Looking for Boaters to Stay with Late June and July

[meburma]

Hey gang!

As many of you know I am working on my blog and my documentary about sailing and learning to sail and the lifestyle of live aboards in general.

I have been invited out to sail with an old college professor of mine on the Great Lakes for a couple of weeks in July. Totally cool. Really looking forward to the experience.

Here's the thing... I want to make a whole experience out of going up there to sail... sort of a "short run" version of what it might be like to visit a foreign land while sailing around the world. So I'm thinking of bundling a visit to New York and Washington, DC before the sailing trip. This will allow me and my cameraman to get some of the culture and travel log footage we need for our pitch film.

I was thinking... it would be cool to stay with someone on their boat in New York and in DC. I'd love to stay with someone who would be interested in letting us interview them about their boat, their sailing experiences and what it's like to live on their boat.

Is there anyone in the New York and DC areas who might be interested? I'm looking at New York the last week of June and DC the first week of July.

Thanks guys! I hope this can maybe work... it would be a really awesome way to experience more of this community and the lifestyle.

Dave

[Blue Crab]

Afraid I can't wish you luck. I think the less said about the liveaboard lifestyle the better. I don't think blogs hurt much. I haven't read any (yet), and I say that as a liveaboard of many years. A documentary, however, could catch the attention of city "fathers" and help to further restrict anchoring rights, trash disposal, dinghy docks, access to potable water, and more.

[Caribsailors]

My experience while living aboard, is we are mostly loners when we get to the boat. Myself I like to be under the radar so to speak. I would not endorse your venture, as mentioned previously....But I do like your enthusiasm.

Cheers

[Jim Cate]

Mate, as a long term cruiser/liveaboard I will add my emphatic disapproval of this project. No good will come of it for folks living the life. Please don't follow this path to your stated goals.

Jim

[meburma]

Wow. Ok thanks guys. It is not my intention to soil anything about the lifestyle.

I understand the solitude part of it. Truly.

Thanks anyhow gents for your responses. Of course no film can be made without permissions from those put forth in it. I'm no Michael Moore and I'm certainly not out to make anyone look bad.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by meburma

Wow. Ok thanks guys. It is not my intention to soil anything about the lifestyle.

I understand the solitude part of it. Truly.

Thanks anyhow gents for your responses. Of course no film can be made without permissions from those put forth in it. I'm no Michael Moore and I'm certainly not out to make anyone look bad.

LOL... don't worry about that mate... we did that to ourselves when we chose the 'Life'...
Its just that a lot of us operate 'Below the Radar' and don't fancy the 'Scan' being adjusted...
there's sometimes to much said on here for comfort as far as I'm concerned... and here I'm speaking for the $500 brigade earning a crust on the side... who knows who monitors these sites... and believe me they are monitored..
I had an 'unaware' interview in Oriental, NC back in '04.... next thing I knew it was on the internet... including price I paid for boat and the fact I was doing it to sell for profit...
next thing family and folks I'd rather not meet again were aware of my location/plans etc... not nice at all... and I only got the price I paid for the boat... 'Bummer'....
Nope... you want to do a blog on you... go for it...
Want to interview folks... do the 'Rich Dude's' not the folks who walk the line....

[meburma]

It's a shame that happened to you Boatman.

I'm tired of the Lifestyles if the Rich and Famous though. Regular folk with real experiences in the world are far more interesting in my opinion.

[clifford sloan]

The road to destruction is paved with good intentions. You have done an admirable job with what you published so far. Try to understand the people responding to your post are not afraid of your "soiling", or besmirching their choice of lifetsyle. They are justifiably living in fear of exposure. By publishing the results of your exploits you (inadvertantly, I hope) uncover a lifestyle that allows the maximum ability to avoid government intervention (read control) in our lives. If you were to shift the focus of your blogs towards individual, independant experiences without naming names or identifying vessels it would lessen the effect but give you more acceptance in your pursuit.
All the best,
Clif

[SaucySailoress]

LOL!! You put me in mind of a series of which I had the dubious pleasure of seeing a few episodes this winter when visiting UK for a funeral... Called My Gypsy Wedding, and half the men's faces were blurred out!!

[Hudson Force]

I'm not so sure that "hiding out" is the best presentation to the general public for those of us living aboard. It's unfortunate that there is such a polarized view of "liveaboards" as either those who are wealthy on large yachts or those you are using derelict vessels as low income housing; when in reality, most are of moderate incomes with very typical standings in their communities. There are teachers, mititary personel, pilots, merchant mariners, carpenters, doctors, chefs, retail salespersons and mechanics among my liveaboard neighbors and most of their vessels have no trappings of wealth or the appearance of being burdened with debris that so many associate with living aboard. They pay the same taxes as anyone renting an apartment and have the same social responsibilities. During the forty years that my wife and I have been living aboard we have been registered voters in our home port and participants in our couple dozen communities that we visit on the US East Coast. We are free to enjoy the life we have chosen and don't feel that it's best preserved by denial. We will not be docked in NYC or DC this summer and we don't have cabin berths available for visitors outside some family comittments. We're not interested in filming, but will stand with open discussion of the existance and rights of living aboard.

[meburma]

Very well put. And it's persons such as yourself that I'd like to highlight. Regular folk who just happen to live on their boat. In realty my documentary will be about all sorts of people and cultures from around the world. But I see that exploration starting with the simple question of how does one transition from a life on land to a life on water?

I think many people are interested in this. And like anything else there are people at both ends of the economic spectrum living aboard. But there's a lot of the "center" folks too. People who could easily live on land but have chosen the boating lifestyle for whatever reason.

As someone who is drawn to the idea of living on a boat I am sure that the discussion of making that transition and what the challenges of living aboard are will make for very interesting and varied discussions.

You know like anchors. ;-)

[zeehag]

hay guys!!!!!
david is a really good guy and wont publish anything YOU do not wish to be published--he had to threaten my cat for me to allow my pic on internetz,,LOL.. joke, but not tooo far off--he is a good guy and will work with ye and isnt brokeass and WILL HELP OUT WITH EXPENSES. PLEASE GIVE HIM CONSIDERATION.

[meburma]

Thanks Zee! I had a great time learning on the Bird. Wish I could have shown more of it, but I wouldn't trade the time I spent with you and Wolfecon for anything!

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by meburma

Thanks Zee! I had a great time learning on the Bird. Wish I could have shown more of it, but I wouldn't trade the time I spent with you and Wolfecon for anything!

'you guys are welcome here any time--i miss ye ...both of ye-wanna see ye for canal!!!!!

[VirtualVagabond]

David,

I think your project sounds interesting. It's the kind of doco I'd watch, so I'd imagine plenty others would too.

On the other hand I have great sympathy and even respect for the low flying colourful characters who don't want a bar of it. They are part of this life's rich tapestry.

The impression you give, together with Zeehag's endorsement, is that you would respect the sensitivities of individuals' circumstances. Can I suggest that you go a step further, and avoid the temptation include any insinuation, or implication that cruisers and livaboards as a group, have dodgey folk among us. We know we probably do, just like any group on land.
What we don't need is anything that adds to beaurocratic interferance we already have to put up with, or even the risk of more scrutiny.

If you can find a way to give that assurance, I suspect many more will be inclined to participate in your project. Even so it's going to take a lot of trust.

If your focus (ok, I know it's a pun) is on the lifestyle, dailiness, social interaction, beach parties and bbqs, and unique freedom, challenges, repairs and maintenance, storms and sunsets etc, but excluding the sensitive area already mentioned, you'd have an informative and entertaining winner without compromising your artistic presentation, or the livaboard sector.
Just my 2c...