CRUISINGCourteous CruisingBy Dave CrossPhoto by Dave Cross“We’ve been cruising <strong>for</strong> three monthsnow, and we haven’t connected with anyother cruisers,” the skipper behind mewas saying. “We thought it would beeasy to make friends out here.”Judy and I had just returned to Grenada from Tobago, andwere at Roger’s barbecue on Hog Island. I introducedmyself to skipper, receiving an invitation to skipper’sboat <strong>for</strong> drinks and chatter. When we accepted, thehappy skipper jumped in his dinghy, roaring off to getthe boat ready.Judy and I were dismayed when he zig-zaggedthrough the anchored yachts, sending masts waving like42 October 2006 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindsmagazine.com
Kansas wheat. As we slowly followed, squeezing betweenthe anchor line of the boat behind and skipper’s stern, wecringed: On the swim plat<strong>for</strong>m was a roaring portablegenerator, accompanying the Rolling Stones blasting fromthe stereo.We knew why the skipper and his wife had trouble connectingwith anyone. His dinghy etiquette, anchoring practices,music and electricity generation created an impressionon his fellow cruisers...a very bad impression. While theywere enjoying the freedom of the cruising lifestyle, theywere annoying everyone around them.Cruising is about freedom. But, freedom isn’t anarchy.There are limits to personal freedom when people are closeenough that the actions of one affects others. And, whencruisers are anchored together, they are definitely closeenough to affect each other!Four activities generated the most complaintsamong cruisers we surveyed:ANCHORINGAnchoring, specifically anchoring too close, was numberone. And when boats anchor near each other, with differentscopes or type of rode, wind and tide changes can bring relativedistances between boats down to the “too close” rangevery quickly.The herd instinct can needlessly create situations whereboats are anchoring too close. Twice on our voyage, in theICW, and at Conception Island in the Bahamas, in anchoragesopen <strong>for</strong> several hundred yards in all directions, a boatpulled directly upwind of us, dropped the hook, and pulledback until they were right on top of us.GENERATING ELECTRICITYGeneration of electricity is next. Most cruisers are now bigfans of stuff; refrigeration, watermakers, laptops, etc. Allthese toys take electricity that must be generated. The generationof all those watts can be anything from unnoticeableto extremely rude, such as:• Diesel engines (generator or main engine): Mostinstalled engines create minimal external noise whenrunning. But they are not silent. When run on a quietevening, they are annoying.• Wind generators: Some wind generators areextremely noisy, howling in even moderate winds.And since one of the benefits of wind generation isthe ability to generate power 24/7, these rude littlemachines are rude 24/7.• Portable generators: These can be the most irritating,obnoxious, and rude devices out there. Listening toone or more of these little beasts drone on and on ishorrible, totally ruining the peace of any anchorage.Remember the Conception Island anchoring incident?Well, after anchoring right on top of us, our new neighbor puta generator on his rear swim plat<strong>for</strong>m, and started the damnthing. Then, incredibly, he yelled to his wife (so she couldhear him over the noise), “Let’s go <strong>for</strong> a walk on the beach sowe don’t have to listen to this racket!” And they hopped intheir dinghy, giving us cheery waves as they roared past!Wind generators can sometimes be noisy. Photo by Dave Cross.DINGHIESDinghy usage is next. Along with passing unnecessarilyclose to anchored boats, many cruisers don’t seem to recognizethe power of the wakes their little boats create. It iscommon to see a dinghy on plane back off to half throttle,then plow along, bow in the air, creating a wake that wouldmake a rude sport-fisher proud, rocking dinner off all itsneighbors’ tables.The other common dinghy issue cruisers face is shortpainters. More cruising boats mean more dinghies needingto tie up. And that requires long painters, including lockingsystems. It is not unusual to find a dinghy tied with a longpainter, hanging from its four-foot cable, securely locked tothe float’s cleat.EXCESSIVE EVENING NOISEFinally, everyone knows how easily sound travels overwater, and most cruisers maintain the quiet peace of theiranchorage. But when rude boaters <strong>for</strong>get, or ignore, thephysics of sound propagation, the result is anger and frustration,ruining the evening <strong>for</strong> a lot of folks. Too manyboaters think everyone in the anchorage deserves the honorof listening to their choice of music, or playing audience totheir loud laughter and shouts.What Do We Do About It?How can we all enjoy the freedoms we are searching <strong>for</strong> outthere as anchorages get more crowded? The answer isCruising Courtesy. We have to give each other the right toenjoy cruising in our own way—not behaving in such a waythat our actions diminish the cruising experience <strong>for</strong> others.Being courteous will allow more cruisers to enjoy moreplaces.Here are proven ways to avoid the discourteous behaviorslisted above:ANCHORINGThe amount of room each boat needs around it <strong>for</strong> the crewto feel com<strong>for</strong>table, allowing worry- free sleeping, and minimizingnoise intrusion, is somewhat subjective. But, two<strong>News</strong> & <strong>Views</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Sailors</strong> SOUTHWINDS October 2006 43
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