It was cool and dark as I sat on the dock at midnight, waiting for the guys to finish the preparation for the trip. Lance had gone to the store to pick up ice and the rest had made a final run to the house for the last load of food and beer. Other than that, the 34 Mirage Center Console was loaded and ready to go. Rob and I had taken it down to the marina earlier in the day and topped off the 450 gallon fuel tank that feeds the ever thirsty twin 250 horsepower outboards .The bait freezer was full of frozen ‘hoos, the line on the Penn 12LTs and the 30 Wides  had all been replaced. We left the bent butt rods and Penn 50s alone because the Monel wire that was spooled on them is not as affected by the hours of sun and salt. The extra outboard motor oil, parts, tools and god knows what else was stored in the cavernous hold under the aft deck that raised and lowered with an electric ram. The crew quarters under the front deck that housed the head and bunks for 4 was so packed with provisions (beer and pretzels) and gear that accessing the head would be a major accomplishment. Hell, I was amazed that with all the weight the old girl was still afloat…..but float she did, and not even squatting enough to submerge the bottom paint fully.

 

Yea, she’s quite the boat. It’s a shame that Mirage stopped building them, but the company said that they were “outdated” and people wanted center console boats that would get on top of the water and run 70 mph, not sturdy seaworthy slower boats. I disagreed wholeheartedly, I have been in enough rough water in light boats to last 2 lifetimes and it ain’t fun. Give me a boat that will make 40 and run in 6 ft nasty sloppy Gulf chop and get you home dry and not pissin’ blood!

 

In going over my thoughts about preparation for the trip, I am amazed at what goes into a simple offshore excursion, and that I have been up since 5AM and we are about to run the South all night so that we can be at the Towers off of Naples just after sunup. Maybe I can get a nap on the way, those bean bag chairs were one of the best ideas we ever had.

Lance returns with his payload of beer chiller and as we are loading it into the fish boxes the rest of the motley assortment arrives. We finish the loading, cast off and turn south into the darkness.Continue the Story