Bud Mills, who makes his home in Americus, grew up in New England, Rhode Island to be exact, close to the water. Since boats have always played a big part in his life, it's natural that he can be found these days skippering the 18-ton "Liberty Lady" for The Lake Blackshear Marina and Resort on Lake Blackshear.

During his long and eclectic career, "Capt. Bud," as he is affectionately called at The Marina, has ferried much heavier boats, both motor yachts and sailing vessels, up and down the east coast from Miami to New England and as far west as Long Island in the Bahamas. He is licensed up to 100 tons with a commercial assistance endorsement, and has been for close to 20 years.

Bud is married to the former Joye Adams from Americus. She’s his biggest fan, but judging from the greetings he received from passengers boarding the Liberty Lady on a recent night, his fame is spreading.

And he hasn't always spent his life on the water. For many years, Bud worked as a freelance engineer for network television sporting events. He's responsible for some of the great pictures seen coming across television screens at events such as the Atlanta Olympics, ABC TV's Monday Night Football, The Indianapolis 500 race, the Florida Marlins, the Carolina Panthers, the Miami Heat games and many, many more.

Once he took an assignment with CBS News and traveled with them to Kuwait City, Kuwait, as a communications and camera engineer. One day he and two others in his group were captured at a checkpoint and taken to Baghdad by the Iraqi Army and held prisoner for several days before finally being released a little worse for wear but basically unharmed. During his remote truck engineering days, he logged in on over 1,800 network television sporting events — a huge feat.

Bud hasn't been on all these adventures alone either. He and Joye signed on to help ferry a 135-ft. Constellation through the Panama Canal to the west coast of the United States. It was Al Capone's old yacht bound for the new owner in San Francisco. Bud signed on as second engineer and Joye signed on as second cook.

Years earlier when Bud got out of the Army at Fort Gordon, he went to work for RCA Victor Corporation in Camden, N.J. For three years with RCA, he worked with electron microscopes. After that, for nine years he was both an engineer and later in sales for Ikigami Corporation, the top of the line in broadcast video cameras and other television equipment, but he always seemed to come back to the boats.

Never one to let grass grow under his feet, once Bud and Joye returned home to Americus a few years ago, he enrolled at South Georgia Technical College and graduated as a certified machine operator. Before coming back home, the couple spent four years living aboard and sailing their Catalina 30 sailing sloop, "Satisfaction," around Florida and the Bahamas. Starting when he "retired" in 2000, they cruised from St. Augustine, Fla., to Bimini many times. Bud says that St. Augustine is his favorite city in Florida and he loved sailing in and out of there.

When asked is he liked power or sail better, he said he liked them both and had spent about half his time in one or the other while he was ferrying boats and doing salvage operations up and down the east coast.

But Bud isn't one to brag about himself, so it took several conversations with this somewhat reluctant over-achiever to get the picture. As a boy, he was an Eagle Scout. This is evident by a strong spiritual nature and a certain peace about him. He and Joye are members of Calvary Episcopal Church in Americus where he has served as the church's Junior Warden and a Lay Reader, both positions of respect and responsibility. To Eagle Scout, add certified diver, licensed airplane pilot, certified machinist, broadcast camera engineer and much more. For ABC Sports, Bud helped develop the use of the Super Slo-Mo camera for Monday Night Football, changing the way viewers watch sporting events on television.

So what's next for Bud Mills? The twinkle in his eye hints that he's already looking over that next hill for that next adventure. Whatever it is, you can bet he pulls it off with grace and style.