We have now arrived at our final destination for the summer. In the middle of Florida near Lake Okeechobee there’s a marina that claims to be a hurricane hole. There is some debate whether or not this is at all possible, but nevertheless we are now preparing the boat to be left here for the summer.

The marina is placed along the Okeechobee Waterway, and most of the way from the Atlantic Coast is through a swamp. In Florida this means alligators, and we’ve seen them swim across the canal and around the boat in the marina. You can only see the top of their head, so it doesn’t seem so frightening, but the fact that they are known to occasionally get a hold of a dog or children who gets too close, does make me aware not to sit with my legs dangling outside the boat! One of the police officers who came to write a rapport after the collision with the powerboat in December, told me that he the week before had been assigned to open the mouth of an alligator, so a woman could get her arm back. We’re keeping our limbs inside the boat!

In Denmark, we’re not used to these dangerous animals and hazardous weather. When talking to people about this, I normally say that in Denmark the most dangerous thing that can happen is that in stormy weather a roof tile lands on your head. Of course it’s not entirely true, but it’s difficult talking for hours about the dangers in Denmark to people who risk having their houses ripped off the ground or loosing body arts to alligators. But even though I appreciate never having to worry about these things, this has of course not inured me to meet them abroad.

In North Carolina, Henrik and I didn’t go for a walk in a park, because there was a sign by the entrance explaining what to do if meeting a bear, and in the Bahamas we’ve been looking for shark fins every time we’ve gone swimming. Generally, human beings are too big a prey for sharks, and in the Bahamas they are apparently very well fed, but to meet them when swimming is another thing. One evening, when I was sitting at the back of the boat getting ready to jump in to rinse out my shampoo, a 1,5 to 2 meter shark came by just one metre from the boat! I must admit that I skipped jumping in and instead used extra water from the tank!

Recently, I talked to a Canadian sailor about this. In the end he said: “But you know that it won’t be a dangerous animal that will kill you in America. It will be guns.” Up until now we’ve luckily survived both, but it’s going to be good coming home for a while!

Signe Storr: Freelance Journalist & friend of Boatshed