After a ten month hiatus following last April's aborted attempt to sail down the Sea of Cortez, Poppa Neutrino (aka David Perlman) yanked the cord on a 9hp outboard motor and eased the revised edition of his Huck Finn creation out of the estuary at Rancho Percebu and into the coastal waters to begin an 800 mile trek to Cabo San Lucas.

The first leg of the voyage was the 30 mile frog leap to Puertecitos. On board with Poppa were Joel, a friend from his Key West days, Janine, a woman determined to share in part of the adventure, and Arie Taal, a fellow rafter from Amsterdam who had helped Poppa with matters of raft design.

When Ed Meders and I arrived at Percebu, the raft was at anchor off the spit of the campo's 'lagoon'. There was a small crowd of people with their 4x4's and cameras at the point, photographing the raft and calling out encouragements to Poppa Neutrino. Arie had not yet arrived and the crew of the raft were anxious to depart. They waited for Arie for a short time then Joel hauled the anchor on-board and Poppa jerked the motor to life. The Island Rooster, as Neutrino calls the raft, edged out of the estuary and around the north point as one of the spectator lifted what looked like a wooden chandelier to his mouth and the strains of a Scottish dirge floated eerily across the water. The bagpiper stood vigil while his bizarre instrument, trapped in a headlock under his arm, wailed and complained.

A few minutes later, Arie pulled up in a car. He was amazed the raft launch had not scheduled according to Mexican time.

Ed Meders radioed Poppa on a handset and told him Arie had arrived. A small boat that had been following the raft swung around and offered the Dutchman a ride. His flap-hat flipping a small salute from his neck as he leapt aboard, Arie caught up with the Rooster, transferred his gear and stepped onto the plywood deck of the raft. And promptly got his feet wet. There was apparently a negative-freeboard condition on the Rooster and Arie later voiced reservations about the craft's ability to comfortably achieve its goal.

"Their feet are going to be wet the entire time," he said. "The raft needs more foam underneath to lift it up."

Ed Meders committed himself to following the raft to Puerticitos, an all day task that didn't see its finish until nearly 9PM. It was dark when the Rooster eased toward the small port and Papa Neutrino radioed for Ed to flash his car lights but apparently they couldn't be seen from the raft and the crew mistook another car for the light source. Eventually the Rooster put in and the temporary crew of Arie and Janine debarked and made their way back to San Felipe.

Yesterday Papa Neutrino appeared in town with an empty gas can in his hand. He said he was going to effect some design changes on the raft before continuing to Cabo. Time will tell whether the Island Rooster finds its way out of the chicken coop or is destined to remain tethered to the shortcomings of its own plumage.

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