Oh! The questions people ask!
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| JAMBO dockside at Newboryport, MA |
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| Boardwalk in Newburyport, MA during a relatively quiet moment |
One of the fun parts about owning a yacht like Jambo is
fielding the questions people ask when you are at a dock. Newburyport, Massachusetts, is a
favorite spot for us. There is a
wonderful boardwalk along the water that provides a constant stream of people
walking by.
Some with dogs, some
with children, many with frozen yogurt cups (there is a new place is town doing
very well!) and some just strolling or sitting on a bench. Throw in some amateur entertainers –
from guitar and singing to a harpist – and you have the makings for an
interesting stay.
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| Dockside, mid-tide, in Newburyport, MA |
We dock right in
a large park and just next to the boardwalk. Camden, Maine, has a similar setup where we are docked right
on the boardwalk.
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| Low tide and "crotch-side" view from cockpit (okay! NO PUN INTENDED!!!) |
The tide range is about 10 feet, so sometimes our “cockpit”
area is level with the boardwalk and sometimes the “flybridge” gives us a
birds-eye view.
You have to
develop the art of not looking toward the people on the boardwalk or you set yourself up to field a
variety of questions. The most
common is “How long is she?” (70’) Other questions include:
How many bedrooms? (Four)
What is that flag? (British Virgin Islands)
Do you live in the
British Virgin Islands?
Where are you from?
Where are you going?
Who owns this boat?
Do you own this boat?
Where was she
built? (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
How much did this
boat cost? Yes, they really do
ask that question!
Then you have the really ballsy people like the guy who
grabbed a line to help us when we were docking and then when we said “Thanks”
he said, “Now do I get a tour?” Guess it never hurts to ask the
question!
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| Low tide view. Note the couple focused on our boat... |
One day a woman commented “It’s sexy and manly and everything in the right place...” Okay. I just never thought about “sexy” and “manly” as adjectives
to describe Jambo! But I am
glad she appreciates the boat.
Some times you wonder where people come up with this
stuff. There was one guy who said,
“Is this boat owned by (some guys name
-- I forgot)?” When I said,
“No, who is that?” He explained
that he had heard this race car driver had bought a big boat and he wondered if
this was it. Do you realize how
many boats are out there? And he
thinks this one must be the one his hero bought?????
And another, “Is this
Jim Carey’s boat?” (the
actor) When asked why he thought
it might be Jim Carey’s boat, the guy replied, “Well, I heard Jim Carey has a
boat registered in the BVI, so I thought this was it.” Logical. Very logical.
Another woman, after hearing that our flag was BVI,
proceeded to tell me that she had never been to the BVI, but she got married on
Nevis. Huh? Good for her, I guess.
It is also a very common question “Wanna trade?” Very
cute, the first dozen or so times.
I am trying to come up with a good answer. Sometimes I say, “Sure!” but they do not inquire about exchanging
keys….
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| Our view toward the park. We have seen weddings and even an outdoor movie in this park! |
And of course, the question,
What does “Jambo”
mean? In general, “Jambo” is a
Swahili word for “Hello.”
According to Wiki, there is more to the word than just “hello”, but
tourists have shortened the Swahili greeting ritual to just “Jambo”. You use it as a greeting and the reply. Kind of like when we say “Hi” or “Hello”
as we pass a stranger on the street.
Fred and I were looking for a short, punchy name for our new boat, and,
since we have a soft spot in our hearts for Africa, the word “jambo” sort of
jumped out at us. We like to take
the meaning one step further and say it also means “Welcome.” But I digress…. |
| These two ladies were having a wonderful time sitting here with their legs dangling over the rail for at least two hours. |
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| Low tide view from the cockpit..... |
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| Near high tide |
During our recent stay in Newburyport we had one of the most bazaar
experiences yet when it comes to curious people. It was 11:45 at night and everyone had gone to bed. I was reading as everyone else slept
when I heard a loud noise that sounded like someone was banging on the side of
the boat. I waited a minute and it
happened again. “BANG, BANG, BANG,
BANG!” Not polite knocking, actual
banging. After a few seconds to
think about it, I decided perhaps something was wrong with our lines or fenders
and someone was trying to warn us of impending danger. I threw on some clothes and went up the
stairs. Opening the pilothouse
door, I see an attractive black woman, dressed to the nines, standing on the
dock looking up at me. “Can I help
you?” I inquired. “Oh! I am from Kenya and saw the name of
your boat! Are you from
Africa?” I did my quick, midnight
version of the name choice and the she continued to babble on about Kenya,
Africa, she was happy to see the name, etc., and THEN she said “I want to meet
you!” Ummmm. It is almost midnight and she wants to
meet us because we named our boat “Jambo”? There was a guy standing on the boardwalk – and with the
level of the tide, he was about eye-level with me – I suppose he was her date, and he
sheepishly chimed in “She is from Kenya” as if that explained everything. In my typical Southern way I resisted
the urge to tell her she was out of her mind so I just explained that we were
all asleep so a meeting would not be possible. She just said “Oh well. Another time!”
Shaking my head at the nerve of this woman, I closed the door and went
back to bed. You never know what
is going to happen! I did watch
for her the next day as I walked around town. Sort of thought perhaps she would come back to the boat for
the meeting. I really wanted to
ask her what she was thinking when she banged on the side of the boat at
midnight. Something tells me there
may have been some cocktails involved…
Don’t get me wrong. All the attention is very flattering and I am glad people appreciate our boat. And it really is entertaining! (Well, except for the midnight disruption……)
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| Fred and the pups returning after a walk |
