Rose Buddies

October 27th 0920, cloudy, winds slight, ENE, spitting rain.

We are underway from Goat Island, not having spotted ‘Minus One’. After a short run down the Pasquotank at 1030 we called in to Lambs Marina for diesel and breakfast. The dock master said, “eating here will make you lose your appetite”.  I’m still thinking about that one.

He also strongly advised us not to go further than Elizabeth City because the winds were predicted to be out of the east (which would be dead on our nose) at seventeen to twenty knots, which would at the very least be lots of work and at worst downright treacherous.

We have learned that these old geezers working the docks here and about know what they are talking about so we passed through the Elizabeth City Bridge and tied up at the free town dock with five or six other boats, to wait for fairer weather.

Elizabeth City bills itself as the most ‘boater friendly’ city on the ICW. And if you judge a town’s friendliness by the demeanor of its greeters then it wins my vote hands down.

Gus, a soft spoken, septuagenarian, volunteer boat greeter, full of corny jokes and half true stories, has been welcoming cruisers to Elizabeth City for over twenty-five years. He walks the docks enthusiastically and helps boaters tie up, I think just so he can get to the jokes as quickly as possible.

He is a member of the Elizabeth City ‘Rose Buddies’ and he continues a tradition that Joe Cramer and Fred Fearing started in 1983. Joe clipped fresh roses from his garden to give each boat when it came in and Fred gathered wine and cheese for a five o’clock party. Joe and Fred attracted national attention and NBC weatherman Willard Scott donate a golf cart to help them carry party supplies to the waterfront. 

Since that first year, every day a Rose Buddy is here at the dock, with Gus being the most active one at the moment. The visitor’s center still gives out roses and, if there are more than five boats that come in on a given day, they still have a wine and cheese reception. The mayor even comes down to give a speech about the virtues of (and investment potential in) Elizabeth City.

Joe Cramer died in 1987 and Fred, a retired mail carrier, continued the Rose Buddy tradition until he died in 2007, at the age of ninety-three.  

Gus’s pure of heart loyalty to boaters and gentle demeanor are inspiring things to behold. You won’t get political punditry, bombastic lectures or life advice from Gus – just a smile, a warm welcome and corny jokes.

So here we sit, while it gently rains outside. Emily’s rose is on companion way step, spaghetti sauce is on the make and I’m still trying to figure out what the Lambs Marina dock master meant about the marina’s food.

Emily's 'Rose Buddies' Rose

Namaste