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Old 13-06-2007, 00:18   #1
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Peace and Quiet?

Hi All,

We just got back from two weeks of sailing in Croatia (Murter down to Split, back up to the Kornati Islands). Overall it was a fun trip, but I couldn't believe how incredibly NOISY it was at night! (Granted, I'm a rather light sleeper, but even my husband lost some shuteye!)

We had loud, drunken parties at two marinas (not us! our next-door neighbours!) and all kinds of sing-a-long guitar boats in both marinas at at anchor in harbours. Now, I really understand if people feel the need to play American Idol after a couple of beers and a long day on the sea, but after 10 pm or so I figure that it is polite to either shut it down or take it below.

So my question is...is this typical of the "cruising life"? Have you all had similar problems in your parts of the world? Or was it just because it was May (cheap charter season) and so the "yahoos" all piled into the Adriatic? If you have had problems like this, how did you resolve them? We found that politely requesting that people be quieter didn't work so well - tough to reason with a boat full of really drunk men. And the marinas themselves did nothing to help - not even a security number to call. It was sort of like - "We'll happily take your 70 Euros, but we can't be responsible for you actually having a reasonably quiet night." Which I guess I find odd, as the closest parallel I can think of are campgrounds in Canada, where either the park rangers or the private owners will come around and shut down loud parties.

I've only sailed in Croatia (a couple of times), the UK and Australia and hadn't encoutered such problems until this year. Would love to hear about the situation elsewhere!

Thanks for any information/suggestions you can send!
Cheers,
Julie
(catching up on lost sleep!)
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Old 13-06-2007, 03:34   #2
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I have been both guilty of, and victim of, this behavour in the Bahamas. There are jerks every where. Sorry to hear that you had a bad time.
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Old 13-06-2007, 04:08   #3
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I rarely stay at a marina. In fact, I can recall only doing it once in Portland ME when I had sailed up with a friend and was awaiting my wife and he was going to leave, so I took a berth at a marina in Portland, which happens to be a very lovely Maine city.

Next to us was a smallish power boat from Situate, MA with two youngish 30 something couples who got drunk and blasted load rock music all night. It was insufferable and when I asked them to tone it down they wanted to fight about it! Fight, as if it was their right to be a loud as they wanted. How dare we expect some quiet at night.

We won't stay at a dock for anything but to take on fuel, water and transfer supplies on the rare occassion that we have so much that ferrying them by dink is a pain.

Even in a quiet marina, how much quiet can you expect from a boat 5 feet away? I don't know why people choose marina slips except that they can't anchor, the anchorage is not large enough or they too lazy to use their dink. Ever notice all those completely new looking inflatable with huge OBs hoisted by expensive cranes atop power boats? Seems they never touch the water.

Noise seems to carry on the water and we suffer the loud parties which are thrown almost every weekend and the yacht club where we have a summer mooring. We can often hear loud parties from way across the harbor (3/4 mile away) at bars, which often have a live band.

We live in a world of noise pollution and it seems that people love to make loud noise. The Harley crowd seems addicted to making noise. Motorcycles roar into the town en mass in a thunder which sets off car alarms and it has gotten to the point that the town posted banners which say, "Ride proud not loud." But this is to little effect. Our dogs even hate (or are scared by) the noise from these two wheeled mosters.

People are selfish and like noise although some call their noise music. I love silence.

One of the most lovely things about sailing is getting away from the constant drone of sounds produced by civilization to one where all the sounds are natural, wind, waves, birds etc. This is getting harder and harder to find. I love the sounds of passing clouds and rain.

One of my fondest memories of being on a boat was many years ago in Buck's Harbor Maine. I was anchored and it went completely calm and very dark as it was a new moon. I sat in my cockpit enjoying the stars and the sounds of seals doing their thing on the shore interrupting the ticking of the clock on the bulkhead. Imagine that, being able to hear a clock ticking. Do watches tick anymore?

I have grown to develop a decent amount of enmity for noise polluters and people who feel they must thrust themselves in your face, ears and consciousness. You know them... jet skiis, cigarette boats, hot rids, booms boxes, motor cycles, bars with bands. They call it self expression. I call it human pollution.

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Old 13-06-2007, 06:22   #4
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I have found that charterers are the main culprits of this type of behavior. However it is understandable as they are on a one or two week vacation and tend to live it up. When cruising we often have beach parties but they seldom go on after nine, after all, eight p.m. is "cruiser's midnight". Sometimes there'll be a noisy party on a boat in the anchorage, usually it's a special occasion. Life in marinas and yacht clubs is different. People usually get together here on weekends and those that don't stay out sailing party on the dock. Our club is getting quieter as the membership ages.
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Old 13-06-2007, 09:14   #5
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Guilty, guilty, guilty

I probably owe a few apologies over my life. I've often been the partier. I do try to minimize the volume. I've also been offshore in the islands while the locals boom out their local version of "ghetto/gangsta rock", and so realize that personal taste often dictates what is noise and what is music. Further, I too enjoy periods of true quiet in beautiful settings.

However, when I hear somebody having a party aboard, later than I would like, I do my best to not take offense. Life is short, and that is why many of us choose to be afloat. If I can't sleep through music and laughter, I tell myself that it is because I am jealous that I am not in attendance. I wish I was out there right now, hearing somebody laughing in an anchorage.
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Old 13-06-2007, 09:58   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonosailor
I probably owe a few apologies over my life. I've often been the partier. I do try to minimize the volume. I've also been offshore in the islands while the locals boom out their local version of "ghetto/gangsta rock", and so realize that personal taste often dictates what is noise and what is music. Further, I too enjoy periods of true quiet in beautiful settings.

However, when I hear somebody having a party aboard, later than I would like, I do my best to not take offense. Life is short, and that is why many of us choose to be afloat. If I can't sleep through music and laughter, I tell myself that it is because I am jealous that I am not in attendance. I wish I was out there right now, hearing somebody laughing in an anchorage.
Same here! Although I'm currently a quiet recluse, I used to be the life of the party before I got married. (think 4 kegs per night and hundreds of people) So when I hear people having fun, I just think back to the old days when I was having that kind of fun (a different, more single kind) and hope the partiers are having as much fun as I did.

I fear the day when I become that old man that yells at people having fun. I hope it never comes. At least I don't have to worry about yelling "get off my lawn!" ha ha
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Old 13-06-2007, 10:32   #7
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At least I don't have to worry about yelling "get off my lawn!" ha ha
Depends on how demented you get along the way. Standing on the bow of your boat in your underpants yelling that could happen.
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Old 13-06-2007, 11:14   #8
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The issue seems to be too many people simply have no respect for others and don't understand the philosphical concept of a clean wake.

Parties need not be loud events to have fun and they need not disturb others. Why must youth be loud and then people "mellow" with age and show some sort of guilt for their wild days?

Why not be more self conscious when young and more respectful of others? Parties are fine... but disturbing "the peace" is not. Who would object to hearing laughter?
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Old 13-06-2007, 17:52   #9
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Ever notice all those completely new looking inflatable with huge OBs hoisted by expensive cranes atop power boats? Seems they never touch the water.

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Old 13-06-2007, 19:34   #10
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Its a powerboat conspiracy ....I tells ya
Nah, it's just powerboat bling.

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Old 13-06-2007, 19:45   #11
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Buy some earmuffs

Buy some earmuffs, pass me another beer and turn up the stereo please
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mareva
Hi All,

We just got back from two weeks of sailing in Croatia (Murter down to Split, back up to the Kornati Islands). Overall it was a fun trip, but I couldn't believe how incredibly NOISY it was at night! (Granted, I'm a rather light sleeper, but even my husband lost some shuteye!)

We had loud, drunken parties at two marinas (not us! our next-door neighbours!) and all kinds of sing-a-long guitar boats in both marinas at at anchor in harbours. Now, I really understand if people feel the need to play American Idol after a couple of beers and a long day on the sea, but after 10 pm or so I figure that it is polite to either shut it down or take it below.

So my question is...is this typical of the "cruising life"? Have you all had similar problems in your parts of the world? Or was it just because it was May (cheap charter season) and so the "yahoos" all piled into the Adriatic? If you have had problems like this, how did you resolve them? We found that politely requesting that people be quieter didn't work so well - tough to reason with a boat full of really drunk men. And the marinas themselves did nothing to help - not even a security number to call. It was sort of like - "We'll happily take your 70 Euros, but we can't be responsible for you actually having a reasonably quiet night." Which I guess I find odd, as the closest parallel I can think of are campgrounds in Canada, where either the park rangers or the private owners will come around and shut down loud parties.

I've only sailed in Croatia (a couple of times), the UK and Australia and hadn't encoutered such problems until this year. Would love to hear about the situation elsewhere!

Thanks for any information/suggestions you can send!
Cheers,
Julie
(catching up on lost sleep!)
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Old 13-06-2007, 23:16   #12
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We HAD earplugs!

Thanks to all for the feedback.

I guess what I'm really asking is if our experience in Croatia was just bad luck. We are planning (or were planning) on moving liveaboard in about 11/2 years. But our recent experience has made us rethink things.

I don't mean to sound unreasonable about noise in marinas/at anchor. Of course noise from yacht clubs, bars, roads, etc. carry across the water. And a certain amount of noise is normal. I expect to hear dingys returning from land, the odd halyard slapping against the mast (not ours!), drunk people staggering back (or motoring back -yikes!) to their boats. What I don't expect or think is reasonable are 2 am sing-a-longs in a cockpit 10 m from me.

Agreed on avoiding marinas. And of course we would frequent them less once living aboard. But it is the noisy anchorage parties that concern me the most. (Though, I have to say, any marinas I have stayed in in the UK, BVIs, or Australia have been very quiet - either people are well versed in proper marina behaviour or we just REALLY lucked out!)

To the party crowd, I have no urge to rain on your parade. The problem is that I am a really light sleeper, and if living aboard means that we have to contend with noisy neighbours three or four nights a week, and until 2-4 am, then quite frankly I'm not (and my husband isn't) willing to live that way. We'd rather sell the boat and just charter. (I could handle little sleep for a week. A year is a whole different kettle of fish.)

So to experienced liveaboard cruisers (and especially ones with children!) - what is the situation out there? How often is your sleep disturbed by (unreasonably) noisy neighbours?

Seafox, from personal experience...earplugs can only do so much when a boatload of really drunk men are singing, at the top of their lungs, and shouting, while playing an ACORDION, at 3 am, 10m from your boat. Trust me on this.

Julie
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Old 14-06-2007, 00:14   #13
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"while playing an ACORDION"

They sound like real party animals. I really hate those foredeck drunken polkas. I always fall over the lifelines.

OP - Don't mean to sound unsympathetic but living ashore or on-board you will find inconsiderate people. You don't state if it was a weekend or not but regardless you were disturbed. Aside from talking to the Marina operators in question and finding out their policies not much to do except move somewhere else. That is the beauty of a live aboard yacht. If you don't like your neighbors find some new ones.
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Old 14-06-2007, 00:56   #14
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Good point!

Hmm...perhaps another until-now overlooked point for catamarans. Never mind speed or sailing on the level...on a cat you can also have pretty good foredeck polka parties. (You just have to watch that over-enthusiastic dancers don't launch themselves from the trampoline...)
Julie
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Old 14-06-2007, 01:19   #15
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Generally the people who make the most noise will be the short time charterers, I have a mate who's motto is " i'm here for a good time not a long time" I think you will find most long time live aboards are a lot more considerate. I wouldn't let one bad experience put you off after all the Croation coast is very popular place to blow out amongst the summer holiday refugees from Germany etc.
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