So one afternoon after work, I’m running my daughters’ 17-foot center console boat around just for fun. My daughter Rebecca is with me as we scoot down Ski Alley and back. The boat is running great. The Evinrude 70 is screaming right along like it always does; these older 3 cylinder Evinrudes and Johnson are pretty bulletproof. If it can survive four summers of twin teenage girls running full-throttle everywhere, it will run forever.

I come out of Ski Alley and look toward Stump Pass. It’s a nice calm day, so I point the bow west. Although my daughters are not allowed to take their boat into the Gulf, I figure why not? I’m an experienced captain and the boat is running great. I’ll just do a quick loop and head back in.