1/29/15
Marathon FL
Posted by Bill

I have talked several times in previous posts about how amazing the cruising community is, and I continue to be amazed. People that you have just met for the first time perform acts of kindness that are usually only experienced with your best friends. Some of the things we have experienced directly:

– The dock master at Joyner Marina offering his personal truck if we need to go get anything.
– A lady we met at a bar in Myrtle Beach offering a ride back to our marina (she wasn’t even a cruiser).
– An employee of Port Royal Landing Marina offering a ride into Beaufort after she got off work.
– Scott and Lynn on Shine, overhearing us on the Vero Beach bus as we talked about needing cruising guides for the Bahamas. When we got back to the boat, they came over and introduced themselves in their dinghy and gave us a cruising guide to the Abacos.
– Forrest and Susan on Rejoice, shortly after we shook hands for the first time, gave us the lat/lon of their home in New England and told us we could tie up at their place if we were ever in the area.
– Shortly after we met, Tim and Deb on Kintala gave us 2 water jugs they no longer needed.
– The day of our arrival in Marathon, Bob and Cat on Sea Lyon came over to the boat and gave us the keys to their car for the day. They overheard us asking where the liquor store was and didn’t want us to have to cart liquor and groceries on foot.

These are just the highlights, and just the ones from people we had just met. There are countless others by our friends and family that we certainly appreciate. I point these acts of kindness out because it illustrates the “small town” closeness of the cruising community. Everyone is looking out for everyone else, and it seems like anyone will drop what they are doing to lend a hand, answer a question, or come to the aid of someone in trouble. I think about how great it would be, if people and mankind in general, would strive to adopt the same spirit of kindness and consideration. I can tell you that the cruising community has restored my faith in mankind.

One other note on the subject: The other thing that is key to the spirit of the cruising community, is self sufficiency. From my experience so far, cruisers strive to be self sufficient and are very respectful of their fellow cruisers. I have not seen anyone reach out for help out of laziness or to take advantage of someone, and I haven’t run across anyone with a feeling of entitlement. Perhaps this is why it doesn’t work as well for the general population, as I have seen far too many examples to the contrary in society.