The following day, I woke up feeling better. I decided I was going to go into the alligator's territory, confront it and show it that I was ready and willing to fight back. I tucked the diving knife under my belt, took the spear in one hand, the machete in the other and headed into the east trail looking like Rambo. I noisily chopped grass and branches while I loudly shouted, hoping that the gator would hear me: "You stay away from me and my babies and I will stay away from yours! You hear? If you don't want me to invade your territory and harm your babies you stay away from us!" I continued to chop and shout all the way down the trail while making sure I stayed at a safe distance from the water's edge where the gator was most likely hiding, watching and waiting. Fortunately, I did not run into the gator. In hindsight, I was insane! What on earth was I thinking? Even if I had been in topnotch shape - which I was not - I was definitely no match for any alligator regardless of its size.
Jan and John Hughes showed up at the island. I did not immediately recognize her. Jan was the lady with the two horses who had so kindly allowed us to rest on the beach of her waterfront home. We spoke about the trip I was planning to make. I explained to them that I still needed to build a leeboard and make a rudder for the canoe but that I did not have a drill. They told me that I was welcomed to use their tools and that they had some plywood that I could use for the leeboard.
I then showed them the pressed grass and they too agreed that it looked like it had been made by a gator.
After buying the necessary hardware, John and his son's friend helped me to saw the wood for the two leeboards and install the rigging for a retractable rudder. I had forgotten to buy Polyurethane for the leeboards and, therefore, the installation of the leeboards would have to be postponed. I would worry about that further up the river.
The rudder, however, was a success. A man at the lock had given me what I can only describe as a sort of round, aluminum plate with a whole in its center. He said I might be able to find some use for it. We used this part to attach the hinges and the rudder from the windsurfer in such a way that we ended up with a retractable and removable rudder. What it lacked in esthetics it made up for in effectiveness. That night John and Jan invited us to spend the night at their home. It was the last night of comfort my girls and I were to experience for a long time.
