Tiller's Excelent Adventure

Vero Beach
No LL

Tiller

Don, Margaret and Tiller on their W32 are rafted up with us. We have been friends since we met Don in Searsport Maine in 2006. In the past few years, we've had a lot of fun together here in Vero.

Tiller, the 3rd crew member, is a cat extrodinare. He is pretty, healthy, active, and he apparently loves the boats. When rafted up, he roams from boat to boat at his pleasure. He especially likes sleeping in Libby's lap.

Don told me about one peculiarity of Tiller's. He likes riding in the dinghy. Don figured this out after long experience. Tiller has less interest in going ashore in the dinghy than the dinghy ride itself. Well, yesterday Tiller really outdid himself.

Libby and I were out to lunch with our friends Dave and Jonni from Melbourne. I first met Dave while working on projects at NYISO. We have been good friends ever since. Yesterday, they drove down to Vero to meet us and then treated us to lunch at a nice restaurant right on the water in Sebastian. Thanks much Dave & Jonni.

Back to the story. When I returned to the boat, Margaret said "you just missed all the excitement." It seems that Tiller managed to set off on his own in the dinghy. He was drifting away all alone with no human on board and heading for the nearby mangrove forest full of alligators. Don and Margaret panicked and had to beg help from anyone nearby to launch a rescue mission to fetch Tiller and the dinghy and return them. The mission was successful.

So how did Tiller manage this feat? I didn't quite get that part of the story. Actually, I would rather not know and use my imagination instead.