Tides, Waves and Delays, OH MY.

We have a beautiful run from Bahia Honda State Park to Marathon. Marathon is just a quick stop for us to get some gas for the dinghy and to pick up some fenders Gord found on Facebook Marketplace. We want these fenders to use in the 77 locks we go through in the northern part of the journey. Gord tells me the size of the fenders and the price and I think he's likely found another great FB Marketplace deal.

We anchor outside of Marathon and head in by dinghy, leaving the security team onboard. We actually wanted to spend a night in Marathon on a mooring ball, but it didn't seem to be in the cards for us. We have a nice little dinghy ride into the gas dock where Gord has arranged to pick up the fenders.

We get the dinghy's tank filled and while Gord is inside paying, the dock staff educate the kids and I about all the bait fish they have in huge tanks lining the wooden dock. I see Gord come out and walk around the back of the building. The kids' eyes are still glued to the interesting creatures scurrying around the tanks. I hear Gord call me from the other end of the dock. The fenders have arrived and he wants me to see them to see if I approve. I walk around with him and see a shiny white van with the back doors open and a lady standing nearby. As we walk around to the back of the van, I look in. There are two fenders in the back, if you can call them fenders at this point. I look at Gord and say "um, they are bigger than I expected them to be." Gord replied that they were a little bigger than what he expected as well. He says he wants four of them and I wonder how the heck we are getting them back to the boat in our little dinghy. He says we will deflate them and find room. So we give the lady a nod, Gord and I take the two already deflated "fenders" and the kids beg to carry the other two. We hand over the cash and the transaction is complete. Off to the dinghy we go.

The dinghy is only a short distance away. As the kids struggle to awkwardly carry the huge air bags, they giggle and laugh the whole way. When we get to the dinghy, we need to deflate these ridiculous things, so the kids sit on them like miniature horses while we press the release valve and let the air escape. Once these massive things are reduced to a pile of lifeless rubber, Gord folds all four of them up and miraculously finds room in our little tender.

We take a little meander through Marathon in the dinghy to the bay where the mooring balls are. We are astounded at the amount of boats crammed in to this area. The area seems to leave a lot to be desired from this vantage point, so although we enjoy our putz around the bay, we are happy to leave Marathon and not be returning in the big boat.

When we get back to Holy Cow, we haul up anchor and continue our lovely cruise to Blue Fin Rock Harbour. When we arrive, we anchor in the bay just outside of the marina until - you guessed it - high tide. There's a reminder just off our port side of what happens to those

who are unfortunate enough to run aground. Gord and the kids jump in the water and snorkel a little. They also check out our anchor. It just doesn't seem to want to catch. They see it sort of skip along the bottom and drag a bit at a time, but in the two hours we are in the bay, we only drift about 15 yards.

As high tide approaches, we bring up the anchor and make our way to the marina entrance. "Sam" the marina owner calls to walk us through the markers and the best path to take upon entry. It's tight. This "marina" consists of only a few slips. We have a stern-in port side tie which means Gord needs to navigate Holy Cow through the entrance, make an immediate turn and back her in. He does so with relative ease. I think left on his own, he would have placed Holy Cow perfectly, but the eager dock hands didn't cleat the stern line, and over cleated the bow line. Gord worked with what help he had and nestled Holy Cow up to the dock. Sam welcomed us and then hollered up "You're gunna want a bow thruster on this. I had one on mine." I laughed and told Sam, Gord didn't need one.

We soon learn that Sam is quite the character. Promptly upon our arrival Sam said he's going to get the measuring tape. I think he's doing so because he's interested in the length of Holy Cow in comparison to his Oceans. No, no, Sam is going to measure our LOA (length overall) and charge us accordingly. This makes me laugh a little. I mean, the slip is the size it is and it doesn't matter whether we are 40' or 60', we were no more or less of a burden. Sam gives one end of the tape measure to his dock hand and then marches down the dock to the the bow of Holy Cow. He yells out the LOA number and the fee per foot for the night and that's that. He tells us his wife will be by to collect the money later.

With Sam on his way, we start hosing down Holy Cow with fresh water and get the dogs to shore. This marina lacks luster. It's nothing to write home about, and not noteworthy for the blog. But it will do for the night as we wait for a mooring ball at John Pennekamp Park to free up tomorrow. Once our chores are done, we are exhausted from our day. We order in pizza, play a board game with the kids and call it a night.

During the night, the wind picks up, considerably. One pro to this is that we are being blown off the dock, so it's a quiet night for sleeping with no squeaky fender noise. (No, not the giant, absurd fenders either). When we get up in the morning, we know there is no getting off the dock today. It is virtually impossible with the wind howling as it is. We make the best of the day by getting caught up on laundry, work and school work. Gord spends a great deal of time planning our next travel days as well. I call John Pennekamp Park to let them know we won't make it to the mooring ball today. Wednesday comes and goes, but it is productive. We've met this great guy named Myles and he's offered to take us to the grocery store to provision up if we'd like. We are thankful. One of the challenges of a trip like this is getting provisions. It can often be costly and inconvenient, so this gesture is greatly appreciated.

At 3;30, we have fuel delivered dockside and fill up Holy Cow. This was another convenience we were thankful for. At 4:00, we headed into town with Myles and pick up some supplies. Gord and Myles head to West Marine, and I get dropped off at Publix. Shopping here is difficult. Brands are not familiar and it can be hard to find what I'm looking for. This process takes longer than expected, but I fill the cart. And I mean fill! I am going to take full advantage of the massive vehicle Myles has driven us here in. We cash out, load up and head back to Holy Cow. We unload in the gusting wind and once the provisions are away, it's another games night with the kids before heading to bed.

It's now Thursday and we want to be off this dock. The wind is relentless. It was not our plan to be here for 3 days. It's a disappointing delay and expensive. To be stuck here isn't ideal. There's very little to do and there's not much appealing to the eye. I call Pennekamp again to let them know we won't make it. Sam's wife comes around to collect the fee for tonight's stay and the only thing left to do is make the best of it.

We walk around the marina to find a huge iguana that Gord spotted from the helm of Holy Cow. As we near it, it leaps into the water and swims lightening fast to the other side of the shore. To be honest, I knew they could swim. I expected it to get in and swim casually with its head above water. I did not expect it to dive in and completely submerge itself and swim at lightening speed to the other side. The kids and I were astounded. The water was clear enough we could see him for part of the way. He was SO fast!

Thursday afternoon rolls around and the wind completely dies down. It is perfect for us to get off the dock. However, more than one element dictates the ability to move about down here. The wind is now cooperating, the waves are manageable, but we are at low tide. There is no safe way to get out of this marina, so we are indeed, stuck here for one more night. We've already paid for our stay, so that's what we do. Stay.

In the morning, the wind is still cooperating, the waves are calm and the tide is high, so we are up and out around 9:00. It takes some prep time before untying. We are up early to ensure we are ready to go. Myles comes out to see us off. No matter what the weather conditions are, the slip we are in is tricky. Gord needs to pull ahead, do a 90 degree turn and then head out of the narrow canal to the bay. There are boats docked in every one of the slips so there is no room for error. Myles offers to keep the bow line on shore to cleat it if needed to pull the nose around as we make the turn. Gord puts Holy Cow into gear and we are finally pulling away from this dock. As we pull forward, Gord starts Holy Cow into the port side turn. In fact, it's a pivot. We absolutely have to do a 90 degree pivot to

get out of here. I can hear Ross Geller screaming in my head "PIVOT" over and over again.

There's no need for bow thrusters or Myles to cleat the bow line on shore. Gord maneuvers Holy Cow effortlessly out of the slip and tight canal and we are off, finally, and thankfully, to Pennykamp State Park.

Bird's Eye View of Blue Fin Rock Harbour Marina. All the slips were full with large boats. Holy Cow was docked along the concrete wall.