Sunday, April 26, 2009

A Sunset


Even More











More photos











Photos from the trip
















Afterthoughts


April 26, 2009
I’m sitting here drinking my first cup of freshly brewed coffee in a month. We didn’t have a coffee maker on the boat so I started using a coffee press but it was too messy to deal with. I switched to instant coffee and occasionally we would pass a store or restaurant that sold coffee. I always bought it when I could. But, none of it tastes as good as making it myself and drinking it freshly brewed with Snickers, our dachshund, laying beside me.
We have been surprised at the number of people who followed our blog. If we didn’t post, we received emails asking where we were, what were we doing. It was not possible to post every day but I tried to write every day so the blogs would accurately reflect a summary of our day. But, there were many things we didn’t put in the blog such as how interesting Fish was and how we enjoyed talking to him or, how much fun we had talking to the little lady at Intracoastal City. We found that everyone we met were really, really nice. That made the trip fun.
There were many people who made this trip possible–our parents first and foremost. They gave us the support over the last twenty nine years that built the foundation that allowed us to do this. If my Dad were alive, he would be really excited that we completed this trip. My sister Pam took care of the family while I was gone, I owe her big time. Ed and Joan sold us the boat, Bill and Anna encouraged us to buy it. Bill was a tremendous help in getting the boat ready and he and Anna patiently stored all the stuff that had to be sent to Key Largo ahead of our return. Without them this trip would have been next to impossible. Kent guided us through our purchase. Mark helped us learn to sail it and helped us make the jump across from Tampa to Pensacola. Dan and Felicia, our first cruising friends. Our coworkers at the office kept the office together and running while we were gone. There were the hundreds of nice people we met along the way that gave us advice, helped us find things, took us to get fuel.
I also want to thank my stand-by crew who were ready, willing and able to come finish the trip with me. I called on them for about a week and a half to get ready then suddenly cancelled them when Linda decided to stay. I hope they understood that her staying to the end was important.
Most of all, I have to thank Linda. She was impressive. There were three high points on this entire adventure. The first was leaving Key Largo, just the two of us. We really had no idea what was ahead. The second was when Linda decided to finish this trip. We needed to share this experience, to see it to the end, together. We now have a taste of cruising, albeit fast paced, but still a taste. The third and most important was as we were coming through Galveston Bay. We were sailing, I was at the helm and Linda was sitting in the cockpit relaxing. She said, "I could do this again."
Royal Crescent.

Royal Crescent Comes Home







April 25, 2009
When morning arrived, we were ready. We were eager to be home. Backing off the dock was simple and easy. Down the intracoastal canal we went.
Galveston barge traffic was very heavy. The winds were up and the barges were stacked up along the banks of the waterway waiting for the winds to die before crossing the bay. A few straggling barges crossed towards us on Galveston Bay. One pair of boats had long sections of pipe tied between them.
The winds were perfect for sailing so once in the Bay, near the Houston Ship Channel, we raised the sails and sailed to Kemah. It was nice to be under sail for a while with no motor running.
As we approached Kemah, it appeared as if a hundred sailboats were in the bay. Some were in a regatta, others were just sailing. These were the most sailboats we had seen the entire trip. It was fun to see the Kemah bridge, the finish line for our trip. We have passed under that bridge hundreds of times in other boats and it symbolizes the beginning and end of a nice day’s sail, as it symbolizes the end of this trip.
We are going to keep the boat at Legend Point, an apartment complex with a marina. We used to have a Catalina 25 and when I brought it here from Lake Conroe, I first docked it at Legend Point. I guess bringing Royal Crescent here completes the circle. Anyway, we always liked Legend Point. It has large grassy areas that are well groomed and landscaped. There are many liveaboards here and they will watch our boat.
It took me a minute to find my way back to Legend Point. The chartplotter (gps) showed it to be in a different spot than it actually was so I initially headed the wrong way but I easily turned around and slowly made my way back to our slip. I pulled in like a pro, no bumps of the dock, no pirouettes, just easy-in docking. Richard, the harbormaster, helped us tie up. We were finally home.
We called Julie Warren to come pick us up and we began packing up the boat. Linda had cleaned it thoroughly on the trip through Galveston Bay and so all that was left was packing.
The suitcases, boxes and bags of dirty clothes filled the back end of my pickup and half of the back seat. We had so much stuff but most of it came with the boat and we had to move it off the boat and store it at home. We had to sign the lease for the dock space and properly tie the boat. Our power cords were not long enough so I had to walk to West Marine to buy extensions. We packed and cleaned and waited for Julie to arrive.
I drove home. It was different driving in the pickup as opposed to the boat, not having to deal with winds and waves and barges and broken depth finders. We didn’t have to radio cars in front of us about passing them nor did we have to ask those coming toward us if they wanted us to pass on the "one" (port to port) or the "two" (starboard to starboard). We didn’t have to worry about how far we could go before we ran out of dockage and we didn’t have to start searching for a marina with transient docks. But, we were no longer traveling at 7 miles per hour either, we were clearly back into the fast paced life. And, that was fine.
When we got home, there were yellow ribbons tied in our trees in the front yard and on the back patio. There was also a large "Congratulations" sign with a poster that said, "You Brought the Royal Crescent Home." Linda’s parents and my Mom put them up. It is the perfect welcome home.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Heading Home

April 25, 2009
We will make it to Kemah today! We are excited and ready to be home.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent

Lake Charles to Galveston

April 24, 2009
The alarm went off at 4:30. We got up, got dressed, untied the boat and headed out. It was very dark and a barge was passing. We fall in behind the barge for a while and then pass it down river a ways. There isn’t much traffic but we do have to move over to let a large ship pass. We made the bridge at 6:30, got through and headed to Galveston. We are going to try to make 100 miles today.
The depth finder wants to work today. That is good.
The winds pick up. At one point, they got as high as 30 miles per hour. We have a series of small lakes, including Sabine Lake, to pass. The winds are a lot of trouble and the seas splash over the nose. A hatch was closed but not latched. Our bed got wet.
When we approach Pt. Arthur, I start looking for fuel. A tug directs me over to "Beans" or "Deans" marine fuel and we head over. They won’t sell us fuel because they are only equipped to fuel large boats. They direct us to Talons twelve miles up.
We head through Pt. Arthur but cannot find Talons. Finally, someone directs us in and we radio Talons who gives me specific directions which I follow and we pull up to their fuel barge.
Their fuel nozzle won’t fit. We have a problem. Through a lot of work we get fifteen gallons of fuel and I’m happy. We head on but realize we won’t make it to Galveston. We learn of the Stingaree Marina in Crystal Beach. Call them. They have a place we can dock on a finger pier.
The winds pick up again and clock into the 30s. This is not easy. Finally, we reach Stingarees about 7:00. I pull in, the wind catches the bow, the boat hits a piling, crunch, the rubber from the rub rail squeezes out. That’s the only problem though and we get safely tied up. We are in very shallow water but we have no choice but to stay. There are rain storms in Galveston with lightening. We cannot go there and we cannot go to Kemah because it is too late and the storms are headed there.
We are securely tied. The tide goes out and our boat settles firmly on the bottom. The tide will be up in the morning so we will be fine to leave.
We are almost home
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Intracoastal City plus 84 Miles

April 23, 2009
The alarm went off at 5:00 and we got up, ate breakfast and headed out. It is still dark when we leave the dock at about 5:45. The depth finder is not working again. It pops up occasionally then goes off. Finally, it goes off permanently. I reboot it, I unplug it, I cut the power to it, I unplug it again, I reboot again. Nothing helps. It will not work. Today we are going through Louisiana swamps and it concerns me that we don’t have anything to indicate the depth.
We are making good time. There are two pontoon bridges ahead of us. The waterway guide says they will not open from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. We are not going to make it by 2:00. In fact, at this pace we will get there right about 2:00, so I slow the engine to try to make it about 4:00 or a little before.
For lunch, I make tacos. They are actually pretty good. The stove and oven work well on the boat and meals are actually easy to cook. The only issue is simmering something. The stove burns too hot to simmer very well but I’ve started moving the pan so the flame is just under an edge. That works pretty well.
The waterway was wide and protected with a few exceptions. The winds picked up to the twenties so the exceptions–places where we had to run across bodies of water–had heavy waves and were difficult to navigate, but we made them all just fine.
About 3:00 we looked up and there was our first pontoon bridge! I did not intend to get here so soon. I radio the bridge tender and ask about the openings and if there was any way to get through before 4:00. He said, "Sure. We will open anytime." That meant we wasted an hour thinking the bridge was timed. We were still early, though, so this was okay. I asked the bridge tender if the second bridge was timed–the guide said it was–and he said no that we could go through anytime. And, we went straight through the next bridge and lock.
After these, the next bridge is Ellender Bridge. It is timed. In fact you have to book the opening 24 hours in advance. As instructed in the waterway guide, I tell the bridge tender at the second bridge that I want to schedule a 6:30 AM opening of the Ellender Bridge and she tells me she will get it set up.
At about 4:00 we arrive at the Calcasieu River, our destination, with an anchorage just a mile up. This is a busy harbor with large ships and big barges. We cross the river and head toward the anchorage.
The anchorage is a small outlet off the ICW that winds back up into a marsh. Our depth sounder is still not working but the waterway guide says we will have six to seven feet of water and the charts say ten to twelve. It sits about a half mile from the Ellender Bridge. Perfect for a 6:30 opening because we will sleep until about 6:00 then get up and get going in time for the opening.
When we arrive at the anchorage I began easing in. Bump. We hit bottom, so I back out to try again a little way over. Bump. Bump. We hit again. This time we bumped up on top of the soft mud. The boat does not want to back off. I straighten the rudder and rev the engine and we finally slide off. So much for anchoring.
The only choice we have is to go up the Calcasieu River to Lake Charles, a ten mile diversion. So, up the river we go with all this heavy industrial traffic. It takes over an hour and a half. That means, to make the bridge tomorrow, we have to get up at 4:30 and be off the dock by 5:00. I tried unsuccessfully to radio the Ellender Bridge to change the time.
The depth finder starts working.
When we finally make it to the Lake Charles area, we learn that the casino/hotel L’Abaurge has a marina. If you have to stay in Lake Charles, why not dock at a casino? We go in and I back, professionally I might add, into a slip and tie up with the help of a man from a neighboring boat.
It turns out that he and his wife are taking their power boat to the Exumas next month. They have scheduled eight weeks off. I tell them that we’ve been traveling from the Keys for almost four weeks and that I cannot see how they will make it. I also tell them about our blog so they can see our trip and go to the same anchorage/docks we did, if they want. I get them all worried they will have to cut out parts of their trip. They are going to do further research.
Linda and I clean up and head into the casino to gamble for a little while. We have a good time but are back in the boat by 9:00 and in bed by 10:00.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Morgan City to Intracoastal City

April 22, 2009
Today, we will make it to Intracoastal City. The office has sent me an overnight package of things I need to sign and overnight back. I found a place to stay that would accept my overnight mail for me.
There is not a lot about the trip to Intracoastal City. There is not a lot of city there. But, there are some really nice people. Shell Morgan Landing, Inc. was our destination, a little red building with a couple of wharfs and fuel pumps. It was about the first thing I saw coming into the city.
Shell Morgan Landing is evidently a Texaco station. I have no idea why it is called Shell Morgan and not Texaco Morgan. I didn’t ask because I assumed it was a Shell station until after we left and I learned otherwise. Anyway, it sits right on the Intracoastal waterway, on my right. Crew boats are tied to a dock between me and the landing. I begin to ease toward it thinking the water was deep. It wasn’t and I nudge against the ground, backed off and went out to the ICW channel to turn directly into it, a 90 degree turn. This put the wind on the port stern, pushing me to the dock. I begin my boat docking pirouettes and eventually get a line to the guy on the wharf. We get the boat tied without much incident and refuel. The overnight package was there and I signed everything, put it in a return envelope, and called Fed Ex to pick up. They won’t pick up today but they will tomorrow. That’s fine.
Then, I see the transient docks. Actually wharf. It is across the harbor, downwind, and there is no way to turn around. I dread the thought of trying to dock there and ask if we can stay at the fuel dock. That was fine so long as we leave early. We want to be gone before daylight so I’m happy, they are happy, I pay for my fuel and $20 for the dock and there we stay for the night.
The wind began to calm and out came the mosquitoes. So, we dug out all the screens and start putting them on all the hatches. We have to have the hatches open tonight because we don’t have power at the fuel dock. The weather is cool though so once we get the screens on we will be very comfortable. We go take a shower.
The showers here are small but clean and you can tell the owner of Shell Morgan Landing is trying to give those of us traveling down the ICW a place to stop where nothing else is available. It may not be the Hilton but it is fine with us. This place had about four feet of water in it from Ike, with Rita, the water was to the ceiling. They rebuilt. Not everyone did though. They told me that a lot fewer people live here now. People got tired of rebuilding.
After we clean up, it is dinner time, so we head to the grocery store about a block away. It is built on pilings. We can get hamburgers there too. We order food to go and buy groceries. When we check out this most interesting little lady told us all about the store and showed us pictures of the water standing in the original building, to its ceiling. She also showed us the rebuilt store on pilings during Hurricane Ike. The pilings kept the store safe. There were some guys who stayed in the building though. I thought of Bolivar Peninsula. I would not stay after hearing what happened at Bolivar. I told her so. We enjoyed talking to our new found friend and even discussed coming over to the store for breakfast in the morning.
We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. We have to make an 84 mile jump to get to an anchorage. The best we have ever been able to do is 72 miles. We are getting up at 5:00 so our nightime travel is when it is getting lighter as opposed to evening travel when it is getting darker.
As we were going down the stairs from the grocery store our new friend came out with a newspaper in her hand. She said, "Here is a newspaper you can have. It’s yesterdays but it’s probably been a while since you have seen a paper." She was right. We don’t have a clue about the news making events during this trip.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Houma to Morgan City

April 21, 2009
The Houma docks were at an intersection of the intracoastal waterway and a small canal. The docks were located on the north side of the intracoastal waterway. The canal and the waterway effectively made a cross. That’s important because I took this opportunity to practice backing this boat. There was a little wind and I tried backing from three separate directions of the cross. The waterway was not busy so I was able to practice without damaging anything.
This boat is weird. If you put it in reverse it wants go toward the port side even if the wheel is turned to starboard. The prop makes it move like this and adding power only makes it walk to port more. Needless to say, backing to starboard was not pretty. Then, the wind caught the bow (I was backing with the wind) and over it went. So, back into forward and turn downwind. This time, I back to port and the prop pushed to port along with the rudder, the boat backed fine. So, I guess I can only back into docks on my port side and only if the wind is behind me. After I practiced backing a little, we headed down the ICW.
About a mile away were the Retif fuel docks. It took a couple of tries to pull into their docks but we made it with little effort. The wind was tricky here. In the ICW it was blowing us toward the dock. As we got closer, it came on our nose and pushed us back from the dock. Anyway, we tied up, refueled and visited with the attendant. As we were leaving he said, "I sure wish I were going with you."
The trip from Houma to Morgan City is exceptionally beautiful. There is a wildlife refuge just outside Houma. The woods are cypress trees with their roots sticking up out of the water. Hyacinth was floating everywhere. At times it was fairly thick which concerned me about the water intake but evidently the boat took it well.
Morgan City is an industrial town with the shipping industry everywhere. There were large boat factories and hundreds of varieties of crew and work boats all along the Intracoastal Waterway. There is a lock just east of Morgan City and we spent an hour waiting to get through. When you get near you radio the lock and it puts you on a list for your turn. We waited in a large turning basin with factories all along one side.
Waiting means you have to move the boat to a spot, let it drift, move it back, let it drift. I practiced heaving to, just with no sails up. I would turn the boat so the wind hit if from the port side, the wind would push the nose to starboard, I’d then turn the rudder to port which pushed the nose against the wind. The boat just sat still with a little drift. Once I tired of heaving to, I started practicing backing up until I realized how stupid I must look sitting in front of these factories with all these work crews backing my boat to the left, the right, then forward, then back again.
Finally, the lock radioed and said to come through so off we went. We were the only boat in the lock and the drop was only about a foot as compared to nine feet or so in New Orleans. We left the lock and eased around toward the Morgan City Public Dock.
These towns along the ICW have public docks for those of us heading one way or the other. Houma’s was really nice. Morgan City’s was not as nice, not as protected, but free so who can complain. We pulled in the last remaining spot behind a twenty five to twenty eight foot sailboat with a large box on the back. The large box was painted with the scuba diving flag design. While we were tying up, a young guy came up. He was Fish, Captain Fish. That is not his real name, it was Frank, but everyone called him Fish. He was a great guy. He was laid off from his job. He had just left Pt. Arthur and he was headed east to Key West where he intends to find work and open a salvage business. I took that as he was going to look for treasure.
Fish brought over some ICW charts for the area and describe to us the trip from Morgan City to Pt. Arthur. He told us what we hoped was not correct–there is nothing between Intracoastal City and the Pt. Arthur area. That means about a 120 mile trip with no services whatsoever. We will have to anchor one night.
There is a small bump of a town called Gibbstown which I had hoped would have a place to stay, but it doesn’t he said. So, he told us about a couple of anchorages and that is what we will be doing tomorrow night. We need to go approximately eighty miles to the anchorage though so we will get up extra early that morning, leave before daylight, and try to get to the anchorage before dark. I hope the winds are favorable so we can sail.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Leaving New Orleans







April 20, 2009
I could tell you that I was not concerned. But I was. Okay, I thought that in going through New Orleans I would be in the Grand Central Station of commercial boat traffic.
We woke about 6:00. Actually, I woke about 5:45. The alarm went off at 6:15. When we went to bed, I had set the alarm for 5:15, but after the middle of the night boat bumping fiasco, I moved it back to 6:15. If we left at 5:15, that would be in the dark. I was not going to be in the New Orleans waters in the dark.
We headed for the first bridge. I radioed, they said wait, I circled for forty five minutes, then they opened. That is what it was like the entire route, except the waits were shorter. Linda was cute going into the locks. She had to put on one of those orange life jackets and go to the bow of the boat. We sat and visited for about 30 minutes on the bow of the boat waiting for the lock to open.
Entering the Mississippi River was cool. Boat traffic has been using that river for a very long time. I think they used to pull boats upriver with mules. I thought about that as we were heading upstream to the Harvey Locks.
I checked in with "Gretna Light Traffic" on Channel 67. They then monitor the river through the city. They told me "98" was coming toward me and to get out of the way. 98 was a large ship. I moved to the city side of the river and the ship went by. I called a friend in New Orleans and told him to look out his window that I was floating by.
The anxiety was wasted. Commercial traffic wasn’t busy. We were the only ones in many instances with not more than one other boat at any time. No boat breaking barges.
I have been surprised at the number of work boat shipyards we passed. We passed factories for barges, tugs, crew boats and a large variety of other vessels. We went all the way through with no problems. I was glad to see New Orleans in my rear view mirror. It’s a great city for a party and if I ever go back in a boat I won’t have half the anxiety I did today. But, leaving New Orleans meant that we are on our last leg of this trip. And, it’s crawfish season so I’m hoping there will be some great food along the way.
We pushed hard today and made it to Houma. We are at a public dock. It is well lit and very nice. Tomorrow, we go to Morgan City. Then, Intracoastal City.
Texas here we come.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

New Orleans

April 20, 2009
Linda gets the hero of the day award today. She kept us from scratching a freshly painted 52' Hatteras! Here’s what happened.
This morning we woke to 40 mph winds in the harbor. We were surrounded by apartments so I’m not sure what the wind speeds actually were but they were 40 mph at my boat. The forecast was for early morning showers then clearing in the afternoon.
I printed all the charts for the ICW between Galveston and New Orleans so we would have charts to refer to. NOAA has the charts on the internet. I can only print to 8 ½ x 11 so we have to print several pages for just one chart, actually I just print the parts I need, but it works and provides us with the charts we need. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to buy them. After I printed the charts, we decided the weather was clear enough to go so we headed out across Lake Ponchatrain. We were repeatedly assured it was okay to cross Lake Ponchatrain. I was a little worried because others had said it may not be safe after hurricane Katrina. In fact, we had a nice day. We were going into the wind so I motored the 17 miles to New Orleans.
As we came across the lake I watched the satellite weather radio showing thunderstorms popping up around us but none ever actually on us. We finally got a little sprinkle.
When we began approaching the channel I looked at the Chartplotter information and learned that I was supposed to contact the channel bridge three hours ahead of time. So, I began trying to reach them by radio. That was unsuccessful. Finally, we dug up a phone number, which I called, and the bridge called me back. Actually, it was the wrong bridge but the guy was really nice and radioed the correct bridge to raise so I could enter. It raised and we came in.
We stopped at Seabrook Harbor, the marina I tried to call the day before. It was a marina in the channel and it sold diesel so we refueled. There I learned that the next place to stop or anchor is Houma which is 55 miles away. The ole one step forward, two steps back syndrome hit us again. We had only made about 17 miles and we had to stop. So, we bought fuel, rented a transient slip, and prepared to stay the night.
I have only tried to back this boat into a dock one time. That was in Key Largo. What a disaster. I couldn’t even begin to get the boat to back properly. Since then I’ve had to back a little here and there but I’ve been determined to pull into any slip, not back in. "I’ll practice backing when I get back to Texas," I thought.
In Slidell, I had the perfect slip to practice backing into. Thought about it. Then thought, "no, I will learn to back into a slip when I get to Texas."
Seabrook’s transient slip had to be backed into. Bummer. "Okay," I thought, "I will want to back into the wind for more control." So past the slip I motored and turned around to come back downwind so I could back upwind. First try, bad. Second try better but not good. Third try I came in like a charm, except, I cut the power too soon. The wind caught the bow. The bow swung toward this freshly painted 52' Hatteras. Yelling and screaming came in from everywhere with everyone telling me what to do. But, Linda , the hero, was on the bow and she ran to the starboard side, grabbed the Hatteras and held our boat off, trying to push it away. It wouldn’t budge. The jib hung up on the anchor of the Hatteras. But, Linda held fast. She wasn’t going to let our boat or the other get damaged. Things calmed long enough for me to back a little more and we got into the slip with the help of no less than four other people running from boat to boat to keep us off. Okay, I may practice before we get to Texas, just in case I have to do this again.
We tied up and cleaned up and, using the ole if life gives you lemons make lemonade philosophy, we headed to the French Quarter to a festival and to eat. It was packed. Clearly New Orleans is making its party town comeback.
When we got home I fretted. Tomorrow we leave the dock and head through downtown New Orleans with about five bridges to raise or otherwise move so we can pass through. We have to go through two locks and five miles up the Mississippi. I have an extreme amount of angst over what we are about to do. Extreme angst. It isn’t fun. I go to sleep thinking about being in a lock and having a barge bang into the boat, breaking it down its centerline. I was really worried, I fell asleep.
Bump! I had just fallen asleep when I heard our boat bump. I climb out of bed, put on my glasses, and looked out. Nothing seemed wrong until I realized that the starboard stern line had released and we are bumping into the other yacht next to us. I couldn’t believe it! The bump was very soft so there were no scratches, damage or any other problem. We came loose from a line. A line I had tied. I finally retied, added a spring line, and went back to bed. By the way, a spring line is a rope that, in this instance, ran from a piling at the midsection of the boat to a cleat on the starboard stern. It prevented the boat from moving further backwards.
I hope tomorrow isn’t as crazy as today.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Sitting in Slidell, LA

April 18, 2009
We docked Slidell, LA at Oak Harbor Marina. We went to a small nearby restaurant and ate fried bowtie pasta and crab dip. For dinner, Linda had Snapper Ponchatrain and I had Mahi Mahi with macaroni and cheese. We brought home chocolate bread pudding. We are in food paradise!
In Alabama we saw that it is crawfish season. We are about to take the intracoastal waterway across Louisiana. I think we will eat well.
Linda has decided to stay till the end. Hopefully that will be about 4 or 5 more days.
We left Gulfport about 9:00 a.m. because we waited until we saw the weather would be okay. There was very little wind early this morning but as the sun rose, the winds picked up. I thought we were going to have to stay another day. I checked the weather and it was not as bad as I expected but not good either. So, I went back to bed and slept till 6:15. We started getting ready to go and then decided to stay after we looked at the weather. Linda took a nap and I worked on the computer. Finally, the weather changed and we headed off. Well, we had to ask a couple of guys to help us off the dock because the wind was blowing but other than that, we were fine.
It took an hour or so to get out to the intracoastal waterway and then I raised the main and let out the jib and we sailed downwind with the motor running on a low rpm. We reached as high as 8 knots during the day.
I wanted to go to New Orleans. There is a boat yard there that apparently has transient slips–Seabrook Harbor Marina. They had an answering machine and never returned our call. Linda read the Waterway Guide and learned of an Oak Harbor Marina in Slidell, LA. It was closer. Besides, there was a tornado warning for this area so Slidell is where we headed.
To get to Slidell we left the intracoastal waterway and crossed into Lake Ponchatrain through the Rigolet. The Rigolet is a river like area, thirty and forty feet deep. We are nicely tied to the dock with plenty of dock lines and tied up for the tornado, if one occurs.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Headed to New Orleans

We are on our way. We waited till later in the morning to leave. We may anchor in the Rigolets tonight or try to get to a marina. Weather not bad and so far, no rain. All the rain went north.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

I learn from my mistake

April 17, 2009
When we woke this morning the wind was strong. A lot stronger than I had realized. I started this process of tying the boat from one piling to the next to get it off the pier. This wasn’t fun at all. In fact, after I got the boat backed out a little, I realized how extreme the winds were. We aren’t going anywhere. I was so tired I just left the boat there and went downstairs. That’s how strong the winds were.
Last night I had found comfort with the breakwater provided by the seawall but had forgotten about the need for a wind break as well and the full fury of the wind, crossing miles of bay, was hitting us broadside. By the end of the day, I had ten separate lines going to the pilings, seven on the port side and three on the starboard. There are three cleats along either side of the boat and I ran lines to different pilings from these cleats, trying to divide the load between the three so none had too much tension.
I spent the day fretting over the boat. The Janis Joplin song, Bobbie McGee, kept going over and over in my head. Just the part, "busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train, and I’m feeling near as faded as my jeans." I have to admit it was disappointing to not be able to get underway. If we were cruising, this weather would not be a problem. We would have stopped in Biloxi instead of coming to Gulfport because Biloxi has fun things to do–gambling, restaurants, shopping. But, we didn’t stop there. We came here so we could cover more ground. There’s not much here. In fact, you cannot walk to anything from here except, maybe, a small casino about a mile away. We may head there today so we can pay for this trip!
The fretting was trying to make sure the boat was accessible and safe. The winds were too hard for me to pull the boat close to the dock. I could not even make it move an inch. What I did to retie the boat was tie two lines from the same cleat so they would both reach a piling. I tied the first line as tight as I could to the piling so it was stretched really tightly. Then, I started lifting up on it which was much easier than trying to pull on the line to bring the boat toward the dock. This forced the boat closer to the dock and I would quickly tie the second line tightly which left the first line slack. I then untied the first line, lifted on the second, and retied the first to gain whatever movement I could get. After a while, I learned that instead of lifting on the tight line, if I sat on it, my body weight would force the boat a lot closer to the dock and with a less effort. Then I could tighten the other line and reverse the process. It took two hours using this method to get the boat back into the slip.
We hope to be able to move tomorrow but Texas is getting hit with a big storm and if it comes here, we are not going anywhere. I hope, if it hits, the winds switch to the south or north.
It is really rough now and we are going to bed.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Gulf Shores to Gulf Port

April 16, 2009
Today was beautiful. Low winds, smooth waters. The waterway crosses bay areas here. Not like bays in Texas which are guarded by a solid bank of barrier islands, but mile after mile of small islands dotting the coast.
The winds were behind us all the way and, after a while, picked up to about fifteen knots. We let out the sails and were flying along at 7.5 knots. We traveled seventy two miles in just about twelve hours! It was a great sail.
Linda stayed at the helm and let me sleep. This was her longest time at the helm. This was an easy and pleasant day.
We passed Biloxi because Gulport was about twelve miles further west and we could easily make that before dark. As we approached, I called the Gulfport Yacht Club for a transient slip.
Cat Island is a small island just outside Gulfport. It is L shaped and looked like a good anchorage, we would have the east and south winds blocked. As we neared the channel to Gulport I started looking at the weather for the night. Southeast winds were predicted with some as high as 20 to 25 knots. We were tempted to go to Cat Island and anchor but were concerned about the winds so we went into the Gulfport Yacht Club.
It was getting dark as we came in and no one was tending the docks so I eased into the harbor. The depth was about 8 to 9 feet until I turned toward the docks when it went down in some spots to 7 feet. I was worried I might run aground so I pulled in to a south facing slip with piers on either side. I realized the southeast winds would be hitting the port side of my boat but I wasn’t concerned because there was a seawall near me and I knew it would prevent heavy waves from hitting our boat.
We tied up and went to bed. I was concerned about how difficult it was going to be to get off the dock in the morning with a wind hitting our side but I thought I could rig a way to get off. We slept well.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Gulf Shores, Alabama

April 15, 2009
It was really cold today. I wore a polartec jacket, a wind breaker and a third coat as we came across the Intracoastal Waterway to Gulf Shores. The trip combined lake like stretches with moderate widths and soft ripple covered water with river like stretches with woods and at times a roadway alongside. It took about four or five hours to get to Gulf Shores from Pensacola. Linda was surprised at the peacefulness.
Once in, Chris from Blue Water Ship Stores came to check on my depth finder. We called him about 20 minutes prior to docking at Homeport Marina. Just as we hung up from that call, the depth finder started working. Anyway, he checked it over thoroughly and believed the transducer and the DSM have problems. The irony is the depth sounder is working just fine now.
We ate at Lulu’s. Lulu’s is owned by Lulu Buffet, Jimmy Buffet’s sister. This place had a forty five minute wait unless we wanted to eat in the bar. We ate in the bar. We had the cheeseburger in paradise.
It took about three hours to get the depthfinder checked and eat. I backed the boat off the dock like I knew what I was doing. Motored easily to the intracoastal waterway, then headed west. About fifteen minutes later it occurred to me that we had to cross Mobile Bay–about thirty miles–before we could get to anchorable waters or a dock. That’s a long trip in good conditions but we had fifteen knot winds coming toward us and it would take much longer. Not a trip you start at 3:30 to 4:00 pm. So, around we went and headed back to Homestead Marina and Lulu’s.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Pensacola

April 13, 2009
The hero of the day award goes to West Marine with a close second to Navionics. I told you as I was leaving Palmetto that I had a problem with the Gulf Coast chip. Well there is a little history here.
In February, Linda and I went to Miami for the Miami Boat Show. It is one of the biggest boat shows in the country and I thought it would be fun to look at boats. Anyway, we ended up buying this boat and I needed electronics, a life raft, and other stuff. So, off to the Miami boat show we went. When we arrived at the Zodiak booth to talk about dinghies, we were introduced to George from Boaters World in Pompano Beach. Anyway, he was helpful and I went to his store and met Fred. Fred sold me my electronic gear and two chart chips. They are compact flash cards with charts on them. One was for the Southeast and the other for the Gulf Coast. When the Gulf Coast chip failed, I was in a fix because, since buying my electronics, Boaters World filed bankruptcy. I was out of luck.
So, as we came into Pensacola, I started calling Boaters Worlds here to get the chip replaced. Mark said not to worry because West Marine would step up to the plate, if Boaters World didn’t, and get me a new chip. One Boaters World store would have been glad to help but did not have the chip. Another store also did not have the chip but threw in that they would not take the chip back since it was open because I could have tried to copy it. Let’s analyze what this guy just said. He effectively said I cannot return a defective chip if its been opened; but, how does anyone know if it is defective if they have not opened it?
West Marine, here I come. Mark and I headed there after getting him a car. Don was great and gave us information on what to do, including calling Todd. Todd was willing but needed Navionics approval. I called Navionics, they approved. West Marine traded the chip.
The result is that West Marine stepped up to the plate, gave me a new chip and was willing to return the chip to Navionics. West Marine has earned my loyalty.
We now have a chip that works. Today the winds were wrong so we stayed at the dock. Tomorrow, we get up early and head out. We have to stop in Gulf Shores to get the depth finder repaired. Then, we head to New Orleans. I want to be there by ....I’m not saying. If I pick a day, you can bet we won’t be there until two or three days after that.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

PS: Dan and Felicia, I tried to send you an email today. If you did not get it send me an email so I will have the correct address.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

In the Gulf

April 12, 2009
My shift ends at 2:00 AM. Before he went to bed, Mark told me that if the wind moves to the east to let out the jib. It began moving east about 1:00 AM and I started to let out the jib but noticed that a preventer line was laying across the jib sheet. (That means that a rope used to stop the main sail from slamming to the other side of the boat was laying across another rope which is used to control the sail on the front). I could easily have climbed out on the bow but it was the middle of the night and I was alone on the boat since Linda and Mark were sleeping. I didn’t go up there. The rule is that you never leave the cockpit without someone else being out in the cockpit with you. If you fell over, at night, alone on top, you would get to watch the boat sail off without you because no one would know until shift change. So, I didn’t go up. About 2:00 AM the winds began to pick up. Mark came up for his shift.
We got the lines fixed. The winds were picking up. I went to bed. A little later I got up and Mark said, "Good. I need to do something." The winds were about 20 knots. The seas were probably about 5 feet. Mark had reefed the mainsail earlier but he wanted to put a second reef in. He said he was going to heave to.
Mark had me sheet in the jib and the mainsail. Then, he backwinded the jib. That means that he turned the boat without moving the jib to the other side. The wind then blew on the wrong side of the jib forcing it back against the boat. Then, he turned the wheel hard to port and locked it in place. That created the effect of the jib wanting to push the bow to the right while the rudder is pushing the bow to the left. As a result, the boat just stops.
Here we are, in the middle of the Gulf, in 20 knot winds and at least 5 foot seas, and Mark had completely stopped the boat. It was so weird to see that boat stop in those winds and seas. Anyway, Mark then climbed to the mast and put a second reef in the main, thus reducing its size to about half the original size. Then, he climbed back in, turned the boat so the wind hit the jib correctly, and the boat took off like a....okay, not a rocket, it was only doing about 7.5 to 8 knots but that is really, really fast in a sailboat. In fact, the only reason we were going that fast was because the wind and waves were going in basically the same direction we were.
Linda was worried. She had been asleep in the front berth and all the noise woke her. I went down to go back to bed and that was when she told me she was scared. I said, "this boat is really sailing well and Mark really knows how to sail in this weather. It’s rough but safe." I climbed in bed and she was asleep within about ten minutes.
Sleeping in that front berth was interesting to say the least. First, the boat was really leaning to the left side. That’s my side of the bed. My side is against the wall. So, Linda would roll over and sort of compress me against the wall. There was no way to avoid this because the bed was leaning so far. We also bounced a little. This berth is not in the nose of the boat but just in front of the mast, so it bounces every time we hit a wave. So, Linda and I bounced and fell into the left wall all night. I couldn’t sleep on my side, I had to sleep on my back or stomach. If I rolled on my side, I could not stay balanced because of the bouncing. But, it wasn’t bad, really, we just had to adjust. We slept through the night. In fact, we slept so well I slept past the watch change.
We sailed in that all the way to Pensacola. Since my chart card did not work, we used Mark’s Garmin gps that he uses in his car. It showed the channel and kept us on course.
The night had been rough but not uncomfortable or unsafe. Even Linda felt safe. She told me later though that she doesn’t want to go back out in that type weather. I tried unsuccessfully to explain that those winds just happen and they make fine sailing.
Our sails were up all the way into the bay and then we motored to our dock. We’re tired, we need a shower, and we need to go to bed and get some rest. Good night.
Mark taught us far more about sailing than we expected, including how to cook at sea. He fed us well to boot. His company is Well Found Yachts with a website of www.wellfoundyachts.com. If you ever need a captain, he’s the man.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Offshore Gulf of Mexico







April 11, 2009
We sailed and motor sailed all night. Mark took the helm until 10 pm and I took the 10 pm to 2 am shift. He then took the 2 am to 6 am. I came on at 6 and he went to bed for a while.
I started seeing Portugese Man of Wars sailing by with their full sail up. It was interesting that we had not seen any until this morning, then saw possibly as many as fifty to a hundred scattered over the sea. Some were as large as a cantaloupe, others as small as a lemon. Mark said that he has seen groups of them so dense that they were packed together and stretching for miles.
About midmorning, a pod of porpoises swam with the boat, splashing in and out of the boat’s wake and diving under and around the boat. They were larger than others I’ve seen.
The boat lulls Linda and I to sleep. I took a nap after breakfast, sleeping sideways in the bed because the boat was heeled on a port tack (leaning to the right).
We are late getting to land. We went due west last night trying to stay in favorable winds. The wind was out of the south and by going west we had a beam sea and we sailed on a beam reach for hours. Then, as the wind shifted to coming from the west, we turned northeast. Unfortunately, a front is coming across Louisiana into the Gulf and we are going to have to sail directly into it, meaning that before long we will have north winds. In fact, as I am writing this the wind has shifted to the north and we have furled the jib and are motor sailing. The winds are only about six knots.
I’m concerned that everyone will be worried since we won’t make port tonight. I doubt that I get into cell phone range but I will prepare and send an email from my blackberry so it will go out once we get close enough to a tower. We planned to get in today but we are now about 23 hours out of Pensacola. There is nothing I can do about the worriers. I started to buy a Spot navigator but didn’t. It is a little device that allows you to push a button and it sends a prewritten message saying we are safe. I did not really realize that we would be so far offshore because I was thinking that Linda and I would stay near shore. This little jump across the Gulf requires that we go offshore. I hope no one calls the Coast Guard when we don’t show up on time.
Once, I went hunting with my Dad in Mexico. I had to drive back to the border one afternoon. One of the hunters on the lease had a cell phone that had fair reception and while I was gone my Dad used it to call my Mom. He was describing to her that I went back to the border and had not returned when the cell phone lost reception. He did not think anything about it. I was gone a few hours and the next day, after I returned, I used the same phone to call Linda. Apparently, my Mom thought that my Dad was worried I had been kidnapped in Mexico. She called my sister and they began an overnight process of worrying about me being kidnapped and they started making plans for my brother-in-law to head to Mexico to help find me. The irony was that until they learned how serious it was, they did not want to call Linda. If they had, they would have learned that she had spoken to me that night while I was at the border. They spent a sleepless worried night. Hopefully, they won’t be so worried tonight. They know I have an EPIRB if anything goes wrong. I hope a Coast Guard plane doesn’t fly over before we get to shore.
Our first Gulf crossing is beautiful The winds have died and the sea is flat. This would be excellent scuba weather because we could run the boats wide open to get offshore and back. The water is clear and blue.
The satellite radio shows rain showers ahead of us. We are approaching the edge of the front so rain is to be expected. The rains are not showing as severe and there is no lightening in them so, if we get a little rain, we will put on our rain gear and motor or sail through, depending on the direction of the wind. We hope it moves to the northeast or even better, east. That would give us a great sail to Pensacola.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Leaving Palmetto











April 10, 2009
The boat is on fire. Not really but that is what it sounds like. A slow simmering fire crackling constantly. Not big, just a small fire. Shawn, at Sneads, explained that he knew someone who believed the noise was from water seeping into the boat. That poor guy stayed up all night searching for the leak and was really frustrated. I slept soundly, not worrying about the fire, but wondering what that was. Shawn explained that it small shrimp hitting the side of the boat, apparently searching for food. Either their tails or something hits the boat as they either dart for food or dart to get away from a predator. It is nice to know the boat is not on fire or sinking.
We woke this morning, ate breakfast, did last minute grocery shopping and headed offshore with the winds up a little and roller waves hitting us on the port beam (left side of the boat). These waves create a rolling motion that immediately affects me and not much later, Linda. We don’t get sick, we just don’t feel great. That goes away in a couple of hours.
We are going west out of Tampa Bay, probably fifty or sixty miles before turning north to either Panama City or Pensacola. We head west because we have a south wind which is predicted to veer to the west later tonight or tomorrow. By heading west, we get wind on our beam going out and then, when the wind switches from the west, we turn north and have wind on our beam heading north. This is Mark’s idea. I would have headed north today. That would not have been as much fun.
Mark is an experienced sailor. He has crossed the Atlantic and Pacific on multiple occasions in sailboats ranging from thirty three fee to ninety feet. He is from London. He sailed from there to here and stayed. He lives in the Keys, sells boats, and hires out as a captain. His wife is a professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Maryland.
Mark, in addition to being captain, is now the boat’s cook. He made lentils today, something Linda and I have never knowingly eaten. They were great. He’s making dinner tonight stir fry chicken and vegetables. He says his wife is a fine cook also. We will invite them to sail and cook for us anytime.
We have a gimballed stove/oven. That means that it is hinged and, when allowed to swing, will swing with the boat, keeping the pots and pans level while the boat rocks. It works great even in rough seas. In addition, there should be fiddles on the stove. Fiddles hold the pots as extra security to keep them from sliding. We don’t have any. Apparently none came with the boat when originally purchased. So, we improvise using wire and a ratcheting clamp. It holds fine for now.
The sun is setting. The winds are about 12 knots. The seas are rolling and blue. We saw a sea turtle floating on the surface. It didn’t even move, as we went by, other than to lift its head up and watch us pass. Tonight is Linda’s first night sail ever. We will have a full moon tonight.
Oh, and I almost forgot the event of the day! When I bought my electronics on this boat, I bought an electronic chartplotter. It is our electronic map. The maps are on compact flash cards. We need to change from the card I’ve been using to one that will give us the details for either Pensacola or Panama City. We switch cards but the new card will not work. Tomorrow is Saturday. We won’t get in until late. We will not be able to get the card replaced until Monday, most likely. I guess there is always something. Always an event.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Waiting on the Weather




April 9, 2009
We always laugh when we flush the chainsaw toilet. It is so loud it reverberates through the hull of the boat. We still have not mastered the toilets on this boat but we are working on it. Marine toilets are not like at home. They have to pump the waste out since they are below the waterline. If not operated properly, they stop up or they smell. So, you have to learn to flush them correctly.
The Sweet Tank gadgets are now installed, the tanks have been thoroughly cleaned, and we are nearing time to go. I check the weather and it looks great here, in Panama City, and in Pensacola. I call Captain Randy who promises to check the weather later in the day. Subsequently Captain Ernie calls to advise me that the weather is going to get bad and we cannot go until Tuesday. I recheck the weather and it looks fine to me. I begin to question our decision to hire them. Captain Randy calls to assure me the weather will be bad and that he has asked other captains and none want to go.
Weather is a weird animal in boating. In a power boat four foot following seas can be miserable. In a sailboat this size, they are not so bad. NOAA is the government’s weather station. NOAA has buoys all over the Gulf, frankly along all US coastal waters. You can go to their site and get marine forecasts and current conditions for the location of the buoy. So, you click on a buoy near Pensacola and can get current and forecasted weather for that area. I also use Weather.com. I like it’s radar and satellite images. They show fronts, highs, lows, vapor in the air, and other details that help predict weather conditions. All indicators seem to me to be fine for a trip to Panama City or Pensacola.
I email Kent Little (our boat broker) and Mark (our checkout captain) about captains. I also call Bill (the seller’s broker). He is still down with the flu so he’s out. Mark calls and says he’s available so we hire him and start getting the boat ready to go.
The work on the boat is finally finished and we clean it. I detail both heads, even taking shelving out of the medicine cabinets to clean them. I even clean the toilets! Linda and I reached an agreement early in our marriage that she would clean the toilets if I would clean up after the kids or the dog got sick. That was fine with me and I have honored that agreement throughout our marriage. Unfortunately, the kids and dogs did not always wait on me to get home. Anyway, the boat does not smell and it’s clean so Linda and I take the boat to refuel. As we glide down the Manatee River, a porpoise follows along the boat, riding the small wake we create.
On our return, there are manatees in the harbor. A mom with a calf riding her back and another, larger manatee floating along.
Mark arrives and we drop off his rent car and load him into our truck. The three of us are riding in the front seat of this 1975 Ford F150 extended bed truck and it feels like we are back in high school. Linda sits in the middle cause she’s my girlfriend in this high school scenario.
Palmetto, Florida is a beautiful small town. We did not see much of it but we did see the laundromat with pool tables and an arcade. We wanted to do laundry there and shoot pool but we could not work it in. We did eat at Popi’s, a family restaurant that has the best Heathbar pie ever
The boat lift at Sneads was hauling a boat out today. It was about 22 to 24 feet long. It was built in this boatyard seventy years ago. With the service they provide, they will be in business another seventy years.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Snead Island Boat Works




April 7, 2009
There are businesses and people you deal with from time to time that make you truly content and safe. Snead Island Boat Works and its staff have made us feel that comfortable. They are conscientious and courteous. We cannot say enough nice about them. They even loaned us a truck!
The toilets are still not working, so I speak with Steve, the in-charge person for our boat. He sends down Shawn who works through the system. We have to replace the macerators. One of the holding tanks has a crack in an inlet that needs to be repaired. They also tell us about Sweet Tanks. Sweet Tanks are wafer type gadgets that fit on holding tanks to stop the odor. A holding tank will smell if anaerobic bacteria can grow. The Sweet Tanks prevent the growth of anaerobic bacteria and eliminate the smell. They are being installed.
We are now weathered in. The day is beautiful. The winds are calm. But, we have to make a close to 200 mile jump and a system is blowing across the US and we cannot leave until it passes. So, I’m going to work today. I think I can do a lot of work from here and I’ll give it a try. Maybe, just maybe, we can get moving on Friday or Saturday.
I put out a crew call to the guys who have talked about sailing with us if we need help. Once we leave here we will have to contend with some overnight sails in order to stay close to our predicted return date. We need extra crew for these because we don’t have enough experience with night sailing to feel comfortable being out there. Plus, with just two on board, sleeping is difficult. Later, when we have more skills, we will do this alone, but not this trip.
We spoke with Captain Ernie and Captain Randy today and have agreed to hire them to get us from Tampa Bay to either Apalachicola or maybe even as far as Pensacola. We are just waiting on the weather.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Marina Jacks




April 6, 2009
The marina we find is called "Marina Jacks." It is beautiful. Not just because it has docks for our injured boat, but because it is beautiful. We got up this morning to the greatest group of dockmasters and workers. They help us, discuss the channel with us, and help us get ready for the trip to Snead Island Boat Works. Marty dives on the boat and tells us the rudder is only slightly bent.
Both 346-SAIL and our boat broker gave me the number for Sneads and I call for Sue who is not there. Gary answers and provides directions to their boatyard and promises a lead in to the river I have to go down. It seems to take forever to leave Marina Jacks but we refuel, pump the holding tanks (for Linda), and off we go. Linda’s tired and sleeps. I head down the Intracoastal Waterway to Sneads.
Ibuprofen has become my friend. It seems that my 54 year old body gets a little sore when I stand at the helm all day. I’m stiff. I take a couple of Ibuprofen and in about a half hour, I’m fine.
When I finally make it to Tampa Bay, I’m supposed to turn to marker 2. I remember marker 2 but the ICW marker is not anywhere near 2. I head for this big bridge. There is darkness ahead. That darkness indicates a rain squall and I don’t like it. The winds are picking up. I turn on the radar and it shows a big rain mass moving ahead of me. I don’t want any more excitement. I turn around and start heading back. Then, a squall moves in on that side. The winds are picking up. The original squall has moved on so I turn back around. The winds are increasing and I don’t like where we are. I call Sneads and speak with Gary. He helps me find marker 2 and I start heading in. He comes out to meet us and leads us in the rest of the way.
We head straight to the lift out dock. They bring over the crane and lift the boat. The rudder is clearly bent but they think they can fix is by bending it back. They do, it works, they tighten the steering and we splash the boat.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Cabbage Key to Saratosa


April 5, 2009
Every day has an event. We woke this morning in Cabbage Key. We ate breakfast in the dollar bill restaurant. It would be embarrassing to tell you what we ate, but it was good.
I woke thinking about the macerator. I don’t know of any less exciting thought. I dug out my Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual and learned about a boat’s plumbing system, including the "sanitary waste system." Great reading and it worked. I got the macerators running. We didn’t have to go to Uncle Henry’s. Linda was happy. I was ecstatic.
The winds were light. We motored through the Intracoastal Waterway to the channel. Raised the main and headed out to sea. The day was so calm and uneventful that there is nothing else to say. I wrote blogs. The problem was, after writing a blog, I looked up and right in front of me was a sailboat! That boat appeared out of the blue. That was so weird. Regardless, this was a lesson and I learned it well. I have radar on this boat and it should be set to warn me of any vessel within 2 miles. Even that does not allow a person at the helm to get engrossed in anything other than sailing.
Linda called her Mom. They were visiting as we were just o ff Sarasota. There was this brown patch in the water. I thought it was a weed patch, but it wasn’t. It was a turtle. I realize this when it raised its softball size head out of the water to look at us. I hollered to Linda who went through the same series of thoughts as me until she saw the head. We did not get a picture though. It all happened too fast.
We arrived at Sarasota about 4:30 pm. I radioed Sea Tow to gain local knowledge of the channel from the Gulf. Sea Tow is to boats like AAA is for cars. They provide a local knowledge service. You radio them and they give you information about the area. I asked about the channel. "Let me call the Captain," the female voice said. "He said fine so long as you stay in the channel," the female Sea Tow voice said. "He said it’s low tide." I thanked her and pulled up the tide tables on my instruments. We were at low tide and it was a low tide but not the lowest. There are four tides in a typical day, two low and two high. One of the lows is lower than the other . One of the highs is higher than the other. We were at the higher low, if that makes sense. I decide to wait a while. We were having a great time anyway so there is no immediate need to go in.
I radioed a couple of boats going in the channel and none responded.
There is a buoy system on channels. There are red buoys on one side and green on the other. If you are headed out to sea, the green buoys are on the right (starboard). If you are returning to port, the red buoys are supposed to be to starboard. Green going, red right returning. Remember that, and all is fine. Unless you are entering Sarasota channel.
I sailed along the coast, with binoculars, watching boats come in and out of the channel in Sarasota. One large yacht and another boat went in with the red marker on the port (left) side. "Green going, red right returning," I thought. "They are familiar with the area around the channel and know where it is safe to get out of it." I continued. But my draft is too deep. I have to stay in the channel.
I didn’t feel good though. I just did not feel good about this channel. We stayed offshore an hour and a half, and let the tide go up a foot. If Sea Tow says I’m fine at low tide, I must be fine a foot higher.
"Okay, we are going to go in this channel. I don’t trust something. Sea Tow says it’s fine." The problem was we had hung around to go in at Sarasota. The winds were about to pick up. We needed to be inshore. I felt comfortable that the Sea Tow guy was doing his job.
I still worried. "If we hit bottom, here is what we are going to do," I told Linda so she would know what was going to happen. I explained we would try to head out to sea and get back in deep water.
"Okay. We are going in." I said after the tide had come up a about a foot. Frankly, I was worried. We stayed in the channel. "Green going, red right returning." We were returning to port. Red on starboard.
The depth meter beeped but it had done that before. In fact, Mark had taken us in shallow water to see the actual depth meter reading when the keel hits bottom. Three and one half feet. That’s because the transducer is on the bottom of the boat below the waterline.
So as I came in the Sarasota channel I knew I needed the depth meter to stay above 3.5 feet. The depth meter went to 4.8. Bump! We hit something with the keel. I’m heading inshore. If we bump here, if I get closer, we will have a big problem. I turn hard to port to get us away from that red marker. Into deeper water. Boom. We hit again. Bump, the stern hits. The steering is stiff. (Expletive)! The motor digs in though and pushes us off. We are in deep water but it’s really hard to steer.
"Sea Tow, this is the sailing vessel Royal Crescent on Channel 11," I fume. They answer. "Would you call me on my cell?" The cell rings. Okay, this guy tries to tell me that if I stay in the channel I’ll be fine. Surely I went out of the channel. Try it again. I explain no, I am not trying it again. I am not going to another port. It is almost dark. He cleared me and advised me how to enter channel. "I want a lead in. I’m a member of Sea Tow and I request a lead in. I don’t know if my vessel is safe. I do not feel secure in going to another port." "All our boats are busy. They won’t be available for at least an hour and a half." He stalls. "It won’t be dark until an hour and forty five minutes. I’ll wait. Please get a lead in out here." Linda and I sail. And we sail.
Finally, a boat comes through the channel. It is not Sea tow but it comes out a little way then turns around to ease back in. I radio. No response. I ask Linda to pull out the horn. I honk it. They hear. They radio. I explain. They agree to lead us in.
They go in about 100 yards ahead of us, to the right of the red marker! What happened to red right returning? "The marker moved and hasn’t been replaced," I’m told. It apparently has been that way for two months.
After we are safely in, I radio Sea Tow to tell them the error. They simply say I should call the Coast Guard and report the buoy. How useless. The rudder is hard to turn. Interestingly, as we are coming in a Coast Guard boat with emergency lights flashing heads out to the Gulf. Coincidence?
I need to make two things clear. Sea Tow is a good organization. It has successfully helped many, many boaters. Even they make mistakes. Second, this is my vessel and I am responsible for everything that happens on it. I had a bad feeling about going into that channel. I should have not hesitated to contact as many people as often as necessary to get in. That said, the marker should not have been out of place.
I have to admit, it is after dark and I’ve had enough problems. I radio a sailboat we pass. They have a sign 346-SAIL. I call the number. They are helpful, courteous and they lead us in to dock. Thanks. They also refer me to Snead Boat Yard.
We get docked. (I’m leaving some details out). We tie up. We eat. We go to bed. We are tired. I don’t sleep well.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Marco Island to Cabbage Key


April 4, 2009
"Be sure the toilet works," Linda would tell me repeatedly. Both did. The heads can either flush overboard or into a tank. The tank can either be drained by a pump on the boat called a macerator or at a pump station on a dock. One of the toilets (head in boat lingo) has an electric flush that sounds like a small chain saw. The other has a hand pump. There are a myriad of pipes running here and there. I didn’t understand them when we left on this voyage. I asked several people who gave me ideas on how the head plumbing worked but even they didn’t know. I felt comfortable that I could dump the tanks at sea or get them pumped at a dock. Linda was happy. Off we went.
When we left Marco Island both of us thought about pumping out the tank, neither said or did anything about it. Our sail out of Marco Island was nice. Following seas and current similar to the trip from Shark River. However, there was much less wind and no white caps, just lazy waves and a nice breeze. The breeze wasn’t enough to push the boat as fast as we needed to go so we motor sailed. That means we had the sails up and motor running at about 1,500 rpm. It was a nice sail. We were tired though from the activity the previous day and took turns sleeping.
Sanibel Island is a barrier island protecting several other islands nestled in a bay called Pine Island Sound. Pine Island Sound branches out the much larger Charlotte Harbor. Punta Gorda sits on the south east edge of Charlotte Harbor. My friend Chris on the 35 foot Catalina left with others and a Captain and sailed straight through by sea to Galveston Bay. He probably left the same day we left Key Largo and is probably reaching Kemah today or tomorrow. My guess is they are tired.
All of the Sanibel Island area is a high dollar vacation spot with beautiful blue water and stark white sandy beaches. It is stunningly beautiful. As we sail along about three miles offshore we can sea the buildings and beaches. Any other time, they would be a great topic for discussion, but not this time.
Just before Sanibel Island, the aft (back) head (toilet) stopped up. In fact, it wasn’t stopped up, the holding tank was full. So, I switched on the macerator. Nothing happened. I pumped on the toilet. Nothing happened. Linda heated up. I twisted and turned, pushed and pulled but nothing, nothing made the tank dump. I could hear the macerator running but nothing happened. Linda heated up a little more. Her only request was to get the toilet running. I couldn’t.
Okay, but that’s not so bad. We are almost into port and we can have it pumped out. That didn’t cool her down but there was nothing to do. So, out came the waterway guide. This high dollar vacation spot has plenty of marinas. Only a couple have pump outs. So, we call South Seas Island Resort because it lists it has a pump station. "Oh yes, we have a pumping station" the nice lady on the phone said. "What is the best way to get there?" I ask. "Come in Redfish Pass, follow the channel, stay away from the seawall, turn right as soon as you get in. A five foot draft is not problem" Cool. We were only about 4 miles from Redfish Pass so that is where we decided to turn in.
I call Bill, our west coast of Florida local knowledge guy as well as our mentor. "I don’t know about Redfish Pass. I think you should go on down to Boca Granda and enter there. You may have to back track a few miles but it’s a good deep inlet." Bill left wiggle room though. "Of course, you could contact Sea Tow and get local information. Maybe they can tell you if Redfish Pass is okay."
I dig out my wallet and the Sea Tow card. Call Sea Tow and am routed to a local Sea Tow location that assures me it is fine to come into Redfish Pass but to stay along the sea wall. "That’s good to know, I said. The girl at South Seas said to stay away from it," I said. "No, stay near it," he emphasized.
We head to Redfish Pass. The GPS (Chartplotter in boat language) says there are red and green bouys to mark the way in. Usually you can see the buoys about a half mile out. Not at Redfish Pass. The buoys were barely visible a hundred yards out. I found them by watching other boats going in. "I don’t see any sailboats going in," Linda said with that cautious tone. But, the Sea Tow locals had assured me we would be fine. So, in we went at the slowest possible safe speed. Boats were piling up behind us, even a very large motor yacht. But, they waited patiently probably thinking they wished I would get out of the way.
After considerable concern and fear, we made it through the pass easily. In fact, the pass was about 20 feet deep. Nothing to worry about. Now, we head to South Seas Marina. South Seas is a luxury condominium, timeshare or something or other. It has a very narrow harbor and I ease in carefully and dock. No one comes to help me dock despite the fact that I requested assistance at least three times. A guy getting out of his boat helped though and we were soon snug to the dock. Linda wasn’t a bit cooler.
We go in the marina office and this cutesy blond girl is busy working the radio and phone and helping give directions. "Hi, I’m on the Royal Crescent and we need to pump out," I say relieved that I will finally get Linda to cool down. "Oh, are you the boat that called me. We only pump out at 10:00 AM and you cannot stay here until then because we don’t allow nonmembers to stay here. I didn’t realize you meant you were coming in now." I could feel the heat coming from the side Linda was standing on. All sorts of conversations and calls were unsuccessful in finding a pumping station that would take us or that could take a boat our size and draft.
We ask about anchorages but no one knows of any. Are these people brain dead? They live here! Anyway we made our way out of that narrow harbor without hitting anything, cut across the bay to the intracoastal waterway and head toward Cabbage Key, a place Bill said was excellent. We called ahead...actually I called ahead because Linda would have melted the phone. We got reservations to dock and headed there. I thought we should dock because we could use the air conditioning to cool Linda down.
Cabbage Key turned out to be a great place. It had a bar and a restaurant and a few little cottages. It is a private island that boasts a 38 foot elevation, the highest in the area. It has a great little restaurant that I think was built in 1944 and has been really popular ever since. The walls of the restaurant are papered in one dollar bills, thousands of them. They invite people write a message on dollar bills and tape them to the walls. Periodically, they collect them all and donate them to a charity. I think it was a muscular dystrophy charity but I’m not certain. Of course we pasted a bill with "Royal Crescnet http://www.bringroyalcrescenthome.blogspot.com/ on it. I actually had to use two bills. I taped them in the most conspicuous place possible but I doubt anyone will see it or be able to read the URL but it would be fun if someone did.
We were extremely tired when we went to bed. The air conditioning was nice and Linda was even cool enough by now to sleep next to.
Our plan was to leave the next morning and head north up the intracoastal waterway about an hour or so to Uncle Henry’s marina. He had a pumping station and was willing to help us out. He was very nice and I even thought about calling him to see if he could have someone fix our system while we were there. The problem with this was we would be faced with the choice of backtracking an hour to get into the Gulf to turn back and head north or just head up the intracoastal waterway. Since Linda was cool enough to sleep next to, I though it might be best to let this rest until tomorrow..
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.

Not so good a day in paradise

Before anyone gets this blown out of proportion, we ran aground and damaged the rudder. The channel marker was on the wrong side of the channel. Anyway, we are very safe in Sarasota and I could whine about the rudder but I won't. We are taking it to a boat yard tomorrow. I'll give a full explanation when I'm not tired.

BTW, I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures. I did it once but am too tired to figure it out tonight. We saw a really cool turtle with about a three foot diameter shell but didn't get a photo. Sarasota is beautiful from offshore. Despite the "issues" we are having a good time..
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.