ICW #10

At Lake Worth we joined up once again with Howard and Debra Lerner aboard “Salty Goose”. We had first met these two likeable liveaboards many months back while cruising the Chesapeake and had managed to keep in touch via cell-phone ever since. We have always enjoyed the company of this knowledgeable couple but especially value their friendship because of their vast experience sailing in Bahamian waters. Finding ourselves together once again and nearing our final destination we hoped to discuss the Gulf Stream with them and firm up our route for crossing over. The Lerners had leased a car for the week and, after showing us around the marina, invited us to join them with another cruising couple for dinner at “Tomato Pie,” a favourite Italian restaurant in Jupiter. We spent a memorable evening together enjoying great food, and conversation and promising to meet up once again at Key Biscayne to stage a possible crossing together. But with a tropical storm currently lashing Haiti and strong nor’easterlies blowing onto the Florida coast, it doesn’t look as if this will be happening anytime soon. Until the weather improves, “Salty Goose” will remain in Lake Worth and we’ll be pushing on to a sheltered slip in Fort Lauderdale where friends are awaiting our arrival.

Our experience at the run-down marina was an enlightening one providing unexpected insights into “low-life” living. This was not the type of place we would normally have chosen to stop at and, had we not done so, would not have had the opportunity to meet the people who “live” here. Shortly after we arrived, a rough looking character from one of the derelict boats rowed over to welcome us. Many years ago he too had stopped off at this place on his way to the Bahamas. But when a rat boarded his boat and chewed through a line while he was ashore for a few days, he returned to find his vessel sunk and his dream over. Having no other home to return to, he made the best of things by raising the boat, drying it out and moving back onboard. For 26 years now he has been permanently anchored in Lake Worth, living in a rusting hull under conditions similar to the homeless. Despite his appalling plight, it was difficult to feel sorry for this fellow who, despite having very little, was obviously happy and content with the life he had chosen to lead. He had nothing to offer us but a sincere welcome and the pleasure of his company which he readily gave. And he was not alone. Everyone we encountered here was exceptionally friendly, kind, and eager to make us feel at home. A sprawling “Tiki Bar” located at the waters edge served as a communal gathering place for these folk and was crowded until well into the evening with liveaboards eating, drinking, watching TV and enjoying each others company. The weather was warm, food and essentials a short walk away and the support and camaraderie of friends always available. And when you really think about it, what more does one need?

On this journey of discovery I find I am learning as much about human nature as I am about the human environment. In my old middle-class lifestyle, happiness depended upon a never-ending series of “wants” being continually satisfied. But “wants” and “needs” are two vastly different things. And I’m coming to realize that the most important “need” we have as human beings is to have fulfilling relationships with family and friends. Love is the great equalizer. And no matter how rich or poor we may be, everyone has the same opportunity to find happiness by reaching out with generosity of spirit to those who pass into our lives. When I look around me and see the great disparity in wealth evident here in America, knowing this simple truth seems to make life in this country seem a little more “fair”.