No Male Space

I've been meaning to write something about this marina (as a follow up to my previous marina culture post), but we've been keeping pretty busy. Now we're coming up on a couple rainy days, so this might be a good time.

Let me start by saying that pretty much everything I wrote about the previous marina has not been true here. I guess that's what I get from generalizing from a sample size of one. This marina is not at all what I'd call a "male space." People here speak to me and Scott equally, and there's been no avoidance of eye contact or ignoring my presence. Women walk around here - there's even a boat that seems to be occupied by only a woman.

Notably, this also feels a good deal more posh than Scott's Baltimore marina. The boats are big, bright and new looking; they actually gleam in the morning light. We don't actually see people working on their boats here. For one, I'm not sure there's much that needs fixing on their boats. Also, it seems as though many of the owners hire people to do the upkeep. It took a few days for Scott to realize that it was the same guys working on different boats here, and not a lot of owners out working on their boats every day.

The Balto marina felt a little more like a trailer park, with guys always out peering under the hoods of each other's cars. Guys were always popping by to check on Scott's latest repair project, to add their two cents or lend a hand. This marina is really more of a resort where people happen to live on boats, but the boat itself doesn't seem that important, or a central topic of conversation. I think Scott misses his old fart friends from Balto.

There are nice people in both places, and I'm definitely enjoying my stay, but it's been a very different experience. I was hoping that this posh marina would have some posh facilities for us. I do love a good hot shower. The facilities are nicer here, with indoor bathrooms and showers instead of a port-a-potty and shower trailer. On the down side, since most of the boats have nice facilities of their own, the marina has only seen fit to set up one set of full bathrooms (with showers) and it is all the way on the other side of the marina from our dock (about a half mile). There are also some bathrooms with toilets about a quarter mile away. I've taken to biking to the bathrooms so I don't spend so much time going to and from...

I'm thinking that at this point, we've hit close to the two opposite ends of the marina continuum. I am still curious about the marinas that have fitness centers and swimming pools for their residents. I think we need a place where the other boats are nice, but not so nice that good bathrooms are considered superfluous.