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

[boatman61]

Does anyone else feel as I do that the sailing world has degenerated over the last 2-3 decades..??
There was a time you'd be sailing along and spot a sail headed your way and.. when in range you would hail each other and exchange info and news about conditions ahead.. ports etc..
You'd come into an anchorage and be greeted by waves from strangers.. and occasionally friends you'd last seen a 1000 miles away.. someone would row over and pass on local info.. after giving you time to settle.. books exchanged.. stories shared.. personality was more important than boat size and each had respect for the others abilities to get there.. nationality mattered not..
Today.. its a more like life ashore.. all the petty land **** seems to have transferred to the oceans..
The 'clique's'... the snobbery.. one's more likely to greeted by snarls and no longer is a man and his boat judged by his travels but by how shiny his brightwork is.. in-mast main.. how many toys...
And.. should the latest into the anchorage be less than 30ft with a flag from across an ocean one can feel the resentment radiate across the water.. its almost as if folk think they are deliberately trying to insult others by doing it in a small boat..
Brits stick with Brits.. French with their own and on it goes.. no longer it seems is there anywhere for an 'Internationalist'.
No longer is there the friendly smile and greeting.. folk walk by eyes down or averted.. seems to me where once their was a sense of camaraderie there is now a sense of fear..
Marina's... hell... met friendlier people walking through Brixton and Phillipsburg at 3 0-clock in the morning..
Now I'm not looking for answers from owners of 'Marina Queens'.. you guys are a breed apart..
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..
Curious.. is it just me.. or does anyone else feel Suburbia and Wall Street has gone afloat..

[Seagullf111a]

Lots of truth in your observations Boaty. People will anchor next to me and not even acknowledge a "hello".

[captain58sailin]

The degradation started with Yuppies buying Harleys. I find the tenor has changed from the old days, when sailing around the Marquesas, I met all manner of mariners of all nationalities and sexual preferences and there was a mutual respect and when chancing across these different acquaintances in different coves on different islands there was a warm greeting and welcome, often an invited for sundowners or a meal, and whomever arrived to a destination first was the one to go by the new arrivals and fill them in on what ever local knowledge they had to share about provisions etc... I have not had much to do with the Yachting world for many years and my exposure has been pretty much on this forum, there is a lot of change since the old days, and not all of it good. That's okay, I pretty much go my own way and if I happen across some like minded cruising sorts when I start down that path again, I will greet them warmly and welcome them to a bbq or sundowner, regardless the condition or cost of their vessel. If I like em , I'll keep em, if I don't I'll throw em back. I cruise for my own reasons and to my own destinations and take the bitter with the sweet. I do hope to cross paths with you some day boaty, I reckon we can have a beer and tell some lies. The difference between a fairy tale and a sea story is, a fairy tale begins with "Once upon a time..." a sea story starts with "This ain't no ****!..."

[oldragbaggers]

I have heard this before and had hoped it wasn't true, but suspected it was. It has affected life everywhere, unfortunately.

[captain58sailin]

Maybe we should start a "Crusty Old Salts" forum and complain about how these young whippersnappers don't even know how to take a proper noon sight. Of course we would probably wind up in our respective corners, snarling at each other.

[Prairie Chicken]

I believe you're right Boatie. Although you're not looking for observations from those of us who sail in the same geographical area year after year, I submit that is a measure in itself. We haven't moved on, but the company we share in the anchorages have certainly changed. Bigger boats, more toys, more boats, more restrictions, more cost, more regulatory oversight. Less competence, less consideration, fewer friendly waves, fewer spontaneous get-togethers, less sharing of info & willingness to receive it, more security. I could go on but you already know all this.

I'm glad I got to enjoy some of the better years although I must say I do enjoy the better access to wx these days.

[Palarran]

I don't think it has anything to do with sailing. It's the whole world is like that. So whatever or wherever you want to compare it to, yes, it's different.

Personally, I find sailors tend to break that change more often than not.

[LakeSuperior]

Have to vehemently disagree with you on this one! You are getting old methinks!!

In our circumnavigation of the Atlantic, 18 months over two years, we met literally 100's of folks. On the west coast of Ireland it seemed like everyone was our best long lost friend. No cruisers on that side though. We were pretty much alone on the water.

We had French sailors we met set us up with better moorage and take us to their home for dinners and great conversation. Same in Scotland and England.

The truth being the only sour sailors we met were an American couple that had been cruising for 10 years and were going to sell their boat. The guy epitomized the "ugly" American. No wonder why no one would talk to the guy.

We met some great folks in Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Gibraltar and everywhere along the way. The reality was that by the end of the trip I was getting fatigued making new friends.

We also crossed paths on the east coast of the US with some well known sailing authors that kept to themselves and only talked with a couple select friends. They were closed and unfriendly.

The aftermath is that we will be exchanging sailing and diving vacations with friends between the Great Lakes and Scotland, Canaries, France, and Antigua.

[SaltyMonkey]

I relay what I've heard from folks out there and from here.

There are 100% more people in the world than 1976.
Commercialism has destroyed those tranquil spots where the magic happened.
So has chartering.
So has the internet.
So has navigation aids. Yup. Don't need to use tracing paper no more to borrow a chart.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

I relay what I've heard from folks out there and from here.
So has navigation aids. Yup. Don't need to use tracing paper no more to borrow a chart.

You dont?
Oh Crap..

For Sale.
3000 sheets of tracing paper.
cheap.

[boatman61]

58... I relate to your biker analogy..
Over this side if you saw a bike and its owner at the side of the road you pulled over and asked if all was well.. if not one tried to help.. maybe a quick run to a garage with a fuel can.. a tool.. or.. if all well you had a smoke and chewed the fat for a few minutes before heading on..
Then the Yuppies discovered Japanese bikes didn't leak oil, need weekly nut tightening etc and suddenly there big shiny bikes and designer leathers everywhere and all a biker by the road got was the dust as they scream right on by..
As to those limited in their cruising.. if you break out your sails your fine.. I was referring to the 'Queens' who just motor to the nearest bay and drop the hook for lunch then motor back and spend all week regaling folk about their daring and glamorous life..

[mbianka]

Boatman 61:

I happen to be rereading Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum and he was complaining about the same thing in the 1890's. Those damn steamships never stop for a gam! Really pissed him off. Personally, when I see a foreign flag in local waters I like to go over and say hello. If they are amenable to chat I like to hear about their travels and future plans and offer them some local knowledge if they want. It sometimes is a small world. There was one boat from San Francisco that I saw anchored in my local waters here in the Northeast U.S. one summer that I had also seen in Los Roques Venezuela three years before.

[captain58sailin]

I have limited exposure to those types of "cruisers" the folks I know are the "hanging the laundry on the lifelines" type.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

The degradation started with Yuppies buying Harleys.

Bloody Harleys! The root of all evil !!

[avb3]

It's all us newcomers.

Seriously, I agree that it is a general and not only specific to boating.

I recall 20-30 years ago we would set up a hunt camp, and never worry about anything needing to be under lock and key. That is not the case today, and rather then $1500 bush tents being the epitome of shelter, it's the $120,000 motor home or those in the ghetto with their $60k fifth wheels.