There are all types of boaters and all types of boats, but they all have one thing in common—the love of boating.
In the July Issue of Upper Bay Boating, Don and Gail Elwell shared an idea that would probably be of interest to boaters everywhere to help build their boating communities.
Thanks to Upper Bay Boating publisher Dave Bielecki for giving us permission to post this on our website.
This is Don and Gail Elwell’s story with some of their pictures and ours:
Living in a marina is rather like living in a small resort town. I can say that with some authority because I LIVE in a marina and I grew up in a small resort town on the Gulf Coast. There’s a small number of permanent residents in a tourist town, folks who are there year round, those engaged in working in the service industry there or retirees who chose to settle there, and then there’s a much larger population—often regulars—that are there part time, living there from days to weeks to months. Together, they all comprise a community, to make even the most transient member feel welcome.
So it is with an intelligently run Marina; there are liveaboards who never leave, folks who are down at their boats all the time, and folks you seldom see, but who are still a part of the marina community. A good marina management tries to find ways to engage that community, to help us care about the place and each other. It makes the place cleaner and safer. It can also be a lot of fun.
It’s with this in mind that we approached our spring party here at Middle River Landing, coming up with the Ultimate Dock Crawl as a mixer. Each pier came up with its own libation, and the marina denizens got to traipse from dock to dock, sampling Painkillers and Life Rafts and Orange Crushes and then up to a party with burgers and dogs and beer and a wonderful live band supplied by the Marina. The weather was beautiful and it was a great day. And, at the end of it all, more of us knew each other, more of us felt at home in the place, and all of us had a great time.
Community. Humans all search for it and, if we’re smart, we’ll help build it.”
With fall rapidly approaching, many marinas are planning harbor parties. Why not get involved and make it a spectacular get together, and help create your boating community.
Brenda Dawson
