We Three: Fred, the Ferry Boat, and Me

by William T. Harper

It was a journey that, to the best of my knowledge, never had been taken before – ranging from Lake Superior and down the nation’s Inland Waterways to the Gulf of Mexico. Hundreds and possibly thousands of people have used those waterways to get away from the harsh winters of the north and bask in the sunny climes of Florida and other ports of call along the Gulf of Mexico coastline. Boats of all kinds – from millionaires’ mega cruisers to rowboats and dinghies – have made all or parts of the trip. Some people have canoed and water-skied the length of the Mississippi River and others, like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, floated down most of it on a raft.
But as far as can be told, no one ever piloted a forty-seven-foot, deep-draft Gulfstar motorsailer, with a two-man crew of retired gas men whose combined ages totaled more than a century-and-a-quarter, all the way from Washburn, Wisconsin to Freeport, Texas, via the Great Lakes and the Inland Waterways. No wonder so many people stared at us from the river banks as we went floating by. In making this epic 2,400-mile voyage, I never thought I would be risking my life (and that of my crew) many times during the journey. I thought it was going simply be like a walk in the park. It turned out to be more like a walk in a park full of muggers.

182 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 23, 2011