To Anchor or to Dock? (I prefer anchoring ⚓)

Anchoring was one of my bigger worries when we started this trip. It always seemed so complicated and that there had to be a lot of work done in holding a boat in place in the always-moving water. My role in anchoring is pretty easy in that I listen for Ben's OK and then drop our Mantus Marine M1 anchor by pressing my heel on the forward button (on the left) for 10-30 seconds, depending on where we are. Then I latch the bridle on the chain and let out some more until the blue line is taut. It is pretty straightforward. (The opposite of all that brings it up, as demonstrated by Ben in an Instagram post @catamaranfamilyof5.)

Toward the bottom of the picture, the two black circles with white covers flapped open reveal the out (left) and back (right) buttons. The blue rope and metal piece on the front netting is the bridle. Anchor and chain run down the middle of the deck. The cleat is part of the locking mechanism that keeps the anchor and chain from moving when we don't want them to.

 
Apparently, I should have been more worried about docking. Typing up to a dock involves a lot of thinking and evaluating that I have to ask Ben about each time because of the different conditions and setups at different docks or marinas. I have to tie the fenders in 3 different spots along the side we will be docking and get lines hooked to the cleats, ready to throw to the dockhand or Ben. I haven't quite mastered jumping off the boat to the dock and tying it myself... and by that I mean I haven't tried and don't want to.

When our day is done, we have two choices: anchor or dock the boat. Anchoring is usually free and in a designated area off the main channel. The boat is surrounded by water and if we want air conditioning, we have to turn on our generator. Sometimes we have anchorages all to ourselves. Other times, we have a few neighbors doing the same. Docking almost always involves paying a docking fee, per foot (ours is 44 feet long), and we hook up to power and sometimes can fill up our 200-gallon water tank, get fuel, and pump out the black tank (holding tank for discharge from the toilet).

As the sun was going down on day 12, we crossed Mosquito Lagoon, Florida into the Indian River. Thinking we could find a place to anchor in Titusville, we had a little more to travel. I was in the cabin getting the kids ready for bed. Approaching the wider part of the river, the wind and waves picked up, and Ben heard a call of distress from another boat on the VHF radio saying they had 3 feet of water in their boat. He remembered seeing a public dock/boat ramp right at the mouth of Mosquito Lagoon, turned us around, and told me to tie up the fenders and prepare the lines on the port side.

If you don't know where Mosquito Lagoon, the Indian River, or Titusville are, they are all around Cape Canaveral, home of NASA launches. Our NASA clearing the week before inevitably hung over my head as we were preparing to dock and sleep here overnight. I checked NASA's launch schedule (this time we knew we would be sleeping in/near a launch zone and could prepare!) and hoped and prayed for no launches scheduled for June 23rd with a 2:30 wakeup call.

Blue dot is the Cartermaran.

We were the only people at the public dock and didn't see any signs saying we couldn't dock there, so we did. Usually, when we wonder about if we are allowed to stay overnight at a place (in our boat or our truck camper), we figure the police officer will have some empathy about getting tired, not wanting to continue and jeopardize our lives, and having our 3 small kids with us. Fortunately, we haven't yet had to explain ourselves.

As the Cartermaran approached the dock on the port side, I was prepping the lines and adjusting the height of the fenders on the foredeck. The current pushed us quickly to the dock and Ben was yelling knotty things to me about tying up to the dock, expecting me to execute the plan seamlessly. Of course, I had no idea what he was saying to do, so I asked for clarification. I clearly was moving too slowly and he decided he would drive and tie at the same time. I stayed on the foredeck since I knew he'd yell for me to do something that I'd have to decipher.

He directed me to tie up to the bow cleat and I could see and feel the line sliding quickly like a snake, around the cleat in an S, as I attempted to tie it. I started getting anxious about the boat running into the dock and about the job I was supposed to be doing without really knowing what was expected of me. In between listening to Ben, translating the terms to English in my head, swatting the mosquitoes, and attempting to tie the line, I was getting eaten alive. This place obviously lives up to its moniker.

Ben had me jump onto the dock with him and walk the boat backward with the stern line while he held the line and walked backward with the bow. All I could picture was the Cartermaran drifting out and away from the dock with only the kids onboard. That added a bit more anxiety to the already stressful situation. I heard water spouting and looked up to find a manatee in the water by our boat. I called for the kids to come see it, but the girls were asleep and Moose wasn't able to find it. Manatees are so cute and are always such a pleasant surprise to see. I remember selecting them for a research project one time after I had moved to Colorado, in an attempt to share the cuteness with my peers who lived in a landlocked state. Growing up in Florida, I remember feeding manatees whole heads of lettuce by my dad's work in Port Everglades. (Looks like that is now illegal, so my kids sadly won't have that experience.) Another experience we didn't get to have that night: being woken up by NASA in Cape Canaveral.

On our way out the next morning, we got to see the Kennedy Space Center from afar, barely making out the logo and flag on the side of the 525-foot building.

Two dolphins were riding our wake for about 3 minutes. It was our first close encounter with them. Ben spotted them and called us up to see. Moose, Roo, and I stopped making breakfast and went out to watch. Bear was still hibernating, so we woke her up because I knew she would be sad to miss it. We watched them until they were done entertaining us and swam away. Dolphins are so mesmerizing to watch. We have seen them so many times since our initial encounter in North Carolina. It doesn't get old. Ever. For any of us. ...which is great because we are way more likely to see them when we choose an anchorage instead of a marina.