Dockside tales: Boat people.

A Lack of common decency getting you down? You should hang around more boaters and divers.

As a bit of a misanthrope, when I hear people moaning about a lack of decency, poor customer service and a general lack of attention, I just sort of nod my head, affirmingly, I want to agree with them but I simply cannot, the reason, I hang around with boat people and divers.

Boats come in all shapes, sizes and price categories but somehow we are all bound by our common interest. I am sure behind closed hatches and portholes words are said but, out in the open there is a camaraderie that is unbreakable.

The fishermen

A mate of mine broke down at sea, he was going to be waiting around for quite a bit, by chance one of the fishing boats from the port was coming by, there was a language barrier, my mate being Norwegian and the fishing boat crew being from Andalucía, no problem, they understood one another.

Now, my mate was a bit worried, recalling something about salvage rights when it´s not an emergency, he thought he´d lose the boat and end up paying a small fortune to get it back. I get a panicked call, could I help smooth out the situation. I passed by, explained the concerns of the boat owner, well, the faces these fishermen pulled, you´d think I´d just insulted their mothers. They were offended at the thought of taking any money for their troubles and were just happy to help, hands were shook, thanks made and the next day, cases of beer were delivered as a thank you.

The country guy

One of my closest friends or compadres enjoys nothing more than being in the countryside when he´s away from the sea. If you ever visit Andalucía, you will see the attraction. Driving along the trails on his way home one Sunday afternoon he came across an elderly man sitting on a rock, now when you go out into the country in this part of the world, it´s common to meet lots of people, horse riders, enduro bikers, mountain bikers, shepherds (yes they still have them here), but rarely are people alone.

My friend stops, asks if the guy needs a hand. The guy says he was on his way down into the town but needed to rest as he was not young anymore. My friend would take no refusal and immediately offered to give the guy a lift into town. The man was very grateful and told my friend of his life as a shepherd, “we never leave one behind”, the immediate reply was “I´m a man of the sea and we don´t leave anyone behind either”.

"We need more people who are like boaters and divers"

I have many more of these types of tale, I am also sure there are many other walks of life and good Samaritans. I just don´t think that we see enough of it.

There is some snobbery in boating, belonging to the right clubs and having the right to hoist certain flags or pennants but it´s only an incredibly small portion. I see people on the sea wave to each other all the time, they have no idea who they´re waving to, but it´s nice. Big smiles, people helping other boaters off their boats, throwing and catching lines and generally being just nice.

We need more nice, little niceties, more smiles, more helping others. If you feel like you´re missing out on this in your life then perhaps you need a boat or hang out with people who own boats. Improve your life and put some boating in it!

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