It is never a good thing to snap a rudder cable three miles off shore in a heavy wind and chop. This happened after I crossed the bay from Dauphin Island. As I struggled to keep the bow pointed toward a far off clump of houses, a crabber and his crew came upon me.  I flagged them down and Victor Zirlott of Zirlottseafood.com and his grandson, TJ Cornelius picked me up and hoisted my boat on board. In the chop and wind this was a challenge for sure. Apparently Victor had seen me struggling in the wind while he was setting traps and figured he'd check things out. Thank goodness he did! And thank goodness he was so willing to help!

He and TJ took me in to Steve Johnson's docks. Steve is a shrimper and he also, like most of the crabbers, shrimpers, and fishermen around here, does boat repair. He put down the work he was busy doing and set about doing what he could to help me. After going to a shop looking for a swagging tool and coming up empty, he and I drove to an auto parts store. There, Daniel Zirlott came up with a little copper piece that Steve was able to squish onto the end of the cable to keep it from pulling through the rudder peddle. Needless to say, the amazingly generous donation of time and assistance completely blew me away. Within two hours of landing at his dock, I was back on the water again and heading for Biloxi, MS.  I could not have made it wihout the help of those wonderful folks on Coden, Alabama.

Arriving into Biloxi with a few seconds of light to spare, I was surprised to find a crew waiting to greet me. Aaron Viles and Casey of the Gulf Restoration Network were there as well as Robin and Rusty David, who so generously let me shower on their houseboat, and Linda Hall, Louis Skrenette, dockmaster of the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum, a reporter, Elsie Roberts of WLOX13.

Robin is the Exec. Director of the Maritime Museum, which is still another place I have to bring my family back to. She gave me a shirt and a book about the museum, and Rusty would not let my gin and tonic glass remain empty for more than two seconds. Robin knows everyone and even introduced me to the mayor of Biloxi!

Following the festivites at the yacht club, Aaron and Casey dropped me off at the Isle Casino and Hotel, where a room was generously donated for me. I love a hotel that uses real glasses and cups as opposed to Styrofoam and paper.

Now I'm off to Bay St. Louis! What an amazing group effort this paddle has been!