Salty Reading

Yeah, I'll admit I'm nuts about boats. One reason I love my current beauty is her ability to put me into the tugboat mentality. I used to work on tugs and sometimes, when I'm lucky, like I was this past weekend, the ol' Betty Jane lets me pretend I'm still workin' on one of the tugs I used to get such a kick out of.

The weather was gorgeous for this little jaunt, as you can see. And Betty was runnin' like a top, thanks to a recent bottom job at a local boat yard. On this particular day my wife and I were headed for Shell Island, a favorite anchorage. We enjoy coasting in towards the shore, dropping' the hook in a little over a fathom of water, and then just relaxin'. My wife likes reading the New York Times while sitting in a deck chair in the cockpit. I usually read one of my good seafarin' guys. Like right now I'm reading Desperate Voyage by John Caldwell. Nothin's better than laying on the settee in the teaky saloon, with the front windshield panel open to let the breeze blow through, reading a great and salty book.

Made it back to the marina without incident, by the way. Had fun, and that's what counts.