The identity of a boat mirrors its owner. It’s a matter of time and interest, shaped further by needs and desires, which can define the vessel as one dedicated type, or show how “she” takes on multiple roles over a lifetime on the waves. Or both can be true. This was the case for Pilar – the boat once owned by Ernest Hemingway, which operated in the waters off Key West, Bimini, and Cuba, for 27 years.
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The Denali Damsels made the first all-women’s ascent of Denali in 1970. Overcoming what many thought was impossible, their story is now documented in the book Thirty Below by Cassidy Randall
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The widespread use of airboats is nothing new for the Florida Everglades. But their 20th century applications have grown beyond pleasure boaters seeking access to these remote areas, subsistence fishermen or hunters, and commercial tour operators. The airboat in the 21st century has become a widespread tool of law enforcement to combat illegal activity, ranging from drug smuggling, illegal dumping, animal cruelty, and illegal border crossings.
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The snakes that she’s hunting are the result of a good idea gone wrong. In the 1970s, the first Burmese pythons were imported from overseas as pets. They were a hit, and their numbers grew due to breeding programs and increased imports (importation has been banned since 2012). Released into the wild by their owners, they discovered an Eden in the Florida Everglades region, a place filled with food where they thrived. An apex predator, their only competition is large American crocodiles, alligators, and Florida panthers, and even those creatures can succumb to the pythons; nothing seems to stop them. The only other thing that can kill them in the wild is an extended hard freeze, which rarely happens this far south. They quickly took to the waterways and started to feed, and feed, and feed.
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