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.