Cruising Story – Restoring Faith in Community and Humanity!
The cruising/sailing community is a fairly tight knit group
and there are countless stories about cruisers helping cruisers, particularly
when something breaks or malfunctions.
We have witnessed this many times and have often lent a hand, tools or
spares in order to get a boat back up and running.
But this week we were the recipient of an act of kindness that really helped restore my faith in humanity and community. We have been staying a few days on the boat in the Bahamian town of Spanish Wells, located adjacent to the north end of Eleuthera.
It is a wonderfully unique town, with a vibrant and successful lobster fishing industry. The locals here are so friendly and hard-working; but take the time to greet you as you walk down the streets, often offering a ride if you are carrying shopping etc.
Our story began as we finished dinner in a
local restaurant. Our dog Salty was with
us and is often our “ambassador” for meeting new friends. Erica and David and their friend Bereness introduced
themselves and took an immediate shine to Salty. 
Ambassador Salty
We spent a few minutes chatting and as we
often do when we meet new people, we offered a “boat card” to them. For any non-boaters reading this, Boat cards
are like business cards that cruisers use to exchange contact information. We left the restaurant and walked back to the
boat. Thirty minutes later, I received a
text message from Erica, “we would love to have you over for breakfast
tomorrow to hear about your adventures – we will pick you up from your boat at
8:45am”. How kind! We graciously accepted. We had a wonderful breakfast and invited them
to come see the boat later that day, we extended the invitation to stay for
dinner and I would cook steaks on the grill.
That evening, they came to the boat, with 20 fresh lobster tails, wine,
and home-made ice cream. Our simple dinner became a surf and turf feast! We learned that our new friends were leaving
the island the following day, but they insisted that they would leave their
house open so that we could use their laundry facilities. How wonderful was that! The local laundromat had closed down, so this
was a great help to us. 
The view from our new friends' home
But how amazing
is that – 24 hours earlier we were total strangers, and now we are trusted to
use facilities in their home when they were not even present. Needless to say, we are extremely grateful
and intend to remain good friends. The
town of Spanish Wells is an amazing community.
We have experienced many acts of kindness on each of our trips through
this area, but this one tops them all! David and Erica – thank you! We truly value your friendship!
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| David, Neil, Janet, Bereness, and Erica |
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