'Man, They're Running the Sh*t Out of You ...'.

I've heard that comment four or five times from other boats this past week. The dock we work out of in Grand Isle has 15-20 boats coming and going at various intervals. Our interval is about five hours, give or take a crew change, a stop for production or a slow crane operator.

The logbooks show we were underway more than 19 hours a day two days this past week, and we logged more than 12 hours coming and going every day of the week.

All of this while a front stalled-out on a low pressure system and the weather turned to crap. Rain, fog, winds gusting to 40 knots ... good times.

This boat, as noted before, is a bit light in the ass. So light in fact that in 25-knot winds on the beam, it's a real trick to get her off the dock. It's an interesting challenge, but I'm ready (already) for something different.

It's a lonely boat, too. In the month I've been aboard, I have yet to see two of the crew members (including the coffeepot captain) crack a smile. There's not a whole lot of chit-chat.

On the other hand, it's been good fun to work with the buddy who was already here when I came over. He's really come a long way in the last couple of years and it's a pleasure to watch him handle the boat.

Well, we're getting loaded for the morning run. Back to work.