Captain Rusty Higgins update

That is awesome news.....Thanks for the update Frank. Merry Christmas to You, The Captain, and your families...

What a great piece of good news. It is wonderful to hear this. Thanks for making the post, Frank.

And Rusty... I had every confidence you would meet this head long and have success. But there are never any certainties with these kinds of things. Good people make the world a better place, and I always consider it a small victory for mankind when things go well for good people. Glad to hear this.

That's great news!!! If Rusty needs a steak in Ft Lauderdale I would be honored to buy him one just to hear his stories.

Thank you Frank, very much. Merry Christmas.

Again thank you

keokie said:

What a great piece of good news. It is wonderful to hear this. Thanks for making the post, Frank.

And Rusty... I had every confidence you would meet this head long and have success. But there are never any certainties with these kinds of things. Good people make the world a better place, and I always consider it a small victory for mankind when things go well for good people. Glad to hear this.

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ocgrant said:

That's great news!!! If Rusty needs a steak in Ft Lauderdale I would be honored to buy him one just to hear his stories.

Click to expand...

ocgrant said:

That's great news!!! If Rusty needs a steak in Ft Lauderdale I would be honored to buy him one just to hear his stories.

Click to expand...

If you get hooked up with Rusty and he is in a story telling mood, ask him to tell you about the time we were running L650 Fly' Hull #1 from somethere on Long Island, so far north that nobody could understand either of us on the VHF, and we washed both the top and bottom of a little red Nissan Hard Body truck for some dude fishing from a dock on the ICW just a bit south of Norfolk…………….

fwebster said:

If you get hooked up with Rusty and he is in a story telling mood, ask him to tell you about the time we were running L650 Fly' Hull #1 from somethere on Long Island, so far north that nobody could understand either of us on the VHF, and we washed both the top and bottom of a little red Nissan Hard Body truck for some dude fishing from a dock on the ICW just a bit south of Norfolk…………….

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I remember that trip. I think you or Captain Rusty posted excerpts from that voyage before.

Frank,

Thanks for the update. An early Christmas gift not only for Capt Rusty and his family, but for all of us here on CSR. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to Capt Rusty, Frank and their families.

Thank you for keeping us posted Frank!

We think often of the day in Feb '13 when The Captain took us on a tour of every inch of the Sea Ray facility at Merritt Island. I remember it being a very difficult time for the Sea Ray brand but Rusty's generosity of knowledge and the time he spent with us that day will forever be cherished and remembered.

Good luck Captain. Fair weather and calm seas ahead.

Well bless our good Lord, I am back on the water after surviving an ordeal with that C word for the past six months. I am being told I am good to go, so in lieu of sitting on the couch waiting for full recovery (if there is such a thing) I have decided the best place for my type of therapy is where I know best, behind the helm. My friends at MMax asked if I would bring this Azimut down from NC to Lauderdale and I did just that.
The trip included some 6 footers coming out of Cape Fear NC but they were on my backside, so I took'um on, all the way to Charleston. The next day was more of the same but they began to build so I came inside at Savannah and negotiated the dreaded ICW all the way down to Port Cananveral. I was fortunate to be able to play the tides just right through the Georgia, and the north Florida area where it can be treacherous as heck during low tide. My depth gauge was not working properly but knowing the waterway through here, and reading the tides allowed me to keep on moving. Arrived in Port Canaveral before dark, fueled up, watched a launch right at dark and retired early so I could depart in time to make Lauderdale early enough to secure a rental car for the 3 hour drive home.
After arriving at the dealership in Pompano Beach (near Lauderdale), we cleaned her up and handed it over to the folks at MMax. I drove home with thoughts of accomplishment, simply because I was not a 100% sure I was really up to the challenge after being knocked down for a few months. But after completing this trip with all the weather and ICW variables thrown at me, I was kinda proud of myself that I haven't lost the touch and ability to do it. I have turned down so many jobs since early August that I was happy to get back on the water. I will enjoy Christmas and come the new year, I will not be turning any more down.....I am a Captain and the best place for me is at the helm!

Thank you all once again who have been checking on me. I have said before, if I listed you all that have supported me I would overload this site. Fred (All's Well), I so appreciate you shoving me on...you too Mikey (ididntdoit)! And as always my mentor and instructed Frank W for not allowing me to sit on the couch and say whoa is me! So dang good to be alive and creating a wake once again!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to us all!

Rusty

Wrightsville Beach and vessel

Preparing to exit Cape Fear Inlet heading south

Chart plotter showing my boat coming out of Cape Fear heading south

Leaving Charleston Harbor 6:30am

ICW south of Savannah GA at daylight, sun is not up just yet

Canaveral Locks coming off ICW headed to Port Canaveral

Departing Port Canaveral 05:30

Passing container ship out of Canaveral, let's roll!

Good on ya, Rusty!

You moved our boat in May 2021 from Tierra Verde to Legacy Harbour in Ft. Myers so we could take possession there -- let Gulf Coast Diesel bring the engine maintenance up to date. Thanks again for all that!

Cheers, -Chris

I certainly remember the trip well Chris......glad you brought that diamond in the rough back to to her original beauty! Great boat!

Rusty

Capt. Rusty Higgins said:

Well bless our good Lord, I am back on the water after surviving an ordeal with that C word for the past six months. I am being told I am good to go, so in lieu of sitting on the couch waiting for full recovery (if there is such a thing) I have decided the best place for my type of therapy is where I know best, behind the helm. My friends at MMax asked if I would bring this Azimut down from NC to Lauderdale and I did just that.
The trip included some 6 footers coming out of Cape Fear NC but they were on my backside, so I took'um on, all the way to Charleston. The next day was more of the same but they began to build so I came inside at Savannah and negotiated the dreaded ICW all the way down to Port Cananveral. I was fortunate to be able to play the tides just right through the Georgia, and the north Florida area where it can be treacherous as heck during low tide. My depth gauge was not working properly but knowing the waterway through here, and reading the tides allowed me to keep on moving. Arrived in Port Canaveral before dark, fueled up, watched a launch right at dark and retired early so I could depart in time to make Lauderdale early enough to secure a rental car for the 3 hour drive home.
After arriving at the dealership in Pompano Beach (near Lauderdale), we cleaned her up and handed it over to the folks at MMax. I drove home with thoughts of accomplishment, simply because I was not a 100% sure I was really up to the challenge after being knocked down for a few months. But after completing this trip with all the weather and ICW variables thrown at me, I was kinda proud of myself that I haven't lost the touch and ability to do it. I have turned down so many jobs since early August that I was happy to get back on the water. I will enjoy Christmas and come the new year, I will not be turning any more down.....I am a Captain and the best place for me is at the helm!

Thank you all once again who have been checking on me. I have said before, if I listed you all that have supported me I would overload this site. Fred (All's Well), I so appreciate you shoving me on...you too Mikey (ididntdoit)! And as always my mentor and instructed Frank W for not allowing me to sit on the couch and say whoa is me! So dang good to be alive and creating a wake once again!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to us all!

Rusty

View attachment 137832 Wrightsville Beach and vessel

View attachment 137833Preparing to exit Cape Fear Inlet heading south

View attachment 137834Chart plotter showing my boat coming out of Cape Fear heading south

View attachment 137839 Leaving Charleston Harbor 6:30am

View attachment 137835ICW south of Savannah GA at daylight, sun is not up just yet

View attachment 137836 Canaveral Locks coming off ICW headed to Port Canaveral

View attachment 137841 Departing Port Canaveral 05:30

View attachment 137837Passing container ship out of Canaveral, let's roll!

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Great post Rusty…. Congratulations on recovery and the same wishing you and your family a merry Christmas and Happy new year ….

Capt. Rusty Higgins said:

I certainly remember the trip well Chris......glad you brought that diamond in the rough back to to her original beauty! Great boat!

Rusty

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Heh... I think it was actually more like a lump of coal when you ran it, Rusty. I hadn't realized how many issues the surveyor didn't catch! Nor did I realize how much engine crappola you had to deal with while you were running it!

I'm hoping to be able to say soon that we're approaching the diamond-in-the-rough stage!



Cheers, -Chris

Capt. Rusty Higgins said:

Well bless our good Lord, I am back on the water after surviving an ordeal with that C word for the past six months. I am being told I am good to go, so in lieu of sitting on the couch waiting for full recovery (if there is such a thing) I have decided the best place for my type of therapy is where I know best, behind the helm. My friends at MMax asked if I would bring this Azimut down from NC to Lauderdale and I did just that.
The trip included some 6 footers coming out of Cape Fear NC but they were on my backside, so I took'um on, all the way to Charleston. The next day was more of the same but they began to build so I came inside at Savannah and negotiated the dreaded ICW all the way down to Port Cananveral. I was fortunate to be able to play the tides just right through the Georgia, and the north Florida area where it can be treacherous as heck during low tide. My depth gauge was not working properly but knowing the waterway through here, and reading the tides allowed me to keep on moving. Arrived in Port Canaveral before dark, fueled up, watched a launch right at dark and retired early so I could depart in time to make Lauderdale early enough to secure a rental car for the 3 hour drive home.
After arriving at the dealership in Pompano Beach (near Lauderdale), we cleaned her up and handed it over to the folks at MMax. I drove home with thoughts of accomplishment, simply because I was not a 100% sure I was really up to the challenge after being knocked down for a few months. But after completing this trip with all the weather and ICW variables thrown at me, I was kinda proud of myself that I haven't lost the touch and ability to do it. I have turned down so many jobs since early August that I was happy to get back on the water. I will enjoy Christmas and come the new year, I will not be turning any more down.....I am a Captain and the best place for me is at the helm!

Thank you all once again who have been checking on me. I have said before, if I listed you all that have supported me I would overload this site. Fred (All's Well), I so appreciate you shoving me on...you too Mikey (ididntdoit)! And as always my mentor and instructed Frank W for not allowing me to sit on the couch and say whoa is me! So dang good to be alive and creating a wake once again!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to us all!

Rusty

View attachment 137832 Wrightsville Beach and vessel

View attachment 137833Preparing to exit Cape Fear Inlet heading south

View attachment 137834Chart plotter showing my boat coming out of Cape Fear heading south

View attachment 137839 Leaving Charleston Harbor 6:30am

View attachment 137835ICW south of Savannah GA at daylight, sun is not up just yet

View attachment 137836 Canaveral Locks coming off ICW headed to Port Canaveral

View attachment 137841 Departing Port Canaveral 05:30

View attachment 137837Passing container ship out of Canaveral, let's roll!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the great news Capt Rusty! All our hangouts in Ft. Myers are wiped out, so it will be a few years before you get to spend a night here again. Susan and I certainly enjoyed the last time!

Great news, keep on truck'n !!!

CAP RUSTY IS BACK IN BUSINESS !

Should be a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

We've spoken on the phone, but someday I hope to meet THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND !


BEST !

RWS

congrats fair winds and following seas

Maybe A Dancer said:

CAP RUSTY IS BACK IN BUSINESS !

Should be a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

We've spoken on the phone, but someday I hope to meet THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND !


BEST !

RWS

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Rusty really is a good guy in person, too.

Here's a pic of Rusty and I on the last day of our delivery trip in Liberty Harbor Marina, right before he departed for the airport. He helped make the trip awesome and easy.

Brad.....I will say it again. The trip with you, Thomas, and your father-in-law was one of my all time favorites, bar none.

I wore my Back Cove hat to pickleball again just today. Love that hat! And I am a huge fan of Back Cove boats after riding that distance with you guys. I talked with my captain buddy that we passed in Pamlico Sound NC a couple days ago, and he still comments on how we were able to take on those rough conditions in a 37 footer....that boat is tougher than train smoke!!

Miss you guys!

Rusty

Merry Christmas and never give up!!!