Moore Haven, Florida

Another short cruise to Riverhouse Marina just before the Moore Haven locks. A side tie to a fixed dock was an easy on and off.

Tom, a long-term cruiser, took a break from flushing his a/c system to catch our lines as we slide sideways into a space vacated by a 60 footer. He was assisted by his jack russell, Duke. Duke gave us the once over, seemed to approve and went back to keeping watch on the foredeck of Tom’s boat.

We exchanged boat cards and discovered we had already met Tom and his shipmate Julie. A later conversation comparing routes and timing pinned down the encounter to a Panama City Beach docktail gathering.

The temperature was still unseasonably hot at 88 degrees so we were delighted to jump in the pool.

The only other thing of note was a 90 foot yacht that waked every boat on the dock. The captain ignored the no wake signs. As a deeper draft vessel, their ground effect in the shallow canal sucked out enough water to allow Moon Dance’s gunwale to slide under the dock before the wake arrived. First time I have heard John curse another boater. The captain and crew were scurrying around with fenders and lines while the owner dined in the aft deck.

Everyone on the dock checked their boat, then made sure everyone else on the dock was okay Before we had finished, the boat circled back. We thought maybe to apologize. But no, they wanted all the boats on the dock to move so they could fit in. All of those who were waked turned their backs, pretending to check their lines.

One boat moved to let them in. John wandered down later debating whether to say something. When he arrived he noticed the boat was connected to shore water. John had been thinking about turning off the tap, but decided against. The dock master had told us there was a local boil water advisory We didn’t fill our tanks. Karma is a bitch.