Every morning at 8 am you tune in your VHF radio to channel 72 for the Stocking Island Cruisers Net.

The moderator is Sue, who is on one of the boats here. She opens with the weather and wind report from Chris Parker, the local authority on weather for boaters.

Then she asks for info from local businesses. Boaters as well as local businesses chime in with recommendations for everything from dentistry to sail repair.

Then she opens the conversation for others to join in with “questions, suggestions or help needed.” The only rule is you have to say your boat name first to identify yourself.

People ask about where to take the propane tanks for refill, if anyone wants to share a rental car, help on motor or refrigeration issues, you name it.

One poor guy has been on the radio two days in a row asking if anyone has seen his kiteboarding sail, which apparently blew off his boat and landed somewhere, he thinks, a mile away on the Georgetown banks.

OK, We’ll be on the lookout.

Last item they do on the radio hour is buy, sell and giveaways. Dinghy motors, life jackets, harnesses, motor parts, etc.

Dragonfly was selling a dinghy motor. I thought it must have been an extra one. But we met him at volleyball beach yesterday where he rowed in.

We talked for a bit. His name is James, in his early 30s, he and his wife built their catamaran from a kit and came down from Massachusetts. They want to go down to the Virgin Islands.

He said proudly “we’ve got a thousand bucks in the bank.” Whoa I thought, you might need more than that?

Maybe not when you’re young and open to all the possibilities.

But you might want to get another dinghy motor.