And We Thought Moss Point Was Cold

Anna and Asher with their new sleds from Uncle John

The Vail Valley 12/31/2010 --0 Degrees F.

Merry Christmas All

O K I lied. I felt like I needed to do a quick interim post because of all that is happening.
First of all---we are enjoying a wonderful Christmas in Colorado Springs with Paul and Kristin, Anna, Asher and Elli, sister Nancy and Paul's sister Julie. Aside from being a bit "under the weather"--I think it was my very first bout ever with altitude sickness---it has been a truly wonderful time. The grandkids are more fun than you can imagine. Christmas morning was a delight--three incredibly excited kids--and stuff everywhere--(quite a transition from our peaceful life aboard the boat--but great fun)
Secondly--I wanted to tell about the really cool experience we had after we left the boat last Thursday, driving to Panama City to catch the plane the next day for Colorado.
As Destin is the next stop on "our" journey (more about the "our" later) we decided to stop in Destin on our way through to check out the tricky entry into the cove where "we" plan to anchor (more about the "we" later) on our way down the coast. After we parked the car and were walking along the pier in the direction of the harbor master's office (I wanted to talk with him/her about the entry to the cove) we came across a familiar looking catamaran tied up at the dock--sure enough it was our friends and mentors, Rusty and Linda Sitton of :Sittononthebeach blog site in the links on the left. They left Kemah about two weeks after me but have not been held up quite as much by the weather. They had passed us up over night, having sailed straight through off shore from Biloxi. They were parked in Destin for Christmas and to wait out a bad weather front moving in on Christmas day. We had lunch together and then drove them down the road to the grocery store for some provisioning and to refill a propane bottle. It was really neat to bump into them this way--and how coincidental. We had a very helpful chat with them about the area and the options of continuing on down the coast---more reinforcement for Diane (Linda is not as experienced a sailor as Diane nor as involved in the boat handling part of cruising but is vastly more experienced in the cruising part having done this same trip last year. She was able to discuss Diane's (and her) fears and share emotions and experiences in a very positive and helpful way.)----Which brings me to the "our" and "we" thing-----Diane is going to continue on with me and continue to fight her fears through experience. Actually, she had made this decision before we ran into the Sittons but talking with Linda just served to reinforce her decision. She still has trouble with the idea of sailing through the nights off shore and we will address that by gathering crew to help with those legs. Needless to say, I am ecstatic with her decision and the knowledge that she will be with me to experience the beauty of the moments ahead. Hopefully, with good planning we can minimize the difficulties.
Sooooo--at this point we are planning to sail off shore down to Destin and anchor for a day or two in the cove outside the bridge that we can't get under--then down the coast to Panama City and Port St Joe and then the ICW from St Joe to Appalachacola before heading across on the first over night to Tarpon Springs and warmer weather and bluer water along the Florida Peninsula. Curiously, even though I've already come over 500 miles , have crossed through or into 5 states and spent almost three weeks on the boat I won't feel like we're really into this journey until I get to the peninsula area --Tarpon Springs/Clearwater/Tampa and points south.
But for now--enjoying family and sleeping in a real bed and letting the water run when I brush my teeth or shower. Life is Good!!!

Flawda----Finally!!!

Finally--- We have reached Florida.

After a relaxing couple of days in Orange Beach, Alabama we have moved on to our home for the next several weeks (or, rather, the new home for the boat) as we travel to Colorado Springs and Vail to be with family for Christmas and New Years. We really lucked out and found this very nice marina in the old downtown area of Pensacola--just a short walk away from restaurants, bars, shops--everything but a grocery store--. This town is very nice and they have done a beautiful job renovating this downtown area. The marina is brand new--floating docks, excellent security, nice facilities--We'll chill here for a few days as we await our trip west.

We had a very nice but cold trip over from Orange Beach, arriving just in time for the second half of the Saint's game and for the entire/miserable/pathetic Steelers loss to the Jets after taking a nice long exer-walk up Palafox St to the business section where we found all the restaurants, bars and shops--fortunately, they were mostly closed--I have a feeling we'll be back, though, before we leave.

The original plan had been to keep moving to Panama City, leave the boat there and fly off for the Holidays, but as plans always go when it comes to this life style--plans seldom become reality. We learned along the way that there are three bridges between here and Panama City, along the ICW, that we can't get under because of the height of our mast. SO--we will have to go off shore from here to somewhere south of Panama City, probably Port St Joe or just on to Appalachicola---the weather window will detrmine how far and where the next stopping point will be. As Diane does not want to venture off shore we had to stop here until I can arrange at least one other crew to go with me in the hop down the coast.

(Downtown Pensacola from the bay)

That will wait until after the holidays. Meanwhile we are "stuck" in a very nice spot. Finally the weather has moderated--would have been a great weather window to take off across the Gulf--

We rented a car to take in the sights in the area and to get us to the Panama city airport on Friday. Yesterday we drove in to Destin to see our old next door neighbors, Ron and Maryann Porter, who moved into a beautiful high rise there about three years ago. Maryann is a designer and Ron is now a contractor working with their 2 boys doing remodeling jobs in the area and building some homes. Their beautiful condo reveals their talents--it is incredible. It's on the Bay, a view of the ICW surrounded by golf course and gorgeous grounds.

We had a delicious Italian dinner at a family owned and run restaurant--La Famiglia--in Destin and home again for another early night to bed.

The ship below is docked on the other side of the marina. It is the S/V Peacemaker, a good will tall ship from Brazil---free walk aboard tours--165 feet long and 33 feet wide--quite a vessel.

(By the way--for those who have forgotten what we look like--that's us right in front of the ship.)

(The Palafox Marina in Pensacola)

So----sight seeing today and tomorrow. Some boat cleaning and then its off to Colorado on Friday. We plan on relaxing and doing a lot of hugging and spoiling the Grandkids.

I'm going to get some skiing in while in Vail, maybe some hiking and just lots of good family time.

I probably won't be posting again for a while so to all following this blog we want to wish you all a very happy Christmas, full of all the blessings of life and love. Remember our young men and women of the military around the world who offer their ultimate sacrifices day in and day out--If you can--try to find a way to help out their families for the Holidays. Operation HomeFront is an excellent organization helping many of these families.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

Marina at the Wharf--Orange Beach, Alabama December 16, 2010

Roll Tide

Well, we have successfuly crossed through 3 states and are now in our 4th, Alabama. We parked for the night at The Marina at the Wharf, a very nice marina right on the ICW in Orange Beach. It is associated with a huge commercial/ condo/ entertainment development (what a contrast to Moss point). Slept in today--until 6:30-- and are spending a relaxing day here (will take in a movie at their 16 screen theater) and dinner out--probably Italian--tonight. Tomorrow we'll move to a different marina--just to enjoy the variety--and then on Saturday we sail to Pensacola where we will leave the boat for the holidays. We've made arangements at a marina right downtown at the historic section of town. I'll return after the first of the year, hopefully with at least one crew member, to sail over to Appalachacola or points farther south.
One of the things we learned from the Rachel's gang is that our mast is too tall (50 feet plus antennae and other assorted devices) to get under some of the bridges in the Destin, Ft Walton Beach, Panama city area of the Florida section of the ICW (I'll be checking the charts closely over the holidays). The current thought is to go off shore out of Pensacola and sail either to Appalach... or on to Clearwater depending on conditions. Lot's of unknowns but still exciting. After our fabulous crossing of Mobile Bay we are (I am) filled with confidence and raring to go.
It is very hard for me to describe the joy and excitement that I am experiencing even in the face of the rather inclement weather that we've had to date. I know it only gets better from here but, once again, have to express my disappointment that my best friend won't be with me to enjoy it all. We've talked at length about her decision and how that "looks" for the immediate future. We've decided that she will join me as often as possible for the more "settled" parts of the trip----yeah, yeah, yeah---I have to do all the hard work---- We are both very "cool" with the plan and rumors of our impending divorce are greatly exaggerated.

Alabamy Bound

Today, Wednesday, we left Moss point at 5:30 AM and navigated by GPS in the dark back down the river to the Mississippi Sound to resume our eastward travels---but not without a little bit of regret. Truth is---we had a wonderful time in Moss point. The nicest people you would ever want to meet. To all the gang at Rachel's--Sam, Lucky Jr., Buffalo Joe and Dave and Gene--we send our heartfelt thanks for the opportunity to get to know you and your town and thank you immensely for all the "local knowledge" about navigating the Sound and Mobile Bay; (best gumbo I've ever eaten) and we especially thank Bobby and Lynn for their tremendous hospitality at the River City Harbor Marina, for the use of their truck and for the wonderful stories---BTW---Happy 74th Birthday Bobby---Enjoy the bottle of Jack Black!!
It was about 30 degrees when we pulled out, but we were dressed for it --in triple layers--. The only things really cold were my fingers. The river was a bit tricky in the dark but we made it without incident by paying very close attention to our GPS chartplotter while Diane simultaneously watched our laptop GPS program--Seaclear--. (Down below where it was warm) Between the two visual displays plus the radar display we had very little difficulty making it down the river the 8 miles back to the sound (Seaclear is a very cooool deal. By adding a USB connected GPS antenna to the laptop and downloading the FREE Seaclear software and over 400 NOAA navigation charts we are able to see our boat superimposed on the actual navigation chart published by NOAA and aproved by the Coast Guard for navigation. The GPS chartplotter is excellent but it is a picture of our vessel superimposed over a sketch, just like the one in your car, of the area--not the actual charts) Between the two "pictures" we have great confidence in our navigation. It's amazing how accurate this stuff is. Just in case this fails I have two other less sophisticated GPS devices on board in addition to my Droid phone which has built in navigation---As I mentioned some time back---if I get lost it's only because I'm a complete idiot or the world, as we know it, has changed.
Once back in the Sound we were met with clear skies, light wind from the east, and flat water. But, as we entered back into the ICW and turned eastward again the winds began to pick up and move around to the south. So we put the jib out and motorsailed along at 6+ kts.
We had been warned by the Rachel's gang of two things--with the wind out of the south we could expect some pretty big rollers building on our starboard beam as we passed through the gap between Petit Bois and Dauphin Islands; and--Mobile Bay can be a b....... on a windy day, especially if the wind is out of the north. We were indeed met by some pretty uncomfortable rollers as expected but they subsided as we sailed into the lea of Dauphin Island. Also, the wind, by this time had shifted around to the west by the time we got to Dauphin and we had a fabulous sail to the east end of the Island.
Not knowing what kind of conditions to anticipate once in Mobile Bay we reefed the jib (reduced its size by about 1/2 by rolling it up) --as it turned out, a wise move. The conditions were a bit rougher in the Bay although we had the protection of Dauphin Island to windward for a while. Still we sailed on cautiously in the face of this body of water's reputation for roughness. BUT, after it appeared that conditions would remain steady--wind out of the west at 20 to 22 kts and the seas following us we turned off the engine, let out the sail and sailed across at 7+ knots--almost maximum hull speed. We made it across the 23 miles in record tiome and reached the pretty and protected channel of Orange Beach Alabama at around 2:30 PM (We left at 5:30 anticipating an all day sucker)---but were elated with our progress. It was, all in all, a great day---great sailing, decently cool temps and friendly seas--what more could one ask---I think we had the perfect conditions to cross Mobile Bay. Life is Good!!!!!!!!!!!

Diane's Photos---Dolphins and Cloud Bank

A strange cloud bank moving into Orange Beach

Dolphins chasing the boat in Mobile Bay (They couldn't keep up)

Sunrise at Pascagoula, Mississippippippippi

Ol' Man Winter Strikes Again

It's Monday the 13th and we are comfortably tucked in at a floating dock at the River City Harbor Marina in downtown Moss Point, Miss. This marina is about 8 miles up the Pascagoula River from its mouth at the Pascagoula Ship Channel. We decided to come all the way up here to get as much protection as possible from this new, raging cold front that has slowed us down once again. It has been bitterly cold and incredibly windy since we got here from Gulfport Saturday evening

We pulled in here after winding up the river in a well marked and deep channel Saturday afternoon. The weather has ben atrocious ever since and we will probably not leave here until it settles, Wednesday.

We left Rabbit Island 7:15 AM on Friday, bound for the Gulfport Yacht Club that evening. Rabbit Island is on the very western end of Mississippi Sound, the bay-like body of water that sits below Gulport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula Miss. and just before you get into Mobile Bay. It was not bad temp wise as we left on Friday and the wind, unfortunately, at around 8 kts was directly on our nose--so-- no sailing today. Heading due east after several hours I decided to check out my friend Ernie People's "SPOT" on the computer and discovered that he was just about due south of us heading in from off shore in the direction of the ICW. (You will recall my mentioning Ernie earlier--picked up his new trawler, Salty Lady, in Florida and is heading back to Kemah) I was able to raise the "Salty Lady " on the VHF radio and talked for a while with Ernie. It was good to hear his voice. Spotting a speck on the horizon I found what I believed to be his trawler and with my zoom snapped the picture above. They were several miles away at the time and heading west, away from us. After expressing our fond adieu's we resumed our focus on the journey ahead.

We arrived at the foot of the Gulfport ship channel at around 1:00 and turned north to the yacht club--another relatively short day. But we tied up at their transient dock and secured our FREE dockage for the night as we are memebers of another yacht club, Waterford Yacht Club, back home. It seems that the various yacht clubs, not the private marinas, offer one night reciprocal free dockage. Yippee!! We'll look for more private clubs as we cruise along.

Saturday morning we got an early start with the goal of getting into safe harbor before this front arrived. This was the first day since I left that we were able to shut the engine down and run under full sail for several hours. It was just us, a nice 15 kt breeze (perfect), off of our starboard beam, the waves lapping at the hull and the dolphins swimming in our wake--temp quite comfortable--Bliss!! Unfortunately this bliss had to come to an end as we neared the Navy Base at the mouth of the Pascagoula River and we cranked up the engine once more for our winding journey up the river to our present location.

Once here we were met by the proprietor, Bobby, who quickly gave us the lay of the land of Moss Point. It seems that in these small towns everything closes down on Sat night so we only had one choice if we were to have a dine-out meal. Bobby drove us over to "Rachel's Widows Walk" bar and restaurant on another marina that we had passed on the way in. He promised us we would have no problem getting a ride back later. He was right.

We were both dying for a cheeseburger and these were some of the best I've ever had, as was the baked potato salad and the fried green tomatos. The vodka martini(s) wasn't bad either.

When we got to the restaurant the only people there were the staff and some guy pounding--practicing --on the out of tune piano in the corner. We were a bit leary. Turned out the piano player, Sam, was the owner, a very experienced sailor. He'd been everywhere and was full of all kinds of VERY helpful local knowledge about our trip eastward. Soon we were joined by other townsfolk and some of the cruisers from the sailboats tied up below at the marina. A most interesting evening. One guy--Gary--had just purchased a used lifeboat at a public auction--the kind you see perched on the back of tankers ready to plunge into the sea in the event of an emergency. Naturally these boats are never used and thus the engine, although 30 years old, was like new--which is why he bought the lifeboat for $1200. The engine itself is worth probably 5 or 6 K. He's going to put it into his 63 foot Choy Lee that he is restoring. Sam, on the other hand, had his 60 + foot schooner parked in the marina below--another antique restored beautifully. The sailing community is a fascinating and very diverse lot and there is so much to learn--as they are so willing to share--over a pint or two.

Sam, the owner, gave us a ride back to the marina after this very interesting evening and we fell into the V-berth exhausted at the late hour of 8:30

The next day, Sunday, Bobby offered us his truck for a quick trip into town for groceries and a Mexican food fix for lunch--then back to the boat for reading, studying the charts, listening to the wind howl and laundry.

Today, more of the same. We are growing increasingly edgy and uncomfortable with this no-letting-up wind but it should subside tonight. We will take a walk later this afternoon, just to get off the boat and stretch a bit. We are ready to get back on the road toward warmer climes---

Which brings me to a slight--just a slight--- change of plans. Diane decided even before she had joined me in New Orleans that she just really does not want to do this. She tried very hard to convince herself but ultimately gave in to her true feelings--she's just not comfortable with all the uncertainty and unfamiliarity associated with such an undertaking. So she'll be leaving the boat when we park her in Florida and we go off to Colorado for Christmas. My plan is to continue on after Christmas. Hopefully, I'll be able to arrange for crew (friends or strangers) for the overnight passages--but I'm going to do this thing. I've worked too hard and waited too long to quit now.

I'm OK with her decision. Obviously I would rather she be sitting next to me in the cockpit watching the sunsets and staring at the beautiful waters and white beaches, and I recognize that the trip will not be anywhere as enjoyable without her as it most certainly would have been with her--but a man's got to do what a man's got to do---and I got to do this.

Diane here: Those of you who know us know that this is a hard decision. We never considered the possibility that one of us would be on a different page on this. Unfortunately, my fear of the unknown and fear for safety have taken over - and did so as soon as the trip became a reality as opposed to a dream. I had hoped that as soon as I got on the boat that this would change. It didn't. If you have read this far you know that we have done very little sailing and what we have done has been wonderful - there hasn't been any event that occurred that caused these feelings.

I look forward to many more years of sailing but my comfort zone is in Galveston Bay.

Underway Again

We departed New Orleans this AM at 8:45 in sub 40's temps but bright sunlight. As we were headed eastward and the little wind there was was out of the east we really were quite comfortable behind our dodger (The dodger is the big windshield we have at the front of the cockpit that shields you from wind and spray). As long as we were behind the dodger and in the sunshine it wasn't too bad.

We're finally underway again but a very short day today of only about 30 miles. The next available stopping point is Gulfport, Mississippi, and that is just a bit too far to try do it today--so--we anchored at a little bend in the waterway at Rabbit Island. We got in around 1;15 and set the hook and sat back and read and napped and cogitated on the meaning of life until this beautiful sunset and the frigid air descended upon us. We understand that the temps will continue to moderate a bit until Saturday night when another brutal cold front is to sweep in and freeze things again for another couple of days. We hope to be ensconced in a nice electrified marina slip by then so we can wait out the front in comfort before resuming our eastward journey.

We heard from our good friend Ernie Peoples today. They spent the night offshore out of Clearwater Florida heading this way. They had a rough go of it with 4 and 5 foot seas off the starboard bow but were inside the trawler and completely warm and dry and protected from the elements. Peppie had called us earlier as she hadn't heard from Ernie for several hours and was quite worried but everything turned out just fine. In fact Ernie, instead of putting into shore this morning,decided to stretch out their offshore run and turn for Mobile. We will probably cross paths with them sometime in the next couple of days---Maybe they'll "winter" with us in Pascagoula while we try to hide from the cold.

Still in New Orleans

We're still in New Orleans-----decided to wait out the latest cold front--and I mean COLD!! It will probably dip into the high twenties here tonight. At least the wind is down and it is supposed to begin to warm tomorrow. So, we will leave tomorrow morning and head for our next stopping spot--Rabbit Island. This will be our last anchorage for a while as there are more cold fronts--some wet--heading our way. (We would much rather be in a marina with shore power and other amenities when bad weather approaches)

We have enjoyed our 3 day interlude in NO immensely. I've already mentioned the fabulous dinner we had the other night. Today we did something a bit different---went to an 11:15 matinee movie (Unstoppable) and after gathering ourselves and walking around the mall to relieve the tension from that movie, we headed downtown to the Quarter for a late lunch at Muriel's on Jackson Square--fantastic. We both had one of their signture Bloody Mary's, a cup of the best seafood gumbo I've ever tasted and I had a stuffed squash dish-- merliton squash stuffed with shrimp and andouille sausage in a roasted creole tomato sauce--Ummmmmmm. Diane had a mixed green salad with tenderloin---we'll have the second half for dinner tonight (Aren't we eating sensibly??)
Yesterday I was doing some work on the boat and got in a conversation with a guy working on a sportfishing boat a couple of slips down. Turns out he is Russell Colemar, the boat mechanic that has been helping "The Kids" with some of their engine problems. A good guy to know--he works all up and down the Mississippi Sound area--has tool box will travel---You never know when you're going to need someone like him and its good to know he would be available to help all across this next stretch of water that we'll be navigating. He spoke quite highly of "The Kids" and even acknowledged to me that he had referred to the kids as "The Kids"---and he's not nearly as old as I. So---Kids----you are"The Kids"---officially and affectionately.
It's going to be a cold night tonight but yesterday I went to Home depot and bought 150 feet of outdoor extension cord so even though we don't have "shore power" we can plug into a standard 120 outlet up by the office and run the cord to the boat where I have it plugged into a space heater that I keep on the boat for just such occasions. It will run off one of my generators also and that's what we'll do when we anchor tomorrow night--but as long as we don't have to run the generator to get 120 power I'll take advantage of it.
So, here's hoping for some warmer weather soon and some winds that will favor our eastward journey.
Every where we go we see the Christmas season unfolding in sight and sound and its a bit hard for us in that we are so far removed from the traditional celebration of the season as almost all thoughts are directed toward this journey. We do so look forward to our trip to see our kids and Grandkids and other family in Colorado. We will leave the boat in Panama City, Florida and fly (through Houston) to Colorado Springs to be with Kris and Paul and little Anna, Asher and Elli for Christmas and then on to Diane's brother's place in Vail for a few days of skiing and family fun. Really looking forward to seeing everybody and finally celebrating the season. Hey!! As long as its this cold here we might as well be in the mountains.

Houma to New Orleans---At Last

Gene and I left Houma early on Sunday the 6th with the thought that we would only go to Lafitte (south of New Orleans by about 15 miles) as we didn't want to try to transit the locks, the Mississippi River, another lock and several bridges to get to our marina and take the chance that we would be doing this after dark----but----with an early start, favorable currents and winds adding to our speed over water, once we neared New Orleans we decided to "go for it".
It was quite cold and not too windy when we left the Houma Town Dock at 0620. We stopped to fuel up about three miles down the ICW. After waking up Rudy at the Talen's fuel dock we took on 16 gallons of diesel in preparation for a long day. I had already added 5 gallons from one of the 5 gal. jerry cans we were carrying, in Morgan City, as there was no place to fuel up there or any where between MC and Houma----go figure---one of the busiest oil industry, industrial, commercial areas in the US and no where to buy diesel---refined oil.
The farther we went the more we felt it was a possibility that we could make it to NO a day ahead of schedule. We motored through numerous areas of incredible boat traffic associated with the off shore production facilities---barges, work boats, rigs, boat manufacturing and maintenance yards. And then there were many areas of very impressive natural beauty.
When we arrived at the intersection with the Barataria Waterway (where we had originally planned to turn south and head to a marina for the night) we made our final decision to push on. We grew more excited the closer we got to NO and finally spotted the skyline of the city in early afternoon.
We arived at the Harvey Lock at 3:30 PM. This is a lock, on the Harvey Canal that leads right into the Mississippi River. We were directed directly into the lock and tied up there along with only one "Light Boat" ( a tug without a barge load). The water difference was only about a foot and a half and took no time at all. When the north gate opened we were into the river across from downtown New Orleans. WOW!!! There was only a 1 1/2 knot current flowing downstream but the winds had come up and there was a slight chop. We had 5 miles to go until we exited the river on the north side (the city side) and we were motoring along peacefully and excited when a large tug pulled up next to us and hailed us on the loud hailer and told us we needed to monitor Channel 67 (on our VHF radio)--"traffic" was trying to get ahold of us on that channel. ( Up to this point channel 13 was the channel of choice for traffic on the ICW with contact with bridges on the same channel and channel 14 for locks) The cruising guide we had been following told me to contact "traffic control" on 67 once we exited the Harvey Lock and I had tried several times, without success, to raise them on that channel. I gave up and went back to channel 13. Unbeknownst to me they montor ch 12 in addition to 67 in the river--no longer channel 13---I was monitoring neither, but on the urging of the tug I turned my radios to those two channels. It seems they---1/2 the river traffic ---were trying to communicate to me to get to the city (port) side of the river to get out of the way of an oncoming, very large, tanker. I did!!
Soon we entered ino the staging area for the industrial canal lock that would take us to the channel that would lead to our marina. After waiting for 2 tows and a light boat to exit coming the other way we entered the lock by ourselves. This time there was about a 3 foot water drop. It was only about 4:30 at this time--plenty of time and daylight to get to the marina---Right after the lock was a highway bridge that we hailed and asked to raise so we could pass under--it did and we did. Then about 1/2 mile up the channel was another highway lift bridge that we needeed to raise for us to get under. "Bridge to sailboat----My bridge is stuck and it won't go up, and it won't go down" is what we heard over the radio. Unbelievable---we were within a mile of the marina and we encounter our first serious impediment. We started looking around for a good place to anchor--possibly for the night. Luckily, we were the only boat in this area between the 2 bridges. (There was no thought about reversing course as the only thing behind us was the river) I called the bridge tender back again and asked her if she thought they were going to be able to fix the bridge, and if so, how long it might take. She informed us that "maintenance" was on the way and would be there in a few minutes (remember--this is a Sunday night) and that they "WOULD" fix it. With these confident words we decided to not drop the hook and to just drift around a bit until the bridge was fixed, meanwhile picking out a good place to anchor for the night if her confidence was misplaced. Much to our elation the bridge started up about 20 minutes later. We still had three more bridges to remove from our path and darkness had decended. We trudged on slowly relying completely on our chartplotter and radar and after hailing the wrong bridges a couple of times and fearing that the operators had either gone to sleep or had shut down for the night we finally pulled into Seabrook Marina assisted by Ed of Ed and Mary Lee Shanen of Kentucky--they had sailed down the Mississippi and said it was miserable---. They're sailing their 40 ft Beneteau to their new home in FT Myers, Fla. We had a heck of time docking on the lea side of a dock as the wind had come back up considerably--truly appreciated his help.
The girls were on their way to join us. When we called and told them we were going all the way to NO on Sunday, they jumped in the car and headed our way--got in around 9:30---chatted--and to bed exhausted. What a day!! BUT--We're here and ready to begin the part of the trip we have really been looking forward to--If only the weather would cooperate. We are expecting front after front for a couple of weeks.
Monday, we had breakfast with Gene and MaryLou at a local soul food restaurant with the best grits I've ever tasted--"Old Gentiily Spicy Kitchen" After saying goodbye to Gene nad MaryLou we rented a car for a couple of days, did laundry, stocked up on groceries and went to dinner at a restaurant recommended by Theresa Dormer---Jacques Imo's"-- Incredibly good---The best restaurant I've ever eaten at in New Orleans. Back to the boat and to bed at 9. Tomorow a few boat chores, fill up on fuel and take another look at the weather. It looks like it is going to remain cold for quite a while longer and we need to decide whether to push on or to wait it out.

Houma, Louisiana City Marina

Morgan City to Houma

Another very short and very uneventful day. We slept in--to 6 AM---knowing we had a short day ahead of us. Left the city dock around 7 and motored on down to a lock ( see photos below) This time we had to follow a tow through--very laborious as we had to follow close but not too close--thus we were in it's prop wash for an extended period of time. That tends to cause us to meander left and right back, and forth no matter where you steer. Had to check in with Berwick VTS --the air traffic control on the water---and then check out once we exited their territory--the lock. Then it was motor sailing through some extremely industrial sections followed by truly beautiful cypress swamps---lots of water hyacinths(I think) floating in the water and we have to constantly steer around them lest we get them wrapped on our prop.
Made chili dogs for lunch----ummmmmm----- and arrived in Houma around 1:40. Right now we're sitting around watching a football game but will walk the 6 blocks to down town and look for some local cuisine for din-din. Then we'll probably watch the Okl Neb game and fall asleep during half-time. This life is grueling.
Houma appears to be quite industrial but not like Morgan City. The town looks interesting and am anxious to stroll it on Saturday night. The dock is nice but just off the ICW so we get a little bouncy whenever a large tow goes by. We passed some very large, new, very nice homes along the waterway on the way into town. The place appears to be quite prosperous.

Wow!!! We are finally to Morgan City. This has always been the destination where I thought I would feel like we were really on our way. I was right. We are tied up at the Municipal dock---not much to speak of as marina facilities go---but close to town (a 2 minute walk away) and 1 minute from Cafe Jojo's where we had dinner tonight. Their meal was very good--a bit overpriced ---but if you are ever here, order the seafood bread appetizer---unbelievably good. We got there about 5:45 and there was no one there--a bit suspicious--but by the time we left the place was full . I definitely recommend it.

I apologize to all my dedicated followers (all three of them) for not having posted to this blog for the last several days but it has been really, really busy--and the times I have had to write I haven't had internet access (I'm still trying to figure out how to write a post and keep it and then paste it into the site when I have internet. Trust me--it ain't easy --for me)
I last wrote after we were ensconced in the Bowtie Marina, south of Lake Charles and next door to one of their sinful houses of gambling. We had a wonderfully warm night's sleep that night and awoke to frost covered decks the next morning and temps in the 30's. After threading our way out through low tide water down the winding bayou from the marina we returned to the Calcasieu River and ran downstream 9 miles to rejoin the ICW. Shortly after turning back to the east on the waterway we came upon our first lock--the Calcasieu Locks. After a brief wait for a tow ahead of us ( a "tow" is a tug boat type vessel pushing any number of combinations of barges---1, 2, 0r 3 long --single or double wide---HUGE---)to exit the lock we entered. We never stopped--by the time we transited the length of the lock, the west gate had been opened and the water came rushing at us. We just kept going and exited the east side--only to be met by a pontoon bridge that was closed across the waterway. It soon opened and we passed through and continued on our way to our next stopping place for the night--an anchorage on the Mermenteau River , about 2 miles up the river above the ICW----=a beautiful anchorage in an oxbow off to the east of the main channel of the river. The only problem---I ran us aground in 4 feet of water--in soft mud--trying to get to the anchorage---Oh well--Dave got us out quite skillfully (one of many learning moments on this trip--Dave is truly a knowledgeable and skillfull (and clever) (AND REPUBLICAN) captain. I felt like I wanted to stay at this anchorage a couple of nights, it was so beautiful.

The next morning we rose early and returned to the ICW where we were met with a thick mist (fog) up to about 20 feet but in combination with the rising sun in our eyes we were blind and had to motor on relying on our chart plotter and radar. Fortunately the fog dissipated with the rising sun before we encounterd any traffic. Eventually we were met by a beautiful, sunny day that allowed us to relax and enjoy our trip to the Shell Morgan Landing in Intracoastal City --arriving there quite early--around 1:45 in the afternoon. After checking in we walked over to the Maxie Pearce Grocery, about three blocks away-- a fully stocked grocery, with some really nice steaks (which we had that night) booze--(I was out of Vodka) and a great deli from which we ordered "crabburgers and fries". This was Dave's disembarkation point as he had to return to Kemah for work. Gene Wallin arrived around 7:15 that night--just in time to share in the steak dinner.

Next morning we arose early again---0530---- and said goodbye to Dave. and Gene and I set off for Morgan City, Louisiana--about 60 miles away. Another beautiful and WARM day.

We had heard about a couple in a catamaran that had preceeded us by about two weeks who had been boarded by the Coast Guard and had to suffer the lengthy and humiliating inspection process at a place called Bayou Petite Anse. Well, we made it through there without seeing the Coasties and were patting ourselves on the back for having evaded them but about 2 hours later we looked in our rear view mirror and saw a Coast Guard Cutter--not one of their runabouts--a damn CUTTER--approaching from our rear. OK--so we weren't carrying contraband, drugs or illegal (excuse me--"undocumented" )aliens--but still--you get nervous---------They passed by without even a friendly wave.---I felt cheated--I wanted something to complain about---Big Brother--intrusive government, etc--They ignored us.

Arrived Morgan City around 1530. What an amazing place. It is an unbelievable (and literal) crossroads of the Gulf Coast commerce. An amazing amount of water traffic of all kinds---barges, crew boats, work boats, equipment boats---and then there was me--- a little 36 foot sailboat in the middle of the most important commerce in the US. It is so busy here they even have a system like air traffic control. Beginning at mile marker "one oh two" I had to check in on VHF channel 11 with "Berwick VTS" and advise them who I was, where I was and where I was going. Then they asked me to report back at each of several checkpoints coming into Morgan City. Tomorrow as we head out to Houma we will check back in with them and they will monitor us until we are well away from the morgan City area--amazing.

So, here we are parked against a creosote bulkhead next to a vehicular bridge and a railroad bridge--very noisy---in downtown Morgan City. Shortly after we arrived and while we were enjoying another of Peppi"s(sp) Bloody Mary's a trawler--" Aquaholic" --pulled in behind us. They're from our marina in Kemah but they're headed the opposite way--they're coming back from the Keys (tried to make us envious until I told them I was on my way to the Bahamas for 6 months) ---Zing!!!

So here I am, sitting in the cockpit typing this update--in Morgan City, LA--Whodathunk????

The pics below are of Shell Morgan--a fueling stop and the marina where we stopped last night--not Morgan City. I'll try to remember to get some shots of MC tomorrow to see if I can impart a taste of this incredible place.

Taylor Lake to Lake Charles

Day two was uneventful and we arrived at the Bowtie Marina at around 1630. Temps were in the 40's all day and the winds, very brisk, gusting to the 30's all day long. Here's some pics along the way--most exciting the Ellender Lift Bridge pictured here. You have to estimate your arrival time and call ahead 4 hours to arrange for an attendant to leave the Dunkin' Donuts and get to the bridge to raise it. Fortunately we guessed right and only had about a 1/2 hour wait.

Then it was up the Calcasieu River about 10 miles to get to the marina for the night. We wanted to stop somewhere where we would have shore power so we could run the heat---in the 30's last night---without having to hook up the generators and burn gasoline. Tonight we'll be at anchor and may have to run the generators but there simply are no marinas between here and "there" that are reachable in one day.

Had a great dinner of Ceasar Salad and sausage and peppers last night. I think barbecued chicken will be on the menu tonight. Thanks to Pepi (SP?) Peoples for a jar of her Bloody Mary mix that we enjoyed last night.

Sure enjoyed the hot shower ashore at the marina and my first decent night's sleep.