How's your chat up lines?

[Nostrodamus]

I must admit we are pretty sociable animals and like to meet other sailors.

Whilst traveling down France we came across very few British flagged boats so when we did see one we tended to introduce ourselves and invite the occupants aboard for a drink. By doing this we have met some wonderful people.

Now living in a house you never went up to total strangers in the street and invited them round for a drink just because they lived in a house themselves but boat people are a special lot. (well my wife tells me I am a special case anyway)

When going somewhere new do you introduce yourselves, do nothing or hate it when another boater knocks on your hull to introduce themselves?

Does your outlook change depending on if it is a sail or power boat?

 

[Seajet]

In a situation like you describe, I'd definitely make contact.

Once when working on a hotel barge in Burgundy, my then wife came to stay while I did a refit; a lone elderly chap in a mobo with a British ensign turned up, and we got chatting; turned out he'd been a Spitfire pilot ( " Oh we all had a good word to say for Bader, but I can't say it in front of your wife ! " ), and we had a fascinating evening, that's just one example of many.

 

[Twister_Ken]

I know it's difficult to believe, but Johnny Foreigner can be quite a nice fellow as well!

 

[DJE]

I know it's difficult to believe, but Johnny Foreigner can be quite a nice fellow as well!

I trust that Madame would agree with you there.

 

[Robin]

And mobo owners.

Actually we always found many more helpful French than Brits in France and were often been invited to BBQs or drinks on board and vice versa. Maybe it is just the same percentage of each mind and right place right time scenarios.

 

[BlackPig]

I tend to be an unsociable animal, (dyslexic never remember peoples names, details,or what they do, any small talk) but when I got a Privateer 20 (gaff rigged) people came up to me. It's a nice unassuming boat. I believe people approach the boat first, then me.

Gaffers have it a bit easer (like bikers), smaller tribe, closer to each other.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Gaffers have it a bit easer (like bikers), smaller tribe, closer to each other.

There just after your baggywrinkle.

 

[Blueboatman]

Yup, the further you go away from the 'two week holidays' mentality, the smaller or more interesting the boat, the more beer and bars one frequents..lone sailors can ( sometimes) be a tad slower on the social chitchat and niceties.

Musical instrument can help big time ( or not hahaha)

What I like is the genuine range of original thinkers/'characters' if you like that I have simply never met in a suburban environment.

Sounds like the OP is getting into this cruising lark rather well. Yay! Fun innit

 

[ukmctc]

Being a Biker (43 years now), I chat to everyone, infact the wife has to drag me away.
Boaties in general are talkers, I think its because like Bikers once your away on your bike/boat your on your own, wind in your hair, eyes weeping......

My wife, she's the quiet one, won't talk to anyone unless they start the conversation (not a typical Kiwi), but enjoys it when they do, and glad when they've gone.

 

[Nostrodamus]

Mywife says that men, after copious quantities of falling down juice have a language that no one else can understand apart from themselves. We chat away until chucking out or chucking up time and she has no idea what we are talking about..... probably a good job.

 

[Wansworth]

I tend to be an unsociable animal, (dyslexic never remember peoples names, details,or what they do, any small talk) but when I got a Privateer 20 (gaff rigged) people came up to me. It's a nice unassuming boat. I believe people approach the boat first, then me.

Gaffers have it a bit easer (like bikers), smaller tribe, closer to each other.

I lived on a Macwester Kelpe one summer and had many offers of dinner and drinks......in my 40 footer not even a snack!

 

[Nostrodamus]

I know it's difficult to believe, but Johnny Foreigner can be quite a nice fellow as well!

Have not quie got into that as yet. I must admit we tend towards the Brit boat as they are in the same position as us. We tried on a couple of occasions with some French but felt wallies when they could not speak English and we could not speak their language. With foreign flagged boats we tend to say hello in passing and if they reply we then make further conversation.

Having said that we have made some wonderful French friends as a result.

 

[Kukri]

I tend to be an unsociable animal, (dyslexic never remember peoples names, details,or what they do, any small talk) but when I got a Privateer 20 (gaff rigged) people came up to me. It's a nice unassuming boat. I believe people approach the boat first, then me.

Gaffers have it a bit easer (like bikers), smaller tribe, closer to each other.

Yes indeed, and people admiring the boat are an ice breaker anyway.

But, whilst I will never be 25 again, Holland in the hot summer of 1977 in a wooden 18 footer was the best - we never had to buy a drink and hardly had to buy a meal - "You crossed the Nordzee in that little boat!" (it probably helped that my girlfriend was very pretty and it was a very hot summer...)

 

[ukmctc]

I have to say that last year and the year before I met folk from Holland, France, Germany, USA and Canada all were friendly and chatty and we had lots of drinks and food on their boats and ours, 48 footers down to a 26 footer, size made no difference except when it came to some English yachties were size was everything....lol

 

[capnsensible]

Being anchored in Orient Bay in St Martin is very sociable because no one wears anything.

Shy people dont go!

 

[Achillesheel]

With our Achilles 24 we often get people saying their first boat was one of those, best boat they ever owned... etc

We rafted up against a boat in Falmouth last year who make a habit of offering to put the kettle on for "rafters" for a cup of tea. Which of course led to a long and friendly chat.

The following day we set off for Fowey, bottled out after about half an hour, and came back to raft up with them again. At which point the kettle went on again.