I suppose that cruising is the kind of activity in which people make friends quickly because it's so obvious from the first encounter that boaters share common interests, and have gone through similar experiences to all get to the same place. Perhaps the longer you cruise, the more your values become in common with those of other boaters. People on other boats you've never met will just dinghy right up to you and strike up a conversation, and you soon realize that you've made an Insta-Friend. Just add water.
In some cases you haven't actually met the cruisers in person, but you've followed their blogs for some time or exchanged emails, and you get to know something about them that way. As nice as it is to meet some of the interesting people who are floating around out here, it is really fun to meet someone in the flesh who you've known before but only in cyberspace. It's happened to us a few times now, and so it was when we met Jason and Christy on Hello World for the first time.
Did I take any pictures of the four of us at any time? No. But it happened, I swear. They tell a better story and they have at least one pic to prove it really happened. Suffice it for me to say, that not 10 minutes after we dropped anchor in Ensenada Grande's north anchorage just 20 miles north of La Paz, in comes this boat and as it got close I realized who it was. The good ship Hello World had brought Jason and Christy safely from Seattle, all the way around and down the West Coast, and up into the Sea of Cortez, to just this spot, after months (years?) of the four of us exchanging emails about outfitting and sailing. So there I was, all excited, waving my arms and generally acting like the happy idiot I am. Much enjoyment of one another's company ensued, enhanced by beverages and mutually-exchanged yummy dinners. If you're ever in the same anchorage as Hello World, be prepared for intelligent conversation, lots of humor, and good cooking. Bring wine and a dessert and the good times, they will roll.
It'll be fun to see Hello World again, down the road somewhere. It's sure to happen; life sort of folds in on itself that way, out here.
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