An International Crossroads

The recollections of a port of call are as much about the people who pass through (or don't) as the geography and cruising grounds it boasts. Well off the beaten path and 30 miles inland in rural north Florida, Green Cove Springs (up the St. John's River) is an unlikely port of call for worldly cruisers, but it is, in fact, just such a place. The Green Cove Springs Marina is a converted world war II Navy base that hosts an international community of both transient and seasonal cruisers as well as a sizable group of local live-aboard boaters.

The initial draw of the marina for most is the inexpensive fix-it-yourself work yard and the huge drive-on cement piers that make it ideal for working and living on your boat. Also important is the proximity of the marina to supplies, marine stores, and other places to spend all of the dollars that boats seem to require. I'm convinced, however, that what brings people back year after year, or keeps them there long after their planned departures, is the vibrant, eclectic population of the marina. Julia Child said in a recent interview that she liked Cambridge because people there are doing things and that makes them interesting. Among our friends from GCSM that are doing things and going places are Canadian, Swiss, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, and Finnish adventurers, and, in equal portions, American cruisers and would-be cruisers. All of these folks are, or have been in past lives, experts in something. No matter what the question or problem, someone has experience and knowledge that will be offered for a solution, and for sure, someone will have the very gadget that you need for your boat, and they'll sell, barter or, just as likely, give it to you.

The center of social life in the work yard is the office porch where morning revelers sip coffee and read the local newspaper, and afternoon happy hour boaters toast the day with a beer from a huge community-stocked cooler, play chess, or just shoot the breeze. For those of us who work from dawn until dusk getting our boats ready for the illusive departure, the porch is always a friendly place to chat for a minute while picking up mail and taking a break. Everyone, the regulars and those just passing through, makes time for a special celebration, a mast stepping, bon voyage, or launching, when the office closes and the pot luck dishes arrive for an evening of gluttony and debauchery. You're right -- this is not exactly a high-brow kind of place!

The marina was the first stop in my new "cruising life", and I found it quite by accident. Being the closest marina to my work in Gainesville, I chose GCSM so I could minimize an already long commute and still live on my boat. I thought that my sailing plans had been cut short when my partner died quite suddenly, but I was content for the time being to just be at the marina and catch up the varnish on the weekends. Being a novice boat owner, I was spared the truth of boat ownership (read: ignorance is bliss). I had no idea how many things needed to be done to go safely to sea, and had I known, I would have had absolutely no idea how to do them. My boat was a beautiful Formosa 41' and she turned heads wherever she went, but, as I later saw, she needed much more than varnish! Only in GCS could this story have had a happy ending.

The marina was the perfect place for getting advice; not all of it was "expert advice", but advice abounds there. You have to remember that virtually everyone in the yard and on the pier works on his/her own boat, and some do better work than others. I got plenty of advice, good and better, but the real blessing came for me when I met John at the famous springtime Mug Race party, you guessed it, on the porch! He soon became my only expert, my best friend, my sailing partner, and yes, you know the rest of the story, the love of my life. At the time, John also lived at the marina on his trawler, Someday, which he was refitting for a Bahamas runabout. Just a footnote on our first date: we went as a couple (I asked him) to dinner at the Crab Shack with scads of other folks from the marina. Janet and Kent, who sat across from us and who I'd only known briefly, asked how long we'd been married. Stunned, I quickly replied that this was our first date. Janet was a little embarrassed, but I was secretly delighted at what seemed to be foretelling our future.

We launched our sea-going relationship with a wonderful Christmas trip to Cuba on Touchstone, but not before we threw an oyster roast bash at the marina--our bon voyage and coming out party. The trip was a multi-faceted success, as our cruising relationship was as much on sea trial as was our ship. Of course, Cuba was also a beautiful, complicated cruising destination and we were able to meet people in the town and at the University of Havana that made our experience rich and gave it depth-now Cuba is not just a port of call, but friends that we will visit again.

The commitment was made: John sold Someday and began the refit of the boat we planned to sail around the world. Now, this could be the end of this happy story, but there's more, and it could only have happened at the Green Cove Springs Marina!

Also lying in the boat yard was the magical schooner, Thaleia. We visited her often on our walks through the yard, and decided that if she ever became available at a price we could afford, we would buy her and put her into the charter business somewhere in a tropical climate. Never in a million years did I think our affair with her would be more than a fantasy!

When Thaleia's owner, Roger, came to Green Cove Springs to take her back to Quebec, he wanted nothing more than to sell her, as he could not do her justice sitting on the hard. We wanted nothing more than to possess her, but saw no way to do it. As luck would have it, our three best friends at the marina were there to help us make this happen. Bob, a retired attorney, offered his help in negotiating the sale, and kept us out of trouble with the legal documents that all parties needed. Stephen, who'd spent years rebuilding his classic wooden commuter yacht in Canada, provided help in surveying the boat, and his enthusiasm for the condition of the boat encouraged us to make the leap. Ashley, my best friend, walking companion, and confidant, not only shared my excitement, but listened patiently to my concerns about owning two boats, about never getting underway, about two people not being able to handle the schooner, and on and on and on. She also lent moral support as I hobbled around on very sore toes that were operated on during this hectic two weeks. Only with the help of our three friends were we able to see our way clear to buy Roger and Anna's beautiful ship. The contract was signed, and the celebrations began; they were numerous and joyous all!

A year and some months later, we left the marina on Thaleia to sail north to the Chesapeake Bay for the summer and fall. It was difficult to leave our friends, though we have high hopes of seeing them all as we continue our adventure. At the moment, we have no plans to return to the marina on Thaleia, but whenever we celebrate our beginnings, GCSM and our friends there are in our hearts. It will always be home.