Sights and sounds

This is so cool! Caloosahatchee River, Indian River, Halifax River, Mantanzas River and now St John’s River – we’re moving on!

We have had a big week with some long days, touristic sights and a SERVAS visit.
We are in Jacksonville on the St Johns River, Florida. It took a ten hour day to get here with the wind and tide against us and travelling at 3.9 knots whereas a couple of days before we covered a far greater distance in less time and were doing 8.3 knots with all forces working in our favour. We generally stay a night or two at anchor in each place and dinghy ashore to visit the sights by day. The sights this week have included Daytona Beach, Kennedy Space Centre, and the tourist town of St Augustine.

Everybody notices our accent and we never fail to receive a comment from every person that we meet. We don’t know how it is that we sound so different, having grown up with Homer Simpson, Friends, Sex in the City and the like. It is surprising to us that we could have so many expressions that are unique to the kiwi lingo. Boating friend, Bill, took me in his car to ‘Big Lots’, a surplus store with great prices on household items when I was trying to buy painting supplies. Bill pointed out some heavy plastic sheeting that would make ideal drop cloths and asked if I thought they would do. “They’re ‘spot-on’, I exclaimed. Bill went about Big Lots using his new found expression. “Spot-on, Mam” he said to the checkout assistant. Some of John’s mechanical terminology has raised a few eyebrows as well. He told the staff at the West Marine boat supply store that the water system was “dodgy” and went on to explain that the fittings were a bit “shonky” and that had the guys guffawing out the back.

Our other big language experience is in using the VHF radio. As we approach a bridge with 16 foot or less clearance we switch to channel 9 and say “Come In, Knox Bridge, this is the north bound vessel, Pearl, currently approaching the bridge.” They say “Knox Bridge control. You are clear to proceed. Over.” We say “Roger” and they say “Have a nice day, Over and Out.” Something similar happens as we approach the marinas. We call up to request permission to come alongside the fuel dock and they say “cccrrrshsh crssh crrsh. Over.” And we look about frantically as a man (or just as often, a woman) in a white shirt with insignia appears on the dock ready to take our lines.