There are a ton of boats here waiting out the hurricane season, and wherever cruising boats gather the organizers among them start organizing. There are jam sessions, yoga classes, tai chi on the beach, pig roasts, burger night, pizza night and so on. We tend to not be joiners but when we heard about a dinghy concert we thought that sounded fun.
Things happen early in the cruising world to avoid having to dinghy long distances in the dark and because most of us can’t stay awake much past nine o’clock. The concert was at Le Phare Bleu in the next bay east of us and we dinghied through our anchorage, past what we just learned is called the “litter tray” because a bunch of catamarans are anchored there, around the marked reef in the Le Phare Bleu. As we rounded the corner we gasped when we saw what looked like more than fifty dinghies all rafted up and tied to a barge and a large anchored sailboat.
We tucked in behind a family of four and passed our line across for them to tie off on a stern cleat.
Behind us a new arrival handed us their line to tie on our stern cleat.
As more and more dinghies arrived the raft grew further and further from the barge, and each time a wave rolled in from the sea the whole thing undulated, often knocking a sailor or two off balance.
Surefooted children and pets nimbly stepped from boat to boat, looking for friends or treats. We had a long visit from a little dog named Tiller who went from dinghy to dinghy, presumably just to get hugged.
This is the Caribbean so the music started late but we enjoyed the pan band that came on short notice when the originally booked musician’s flight was canceled. People passed money toward the front of the raft-up where someone was always available to get a couple of beers from the bar on the barge, then the beers and the change would be passed hand to hand back to the owners.
When the concert was over everyone cast off the lines attached to their dinghy and we all gradually drifted apart and started the long quiet ride back toward our various anchorages.
Looks like Woodstock on the water!
Except with people too old to want to see naked. 🙂
Wow, that sounds like fun. Your descriptions of the children and pets going from boat to boat was great. Thanks for transporting me to your world, Marce. Miss you!
LOVE IT!!!