We don’t ignore the bad, but choose to focus on the good!
Rebecca and I met with friends last night to enjoy the very popular monthly full-moon party. It was a great evening but sadly, unbeknownst to us at the time, a couple of cruising couples were being taken advantage of by thieves while we were having fun.
A snake in the garden
This morning we read that while we were on shore last night, a relatively new dinghy with a 15HP engine had its security cable cut, and was stolen from the Woburn dock. Around the same time, a boat anchored in the same general vicinity had its locked companionway door broken, and had computers, cash, and a variety of other things stolen. These are both troubling incidents to cruisers as replacing these items can be both difficult, and costly. It’s easy to become angry, or fearful when presented with news such as this, but instead of focusing on the negative today, I thought I’d share a few stories of good things that we’ve witnessed lately, and have been happy to be a part of.
Read this post on how to securely lock your dinghy.
A vessel aground
The dinghy passage is NOT for big boats!
A few weeks ago, on our way home from the Sunday lime at Roger’s Beach Bar, we came upon a sailboat that was hard aground near the entrance to the Hog Island anchorage. I’m not sure exactly what precipitated the grounding but it appeared to us as if the skipper had been attempting to take the full-sized vessel through the shallow dinghy channel! To my knowledge, no formal distress call was made over the VHF radio, but in spite of that, within a few short minutes there were another dozen or so dinghies on site, ready to assist. During the 30 minutes or so that followed, cruisers used their dinghies to push and pull the boat, attempting to maneuver it back into deeper water. Ultimately, we were successful, but not until a large tender from Le Phare Blue Marina showed up to help. Once the sailboat was re-floated, we and the other cruisers dispersed to go on with our day, feeling hopeful that we had added a few more points to the cruising black box.
Docking without engines
Is this a dinghy, or a tug boat?
Not many days after the above event, we heard an early-morning radio call from a skipper requesting some assistance. A boat was on its way into Mt. Hartman Bay, apparently without engine power, and the skipper was looking for a couple of dinghies that could help the boat maneuver. When we took a look outside, we could see the vessel making its way in through the channel, so we dropped our tender into the water and set off to see if we could lend a hand. What followed was pretty amazing as that single radio call mustered the help of almost a dozen different dinghies, and almost twice as many cruisers. It was almost amusing to see the mass of inflatables circling the boat as it sailed further into the bay. As it turned out, it was actually a good thing that they had so much help as the boat was not planning on simply anchoring but rather, it was going to attempt to dock on the far side of the marina, in a spot that would have been impossible to sail into. Once again, the efforts of the cruisers met with a positive result. The various tenders, acting as mini tug boats, pushed and pulled the boat into position, while folks in other dinghies helped by securing lines from the vessel to mooring balls to keep it from hitting the dock. As in the first example, once the boat was made secure, the dinghies simply dispersed, and the cruisers returned to their own boats to continue on with their day.
A medical emergency
I think we’d better define that word young!
In a completely different type of scenario, the day before yesterday, when scanning the Grenada Cruisers’ Facebook Page, we came across an urgent plea for blood donors. Apparently, a cruiser here had just been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, and was in need of a large amount of blood before she could be evacuated back to her home country to continue treatments. Rebecca and I responded that we’d be happy to help, and then yesterday morning, joined in with two bus loads of other cruisers who had also volunteered to travel to the local hospital to donate blood. I don’t believe that we’ve met the person who required the transfusions, and my guess is that at least a significant portion of the people who also donated could say the same. The immediate rally to help though is, once again, indicative of the general good of cruisers that we have experienced, and of people in general.
While it’s true that we were personally involved with each of the examples that I wrote about, I don’t share them to toot our own horn. They are just situations that I have first hand knowledge of. I know that every minute of every day, countless other acts of good are taking place around the world. While it’s certainly not wise to blindly ignore the occasional negative thing that occurs around us, it’s even more important that we don’t let those few things overshadow the immense amount of good that is also taking place. Please keep that in mind as you enjoy your day!
Note: While I was typing this out, the dinghy that was stolen last night was recovered. Good news! Hopefully the folks that had their boat broken into will also be able to recover their possessions.
Mike, follow up question on the chain, if you have a moment….
Have you found 12′ to be long enough in most instances? Or would you make it longer if doing it again? Gas tank locked to the chain also? I use the stainless tubular MotorLoc on our outboard and high recommend it. Is the source of your inexpensive chain readily available in St. Martin (our first stop)? Thanks!
Hi Jonathan. 12′ is a little short. Our friends just purchased new 8mm chain for their dinghy and they opted for 20′. Ideally you’d have the gas can locked as well, either independently to the dinghy and engine, or through that same length of chain. I think I’d prefer the former for simplicity. As for inexpensive, that chain is anything but! Yes, the chain is available in SXM at Budget Marine, but it is pricey. Then again, so is a dinghy and outboard!
Thanks!
Mike, I am embarrassed for you! I signed the partition because I thought by your words the was an injustice going on against PiZZa Pi. If they ran a clean business (paying taxes following rules, permits, insurance..etc..) I am behind it.
As soon as I signed, what do I get but e-mail’s asking for money . Oh Please help PiZZa Pi and others to fight these unjust causes . Come on Mike screen your causes a little better. Faithful Reader from the start in Canada.
In All these years this only the second time I don’t agree. First you gave up your dog (there is supposed to be a commitment when you get an animal), and now this one. I got 6 different e-mails from the site,in charge of collecting money.No wonder you are having troulbe getting people to sign petition. Maybe you and PiZZa Pi did not know that’s what is going on.That’s why I am writing . If you did ?
You’ve only disagreed with me twice? That’s got to be a record. My wife disagrees with me more than that every single day! See my reply regarding pizza pi on your other comment.
I take exception to the comment about giving up the dog, having just made a similar decision about our cat. ( http://www.rhapsodyontheblue.com/2016/06/goodbye-to-furry-friend.html ). First of all, it is not “giving up”, it is finding the best options for all involved. When you make the decision to go cruising, hard choices have to be made. Some people choose to take their pets, some feel that life on a boat is not fair for their particular pets and their particular situation. Once the decision has been made there is often plenty of second guessing, and certainly lots of emotion. Sometimes the bravest choice is the choice to let go, and it is unfair to question the choice that anyone makes in these situations, or to assume that the choice was made lightly, or without commitment.
I took exception to that comment too, but inspired by the beautiful sunrise this morning (cover photo on today’s post), I decided to ignore it. Since you brought it up, I agree with you. The fact is that our dog’s adopted family loved him dearly, and lavished him with at least as much attention as we did. They adopted a playmate for him as the years went by, and now, with his passing, have just added a new puppy to the family.
As we put some of our life in the public eyes, we are bound to be judged. I noted not too long ago though that we seldom share 100% of the details. People should be wary of being too critical without all the facts.
I don’t know why you’d be embarrassed for me. Angry perhaps, if you thought that I misrepresented something, or led you astray. Regardless, you should take a deep breath and relax, Michael. Canadians are supposed to be more chilled. 🙂
While I haven’t received any this time around, I suspect that you’ve received some emails from the website that administered the petition, not from Pizza Pi, and certainly not from me. It has happened to me before when I’ve signed a petition, and also when I’ve made a donation to crowd sourcing sites. There is a very simple solution: UNSUBSCRIBE! Look at the bottom of one of the emails for the unsubscribe link, click it, and they’ll stop emailing you. Problem solved. If only Pizza Pi could fix their issue so easily.
For those confused by Michael’s comment, it relates to this post:
http://www.zerotocruising.com/help-put-pizza-pi-back-christmas-cove/
What about combining good karma and black box points or are they one and the same? I realize I am way too deep here, but I’d like to imagine so. Forgiveness, kindmness and generosity are another black back. I’d like to think so. What a concept.
I’d say that Karma relates primarily to dealings with others, or at least that’s how I think of it. The Black Box theory relates more to the nautically prudent things that we do keep our ship safe. So, after writing of that, perhaps what I described in the post was more the former than the latter.
The “good” seems to be cruisers helping cruisers. v cool! But would I be right that the thefts were not committed by cruisers? How are the cruisers viewed/received by the locals? Are there good news stories on that count?
My guess is that these particular thefts were not perpetrated by a cruiser, but that is not a situation that is completely unknown. Cruisers, like any community, have good eggs and bad.
I would generalize the people of Grenada as being very friendly, and welcoming to cruisers. We have made a number of friends here, and can hardly walk down the road without being offered a ride by a passing acquaintance, or a complete stranger. Most residents understand the vital importance of tourism to their island, and are very protective of it. As I said though, there are a few bad eggs. Such is life.