Ken Goodings, Silverheels III, with the biggest toadie. (Couple more pics in the Gallery)

Yep, my bride thought I was getting lazy so I went fishing to prove her wrong. We met some great folks at church last Sunday and they invited me on a day charter they had arranged out of D-ville. I hemmed and hawed between riding my bike to the other side of the penninsula or driving around in Poof*. I chose the latter and left FBH around 6:30 am, arriving at Cocomo's docks just after 7:00. Woooey! Going around Sting Ray Pt. is shallow. I was roughly a half mile offshore, halfway inside the Sting Ray marker reading only three feet. I'm glad it was close to high tide.

We had a beautiful, clear hot day with a little breeze. I guess all but the teeny fish decided it was a good day to stay in deeper water but we had fun catching baby bass, some small croakers and spot, one each tautog and blue, and a raft of those ugly toadies that kept the boat crew busy with pliers and hook retrievers. I only caught a few but the company was wonderful. I enjoyed spending the day gleening Keys and Bahamas info out of Ken Goodings from s/v Silverheels III and Larry Hodge off s/v Tropical Gale Winds, both out of Doziers Marina for the time being and both seasoned cruisers and ICW guys. The folks from Phillipi church that sponsored the charter were a great bunch. Thanks to Pastor Mike, Harry and Faye for introducing us, and all of the other members for the warm welcome to a couple of transients.

It was low tide when I dropped Larry and Ken off at Doziers and left for the five mile +/- ride home so I decided honoring Sting Ray Pt. and all the channel markers was a good idea even though Poof* draws little more than two feet. A dinged prop a mile or two offshore in a little 12-foot RIB would not do. It added a couple miles to the run but was well worth the peace of mind.