Since I'm running out of days to take off work we decided, after much thought and discussion with several people, to hire a delivery Captain to run the boat from Palmetto to Mobile Bay. This gets us back on schedule so that, with any luck at all, I can get the boat home in May. It also saved us some money, since it cost quite a bit to leave it another month in Palmetto. About what it cost to have it delivered, especially if you factor in the reduced insurance. I was able to drop the hurricane coverage sooner this way. So the boat is at Eastern Shore Marine in Fairhope, Al, right now. It was a little weird to hire someone, sight unseen, to take our boat across the gulf of Mexico. But once again, the local cruising connection came through with some good recommendations, one of which was able to work us in to his schedule. If you need a boat delivered I can give you his name and number and an excellent recommendation. As they got close to Mobile they got smacked with a line of strong thunderstorms. I was watching it on radar all day and was probably more worried than if I'd been on the boat.

So we're back on track. May 1st I head down, along with my trusty crew Bill and Sue, north bound on the river.