cockpit area which is ideal for keeping young children safely confi ned. And speaking of children... Capt Hugh is a father of six (ranging in age from two years old to twelve years old) who just loves to entertain kids on the boat. Ably assisted by pirate fl ags, swords and plenty of "all aboard me hearties" he happily turns his boat into a pirate ship whenever there are youngsters on board. Capt Hugh is obviously a sailor through and through. He has sailed in many parts of the world, including Australia, and was involved in the 1995 America's Cup. He also ran a boat rental and beach concession in Costa Rica and lived in the Virgin Islands for some time, but he loves to come home to SW Florida, where he says we have some of the best shelling in the world. He is also delighted to see how well the environment is protected here and he sees no degradation in the aquatic environment or water quality since he fi rst started sailing these waters in the 1980s. He regularly sees dolphin and manatee (sometimes together) on his trips and says that dolphin seem to be fascinated by his rudder and often swim up-side-down behind it. He also sees a lot of sea turtles because the boat is so quiet it doesn't frighten them as other vessels are inclined to do. Even with all this incredible wildlife to enjoy (which he says he never takes for granted) for Capt Hugh the best part of the job is the opportunity it affords him to talk to people from all over the world. He loves to share his local knowledge with his guests. He's entertained many famous and important people on board and his oldest passenger was an 89 year old lady who was out for a fun day with a group of her girlfriends! One satisfi ed customer recently said - "It was the best part of our vacation" ...so why not make it the best part of yours?For more information call Capt. Hugh Cross at 239-580-8765. 73

74