Unfriendly Sailors?

[Nostrodamus]

Now don't get me wrong because we have found that up to now every boat we have met with Irish people aboard have been the life and soul of the party and you couldn't meet a friendlier people... up to now.

When you are the only people on a visitors pontoon in a foreign country and another boat comes in that speaks a similar sort of language you tend to say hello.

Now if that boat contains four Irish males you expect a can of Guinness to be thrust at you before even a word is uttered.
Not on this occasion. They are the unfriendliest sailors we have met. In fact we have decided they are either all priests or terrorists. I suppose we could find out by sending our son round with a loud ticking clock. Either he or the clock should grab their attention.

In the time we have been sailing we have always found that other sailors have always been friendly like you have known them forever.

Have you ever come across another boat that does just not want to say hello or people you think are really suspicious?

 

[Victoria Sponge]

Yes in Turkey. i said hello to some people on a boat who turned out to be American, even though they had a red ensign.

They looked at me as if I was speaking double dutch, and then just turned away. I was a bit upset.

I don't think they were sailors though, I think they just happened to be on holiday on a boat.

 

[Baggy]

I also find that 99.9% of the people you meet
are really friendly..

Its those sailors with the Posh boats like Oysters
that seem rude...

 

[Nostrodamus]

I also find that 99.9% of the people you meet
are really friendly..

Its those sailors with the Posh boats like Oysters
that seem rude...

Hey, I totally agree with you on that point.
When we went to an Oyster show, prior to owning a boat, they did show us round but took us the back way round the champagne tents, through the mud, away from all the blazers and cravats. We called them a few choice names and said we would never darker their doorstep again.
Never say never!

 

[clyst]

When you say "sailors" do you include MOBOs owners in that ?? Cos that a thread on its own .

 

[Nostrodamus]

When you say "sailors" do you include MOBOs owners in that ?? Cos that a thread on its own .

Strangely enough their well stocked fridges and ice boxes and bars have been one of the first opened to us in may places. They are a friendly lot when in a marina... out at sea it may be different.

 

[little_roundtop]

The only unfriendly boaties we've seen have been those who only sail/motor for a few weeks a year (charterers too). I think they're still carrying their "townie" attitude with them where it's not always wise to open up to strangers, especially if you clearly have lots of money. I think if they were out here longer they'd learn to relax and take people as they come.

 

[Ludd]

Chill! For every standoafish person you meet,there are another hundred avoiding you-----!
Seriously though,these types are in the minority.
If the weather was bad crossing the bay they may still be traumatised!

Incidentally,did you take their lines when they came in?

 

[rotrax]

Having travelled the world for a variety of sporting and personal reasons and with no hang ups about comunicating with others by whatever means works- sign language, miming whatever, I have only met four obnoxious people. Two were German, one Irish and one French. This only proves that a tiny minority of people are *******s. Most of my travelling has been great and most sailors we meet are great. If others are rude and dont want to talk or interact with me or mine its their loss.

 

[jordanbasset]

Bit like you, always happy to say hullo to people, most time get a friendly response back but some times do get the cold shoulder, which surprises me. Have found the farther we have got from the U.K. the less this happens. In Greece almost everybody happy to say hullo, I give special praise to those on flotilla and charter yachts, who are invariably happy.

 

[Fire99]

I always struggle. When I had MOBO's I met some rather umpy 'Raggies'.. When I became a 'Raggie' I then met some umpy MOBO owners and oddly some Dinghy sailors didn't like me either.

It's tough being in the right club sometimes.

However, I have met some extremely helpful members of 'all clubs' at all times so hey-ho, in simple form, Some people are nice, Some aren't ..

 

[jordanbasset]

Will say we have met several mobo crews and invariably found them friendly. In Gijon we met a lovely couple on a beautiful Nelson motorboat (It may have helped as we were the only visiting bots there). There were others, including one couple who invited us on to their motorboat, complete with dishwasher, air conditioning and bath!

 

[Fire99]

Will say we have met several mobo crews and invariably found them friendly. In Gijon we met a lovely couple on a beautiful Nelson motorboat (It may have helped as we were the only visiting bots there). There were others, including one couple who invited us on to their motorboat, complete with dishwasher, air conditioning and bath!

I don't doubt that in all camps, The extremely friendly far outweigh the grumps!

 

[[70521]]

Have you ever come across another boat that does just not want to say hello or people you think are really suspicious?

Yes, but life it too short to worry about them

 

[Sybarite]

Now don't get me wrong because we have found that up to now every boat we have met with Irish people aboard have been the life and soul of the party and you couldn't meet a friendlier people... up to now.

When you are the only people on a visitors pontoon in a foreign country and another boat comes in that speaks a similar sort of language you tend to say hello.

Now if that boat contains four Irish males you expect a can of Guinness to be thrust at you before even a word is uttered.
Not on this occasion. They are the unfriendliest sailors we have met. In fact we have decided they are either all priests or terrorists. I suppose we could find out by sending our son round with a loud ticking clock. Either he or the clock should grab their attention.

In the time we have been sailing we have always found that other sailors have always been friendly like you have known them forever.

Have you ever come across another boat that does just not want to say hello or people you think are really suspicious?

A rather nice red-ensigned boat was coming to berth beside me. I got on to the catway to receive a line and was told curtly not to touch it. A woman hopped off the boat and made a bit of a pig's ear of it.

 

[Sybarite]

I always struggle. When I had MOBO's I met some rather umpy 'Raggies'.. When I became a 'Raggie' I then met some umpy MOBO owners and oddly some Dinghy sailors didn't like me either.

It's tough being in the right club sometimes.

However, I have met some extremely helpful members of 'all clubs' at all times so hey-ho, in simple form, Some people are nice, Some aren't ..

Years ago I had chartered an Espace 1000 and I was sitting in the cockpit when a rather poorly dressed Italian couple stopped to look at the boat. Thinking it might please them to have a look, I invited them on board and they made the suitable appreciative comments.

Upon leaving the man turned round and said, "Would you like to join us for a drink on ours?"

Wow! 65-70' modern sloop with a large white leather seated salon that was all of 15-20' long.....!

Shouldn't make hasty judgements.

 

[Fire99]

Shouldn't make hasty judgements.

Absolutely.. I think we're all guilty of assumptions but it's a good lesson.

 

[Viking]

On a Bank holiday weekend many years ago I arrived late on Poole Quay and asked if I could raft up along side a large yacht with a large 'winged bird' motif on it side. The crew, on deck side it was OK only moments later the skipper appeared from below deck with a sour look saying that they would be leave at 03.00 to cross to France and not at all happy. I said that would be OK and we would happily move at that hour. Of course they didnt leave until 09.30 with the skipper still keeping the disappoving face.

That winter, I arrived at a local RAF station to do a RYA theory course. To be greeted by the same 'sour faced' skipper, who turned out to be a RAF Squadron leader. He did look at me, after a while and asked if he knew me from somewhere. But I put it down to the fact that we sailed in the same area and left it at that!!

 

[snowleopard]

Shouldn't make hasty judgements.

But of course we all do. Mostly it's the assumption that the other party will be unfriendly. The triggers are obvious enough. 'I won't talk to that bloke with the blue ensign because he obviously thinks he's better than us' or 'The owner of that great big boat won't want to know us in our little boat'.

I read of a group of liveaboards in an anchorage getting together for a beach party. One of them thought he should do the decent thing so rowed over to the one superyacht and invited them over, expecting a snobbish rebuff and was surprised to find the owner was delighted. He was lonely because all the people in little boats usually avoided him.

 

[Frankie-H]

Now don't get me wrong because we have found that up to now every boat we have met with Irish people aboard have been the life and soul of the party and you couldn't meet a friendlier people... up to now.

When you are the only people on a visitors pontoon in a foreign country and another boat comes in that speaks a similar sort of language you tend to say hello.

Now if that boat contains four Irish males you expect a can of Guinness to be thrust at you before even a word is uttered.
Not on this occasion. They are the unfriendliest sailors we have met. In fact we have decided they are either all priests or terrorists. I suppose we could find out by sending our son round with a loud ticking clock. Either he or the clock should grab their attention.

In the time we have been sailing we have always found that other sailors have always been friendly like you have known them forever.

Have you ever come across another boat that does just not want to say hello or people you think are really suspicious?

Very sadly, once out in the atlantic islands, they tend to be flying ARC flags. They sometimes think they are very superior and can't be bothered with meer cruising mortals.

Most cruisers are great and we have many friends from around the world.

On the subject of the Irish. Do be very careful. We helped an Irish boat into a berth in the marina in Falmouth at about 10.00 in the morning, many years ago. 5 of 'the lads' on board. They would, under no circumstances, take no for an answer. We were coerced on board, where we found that they had already prepared about a dozen bottles of Irish Whisky. We were led astray and made to try them all, at least once, or was it thrice. Wrote off a perfectly good day, if I remember rightly.

I am just reminded that the tradition was called 'Dockers' in a strong Irish accent. We were told that it would be very rude indeed to go against this noble tradition. Some 15 years later we still raise our glasses to Dockers, when we make landfall.