Water into Wine
20 February 2014 | Jumentos Cays
Beautiful
One of the aspects of boating, and cruising in particular, that we love is the camaraderie and willingness of boaters to help one another, in minor and some not so minor ways. Friends of ours, who have "swallowed the anchor" and taken up land cruising, tell us that the experience is very different because, on land, there usually is help just around the corner -- a gas station, tire warehouse, hardware store, whatever -- so landsmen are not as supportive (or as likely to reach out to their fellows) as yachtsmen.
In addition to serving one another, it is done without need for or thought to compensation. If you are willing and able to return the favor (with food or some-such) fine, but payment is anathema. Indeed, the typical mantra is to "pay it forward" and help some other boater who is in need when next you encounter one.
We have experienced this on several occasions ourselves when we needed an oil filter for our diesel generator (we thought we had spares aboard, but the red boxes for spares for that brand of diesel all look the same) and we "reimbursed" the provider with maple syrup; or when we had difficulty starting said generator and a fellow boater solved the dilemma (more maple syrup); or when our old dinghy was swept away by unforecasted high winds and friends from our boatyard "hauled our sorry a..es around" until we got back to the states to buy a new one. We have heard of people literally reinstalling Single Side Band (think ham) radios that were not functioning, rebuilding auto-pilots that could not hold a course, troubleshooting electrical gremlins (typically, a faulty ground) that were making life miserable for those on board, and providing other services that utilized the provider's talents, all without financial reward. Of course, most dramatic are those efforts to rescue people in life-threatening situations -- like a boat that came into George Town Harbor relying on a chart that mis-located an entrance and put them on a reef. Numerous folks dropped what they were doing and rushed to the scene in their dinghies to assist getting the foundering vessel off the rocks or getting the people off the boat if need be (fortunately, the former was the case). On another occasion in GT as well, a boat was severely damaged and its hull was punctured and flooded. A group of cruisers got together, screwed and bolted a piece of plywood over the hole and another boat towed the damaged vessel back to the states for repairs. All done without thought to compensation or salvage rights.
Recently, we stopped by a boat to ask the couple on board whether they could recommend a walking trail on an island in the Jumentos. After they described a tortuous path they had found, they mentioned that they would be departing soon because they were about out of water. It seems they have a 100 gallon water tank that contained more than enough to get them through, but their watermaker had malfunctioned and the tank was contaminated with salt. Because we had plenty of water, we willingly gave them what they figured they would need to get back to the Exumas where they could flush the tank and take on fresh. Van also suggested they try desalinating the water in the tank once they repaired their watermaker. Being grateful for our assistance, they invited us over for sundowners but insisted we not bring our own beverage; the wine would be their treat. So, our provision of a bit of water was turned into their provision of some wine and wonderful hospitality. Which is what we so love about this existence.