Fun in the bay.

It is not a post about us having fun on the Cat,  or us having fun with the canoes,  or Marco having fun with Maths, no,  this is having fun watching your neighbours.  I always read about yachties watching each other getting into a berth at a Marina,  and husband and wife exchanging strange sign language or a louder version thereof,  but this morning we watched a French elderly couple sailing into the bay with their mono-hull.  They didn't drop the sails so we wondered about this guy not using his engines so close to other boats.  Murphy's Law,  they dropped anchor right infront of us.  When they started to settle around the anchor,  they ended too close for comfort to Catlyn's bow.  Our Skipper went to the bow,  and very politely in a mixture of English, French and lots of sign language asked him to lift his anchor and to move away,  because their boat was right on top of our anchor.  The old French man made himself understood also in a gentle manner,  that his engines aren't  working,  but if we could give him a push with our dinghy, and he will move forward.  We had no problem doing that, but Joe went to the Marine for Internet, and will only be back at noon for lunch,  and we will lend him a pushing hand.  In the mean time, lots of French were exchanged with the appropriate sign language between the husband and wife on the mono-hull.  I so wish we could understand more than the sign language.  Not long after that, but still very noisy the two people got into their dinghy also without an engine,  and it was the old man's turn to take the oars.  He wasn't good or fast enough for his wife, or maybe she got wet or something, but she got hold of the oars and started to row!  She was a busy women.  Standing in the dinghy and not sitting on her bum, she battled against the current,  but her womanly pride just made her keep on rowing.  All the time she was making herself very loadly heard.  As a typical male,  her old husband was sitting watching this women towering over him with her oars,doing her best to move forward,   and not going anywhere and just every now and then he pointed 18o degrees past his left shoulder to where the Marina actually is.  This didn't help his women calming down what so ever. In the distance they left their dog on their yacht,  adding to the excitement, barking in French,  watching them slowly drifting in the direction of the Marine...

I hope you could see the picture...

And the other day, another mono-hull anchored in the bay.  The tide dropped considerably, and I couldn't believe my eyes.  I could see this boat just slowly going side ways,  laying down for a while.  And then the panicky crew, who realised there is nothing  that can be done, but pray that the tide is not going to drop any further.  Positive minds...and they started cleaning the exposed hull of their boat...

And the other day was also a French man who circled us, when his boat dragged while having a party.  When we tried to lift our anchor his anchor line was twisted around ours.  In nothing but pure " boere" French,  our Skipper threatened a very upset French man,  that he is going to cut his anchor rope,  although he showed him his throat!  It was unbelievable how fast a line can be untangled if a big "Boer" on a yacht is standing in front of you...