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On Sunday afternoon, April 30th, Nick, Deanna, Dakota, and
friend Jan Buskop depart Corpus Christi for Port Aransas.
We decide to get an early start from Port Aransas the next
morning for the long trip to Florida. Unfortunately, the prevailing
wind and waves will be against us if we head straight to Florida.
Not only will this be extremely uncomfortable for the short-handed
crew and punishing for the boat, but we do not carry enough
diesel to motor over 800 miles straight across the Gulf. Also,
since so much work has been done to the boat and we haven't
had time for a shake-down cruise, we aren't comfortable taking
the boat so far offshore right off the bat. We decide to sail
offshore to Sabine Pass and then enter the Gulf Intracoastal
Waterway (GIWW). We'll traverse Louisiana by motoring in the
GIWW during the day and stopping each night until we pass
New Orleans and enter the Mississippi Sound. From there, weather
and wind direction will determine if we continue in the GIWW
or head offshore again.
Here's a rough drawing of our actual course.
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Monday, May 1
Depart Port Aransas
We depart Port Aransas at 7:45 A.M. The 5-foot seas are confused
with waves coming from different directions. Deanna is soon
seasick and hanging over the rail, followed not long after
by Jan. Nick holds on to his cookies, but is feeling green
around the gills too. We enter the Freeport Fairway and hug
the port side to avoid oil wells and shipping traffic. During
Nick's watch, he awakens Deanna to help decipher lights coming
our way in the fairway. After getting closer, we realize it
is a large shrimp boat with bright deck lights ablaze. The
boat resembles an enormous glowing spider with emblazoned
tentacles dangling in the darkness. The boat finally turns
away much to our relief.
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Leaving Port Aransas behind
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First sunset off Texas coast
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Deanna and Dakota offshore
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Tuesday, May 2
Arrive Sabine Pass, Taylor Outfall Canal
The crew's tummies are feeling a little better, but everyone
is exhausted from lack of sleep. The seas have a more consistent
wave pattern and the day is beautiful. We enter Sabine Pass
and anchor in the Taylor Outfall Canal at 7:15 P.M. From the
shore, a family of javelinas watch our approach with curiosity,
while an alligator glides along the bank wondering how Cocker
Spaniel might taste for dinner. Mosquitos chase us inside
at sunset. Everyone sleeps well.
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Oil well near Galveston
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Deanna and Jan, finally eating again
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Anchored in the peaceful Taylor Outfall Canal
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Wednesday, May 3
Sabine Pass to Choupique Bayou
53 statute miles
We depart Taylor Outfall Canal at 7:45 A.M. and begin the
trek through Louisiana in the GIWW. Having given the required
four hours notice, we arrive at the Ellender Bridge and pass
through without a wait. Since there isn't enough time to make
the next anchorage before sunset, we anchor in the Choupique
Bayou just past the bridge. The bayou is shallow, but we find
9-10 feet of water and set the hook by 2:15 P.M. Nick changes
the fuel filter and then it's time for an early happy hour.
We watch "Get Shorty" on DVD.
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Approaching the Ellender Bridge
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The bridge begins to open
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Anchored in Choupique Bayou, Ellender Bridge
in background
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Thursday, May 4
Choupique Bayou to Intracoastal City
82 statute miles
With 82 miles and two locks to get through, we arise at 6:15
A.M. for an early start. Jan notices that the boat isn't swaying
on the anchor and quickly confirms his suspicion: we're hard
aground! Overnight the tide has gone out and the boat has
swung around into a shallow area. Small islands of mud appear
just off our stern. We raise the main, backwind the jib, rev
up the motor, and wiggle our way out of the muck. We're all
amazed that we're free and not spending the day in a mud puddle.
We motor through the Calcasieu Lock (our first lock) with
no trouble. In the afternoon, tows pushing barges are thick
as fleas! At one point, we have to turn around and then double-back
to avoid two tows coming at us side-by-side. We arrive at
the Leland-Bowman Lock at 5:30 P.M. and wait an hour to get
through. At 7:00 P.M., we're tied to a steel bulkhead at the
Shell Morgan dock in Intracoastal City. Tough day!
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Entering Calcasieu Lock
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Two approaching tows, one passing the other!
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Tows behind us
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Leland-Bowman Lock
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Friday, May 5
Intracoastal City to Morgan City
65 statute miles
After refueling and topping off our water (our first opportunity
since leaving Port Aransas), we depart Shell Morgan at 8:35
A.M. By early afternoon, the Coast Guard is warning of severe
thunderstorms with damaging hail and winds. We encounter some
rain and lightning is nearby, but we miss the worst of it.
The barge traffic is horrible and we struggle against the
current to pass the slower tows. We arrive in Morgan City
at 6:00 P.M. and tie to the city pier. Tired and hungry, we
walk to Rita Mae's Kitchen for dinner. The food is good, but
the service is slow. We wait 40 minutes for our food and even
longer for our drinks.
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Saturday, May 6
Morgan City to Houma
37 statute miles
With more severe thunderstorms in the forecast, we decide
to make the short trip to Houma and take cover for the afternoon.
We depart at 8:45 A.M. and are greeted at the city dock by
Bill Ellender at 1:20 P.M. The GIWW between Morgan City and
Houma is the prettiest part yet. We see at least a dozen bald
eagles perched among the tree tops outside Morgan City. The
barge traffic is slower today. Although there are severe storms
across south Louisiana, nothing develops in Houma. Dinner
is at Cafe Milano--yum!
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Passing through a bascule bridge
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Side-tied to the city dock in Houma, between
the twin bridges
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Sunday, May 7
Houma to Lafitte
43 statute miles (487 nautical miles total)
After performing some engine maintenance, we depart at 10:00
A.M. and arrive at the Fleming Canal Store in Lafitte at 3:10
P.M. in the rain. We have a steak dinner to celebrate Nick's
birthday, which is tomorrow. Another buggy location.
Spent the night at the gas dock at Fleming
Canal Store
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Monday, May 8, Nick's birthday
New Orleans
Today is Nick's birthday and we have an aggressive schedule
to make it though New Orleans. A swarm of black gnats have
covered the boat overnight. Louisiana is one buggy state.
We try to wash them off, refuel, and top off water. We pull
away from the dock at 7:30 A.M. and run aground. A little
reverse, and we're underway. Our first bridge doesn't open
until 9:00 A.M, and then we wait three hours outside the Algier's
Lock tied to pilings. By 1:15 P.M. we're out of the lock and
in the Mighty Mississippi River. As we enter the river against
the current, we dodge two ships and the ferry landing. We
arrive at the Industrial Canal Lock at 2:15 P.M. and wait.
At 3:30 P.M. we're just minutes from exiting the lock when
we see the two bridges on the other side close. Our hearts
sink because these bridges are under a federal curfew and
will not open again until 6:45 P.M. Until then, we are trapped
between the lock and the first bridge. By the time the bridges
open, we won't have enough daylight to make our next anchorage.
The line tender on the lock suggests we tie up to some pilings
outside the lock and wait it out. Feeling discouraged, we
celebrate Nick's birthday while barge traffic passes just
a hundred feet away all night long.
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First bridge of the day in Belle Chase
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Tow pushing a floating casino
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Lots of blue tarps in New Orleans
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Waiting our turn outside the Algiers Lock
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Nick adjusts lines in the Algiers lock
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Jan relaxes while ship passes us in the Mississippi
River
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Claiborne Bridge closed just before we exited
the Industrial Canal Lock, trapping us for the night
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Nick blows out his birthday candle
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Tuesday, May 9
New Orleans to Mississippi Sound
We arise at 5:20 A.M. to ensure we get past the two evil
bridges before their 6:00 A.M. curfew. Ready to go, we call
the bridge tender on the radio to request an opening. She
doesn't answer our repeated calls. We desperately ask the
lock master to call the bridge, and we finally escape from
New Orleans. We're in the choppy Mississippi Sound by 9:30
A.M. feeling like we're home in Corpus Christi Bay.
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Last opening bridge leaving New Orleans.
We're out!
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Dakota trying to get his sea legs offshore
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Tuesday, May 9, through Friday, May 12
Gulf of Mexico to Key West
We're headed out in the Gulf by 6:00 P.M. on Tuesday. The
wind and waves are on the nose for a rhumb line to Key West,
so we decide to take a more easterly course and hope that
a wind shift to the north the next day will let us turn south.
Even so, the waves toss the boat back and forth with no regard
for our comfort. Nick claims to have calluses on his feet
from bracing himself against the hull while trying to sleep.
We agree to the following watch schedule for A.M. and P.M.:
Nick 12-4, Deanna 4-8, Jan 8-12.
Four days in the Gulf of Mexico seem like a blur. The first
night we encounter numerous oil wells along the shelf where
the deep water begins. At one point, I can see 24 lit wells.
A small black bird flies onboard Wednesday evening and perches
on a basket inside the boat overnight. At daybreak, he flies
away. A feeling of loneliness clutches my heart as I watch
the little black speck disappear over the vast Gulf. The wind
finally shifts to the north on Friday, but we have to either
motor or motor-sail all the way to Key West. The wave action
gradually improves, but the washing-machine effect is merciless.
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Little bird spent the night onboard
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Thunderstorms ahead first night offshore
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Deanna and Dakota
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Captain Nick
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The definition of "dog-tired"
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Jan and Deanna one day out of Key West
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Saturday, May 13
Key West
1101 total nautical miles
At 7:30 A.M. on Saturday, we enter the Northwest Channel
leading to Key West. By 9:30 A.M., we dock at the pricey Galleon
Marina and celebrate with a breakfast of eggs and pancakes.
Key West is sunny and the water is emerald green. It's fabulous--just
as we remember it! That evening, Shelli Braynard, wife of
our Corpus slip neighbor Todd, meets us on Duvall street for
drinks and dinner. We stop at Captain Tony's for a photo-op
with the 90-year old legend.
Jan, Shelli, Capt. Tony, Deanna, and Nick
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Sunday, May 14
Jan departs in a flamingo-pink taxi, undoubtedly relieved
to be off of our boat and headed home. As we watch him drive
away, we realize that we are now alone in a strange town a
thousand miles from home. The journey to the Chesapeake is
only half complete, and we're on our own.
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