
In my first book, HIGH ROLLERS, I wrote, “A thirty-minute skiff ride passes by faster than a half-hour ride in a pickup truck.” In my world, there is no other mode of transportation more exhilarating than running a skiff. Further, I might add, there is no place more suited for that endeavor than Florida’s waterways. Through the pages of Double Haul, you can take the ride of your life along a young Wyatt Morgan, who retraces my own wakes cut over more than seven decades aboard every type craft imaginable. This includes hand built wooden skiffs, state of the art technical skiffs, 40-to-54-foot live aboard vessels, airboats, and more. This lifelong adventure laid down the foundation for Double Haul, which I am fond of referring to as a journey. I recall the day I bought my first live aboard mothership. My wife, Janie, and I stood on the docks staring up at the newly purchased 82,000-pound 54-foot Hatteras. She asked, “So what do we do now?” I shrugged and replied, “Damn if I know…. I don’t even know how to start the thing.” Three months later, after countess hours of tutorage from Capt. John Huff, I was handed my solo papers to head out on my own. The only real advantage to growing older is the level of intimidation tends to wain with the passing of years. Eventually, the idea of being intimidated by almost anything vanishes completely. I say almost because, I’ll not soon forget looking down at my trembling hands working the gears to thread the needle in reverse into a narrow slip in twenty knot winds and opposing tides. Johns sound advice was, “Just don’t go any faster than you want to hit something!” Young Wyatt Morgan is creative, innovative, fearless, and passionate about fly fishing for tarpon. You’ll run for your life with him through the Everglades. You’ll ride the seas in the throes of a horrific storm and race through the dark of night following your only hope of survival. Jump onboard, grab a hold, and brace yourself for a journey you’ll not soon forget. You’ll see the real Florida... the best it has to offer!