The Cruising Community

The definition of Community- a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other.The cruising community is composed of a motley crew of individuals (organisms) from all walks of life with one commonality, they travel about in boats, socialize in small groups and come to each others aid when needed. The boaters do not necessarily travel together, but often catch up with each other in anchorages along the way. These communities usually form during the annual southerly migration in the fall. But, it's not uncommon for communities to form even in the north where there is a shorter season.

The holidays were fast approaching and most boaters were making plans to leave their boats in a variety of ICW marina locations in preparation to travel home to be with their families. Joe and I planned to visit his mom in Deerfield Beach for Christmas. We'd made reservations to dock Simple Life at a Pompano Beach marina for a few days while we were gone.




I checked my messages one last time before departure and had a Facebook message from our friend Daria. She and her husband Dan of SV Nixie du Nord, with whom we sailed with in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island were also visiting Dan's family in Florida. She'd read one of our recent blogs, knew we were nearby and offered to drive us to Deerfield Beach from the marina! They arrived at the marina with Dan's brother Dave and Joe insisted we all start the morning off on the "right foot" with Bloody Mary's at the marina restaurant. Daria and Dan are wonderful cruising friends whom we've known for many years. They're also perfect examples of kind hearted cruisers who always makes us feel welcomed.

Our stay in Deerfield was scheduled only for three days due to limited reservations at the marina. With plans to depart the marina on the 23rd of December we expected to move south to Dinner Key in Coconut Grove and take the TriRail back to Deerfield Beach for Christmas. The dock master informed us that another boater cancelled a reservation and we could stay through the holiday! Merry Christmas to all! Joe paid for the additional four days and headed back to Simple Life to give me the good news. On his way he ran into another sailing couple whom we'd met while holed up during the hurricane at Dowry Creek. Bob and Pat aboard Chanticleer were visiting their son nearby and were also spending the holidays at the marina. After a quick chat Bob said that he'd rented a car and offered to drive us back to Deerfield Beach! Thanks to Bob and Pat we returned to visit Joe's mom that afternoon. Warmhearted comes to mind when I try to put my feelings about the thoughtful, kind people we've been fortunate enough to meet this season. Their generosity and sincerity is simply astounding and that is why we consider ourselves fortunate to be part of this terrific community.






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Location:South Florida