Where Has the Cruising Counter-Culture Gone - Is It Too Late?

[osirissail]

Maybe this should be repeated in the "cost of cruising" thread. - The cost of entertainment in bars and clubs is extremely low as you have to almost force them to sell you a drink. You can sit there all night with one soda and that's just fine.

[John A]

Most of the over-achivers from the Caribbean locals have moved to the US and recieved a Green card. Most of the educational systems in these countries give a SAT like test to middle school students, and only with an acceptable score are they allowed to continue their education any further. They can, however, recieve tech. training to work on your boat.

I know this will not be PC , but, always note the eye movement of your server to gauge their response time. This is true world wide.

[osirissail]

John A - Mostly very true but the system is slightly different if you dig deeper which I had to do today to see what my step-son's educational prospects where here in Grenada. All citizen children go to "primary" education for about 11 years and learn, the basics, then there is a "Caribbean" educational test which categorizes students as eligible to proceed to the next level of academic education - - if - - the student desires to proceed. And there is minimal cost involved at all the levels to the student. Finally, after higher level there is another test to see if the student is able to proceed to University/College level if the student desires to do that.
- - However all levels are really raw basic education and many students opt to go to the USA or Europe to do the higher levels. Every day we walk through St Georges and see the College kids walking the other way to the central bus station carrying wooden - stapled together - drafting tee's. Dozens of kids - and how many drafting jobs are available on the island? And who uses Tee's and triangles anymore - it is all CADcam on computers now . . . With 25% official unemployment on Grenada the job opportunities are quite scarce so those with "talent" have little choice but to emigrate to other parts of the world.

[Cheechako]

"Although the term yuppies had not appeared until the early 1980s, there was discussion about young urban professionals as early as 1968."

[John A]

Osirissail.
My comments were very generalize, as in the case of Granada, you are there and I am not. The comments were mostly directed to Trinadad and the experiences of a cruiser who taught for a year at a middle school, and became quite frustrated with with the system.
Isn't there a College in Granada that many foreigin students attend? I know that there is a West Indies University but am unsure of the Island. Domanica has a college also.
John

[Cherp]

I am extremely wealthy, have a young blonde female companion, sail a 75 ft yacht with hydraulic winches and which has a bathtub and a wide-screen television. I sail to remote places too, but mainly to look down upon penniless refugees on small (under 40ft) sailboats, with their washing strung over the lifelines. We use a washer and dryer. Aaahhhh......it's a great life.

[osirissail]

Grenada has three colleges and one University. Two of the colleges are strictly for Caribbean Students and as would be expected, target the subjects and areas that are relevant to living on a Caribbean island. A lot of the political leaders have attended these colleges. The other college is allied with the University - St. Georges University and does a lot of the the liberal arts part of a "pre-med" education for the Caribbean locals. The St. Georges University is owned and operated by an outfit out of New York, USA. It has supposedly the best Medical Education available in the Caribbean. The Medical campus is enormous - takes up an entire peninsular on the south shore. The vast majority of students are USA kids who cannot get into USA medical schools. It is a big money maker for the owner back in the USA. Part of the deal to be located here was to take in Caribbean students at local subsidized rates. So all in all, it is a good deal for the island and is a major source of income for the government and local businesses with the purchases the student make for food, fun and supplies.
- - Dominica also has a medical school that is less than half the size of Grenada's. I spent some time earlier this year in Dominica and loved the island. Seems medical schools are cash cows for these islands since (supposedly) USA medical school admissions are capped by AMA rules. Which I think is totally foolish as thousands of these Caribbean school and other foreign med school doctors go straight to the USA after graduation.
- - The priorities of life for the islanders is radically different from our Norte Americano priorities. It is quite a culture shock for first timers coming down island. Once you get used to it, the life is laid back (really laid back) and gentle. In Grenada, in particular, the locals are unusually honest, pleasant, friendly and funny. This is a definitely "weird" island as the locals are extremely "family orientated." All the stores close at or slightly before 4PM as everybody goes home and the place is deserted. Very few "bad" things happen here as the population is quite low and everybody knows everybody else. One middle age local explained to me that we have to be nice and honest or it gets right back to our 350 pound momma's who doesn't hesitate to slap us silly for misbehaving. And he was about 40 years old. I suppose really it is more a matter of just low population sort of, like, very little towns in middle America. Trinidad however, is totally different mainly because it has about 1.8 million people whereas Grenada has only 100K.

[canucksailor]

"I personally don't like the charter cats running generators all night in my tucked away anchorage or someone anchoring on my stern rail..."

Do what I do - row over to them and tell them it's impolite and to please turn off the gennie - I've done it. Some people simply need to be told - some may well not be aware that it's not proper.

As for the sailing counter culture - it exists. It's made up of those who have decided that our money hungry, status driven culture is not the way to happiness and have gone sailing to avoid it.
Some of these people will be in gold platers, because they WERE successful. Others have bought what they can afford and sail anyway, a la the Pardeys. But you won't find these people in Georgetown, Bahamas - at least not for long - you'll find them sailing, or hanging out with other sailors on remote beaches, regardless of their economic status, having a good time.
In the end, your experience of life is of your own choosing, and how happy/unhappy you are is totally up to you. Who was it who said: 'A man is about as happy as he makes up his mind to be'?
Untie the dock lines and get out here....that's the only way to find what you're looking for.

[stark]

There is a leisure class on both sides of the spectrum. Some of us just happen to be on the bottom side. A friend of mine told this to me once. We were dirtbags -climber's analog to a cruiser without means.

He also told me "yuppies read magazines and buy their guidebooks at REI, and if you don't want to be around yuppies, then quit reading those ****ing Falcon guides".

FYI. Falcon Guides are the Walmart of climbing guidebooks.

I haven't bought my sailboat yet (unless my Hobie 16 counts) so i don't really know what the cruiser's world is like. But this debate sounds familiar.

[John A]

stark,
Welcome to the forum, you'll fit in.
climber's are searching for the samethings that cruisers are.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by jimking100

Eventually, I will catch up with Mark and Nicolle. When I do (and after a few sundowners with them), I will get back on the forum and let everyone know which kind of sailors I find.

jim

Drunk ones!

It will be great to share Sundowners!

Mark

(Nicolle is in the forward cabin with a new guitar some fiance bought her yesterday - maybe she's joining the counter culture?)

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by stark

He also told me "yuppies read magazines and buy their guidebooks at REI, and if you don't want to be around yuppies, then quit reading those ****ing Falcon guides".

FYI. Falcon Guides are the Walmart of climbing guidebooks.

As you say, a familiar thing over many activities - plusses & minuses to both approaches. and IME oneupmanship in both directions. But that's people

IME the really really annoying thing about Guides is they do contain really useful stuff IMO the trick is to treat them as guides, not handbooks. nor itineries.............but of course everyone chooses their own experiances, and being different is not better or worse.

On the boat thing plenty of opportunity to go off piste, but also nice to relax in the bar afterwards

[Canibul]

Counter culture?


Rooooooooooooooolllll another one...
Just like the other one....

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by Cherp

I am extremely wealthy, have a young blonde female companion, sail a 75 ft yacht with hydraulic winches and which has a bathtub and a wide-screen television.

Ahhh, Chirp...you better change your profile description then, because your 36 footer is showing! Please post pics of hot blond companion as proof...

[rusky]

We all must have a few screws loose - or we wouldn't be posting here or sitting on a boat when we could be part of the rat race, driving to work in peak hour every am and pm, queing up for stuff and watching soap operas-
Living the 'good life' just like the truman show mixed up with groundhog day.

Its great to talk to a couple of other nutcases.
Cheers