Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/433799
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 1 7 1 and Magic on my desk. The book is a thoughtful pictorial on Flip's life on the waters of South Florida and beyond. On the inside-front cover, Flip had penned a note that included a sincere thank you, a promise to get together again soon, and a closing that was right on target: "It is probably a good thing we didn't know each other during our 'youngerhoods' or we would have knocked a lot of bark off a lot of trees." So true, Flip, but it would have been a blast. was barely ten inches long, but that was immaterial to Flip. He just likes to fish. Spend time with him and you will learn that he is a storehouse of knowledge and carries a great passion for birds, flowers, alligators, and anything else that inhabits the wild world. Just don't try to get him to large gatherings where someone is trying to "showcase" him. The morning Flip, Kirk, and the rest of the crew left my home, I walked into my office and found a copy of Memories, Mangroves contribution to outdoor sporting equipment is clearly Hells Bay Boats. As one of the original founders and the original designer, he strived to make the Hells Bay Flats Boat the standard against which all others are measured and a brand that mere mortals such as me continue to lust after. In the early 2000s Flip and his partners sold their interests, and the company went through a change in ownership and honestly some slippage. Since 2007, however, it has been in the very capable hands of owner Chris Peterson and his team. Chris has been wise enough to bring in Flip to work with Hells Bay's designers and marketing folks. Ask him about any boat model and you will get a detailed explanation, from both a design, production, and performance perspective. Every model is a built to be a masterpiece. My dad always told me that a man without any pretense is a man worth knowing. Walk with Flip into the RIGS Fly Shop in Ridgeway, Colorado, across a deserted landing strip in Costa Rica to drop off or retrieve fishermen, or through any restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina, during the Lowcountry RedTrout Celebrity Classic, and strangers will recognize his gray beard and quiet smile and likely approach him. He is always gracious, modest, and never hurried. He simply makes folks feel comfortable. Several years ago I spent the night at his home in Mims, Florida, and had a great supper with Flip and his wonderful wife, Diane. He and I set out early the next morning to fish the St. Johns River. In his airboat we wandered for miles through the grass and marsh before arriving at a stream that flowed through a cattle ranch before emptying into the river. We spent the morning wading and fishing the creek for bream and bass. The trophy of the morning