"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote in message
anews.com...
"Flying Pig" wrote in message
...
Rock Sound, Eleuthera to Georgetown, Exuma
mass snippage

Once in the Georgetown neighborhood, I eagerly turned to the cruiser's
net
channel, 72. Hm. Silence. Must be too far out... So, once I got in, I
hailed one of the very few boats to ask when it started. My source told
me
that the usual anchor/control wouldn't be in for over a week. Heh.



What's this anchor/control thing all about? I sure hope it isn't a
maritime version of the condo commando conundrum.


Wilbur Hubbard


Yah, unfortunately, it is.

Lydia refers to them as the "Harbor Nazis" - recognized by frequent visitors
as those who have been coming for many years, and feel they can dictate what
happens, when and where.

So, yesterday, I took a break from my volunteering. They'd already set up
all of December's volunteers, but it didn't start until the 11th. As,
between getting comprehensive weather, researching a trivia question and
"thought for the day" and organizing all the segments (businesses, community
announcements, open mike where cruisers could as the others for help one way
or the other, emergency messages - extremely rare - and channel restrictions
due to emergency or civil authority or designated channels for things like
taxis to avoid when shifting from the two hailing channels - 68 and 16 -
after making contact), I usually put in a couple of hours minimum a day of
prep to do it, then about a half hour of actual activity, I was happy to
step aside.

So, it's net control, or net anchor, who directs traffic in that time, which
is a good thing, IMO, or it would be anarchy. I was much amused, given that
there would have been NO net happening during my tenure, that there were
complaints directed to the coordinator for the morning nets (but not until
the 11th) to the effect, in any event, that it wasn't what they were used
to. It's too late - I can't get out to do my day's activities and still
listen to the net. The weather's too long. You don't need a weather recap
(that despite there being someone, always, who didn't get it in the
beginning who asked for a repeat during the open mike session). Yada, Yada
:{)) But if they didn't like it, all they had to do is ignore it until the
"official" version started up in a few days. That said, I've had quite a
few folks stop me yesterday and today to say that they sorely missed my
version of the net now that they've had a couple of days of the "official"
version.

This harbor nazi stuff is what has many of our acquaintances, without our
bringing it up, who express some dissatisfaction with what goes on here. It
started on the first day of my net, during open mike, with a long-termer
telling of how the top-notch fisherman in that boat was corralled by the
local police for being a commercial fisherman without a license. Supposedly
they had accepted payment for a lobster - which, it turns out, was some
fudge. Some lengthy irritation was shared by that cruiser that day :{))

There is now some concern for what's going to be the realities of the
now-supposed no discharge zone as seen in a brochure from the pumpout boat,
new last spring. 15 new moorings have been placed in Gaviotta Bay (between
the holes next to C'n'C). Not really secure moorings, as they require you
to move in severe weather or 4' seas, but those who used to be able to put
their own moorings there, or anchor, have been displaced. It's for real, as
the place to find out more info isn't just the pumpout folks, but instead
includes the Harbour Authority at the Government dock, and the tourism
office - and the brochure has the official Bahamas logo on it.

However, nobody has seemed to be checking about discharge, but that could
just be the startup nature of the program. Should that become reality, I
think that will result in a mass exodus, as the vast majority of those here
either have no means to store, or no interest in paying a pumpout boat to
the tune of fifty cents a gallon

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery !
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"Believe me, my young friend, there is *nothing*-absolutely nothing-half so
much worth doing as simply messing, messing-about-in-boats; messing about in
boats-or *with* boats.

In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's
the charm of it.

Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your
destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get
anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in
particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and
you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."