What Is That Under Our Boat?!

With the final provisions gathered and packed away on Sunday, Holy Cow is bursting at the seams. Today is our last day on the dock. We have fuel being delivered and a refrigerator technician coming out. It's a busy day, but slightly more laid back since things seem to be coming together.

I hear Jaxon call me. He sees something in the water. We get the net and scoop it up to have a better look. Whatever it is, it is really interesting and very alive. We scoop up some salt water in a bowl and gently turn the net over to plop the creature in. We called everyone over to have a look and let it bob around the bowl for a few minutes before releasing it back into the canal.

What we learned is, Jaxon had spotted an "Upside Down Jellyfish." They can swim, but spend most of their time lying on their backs in shallow water catching rays. They use their tentacles to catch plankton. They can give a mild sting, but we all avoided that by knowing enough not to touch it.

Next, the fuel was delivered and Holy Cow is all topped up. Is anyone familiar with the Disney movie Encanto? There is a song called "We Don't Talk About Bruno." The song is catchy and has reached No. #1 on the charts. We have our own version of the song..."We Don't Talk About Fuel Costs."

There is some excitement outside again! What is under our boat? We see bubbles and lots of them!! They travel up and down the boat from bow to stern over and over again. We take pictures and videos of the strange bubbles. At one point, we even see a flipper! What could it be?!

In the nutrient rich waters of the Marco Island canals, organic slime starts to grow on the hull of stationary boats. Once it accumulates, krill and "snapping shrimp" eat it from the hull. This makes a lot of noise - like cooking bacon or snap, crackle and pop cereal. Over our Christmas break this racket kept Gord and I up at night thinking there were critters in the engine room eating the boat from the inside out. It was unnerving and we'd set many traps to catch various types of pests. Then we learned about the shrimp. The decibels of the popping noise these shrimp make reach 210. Louder than the average gun shot. The mussels/oysters/snails that start to grow on a hull that isn't clean causes damage and also causes drag when underway. Therefore, it's very important to have the hull of the boat clean. Why all this information? What was under the boat, you ask? THIS GUY!

He cleaned our hull so Holy Cow can glide through the water and perform her best on her way North to the Great Lakes. Our plan is to leave tomorrow morning despite the choppy seas being reported. Stay tuned, our adventure off the dock will soon begin.