Griff, I'd feel sad if your first night off the dock on your first independant charter was one of the all too frequent nights of sea-dragon rodeo at Cooper.

CIBC is a lovely little resort, there is a magical sunset view, and I'd had some fine meals there ( although the restaurant is inconsistent as heck).

One thing I'll never forget is the heartpounding, helpless feeling of impending doom being yanked out of my cabin at 2 AM because wind, current and a rain squall churned the mooring field into a serious episode of bumper boats. Unfortunately, that is not at all a rare occurrence in Manchioneel Bay. Boats on moorings all swinging wildly, everything over 45 ' poised to knock hulls with their neighbors, no boats have enough fenders to deploy, and in pitch black pouring rain, some captains choose to let go their moorings and attempt to thread through the field to deeper water outside using flashlights to "see".

Oh, yeah, fun you bet. Boaty Ball can't fix that down-side to Cooper. Give your anxiety a break, just flat-out miss all that " fun".