Enough stories to write a book....

Alvor anchorage...

What remains the same in the last 30 years is the experience of meeting remarkable characters. We are the “citizens of the sea”, extremely individualists. I am not talking about the “tourists” (as says Jacques our Belgium friend), the summer yachting crowd, the week-end cruiser or even the sabbatical cruiser young or older. No I mean the ones who chose this life style for what it is and for most of them with the point of non return.

There is always in every anchorage the percentage of bums who drown their sorrow in alcohol too scared to face the unknown of another shore. They cannot lift anchor anymore, tangled in the cheap life, cheap booze. Behind their ravage face are hidden some dramatic stories of sad destroyed dreams. They are those who without really any love or dream about seafaring left to escape society, problems. There too, are a lot of dramas, dissatisfaction, bitterness and even negativity. And then, the ones who are trapped in their own boat too big, too heavy too expensive to maintain. The single older guys who have lost the spark of adventure and discovery, a little jealous of the ones who keep going, of the couples who can rely on each other and share the joy and the hardship of sailing. They are too individualists to share their life, to find a crew, a companion. They rather settle in their routine, stay where it is safe where they have their habits, but keep dreaming of farther anchorages. Then there is the back lashed of lost fortunes where the boat becomes the last refuge and it is a self rediscovery in this more simple life where a business card is incongruous.

There are some strong moment where everyone lower their guard and reveal themselves without shame, hypocrisy around a table garnished with a good meal. Without doubts those confessions are easier to make knowing that we will part to probably never meet again... Social barriers, ages, nationalities are then non existent.

It is rare though, those moments. Some will always stay landlubbers simply transferring from land to boat their problems, inhibitions, tensions they thought they left behind. Those will be multiply by 10 in a small damp universe

30 years ago everything was simpler. We were fewer and had more or less the same background. We were before everything adventurers in our approach of sailing and life on a boat. Not much income, or none, we were jack of all trades. Our stories were often the same and we immediately connected. It was a seafarer community that is about to disappear. Now there is social classes in marinas, even anchorages, nationality barriers sometimes. And it is a shame.

Though once in a while we meet people we connect immediately with.Their stories are different but we feel that the same motivation drives us to where we all are now. We still all believe in our dreams, we realize them and are taking them a step farther without loosing our enthusiasm. We do not talk about the last electronic devices or boat gadget or the marinas and commodities our the latest sailing rally. We all try our best to avoid the main stream, and tend to leave the crowd behind.

Today we left our little floatting village, leaving some good friends. Some we will see again, some probably not, but we won't forget them. It is good to feel free again, and be able to choose when and where to go. It is a wonderful privilege.

But before we were able to leave, Magnus and friends had to untangle the chain from the mooring line. (I had secure the boat with the anchor during the storm, and with the tides, the chain made a few turn around the mooring line..)