THE GEORGETOWN CRUISERS NET

Every morning at 8:00am the boating community here is awakened by a recording of a rooster crowing over channel 72. This is followed by a welcome to all boaters currently at anchor, weather, and tidal information for the Georgetown area and finally a series of announcements which can go on for over half an hour.

Local businesses are invited to call in to advertise anything which may be of interest to cruisers. We get notification of karaoke, special dinners, and local bands playing at area restaurants. “Moms Bakery” calls in to invite boaters to buy rum cakes, coconut bread andother goodies when her mobile van comes to town. And there are alwaysmessages from the local Laundromat, computer shop, or taxi cabs offering various services and giving their location.

After the business announcements,individual boaters call in to notify the cruising community at large of upcoming events which everyone is invited to participate in. Activities available on a typical day could include:
8:30 meditation and yoga
9:30 photography workshop
10:00 meeting to exchange charts/information for those going further south.,
11:00 ham radio operators meeting for lunch and winlink seminar
2:00 bridge, basket weaving, book exchanges
2:30 volleyball
4:30 happy hour/.pot luck
5:30 trivial pursuit
6:30 impromptu music on the beach
And the list goes on and on, changing every day.

The next order of business is the Regatta Announcements. This annual event which takes place every year during the 2nd week of March involves more than 20 activities including golf, bocce ball, volleyball, softball tournaments, boat races, scavenger hunts, sand sculpture, trivial pursuit, texas hold ‘em, bridge etc. Everyone here is encouraged to sign up and get involved.

The final announcements—Boaters General—are often the most interesting. Here listeners are invited to call in with either things they need/need to know or things they have to get rid of. Typically you’ll hear:
What is the phone number for the vet?
Does the propane guy come in today? Where? When?
Can someone give me lessons on SSB?
Help! Is there an optomothologist on a boat?
Will anyone share a taxi with me to the airport today?
I’m going back to the USA and will take mail with me if you have any to go.
And someone always wants to buy or sell books, charts, carburetors, generators, maps, courtesy flags etc.

During the day everyone keeps channel 68 turned on and it’s fun to listen in as boats call back and forth to each other—just like an old fashioned party line. This morning there was a cry for help. A boat was loose in the harbour just off Hamburger Beach. It had broken its anchor line and had already bashed into a neighbouring boat. Instantly Channel 68 was alive with chatter as everyone sprang into action. Within a matter of minutes we learned that:
The boats name was “Rum and Amok”
Someone checked Volleyball beach for her owners
Someone said they were shopping in Georgetown
Someone set off to Georgetown to find the owners
Someone boarded Rum and Amok to gain control of her movements
Someone offered an anchor
Several people boarded the boat getting it under control
They tied on a borrowed anchor and re-anchored the boat.
The organizational skills of the boating community here is absolutely unbelievable! Everybody looks out for everybody else. Help is available for whatever you might need, whenever you might need it. Or, if you prefer, you can simply turn off the radio, anchor a little further away and enjoy complete solitude. Here, the choice is yours.