FAQ - How do you meet people in a new port?

I was reading Women Who Sail on FaceBook the other day and one woman who was just beginning her sailing adventure asked “How do you meet people?” She was concerned that since she's a bit of an introvert, it would be hard to meet people when constantly sailing into new and unfamiliar ports. She got an overwhelming response … all positive.

Quick answer: It's easy … you can't avoid meeting new people!

Longer answer:

There are so many ways to meet people when you're sailing into a new port that it's hard to enumerate them all. Here are some tips.

• Check out the anchorage for familiar flying burgees to identify other boats that belong to your club, like SSCA or OCC and for instance.

• Knock on a hull. When we arrive in a new anchorage, if we're in the mood for socializing, we dinghy around to other boats to introduce ourselves and say hi … maybe invite folks aboard for sundowners. If we don't make the effort to knock on hulls, it's not unlikely that someone will knock on ours with the same intent.
• If you're in a marina or head to shore in the dinghy, there's always someone on the dock to chat with. It doesn't take much to start up a conversation.
• Listen to the local morning net if there is one and find out what's happening in the area. There's nothing like an evening potluck get-together or a rousing game of dominoes to introduce yourself to new folks.

• If you're a SailBlogger, you can check on-line to see who is close to you and make the effort to get in touch.

Interestingly enough, however, most of the responses were targeted at meeting other cruisers, not the locals. Though we enjoy meeting other cruisers, quite honestly, we could do that anywhere. If cultural experience and local interaction is what you're searching for, you might have to wander a little farther than the local dinghy dock.

• Make an effort to visit the local yacht club, community center, tourist info office, and/or the local chandlery to see what's going on and what you might become involved in. If none of these exist, try the school. Teachers are always interested in showing off their classes and usually welcome newcomers with open arms.

• Determine if your club or organization sponsors a cruising host or port host in the area and contact them for an introduction to the area, as well as an immediate local contact.

• The local fresh market is a great place to meet people since everyone turns out for this social community event. Chat up the green grocer and other customers. Ask about veggies and fruits that are new to you. A conversation will start up almost immediately.
• Got a special skill? Know how to fix solar panels, generators, etc? The more remote you get, the harder it is for locals to find help for maintaining and/or repairing equipment. If you offer your services, you can be assured of a warm response and many thanks from your new local friends.

• Just walk through town, smile and say hi. Interact with the community. When people find out you're from “the boat anchored out there”, you're bound to attract local attention.

We've found in our experience, locals were as interested in meeting us as we were in meeting them. It's not a one-way street by any means. They, too, are curious and happy to share their hospitality and cultural differences.

Battling Addictions of the Electronic Type

It has not been much of problem while on the boat or at sea, but now that we're back in the Land of Plenty, we admit that we have some serious addictions and battling them is difficult. It's not drugs nor drink that have taken over our lives … it's electronics … cell phone, internet, TV, Words With Friends … the list goes on. We're ashamed, but we're feeling helpless.

It all started when Lin, my sister, gave me an iPhone for my birthday soon after we returned to the US last December. We couldn't figure out how to use it and doubted we ever would. Now, as unlikely as it seems, it is an integral part of lives. There's a resounding ding which beckons attention whenever a text message or an e-mail arrives. It dings all the time. Last September while crossing the Atlantic, we thought it was okay to check emails once a day. Now whenever we hear that ding … we grab for the phone to check it. Really … what could be that urgent? It's a Pavlovian response … although checking texts is probably better than salivating and drooling.

We've started sitting in front of the TV each evening. It doesn't matter what's on. We glance up while playing Words With Friends or Sudoku on our iPads … making sure to check the phone whenever there's a ding. Sometimes there's conversation which many times leads to an unanswerable question … our memories aren't what they used to be. Then Siri gets involved. Apple's Siri (Speech Recognition and Interpretation Interface) answers our questions or tells us where the nearest Chinese restaurant is or what time the local supermarket closes. Mary does not have a telephone book in the house, nor an encyclopedia, nor a dictionary/thesaurus. Why would she? Just consult the internet or easier yet, ask Siri.

We cannot go anywhere in the car/truck without the phone. We wouldn't know where to go or how to get there. After all, the iPhone is really not for telephone calls at all (although I do appreciate the R&B piano riff that sounds when a call comes in). It's a GPS … and a camera (movies or stills) and a flashlight and a message/email minder and an address book and an appointment calendar and so much more. It appears our whole life is totally tied up in this small device that we couldn't figure out how to use three months ago and is now, predictably, impossible to do without. How did that happen?

I read a newspaper article the other day (yes, my hard copy, hold in my hands, black-ink, delivered-to-my-door morning newspaper) about detoxing from cellphone/internet addiction. Technology addiction is a science unto itself. There's even a Center for Internet and Technology Addiction which provides self-tests you can take on-line (the addicted will really love this) to determine your level of addiction.

It's definitely time to get back to the boat where internet and phone access isn't as easy. Specialists recommend a gradual weaning rather than a cold turkey approach. Yes, we'll suffer some withdrawal initially. We'll get fidgety and panicky and feel a bit unsettled and disconnected … but we'll survive. We understand that in order to recover, there will be pain involved. No pain, no gain. Thank goodness we're not addicted to sailing … much.

#TBT - Stewart Island, New Zealand

Way at the bottom of New Zealand's South Island lies Stewart Island, about 18nm across the Foveaux Strait from the mainland. We had just spent over a month in rugged, isolated Fjordland National Park and rounded Southeast Cape, #2 of our great southern cape adventures. We were looking forward to all we'd heard about the magic of Stewart Island and we weren't disappointed. This blog was written before JALF was ever conceived, so I'm sharing an old SailBlog with you.

Feb 2011 – Chased by lion!

Waterlily Bay, Port Pegasus, Stewart Island

We spent the morning chatting with the folks on "Dingo" while David & Jim fixed their outboard motor. It was an absolutely beautiful day with bright sunshine and a clear blue sky. In the afternoon, we decided we'd move Cups to the North Arm of Pegasus Bay and chose Waterlily Bay as our destination...an all-weather anchorage with a cool name. This little anchorage is absolutely stunning. Once again, we lucked out and a sturdy hawser was strung across the head of the bay to be used as a stern tie-up. A lot of kelp here, but no waterlilies in Waterlily Bay that we could find.

Exploring by dinghy, we scooted across the bay to Smuggler's Cove. A fissure in granite slightly wider than the dinghy led back about 50 feet to a tiny sand-beach grotto. The entrance is so narrow that the waves built up coming in and we had to fend ourselves off the rocky sides with our oars and then got a big push up onto the beach. Not much inside...dark and very cool out of the sunshine and most unusual...quite eerie in fact. The thick rain forest had formed a canopy overhead so it seemed more like a cave. Getting back out was a bit of challenge to overcome the incoming waves, but we managed and headed out around a small point up into Basin Creek. Since it was low tide, we made it about half way before it became too shallow. We tied up the dinghy to an exposed rock and immediately began digging for clams. It was thick with them buried in the low-tide sand and we had a bucket in no time.

As we dug, we could hear roaring. Really, it sounded like a pride of lions at the head of the creek, but we could see nothing. Clam digging complete, we walked further up the creek, the rocky sides now exposed by the low tide. Lolling on the beach before us were about eight large fur seals. Some were sleeping; some rolling in the sand; others apparently at play. A huge bull spotted us and took his responsibility to protect the harem very seriously. With an ear-shattering roar, he charged in our direction, moving amazingly fast for such a large creature. David raised his arms and began clapping, a trick we learned in Antarctica to keep the sea lions at bay. This worked for about a minute. Actually the bull looked somewhat confused (maybe a-mused), then he resumed his charge. David repeated the clapping and the bull stopped once again. We weren't that close actually and didn't feel all that threatened since we thought we could probably outrun a half-ton seal on land...even at our age. As we slowly backed away, the bull would charge, David would clap and finally we evidently passed an invisible territorial border. The bull gave another roar and a snort and pretty much swaggered, as best as fur seals can, back to his women, shouting his own praises all the way. He's probably still regaling them with his brave acts of courage this morning over breakfast.

Read more about Stewart Island and New Zealand on our website.

Gentry is encouraging me to complete my e-book about our New Zealand sailing adventures. Look for it late this year or early 2017. Really!