Boater friends in Kuto Bay, Ile des Pins, New Caledonia
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Wed 1 Oct 2008 03:42
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22:39.454S
167:26.303E
Late in the afternoon of 9/16, we left Drueulu Bay
on Lifou Island and sailed south through a moonlit night arriving at one of the
passes through the New Caledonia reef just after daybreak. It was a mostly
upwind sail, but the winds were lighter so the waves were more civilized -
meaning there was little or no bow slamming going on. At about five in the
morning, the wind all but disappeared and the motor came on for the first time
in a long while. After seven hours of motoring through the reef pass and
the reef strewn giant lagoon, we arrived at the lovely Isle of Pines and
squeezed ourselves in with the other twenty or so boats that were already
anchored there.
We stayed in Kuto Bay on the Isle of
Pines for a week. Now that we are behaving like true cruisers and not
racing from place to place like the half-crazed rally people that we were, we
are starting to recognize many of the other cruising sailboats. Some we
remember seeing as long ago and far away as Tonga and Fiji. Others we
recall seeing during our extended stay on the seawall in Port Vila,
Vanuatu. Recognizing the boats is one thing, but actually getting to
know the people attached to these boats requires a bit more effort.
Usually our first impression of potential boater
friends comes from the appearance of their boat from a distance (when anchored,
keeping a bit of distance between your boat and those of your neighbors is key -
no one wants to wake up to the sickly sound of two hulls colliding in the
night). When observing our anchored neighbors, we notice the usual things
(boat name, flag, home port, type of sailboat, color, etc.), but it's often the
more unusual things that reveal something more about the people. For
example, we've seen boats with so much stuff piled on the foredeck
that it looks like a yard sale might break out at any moment (perhaps
the need to save was inherited from WWII era parents?). The
same could be said for the owners of boats with miscellaneous boat junk
piled up in a heap on the aft deck such that it appears a high-rise condo
is under development (or perhaps they simply want to have it all and can't find
anywhere else to put it?). There are boats with hulls that look like
they lost battles with various other boats, docks, buoys and /or large sea
mammals (not the best navigators on board?), boats with an entire garden growing
along and below the waterline with a wide variety of sea creatures clinging to
it (owners with a fear of water leading to an inability to get in it and
clean?), boats painted red on one side and green on the other (helps the
crew remember the US waters navigational rule 'red on right returning'?),
homebuilt boats (builder/owner is a glutton for punishment?), and wooden boats
(owner is completely obsessed with self-punishment?). Or what about those
boats with fully color coordinated canvas (grill cover, furled sail UV strip,
sail covers, sun awnings, etc.)? Obsessive compulsive owners?
Or boats that have fully color coordinated canvas and decks, hull sides,
cockpit, windscreen, stainless steel fittings, etc. that are completely spotless
and - can it be - waxed and polished? Extremely obsessive compulsive or
owners well off enough to employ a professional crew (complete with spiffy
matching nautically styled uniforms of course)?
Boat names also reveal something about the people
who presumably chose the name. In some cases after a bit of
investigation, it's easy to understand the connection between the name
and the boaters. For example, Storyteller - both Sue and John were
in the publishing business before retiring; Lady Kay - Jackie's mom was named
Kay; Basia - Barbara's name is Basia in Polish; Chaotic Harmony - there
are two young kids on board; Graptolite - Martyn was a geologist before
retiring and graptolite is a type of fossil or something; Miami - George,
who is from Switzerland, spent a lot of time working in Hong Kong in the
'80's when the TV show Miami Vice was popular, and his last name is Weiss
(pronounced Vice). Apparently his nickname in Hong Kong at the time was
Miami. Get it? Miami Vice. Ok, ok, when we first saw the boat
Miami and didn't see a flag displayed, we thought the owners were from Florida
or at the very least American. We definitely wouldn't have guessed
Swiss.
Sometimes further investigation is required to
fully understand the connection between the boaters and the boat name.
Some connections are still a mystery. For example, Cool Bananas, Nutcase
(unless the connection is obvious?), Bad Kitty, Cheshire Cat or Squall (who
would name their boat Squall?).
Of course other observations from afar can tell you a little something
about potential boater friends. Laundry day can be quite revealing.
With the exception of the very large boats, no one has a dryer on board so most
clothing items are displayed hanging from any available line above deck for all
to see. Not everyone displays their underwear (I sometimes hang Don's
out, but keep mine below deck to dry - Don doesn't seem to mind that I'm not an
equal opportunity displayer of underwear), but if they do, it's always fun to
take a peek to see if any animal prints are visible.
Eventually, if we are lucky, we meet some of these potential boater
friends. Boaters from Miami and Beatrice organized a beach barbeque one
Sunday afternoon during the time we spent anchored in Kuto Bay, and boaters
on the twenty or so boats in the bay were invited. As a result,
we met a slew of potential boater friends all in one afternoon.
Unfortunately, unless we had an extended conversation with them, the names of
these potential boater friends went in one ear and out the other and
they will forever be known to us as 'the Beatrice or Amazing Grace or
Amulet people'. We find it's much easier to remember boat names than
the names of their owners.
If we do get into an extended conversation with potential boater friends,
the standard boater conversation covers the following: where they are
from, how long they have been cruising, where they are going, comparison of
anchor specifications, electrical systems, recipes, night watch schedules,
scariest passage, equipment failures and breakage while under way, groundings
(running into reefs, miscalculating tides, etc.), and best of all, the wonders
of the places they have been. In all the boater conversations we have had,
we've yet to hear anyone say they've disliked a single place they have
visited. Nor does anyone complain. If they experienced
something remotely unpleasant along the way (a particularly rigorous inspection
by the customs or quarantine officer or bad weather, or a rough passage) they
usually relate the story with a smile. One English couple we met in We
Marina on Lifou and then again on the Isle of Pines has been cruising together
on their boat Reflections for fourteen years. As Juliet said with a smile
and a laugh that is distinctly her own, 'We had a three year plan, but we simply
don't know what's happened! We've just kept going because we haven't
wanted to stop!'
The next step along the road to lifetime boater friends after the initial
extended conversation, is an invitation for a drink or dinner at a
restaurant or on board one or the other's boat. This first more intimate
encounter usually involves moderation and an effort to be as politically
correct as possible - you wouldn't want to offend your potential new boater
friends, now would you? However, after the second or third encounter with
potential boater friends, most caution is thrown to the wind and more intimate
personal details are exchanged. Like last names for instance. We
have met, had drinks with, dinner with, etc. a whole collection of people and
never learned their last names. The same is true for
occupations prior to boating. This information is typically not
shared until you have helped someone with their dinghy's
outboard motor or walked two miles to the bakery together or shared six
meals or too much wine. Only then is it discovered that someone was
an engineer or doctor or oral surgeon or business owner or property
developer. When 'boat cards' (like business cards only with your
personal contact information and usually a picture of your boat on them) are
exchanged, you have pretty much made it to lifetime boater friend
status. This means that someday, years later when you happen to be
in their home port (whether it be in France, England, the US, Australia,
Canada, South Africa or New Zealand), you can contact these boater
friends and feel confident that if they are home at the time, they will
absolutely invite you into their home, onto their boat, show you around the
area, the whole nine yards. This is the beauty of making friends by
boat.
Anne |