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| Colorful burgees (flags representing various yachting clubs and organizations) from visiting yachtees from around the world gaily festoon the St. Lucia Yacht Club. Decorating with burgees is a welcoming tradition among yacht clubs worldwide. |
Far from the snobby image I
once associated with sailing, the boating community is just that – a community.
“No way are you going to be
able to stay on your boat ‘on the hard’ [when a boat is brought onto land,
generally either to be worked on, stored or both]. It’s too hot and dusty. Come stay at our boat – we have a forepeak cabin with its
own bathroom. If you do decide to
stay at a hotel, be sure to check with the marina to see if you can get any
hotel discounts through them, “ advised Ilsa, a fellow Rodney Bay yachtee. We felt truly really touched by such
generosity from a near stranger.
“It’s just what yachtees, do,” Ilsa countered, casually brushing aside
our heartfelt appreciation of her offer.
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| Fellow “yachtee” Gary helped us find a good deal on a used dinghy, told us where to get an affordable, pay-as-you-go multi-country phone, invited us to our first “Sundowner” social and is just an all-around great guy. |
We met Ilsa and her husband
Svein when fellow Rodney Bay Marina cruiser Gary invited us to his “Sundowner”
(here, that’s byob drinks and hosted nibblies). Gary came by after we introduced ourselves as “new arrivals”
on the local cruisers “net.” Cruisers
nets are VHF radio-based community information exchanges. The Rodney Bay St. Lucia net was started
20 years ago; we were invited via the net to attend the 80th
birthday party of its founder.
“Stick,” a local electronics wizard and live-a-board yachtee currently
hosts the Rodney Bay Marina net. His
program covers weather, arrivals and departures, ride shares, “treasures of the
bilge” (stuff yachtees want to get rid of from their boat, but figure might be
useful to someone else in the community) with an open forum for special needs.
We look forward to making
our contribution to the community, beyond sharing the “treasures of the bilge”
we announced on the local net.
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