in same nationality cliques, too. Earlier on, people needed more amateur help, now they want certified thises and thats. A huge change was noticeable in NZ, all the Kiwis asked us, "what's the matter with this years Yanks?" And the difference was that with the larger, more complicated boats, also came Americans who were more interested in each other than the people of the country they were visiting. Very sad, actually. Feelings were hurt, invitations ignored, and so on. Whereas, the preceding year, all the Yanks and Kiwis were interacting in a friendly way.

You can still find cruisers open to interaction, but we approach it carefully. Actually, the invitation over for a cuppa does very well out in anchorages. Some places, going around the fleet with an excess of ready bananas still works, too. (Actually, I've used onions that way, too.)

Cheers,

Ann

Ann

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

You're time tripping again there Boaty. Think it's time to quit sniffing the Acetone.

Tell me the story again about the Catamaran

That was for AVB3 who was nostalgic about his 70's 'Stoned Date'...

[Pelagic]

A Life full of "Firsts" has little time for comparisons.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Tell me the story again about the Catamaran

Which one.. there have been so many...

[boatman61]

Word of the day: hiraeth

(noun) A homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past.

Sculpture by Bruno Catalano

[simonpickard]

My 2c having a vast experience of.. oh.. 5 weeks cruising, and being a young pup of 'only' 38 years.

So far I love this new life. I'm sure things have changed for the worse but from my prospective this still beats the hell out of how things are on land in the normal world. I've talked to more people in those five weeks than the last few years in a normal job.

People pop over with a bottle of wine just to chat, you get talking in bars to other sailors about where they've been and how bad their skipper is (this seems to happen a lot haha), it's just a lot more friendly and open then on land where everyone seems closed down.

If this is a lot worse than it was a few years back you guys really must have been lucky back then, but for me I still think you have a really cool community out there, well from what I've seen during my 1500NM.

Simon