Mi-T-Mo

When I emailed our trawler group, to inquire about Hollywood, more than one person told me to contact Mike Efford. One person even forwarded me his cell phone number! I was told that he was currently on his 65' tugboat in Hollywood Beach, and spends his summers in Baltimore...it was worth a call!

Mike was more than happy to hear from us, offering to meet us for lunch that day, and to take us to Ft. Lauderdale with him to meet some friends that night. We wanted to get some time on the beach, so we passed on lunch, but happily agreed to go with him to Ft. Lauderdale that night. One our way to the beach, we rode our bikes over to where Mike keeps his tug, Mi-T-Mo. He greeted us, and gave us the grand tour of his large, roomy home, complete with a engine room and tools that made Scott drool! They talked motors and boats and such for a while, and then we headed on our way.

That evening, Mike picked us up and we made the short drive north, to the Ft. Lauderdale area. Along the way, we learned a lot about his years as a ship pilot and a tug boat captain. The restaurant we went to was on the New River. The waterfront area is lined with shops and restaurants; tour boats frequently pass by. We had dinner, and then left Mike to meet his friend, while Scott and I went to check out an Irish bar(decked out for St. Pat's)that I'd spotted on the way in.

After a drink at the Irish bar, we headed back to meet Mike. His friend Nancy was part of a sailing club, and they were having a meeting at the restaurant where we'd eaten dinner. After the meeting concluded, two of its members shared pictures of their summer's trip from the Canary Islands up to Spitsbergen, which is right up against the North Pole. Scott and I joined the group, to listen. The pictures were great, and their story was really interesting. Not something we'd do in a million years, but very interesting all the same.

Once the meeting broke up, we chatted with Mike's friend, Nancy, a bit and then he drove us back to the boat. We thanked him for a great evening, and promised to catch up with him in Baltimore over the summer. If you're in the harbor area then, Mi-T-Mo can be found over by the Domino Sugar building. Here are some pictures of our evening with Mike, and of Mi-T-Mo.