02/27/2025 ICW Day 58 : Im Living Right Next Door to a Gator

🎶 Her funny little face isn’t funny no more 🎶

We woke to drips on the tent. Not rain, but a dense fog had precipitated upon the pine trees that usually keep us dry. A bit to our surprise, this had been our best landing to date. Although the shore reeds had initially appeared to be an impediment, the boat slid up the slope easily; I didn’t even need to solicit help from the first mate (who had been occupied swatting invisible insects anyway) 🫥

Also, as the tide rose before we did, the structure provided by the reeds provided additional support for the boat, allowing me to leave it a little lower than I normally would have. By the time we were ready to go, enough water had come along that it was almost as if we were launching from a dock. See? We constantly learn new things.

Pedaling was placid again; we enjoyed it… but where was that Southerly wind we had been pining for? I had warned Janet a few days ago that if the forecast came to fruition, things would get a little spicy on the water.

The forecast came true around 11am - just as we turned the corner from a following current to a massive head current.

There is a phenomenon called “wind over tide” which I’m quite familiar with from my kayaking days in the South SF Bay Area. If you have a strong current going one way, and strong winds going the opposite direction, steep slow waves form. We were sailing downwind, which is still easy enough to control in this boat, but the seas rose to three feet in less than an hour. The bow of our boat plunged below the water’s surface as we surfed the waves at 3.5mph (very slow). I feared taking on water through the submerged hatch - a known defect in these Hobie boats.

By myself, I enjoy “testing the waters.” I like to see how the boat performs in various conditions so I can learn more about maximizing its forward movement in rough seas. But I also find it prudent to pay heed to the screams of the first mate who might not “jump ship” in the very moment, but might find it hard to hold the course and could choose to “heave to” at next landfall. I was implored to reduce sail, and listened while heading the boat closer to shore.

And there was a channel - heading towards a marina. We agreed to enter the harbor, and “oh look, a restaurant that is open!” That sounded fun, so we disembarked and in a moment had gone from the rough sea to being served burgers and Diet Coke by Kevin and Stephanie. Yes, first thing they did was introduce themselves.

They had started this restaurant here fairly recently, and were doing such a good job trying to make sure that we were happy, that I was starting to get a good vibe. Janet and I have been voraciously consuming sailing stories, and a couple of points stand out: Most of the bad things that happen to people don’t HAVE to happen. By that, I mean, if you’re paying attention to your surroundings, the depth maps, and the weather report, and being FLEXIBLE with your plans (as in letting Mother Nature be the boss, not you), then most bad things can be generally evaded.

So, we changed the plan and to kill time, I went shopping by bike from this marina and when I returned, we knew that the current would have reversed (even though the wind had actually crescendoed). Sure enough, as the current began to go the other way, I watched as the whitecaps diminished- even as the wind powered forcefully across the water. It would have been a fun and fast ride North, but we had come to like this spot. Janet had called the marina proprietor (Keith) and he also gave her a good vibe. We decided to stay and pay - and take showers.

Happily clean and having done laundry, we noticed that about 30 feet from our tent there was a Gator lying next to a series of eviscerated fish. Janet mused that since the gator had likely eaten the fish, it wouldn’t be hungry for the two tasty morsels living inside our tent.

As I went to the boat to put some stuff away, I noticed that our boat had been boarded by pirates! Two teens and an 8 year jumped as they saw me approaching. The 8 year old disembarked and then the three walked towards me with darting eyes as if nothing had happened. I didn’t say anything as we walked past each other, but jogged to the ship on my knife-sliced feet to see if anything had been taken. All seemed to be in place, so I told Janet the story.

Independently, she walked towards the boat, but having more cajones, she walked up to the kids and started a conversation with them. She told them how she had come here in a boat, and they asked, “which boat is yours?” Janet replied, “the one that you were on!” Only Janet would have the magical ability to make this an innocent and unassuming comment, so they continued the conversation amicably, the boys noting that the boat was “the new arrival,” and that they “liked the pedals.”

And so endeth the day… well, hopefully the story continues tomorrow, and gator doesn’t get any ideas.