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Jan Cosby and I filled John and Vivien's Jeep with catalogs, passage planners, electronic chart brochures and cruising guides, and headed to Melbourne, FL, on November 10. Our long drive was rewarded by a spectacular display of anchor lights when we reached Melbourne. Far from the hustle and bustle of South Florida, we both felt a little more at home looking at the peaceful sailboats resting in the Indian River.

When we checked into our hotel, all the rooms seemed to be full of cruisers. Snippets of conversation drifted from under doors about provisioning for the Bahamas, maintaining diesel engines, and other topics that cruisers can chat about for hours.

We got to the Civic Center at 7:30 to set up our table, and discovered immediately that we had brought way too much stuff. We made the best of the space we had, and even had a little bit of extra time before the vendor area opened to check out the other booths and displays. We were happy to see our friends from Explorer Charts and Seaworthy, whose products are popular with our customers.

Jan and I both saw many old friends at the event. Both of us are cruisers at heart, even though Jan lives in a house now and I'm bound to the dock by work and school. A lot of the people I saw were family friends who I hadn't seen in over ten years. I think that's why people love this event so much--the cruising life is full of friendships that stay strong even though the people are scattered all over the world. This event brings them together.

The SSCA had organized a full schedule of seminars, covering everything from electrical systems with Nigel Calder to a panel on homeschooling your kids. Kathy Parsons was there, discussing cruising the French Canals. Her books, French for Cruisers and Spanish for Cruisers, are wonderful--we can’t keep them on the shelf.

I managed to sneak into a couple of the seminars, and was impressed by the level of seriousness that the participants were showing. Pens were flying over notepads as cruisers took in valuable information.

The best thing about the Gathering was that most of the people came by water. Not only was the anchorage full, but the dinghy dock was packed with inflatables. By Sunday, the anchorage had cleared a little, as the weather was beautiful and folks were anxious to head further south.

Last but not least, cruiser Karen Coleman of Satellite Beach, FL, won our raffle for a $100 gift certificate. Maybe she'll use it to buy new charts for her O'Day 30, Alibi. Also, Judy Puch, of Oakland, FL, won a gift basket that we put together for the SSCA's raffle. She and her husband are bird-watchers, and appreciated the field guides that Jan added to the basket.

For us, the event was a huge success. Not only did we get to talk to some fascinating people and see old friends, we gave away tons of catalogs and coupons and sold almost all of what we brought with us. We hope to see more people from the SSCA in the store as they head down to Fort Lauderdale.