The Voyage Begins

The decision to go:

By Captain Scott

As stated in the last post we were waiting for weather and the delivery of some parts.  Well both arrived about mid day and while Tamera and I were running parts over to the UPS office I said we should leave today instead of tomorrow.  We could get a full day jump on the schedule and the weather immediately after a cold front can be agreeable.
Tamera and I discussed it and felt if we could complete everything we needed to by 3PM and we could push off that very day and get to our first destination in Laguna harbor.  Rush we did and we untied the lies at 3:02 PM. 

That first night:

The wind and current were with us and we sped down the Houston ship channel at 8  and 9 knots and turned into the east bound intercoastal waterway at around 6PM to head to Laguna Harbor.  We eventually found it and entered the harbor after sunset. Tamera took a selfie of us sailing down the Houston Ship channel and posted on Facebook that we were officially cruisers.

Laguna Harbor was surprisingly shallow.  We were unable to get up to the sea wall due to depth and we only draw 5’.  There were a couple of 6’ shoals as we entered the harbor that caused us concern.  We discussed anchoring in the middle of the harbor.  The winds were expected to increase from the north and this generally causes the water level in the area to drop.  If the water level dropped more than a foot we make get stuck inside the harbor and unable to proceed until the water returned.
We discussed other anchorages at the Galveston Yacht Basin and out on the ship anchorages next to the jetties and all had various drawbacks.  Poor holding, no protection from the bad weather.  Then the 1st mate suggested tying off to the break water bulkhead at the Galveston Yacht Basin.  This is sometimes used as a poor man transit dock but it does have a few drawbacks.  Number one is it is the roosting site from almost all the birds in the world and with that feature has acquired a certain fragrant bouquet of smells that is very strong when passing down wind of the breakwater.  Number two is no hookup or services of any kind.  Number three is we had not asked permission to tie up and finally the breakwater is not the greatest protection or tie up option.  This does illustrate how bad things looked that first night.  Tying up to the breakwater seemed like the best alternative to us.
To get to the breakwater we had to back track in the dark to travel though the intersection of the intercoastal waterway, the Houston ship channel the Texas City ship channel, the Bolivar Peninsula ferry route and the Galveston ship channel.  I am quite sure that some memo had gone out to all the ships and barges in the area to proceed to run down any small sailboat they saw in this area on that night.  However on that night there was only one crazy couple stupid enough to leave on the spur of the moment and go sputtering around this shipping shooting gallery.  Yeah, the intrepid crew of the Kooky Dance.  I think we might have been dancing if we had not been so afraid of dying our first day out cruising.
As we approached the breakwater we were by greeted by possibly every bird in the world roosting on the breakwater to take one last dump before flying off to permanently defile some other flat surface that very night.  We got tied up and had to get on the breakwater to handle lines and adjust fenders.  I did so without thinking about putting on some shoes first.  Oh the feeling of seagull guano oozing up between your toes can only be match by the joy of grabbing a piling to find the top sopping wet with yet more seagull gooey excretions.  But the joy does not end there.  Due to the weather we had to tie up on the down wind side of the breakwater so the wind did not slam the boat into the pilings or pin the boat so that morning departure would be dangerous. With no AC we had to open the port holes and in wafted that fragrant bouquet.  Ah living the cruising dream.  Ten years we waited for this.
Well that night the wind really increased and the seas against the breakwater really built.  We knew this because the waves were slamming into the breakwater just a few feet from our heads.  We were up and down all night checking on things, adding lines (which required additional trips bare footed onto the guano slip n slid), and checking on each other to make sure we had not suffered a brain hemorrhage from high blood pressure. I recall one response in particular “ no but I am hopeful”.  I am sure in hind sight the survivor would have called the victim a coward for taking the easy way out. 

The second day

We already had a long day of passage planned to get from Laguna Harbor to Shell Island on the Texas / Louisiana state line and the back tracking over to Galveston made that distance longer by about 3 to 4 miles.  We got up at 6AM and were away from the breakwater by 6:30 and headed out in the dark.  We knew we would have some light by 7AM.  Either another memo had gone out to every vessel in the area to converge on these shipping intersections or the previous memo cover the previous night and the following morning.  Needless to say there were ships and barges and ferries to the port and more of the same to starboard.  The AIS collision alarm was set to go off at it shortest setting and was going off consistently when you passed a vessel in the ship channel. When the alarm sounded it was usually not a surprise and you would be looking a the offending vessel next to you.  Except that morning when it start going off repeatedly when no visible vessels were near.  That turns out to be a great way to get my undivided attention.  Start alarming the AIS that are in the threat of an eminent collision and you don’t see the boat that the AIS is taking about. You clear the alarm and it goes off again.  I am yelling at the darkness, “Where are you?” and my 1st mate thinks I am yelling at her and that I have finally lost my mind on our first day of cruising.  Living the dream.
Like I had said the wind had piped up pretty good so it was a choppy slog across the shipping intersections and into the ICW where we encountered ALOT of barge traffic.  As the sun rose and we had some daylight the winds were favorable for sailing.  We rolled out the genoa and motor sailed the rest of the day.  We really push Kooky Dance and she maintain an average speed of around 8 knots.   We were passing barge traffic regularly.  If you have done this you can relate to how much fun it is to do under sail in very strong windy conditions.  As the heavy barges push thru the narrow channels they create these slip streams along there sides.  The water rushes by them faster than the speed they are traveling.  When you are passing them this slip stream slows you down so passing them takes forever and your room to maneuver is limited. And if there is oncoming traffic you immediately understand that a 53 year old man can want to crap his pants because you know you are going to cause the horrible death of your crew and your boat on your fist day out cruising.

We went thru High Island, Taylor Outfall Bayou, Port Arthur and finally arrived a Shell Island as the sun set.  I was sure the engine alternator was acting up so I was pouring through the manuals and Tamera made a nice spaghetti dinner.  It was a pretty nice anchorage but to be honest the previous restless night at the guano slip-n-slide and the white knuckled hard driving of the boat all day, meant our appreciation of that first anchorage when something like this. “Oh yeah nice, I going to bed.” This was our second day of cruising.

The third day

Throughout the night Tamera and I would arise and check the anchor, I would check the batteries and both of us would try to relax.  We arose early and got underway a little before 6:30AM and headed for the Ellender bridge.  We had another long day of sailing and motoring to reach our next anchorage at the Mermentau River.  According to the cruisers guide the Ellender bridge operator requires a 4 hour notice and a box of chocolates in order to get the bridge to open.  Ok I made up the part about the chocolates but really -  a 4 hour notice.  There were also instructions to call the Bayou Black pontoon bridge if you could not reach them by phone.  With only 1 bar showing Tamera was able to call them and they told her call again when she got closer.  So Tamera tried to call again when we were closer (no bars) and I also tried to call the pontoon bridge on the radio but got nothing.  So then I just tried to call the Ellender bridge on VHF channel 14 and surprise surprise it worked. They opened up and we went through.  Much easier then the cruising guide lead us to believe.  We went thru the Calcasieu locks (Tamera’s first) and a couple of pontoon bridges.  We arrived at the Mermentau River anchorage a little after 4PM and I made a refreshing adult beverage for the two of us. Because we had not eaten in a while we got tipsy from one drink and recounted the previous two days events and laughed our butts off.  We laughed about the terror and the misery and how it was going to be a great story.  We had a good night and slept well.  I checked the batteries throughout the night and came to the conclusion that nothing was wrong except my understanding of how all the charging systems would work together.  With the wind and sun and engine all charging the batteries they get charge pretty quickly and go into an float charge mode after a couple of hours.  The batteries hold plenty of charge. There was a lot less to worry about and this was our third day of cruising.

The fourth day

Again we arose early and headed to our next destination at Delcambre LA at the marina.  It was a pretty day and we were a lot more relaxed and confident.  We made to the Delcambre marina but found out the water was too shallow however the dock master found us some alternate dockage.  We will meet with some friends in the area and rest up a couple of days here.  Top off the water tanks, take showers, wash the boat, maybe some laundry.
 
It is our fourth day of cruising and things are looking better and I think slowing down a little is exactly what the Doctor ordered.
We still have a long way to go to the Bahamas and I am sure plenty of stories to come.