“Actually… Yes.  We had come for fuel yesterday, but you were closed, so we had to wait over night.”  I explained, hoping to have a good excuse as to why we were using the marina’s dock without checking in.

“Will you be needing water as well?” Asked the marina worker.

“Oh… Well, that would be great…”  I replied relieved to see there was no issue with us having docked overnight.

The marina had a small convenience store so we browsed up and down the one or two isles looking for an excuse to buy something… anything.  Being out at sea, you never know what you might need.

Meanwhile, Lisa kept watch on the water tanks while Andre turned on the faucet at the end of a very long hose.  As the tanks slowly filled up, Lisa was glad to have water, yet she was remembering how she had so wanted me to install a water filtration system, but lack of time and funds, made it impossible for me to do so.

“Where are you heading?” Asked the worker.

“South.” I replied “…eventually Haiti.”

“Haiti!?… We don’t meet to many people heading to Haiti…” He replied, as a lady working in the office peaked around the corner.

I told them about our orphanage, then I shared about the change of heart Haiti had when she voted in favor of Israel.    I also shared how we had been led to return the blessing…  The man listened quietly, then he looked around.  He picked up a large box of raman noodle soup,  “Can you use this?…”  He asked as he handed me the box…

“Sure…” I replied.

By this time, Lisa and the boys had come in.

“How about it Mom…” He asked “Can the boys have soda?”

“Sure, it’ll be a special treat.” Lisa replied with a chuckle.

The man opened the cooler and emptied it out; Pepsi, juice, tea, you name it.

“Ice cream?…” He asked as he opened the freezer.  The boys huddled around the freezer gathering their favorite flavors.

There were several bags of groceries on the floor.  He handed them to Lisa as well.

As we prepared to untie Aleph Tav, the man came out once again holding several more boxes.  It was clear he was the owner of the marina by now.

“Are you handy?… If I give you this water filtration system, will you be able to install it in your boat?… I figure you’ll need it in Haiti.  It removes bacteria, parasites, and all kinds of other things” he explained handing me the boxes.    I noticed his voice seemed to quiver, then I saw he had tears in his eyes.

I took the boxes from his hands and thanked him.

“What you’re doing moves me…” He said as he stood on the dock.

“What you’re doing moves me…” I replied, “I’m going to sound my shofar over your place to bless it.  Thank you for your kindness.”

I brought the water filtration system and showed it to Lisa.    She jumped out of the boat and ran back inside the little marina store.

“What’s Mom doing?…” Asked an inquisitive Noah on his toes, peaking out the salon window.

After some time, Lisa returned to the boat… “Ok… Now that we’re all crying like little babies… Let’s go!”

“Who, what?… What the heck just happened?…” Asked Gabriel as he put his headphones down.

“Nothing, alright?… I just wanted to thank them.”  Responded Lisa as she wiped her rosy nose.  A special thank you to Chris and Stacy at Kammerman’s Marina!  http://www.kammermansmarina.com
Aleph Tav slowly pulled away from the dock as I sounded the shofar, and off we were headed to Ocean City Maryland.

For hours we motored, needing only to adjust the auto pilot occasionally.  Miles and miles of smooth waters rolled beneath us.  The warm sun turned the sea to glistening gold and put every one to sleep; every one but me, that is.  I was enjoying the peace and tranquility of an occasional sway, and the creaking sound of ropes, or should I say “sheets” as they are properly called on a sailboat.  While the hours past, I had time to ponder on the infamous twenty minutes that frustrated me so much the day before;  How we would have most likely missed a wonderful blessing, had things gone my way…

Suddenly the GPS on my iPhone turned itself off as an unmarked call came in.  I normally would be frustrated, as a phone call turns off my phone’s GPS, and I would most certainly not answer the phone, but as I was pondering how my way is not necessarily the right way, I made an exception.

“Hey!…” Came a strange raspy voice over the phone, “where the heck are you now?”

To be continued