Cruising World – August 2019

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enthusiasm for homegrown music among

cruisers worldwide? One reason is

technology. It is now possible to carry por-

table amps like the JBL Eon One aboard

Serengeti. It allows numerous musicians to

jack in to a single battery-operated amp

and play for up to fi ve hours. Often at

beach parties in paradise, the band sets up

under a palm tree within earshot of the

main group, and the sailors wander back

and forth between the conversationalists

and the rockers. Instant dance party!

Another reason there are more sailing

guitar players than ever before is because

many of us are lifelong rock-star wannabes

and only now have the time and money

to be able to indulge our stifl ed musical

passions. Whether we think of ourselves as

rockers, pickers, country crooners, folkies

or bluegrass types doesn’t matter. The

music itself brings us together.

The third reason is that inexpensive iOS

software like OnSong now allows everyone

with an iPad tablet to be instantly on the

same page—er, screen—and even change

keys if needed.

“Too complicated,” sniffs one of our

ukulele players, a regal Samoan sailor

named Litara Barrott. She lives aboard

the wooden ketch Sina with her husband,

Noel. She often regales us with tales of

Cape Horn—just one of the milestones

that won them the Blue Water Medal from

the Cruising Club of America in 2002.

Yes, we are an ethnically diverse group,

but our lust for melody unites us. Music is

the universal language. I’ve had wonderful

times playing in Fiji, Borneo, Vanuatu,

Yap, Cocos Keeling and Madagascar with

local musicians, despite not having a single

spoken word in common.

As an icebreaker, I collect guitars strings

from First World musicians and distribute

them informally to Third World musicians

on distant isles. A few have never played

with real store-bought strings before.

I’ve found that the musical tastes of

sailors vary as widely as their boats. Lisa

Benckhuysen of the highly modifi ed

(crazily, they threw away the transom!) Carl

Schumacher-designed Express 37 Harlequin

enjoys writing songs as she circumnavi-

gates. She organized a cruiser’s tune that

we sang for the Tourist Department during

the climax of the 2018 Bluewater Festival

in Tonga. Many of the crews on boats from

around the world contributed a verse. As

odd as it sounds, “Vava’u, We Love You”

came off quite well and was greeted with

wide smiles by the locals.

Other fl oating musicians prefer to keep

it techno-simple. Vandy Shrader of the

Able Apogee 50 Scoots just brings out her

bongos and is always in demand. (Her

husband, Eric, plays bass.) If I don’t feel

like lugging my RainSong guitar ashore, I

just toss a plastic egg shaker in my pocket,

or a pair of maracas, and back up the band

with my (faint) percussion and perhaps the

occasional vocal.

Classical American pianist Barbi Devine

has a Roland electric piano built into her

Whitby 42 Pago in the Med, but seagoing

instruments don’t have to be large or

expensive. Hohner harmonicas are always

welcome. Washboards and tamarind seeds

can be called into play as well. Discarded

brake pads ring like a bell in poorer coun-

tries. Elaborate drum sets can be created

from empty upside-down paint cans. Any

wood butcher with a pile of hardwood can

whittle up a primitive vibraphone.

My wife, Carolyn, and I know penniless

cruisers in Southeast Asia who not only

make their own bamboo fl utes, they play

them in public to earn a few bucks.

Come to think of it, we’ve met a number

of yachties that have gone on to be pro-

fessional musicians. Joe Colpitt of Virgin

Fire is one; his Hot Club groupies are

mostly in their 80s—nothing wrong with

that. Ditto for Barefoot Davis of Splinter

Beach. Country songwriter Gene Nelson

retired from Nashville to gunkhole the

Indian Ocean. His “Eighteen Wheels and

a Dozen Roses” and “Bubba Hyde” are just

a couple of his bestsellers. Cruising World’s

own editor-at-large Tim Murphy plays all

over New England when not toiling on his

Passport 40 Billy Pilgrim; former editor

John Burnham plays guitar as well.

During the ’70s and ’80s, Carolyn

and I used to anchor next to the gaffer

Moon in Gustavia, St. Barts, and listen to

Jimmy Buffett teach both Mishka Frith

and Heather Nova their musical chops.

Both boat kids went on to have successful

musical careers.

Speaking of Carolyn, she loves to sing

and just returned from a monthlong shore

vacation to hear some tunes in Austin,

Texas, and New Orleans. Our duet of

“Hit the Road, Jack” has brought many a

cruisers’ party to its feet, and our “I Shall

Be Released” ain’t bad either.

Most marine rockers have a signature

tune they can immediately play upon

demand. The fact is that world cruisers,

circumnavigators and long-term

live-aboarders are extremely self-actuated

people. They gulp from a cup that the tim-

id fear to sip. Numerous scientifi c studies

have shown that singing uplifts both the

singer and the audience. I know it brings a

smile to our faces—and to our merry little

band of cruising musicians who rock the

dock wherever they sail.

Fatty and Carolyn Goodlander should be some-

where in the Pacifi c between New Caledonia

and the Torres Straits playing music on their

“honeymoon” when this issue goes to the printer.

ON WATCH

Canada - Halifax, NS

http://www.boatsandrealty.com

Canada - Vancouver, BC

http://www.yachtsaleswest.com

Canada - Montreal, QE

http://www.yachtchamplain.com

Canada - Toronto, ON

http://www.swansyachtsales.com

USA - Annapolis, MD

http://www.dreamyachtownership.com

USA - Newport, RI

http://www.northstaryachtsales.com

USA - Racine, WI

http://www.racineriverside.com

USA - Los Angeles & San Diego, CA

http://www.denisonyachtsales.com

USA -San Francisco, CA

[email protected]

USA - Ft. Lauderdale, FL

http://www.dreamyachtownership.com

USA - Lake Shore, TX

[email protected]

Puerto Rico

http://www.imsyachts.com

DUFOUR

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