FROM THE HELM
Half-Backs
I
thought a halfback was the guy in the backfield who could run, catch or block and get lots of glory. Not so, in this case. I learned a new definition recently while reading the September editorial, titled “the Opposite of Florida,” in Spinsheet, a well-puttogether free sailing rag out of Annapolis, MD. Turns out a “half-back,” a term now being made famous by The Economist, is someone who spends much of his life up North—particularly the Northeast—dreaming of escaping to warm and watery Florida. This “half-back” eventually gets his wish and moves south to the Sunshine State. Time moves on, and after experiencing the high property taxes, hurricanes, hurricane home insurance, traffic and—shuffleboard courts, this transplant from the North moves back. But he doesn’t move all the way back; he moves “half back.” Hence, the name. He moves, not all the way back to maybe New York or Boston, but just part way, that is,
6
October 2006
SOUTHWINDS
halfway—like to the Carolinas or Virginia, or, as the case may be for the Spinsheet editor—to the Annapolis and Cheasapeake area. So, it’s the “opposite of Florida,” although I would have guessed that state to be Colorado where it’s high, dry, cold and unpopulated, at least in eastern Colorado. (It’s also the most fit state and has the least number of smokers—also the opposite of Florida.) What David Gendell (the Spinsheet editor) is commenting on is that a lot of these people are moving to his area and becoming sailors or contributing to the sailing community. If that’s the case, then I say they owe us. Can we sum this all up by saying that Florida is now supplying Annapolis with sailors? Well, we, too, are benefiting. When I first came to Florida in 1979 and bought a sailboat, sailors—including liveaboards and cruisers—were treated with envy, kindness and respect. I first landed in Fort Lauderdale. It was then a major sailing mecca and jumping-off
point for points south. Today, it’s a haven for megayachts, and sailboats are rare. The Keys were cheap, and houses there and in Key West could be bought for under $100,000—waterfront. Today, after 30 years of Northerners migrating south and raising the property prices, jamming the roads, crowding the marinas and filling the condos, we have suffered from this swelling. If they all went halfway back, maybe the Ol’ Florida can come back to life, and it could then be the sleepy, watery and unknown haven for cruisers it once was. I would even settle for some quarterbacks, who maybe only go a quarter of the way—maybe to just Georgia or South Carolina. Fullbacks would be acceptable, too. Are the people in Annapolis sure this population increase is a good thing? If a lot of people are moving in, it’s not the opposite of Florida. Steve Morrell Editor
www.southwindsmagazine.com