Tag Archives: wheels up

Watching History Pass Over & Reprise

A stiff north breeze was blowing a couple of days ago, so I opted to pond hop for bass in the neighborhood rather than launch the skiff and contend with wind.

It was a decent bite, but thats not unusual for our little utopia of interconnected retention ponds.

While taking a break, perched on the (pond hopping assault vehicle) golf cart & talking to a friend on the phone, I heard the joyful sounds of multiple radial engines approaching.

There she was, a B-24 Liberator, bearing down on me from the north at around 1600 feet.

I mentioned it to my friend as he too appreciates such things & held the phone skyward as it passed overhead in an attempt to share the sweet sounds of WWII heavy iron passing by on wing.

The aircraft is part of the Collings Foundation collection.  It is the only flying example of its exact type, the J model.

Check Here to view a schedule of where you can see it up close over the next couple of months.

As luck would have it, they had James Stafford aboard filming the flight from New Smyrna Beach to Stuart, FL.

Seeing the fly-by from their perspective was a cool reprise.

I wonder if they noticed me standing there, mouth agape, phone held high?

DIY Bahamas Bonefish Excursion

The past few weeks have been filled with days of building anticipation for the good times and fishing that is to come.  Three intrepid angling souls will pack up flies, rods and reels in just two days and retract the landing gear to head southeast into the archipelago of The Bahamas.

The unknown challenges of going it alone is the greatest appeal for “Do It Yourself” in a far flung location, but the rewards are epic when they come.

The entire experience is an adventure.  Beyond the simplicity of making a call to any of the fine bonefish lodges that dot the island nation, the search for shelter is just the beginning in a DIY adventure.  Scouring Google Maps for potential flats that will be both accessible and productive consumes hours of time as the date approaches.

For now, its back to packing and double checking gear…