The last time I went out on an airboat was just prior to my wedding in October 1998. That was in the swamps and bayous southwest of New Orleans. I had a fun time and with some time to spend in Miami on my recent trip I decided it would be fun to take another airboat ride. I really wanted to go out for sundown but wasn't able to find an operator close to Miami that would do that for me on the day I had available.
Having scoured tripadvisor.com, I had selected captain Greg Brown's ‘Everglades Airboat Charters‘. I had arranged for a private boat for a couple of hours a few days before my trip. It all sounded very cloak-and-dagger with instructions to meet at a gas station at a cross roads just to the east of the middle of nowhere. I arrived a little before the appointed time and captain Greg pitched up a few minutes later. We took a quick look at the thunder storms rumbling around us but the radar showed we'd miss most of it, so we drove out to the boat ramp.
Of course, on arrival at the boat ramp the heavens opened and the deluge began. I scrambled for my rain jacket but something wasn't quite right. It was awful snug on me yet I'd not gained any pounds since I had bought it. Then it dawned on me. I'd picked up my wife's jacket! We waited out the rain which was pretty much gone after ten minutes and captain Greg loaned me a slicker. As the only passenger, I climbed up on the seat next to the Captain. He started the 1968 Chevy engine, turned the airboat to the north, opened the throttle and we were off.
The storm was still moving out so it was still raining a little. I found the rain was quite refreshing on my face and quite annoying on the lens of my camera. But after ten minutes the rain had moved out and I was able to clean my lens (I had an OP/TECH Rainsleeve on my camera to protect it).
Having crossed an expanse of inundated grassland, we turned into a firebreak canal in search of some alligators and that was when I got the shot below. It's a handheld 3-shot, 4EV HDR, finished in a beta version of onOne Software's Perfect Photo Suite 7, which is due for general release on October 31!.
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