I remember a number of years ago reading a mail in reply to a cruising article by a fairly independent soul who had an issue with people
anchoring on top of him. His strategy was to stand on
deck butt naked and wave to the incoming boat (he was no spring chicken), he figured those who didn't have a sense of
humor would stay way away, and he probably didn't want to talk to them anyway. Those who did have a sense of
humor wouldn't care and would probably laugh it off and
anchor at a respectful distance, maybe even raise the cocktail flag. I belong to that group of people.
I started traveling on motorcycles because you could cover a lot of ground cheaply and get the full immersion experience, just like sailing. I met a lot of very independent, individual people but that was in the 70's, as it became more acceptable I ran into a lot more people who wanted to be seen and heard because it was now "cool" and not too dangerous within certain limitations, I didn't see those types up near the Arctic Circle in
Canada or the far reaches of
Mexico (before the drug wars) but the people I did meet there doing the same things were worth talking to.
Both my wife and I are social people who do enjoy peoples company, I'm no where as social as she is, I would rather spend my time with people I find interesting to converse with, people who think and have something to say, whether I agree with it or not. People of substance, very individual people who have the self confidence to have a self depreciating humor, these are the kind of people my close friends are. Leave the ego at the door, love life, enjoy life, respect others and don't judge. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy a few spirits and some laughs with fun people, I just don't make it the main focus of my life, I have other more personal things I want to pursue.
There's a wide spectrum out there, you can choose to join in or not, it's up to you, I choose to join in when I find people who I can relate to, I don't need to be in a group just to feel I belong, but sometimes it's fun to, my wife is very social and loves to be in it. i don't dance well, but I'll still get up and dance, even I need to once in awhile.
Of course, I never chose to travel off the beaten path just to be part of the heard.
The nice thing about cruising? You do whatever you want to, join up or don't, if you don't want to be part of the crowd then go where the crowd doesn't. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing your own thing, just don't put down what others do, to each their own. An invitation is just that, an invitation, nothing more, it requires no obligation.
Personally, I worked at an occupation that had me living in other countries for extended periods, I enjoyed becoming part of the local culture, not living apart from it, you meet many more interesting people that way.
Cheers
haha
Interested in smart boat technology, networking and all things tech
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