Wayne abandons ship… for now

Wayne abandons ship… for now

By Wayne Dewyer

Self-proclaimed “professional beach bum” Wayne Dewyer of Ludington is currently trekking his way to the Florida Keys. He started with a 17-foot motorboat, which he drove from Ludington to Panama City, Florida. Most recently, he switched over to a pontoon boat. From time to time, Wayne has been updating the readers of MCP about his journey. You can also follow him by subscribing to his YouTube channel, The Wayne Diaries here. 

Hello everyone and thank you for reading my blog/articles on Mason County Press. As you read in the last article we received a free pontoon boat from someone in Panama City to continue my adventure on. The pontoon boat had more room and was working ok for a bit, but I have developed leaks in the pontoons and one really large leak in the starboard side. So after some 150 more miles down the coast I could not bail the water out quick enough and It sunk on the beach twice. I bailed it out and was on my way a couple of times but the process was getting to be too much for me day to day.

I sold the pontoon for a few dollars, picked up a scooter and finished my journey to Crystal River, 70 miles to get to my large boat, where I would be able to continue my journey to the Keys. The trip has been incredible to say the least, I have loved every aspect of it. I will now concentrate on my other boat to be cleaned up and splashed in the water and finish the trip in style and some luxury.

I have been encountering so many dolphins and some sea turtles as I have been on the Gulf of Mexico some, near shore of course.

The next leg of this journey will be more fishing and living off the sea some, along with trying to earn some money along the way. Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard once said,  “An adventure never starts ‘till things go wrong.” This is so true, difficult and challenging at the time you’re doing it but character building in the end.

The scooter I picked up will be carried on the bigger boat and used to get around in towns I visit. I have delivered food for Door Dash and Uber Eats to supplement my money source for the past couple years and it has worked ok. If you are interested in watching the adventure series its on YouTube here. You can watch it and get a better perspective as to what I’m up against. 

I only have about 400 miles left to Key West. I have come some 2,300 miles already. It’s so crazy to think I have traveled so many miles with a small boat. I have around 25,000 miles now on boats as I have done the Great Loop one and half times and numerous trips from Michigan to Florida on a boat. All these miles have qualified me to be able to obtain a captain’s license if I so desire. We will have to see if that’s something I would like to do in the next year or so.

Well, thanks again for reading the blog and watching the series on YouTube. Have a great Christmas and holiday and we will talk again soon.

From The Professional Beach Bum Peace and Love.

Yours truly Wayne L.D.

The Wayne Diaries