Giving space
Have you ever secured your boat to a ball in a completely empty mooring field, only to have the next boat to arrive tie up to the ball immediately adjacent to you? Perhaps you’ve even been the one to commit that faux pas? If you don’t see a problem with what I just described, I want to draw a parallel, one that I know at least the guys reading this will get.
Imagine entering a public restroom with a row of urinals along a wall, all of them empty. In this case, you have the option of choosing whichever one you like. If, however, one of them is already occupied, which one would you take? The one right beside the other guy? Of course not, unless you want to be the recipient of some very strange looks. You do not what to be “that guy!”
I don’t know why but this parallel came to me as we approached the snorkel park the other day, finding one lone sailboat already there. Needless to say, I did not take the ball right beside the other guy, even though it was a bit closer to the underwater statues. I respected his privacy, and chose a ball at the other end of the field. No weird looks, and everyone remained happy.
lol….it happens to me all the time at parking lots……i always try to park my truck away from all the other cars….to avoid scratches etc….even if i have to walk an extra 50-100 ft. to get to where i am going……..guess what?…on my return..there is another car parked right next to me…….even tho there are 80 other parking spots……yep..right next to me….not even 2 spaces over…right next to my truck..
its like the driver think my truck is lonely and needs company..!!
Definitely happens!
It definitely happens to nicer cars. I loved my rusty old dented truck. Nobody would park next to me and they would always make room when I turned on a blinker. Too bad it died and wasn’t worth fixing. Would the same apply to boats?
Yes!
What a perfect way to get the concept across Mike!
And it applies even more to anchoring. At least mooring balls are spaced out to (usually) safe distances. How many times have you been anchored in a quiet cove and then here comes someone that drops anchor RIGHT NEXT to you, when the entire cove is available to them?
bob
s/v Eolian
Anacortes
The herd mentality at work.
I put I vote for Hillary stickers on both sides of the boat. No one every gets close if they are US boat.
No comment. 🙂
…Been following your blog – “the warden” and I are in the planning stages to dump it all and cruise the Caribbean. We’re currently in a 3-5 year window. Ok, enough about us. Your post brings to mind a site someone once sent me… The urinal selection test – a score of 100% should be required for all males prior to puberty.
http://www.urinalman.com/
Funny stuff. I only got a B on that test. 🙂
Excellent analogy Mike!! I only got a C on the test – I thought I was pretty good at that but apparently need to study some more… 🙂
You and me both.