Adventures with Sorciere' March 19 - 22

As we set out on our second great adventure I was suffering from low expectations.  We had been to Florida. Was it going to be just the same as before? Would it be dull? I kept these thoughts to myself because Marion was on a real high...

"Finally we are under way," she proclaimed as we departed Clear Creek channel, "I've been dying to get started."

I was a bit uneasy... The radar repair had not been done, the autopilot was giving intermittent rudder response failures, and the stock market was in free fall. The best I could come up with was, "We are going to do the Florida Keys right... No hurrying..."

Steve's Landing

Our first stop was Steve's Landing, (on the ICW about ten miles east of Bolivar).  We would rendesvous with Sam and Charlotte Pakenham-Walsh. They were on their sailboat Sorciere' and would go as far as Lake Charles with us.

This was certainly a departure from our routine... While on the way the thought came.  We don't have to stop in all the same places we visited before. It could be a fresh new adventure. Certainly we were starting out visiting a new marina.

We arrived in the early afternoon, got hooked up and waited for Sam and Charlotte to arrive. The wind was 20 knots out of the North and the tide was down. Sorciere' came soon enough and managed to get stuck on the sandbar about 20 yards off Steve's Landing.  Some how we had missed it on our approach.
Charlotte dropped into reverse and gunned her way off the sandbar in less than a minute.

One of the locals came by as this was going on. "Don't dock on the ICW bulkhead," he insisted, "you will get rocked all night long in that little boat."  He then took over leading her into the harbor cut, waving his arms about, and shouting words of encouragement.

Charlotte turned into the harbor and did a 180 placing her nose into the wind. She dropped slightly off the wind and set the bow right along side the bulkhead. Sam passed me a line and she was tied securely.

"Well, how did I do?" she asked as if she didn't really know.

"Beautiful," I complimented, "and very graceful."

We discussed cruising plans for the following day over cocktails on Sorciere'.  "Tomorrow we will go to the Rainbow bridge just past Port Arthur. At 54 nautical miles that's over half the way to Lake Charles," I advised. "It's a long day so you will need to leave at first light."

Dinner was excellent at Steve's Landing. I had the Cajun Catfish... A generous fillet of Catfish fried then smothered in Crawfish Ettoufe'. Rating ***$$.  Steve's has 50 amp hookups and water for $20 a night.

Ester's Restaurant

Next morning Sorciere' left as the sun was rising.  They were off to the Rainbow Bridge.

Needing to kill some time, and get some exercise, I took a bike ride into town to buy a newspaper to support Marion's Crossword addiction. On the way I was chased by a pack of three young dogs, but with the 20 knot wind at my back and vigorous pedaling, I easily out ran them.

On the way back, however, I was pedaling into the 20 knot wind, and struggling to make 10 mph. I saw the dogs ahead cavorting in their front yard. They did not notice me.

Soon I would be abreast of a solid wood fence. The dogs would not be able to see me until I got past the fence. I made it to the fence and peddled with all my might to gain speed.

As soon as I passed the fence, the dogs exploded in hot pursuit. I peddled for all my might, but they were gaining. As the first came nipping at my leg I took deliberate aim, and kicked him on the nose. He withdrew, but his buddy came swooping in.

With my second kick at the new assailant, I lost steering and went off the shoulder of the road. I also lost speed.  I was doomed...

Then reserve adrenaline kicked in ... I steered back onto the road... Pushed on harder... The pack withdrew. I arrived at the boat panting, but safe.

"Hi, Honey," I called, "got your paper."

Seeing my distressed condition she asked, "What happened? You look awful."

I told her about the dogs chasing me and concluded, "It was just like the old days when I delivered the Houston Press... you've got to deal with the dogs when you deliver the news."

We got underway about two hours after Sorciere'.
 

It was almost six hours before we caught up with them. We passed them, and headed on to the Rainbow bridge. We were looking for Domingues Restaraunt. We found that it had closed.  On local advice we went further up the cut to Ester's Restaraunt. It's a first rate eatery. We were allowed to dock for $10 overnight... But no electric, no water.

Sam and Charlotte came in about an hour after we were settled. (They cruise at 5.5 knots; we average 8.5.) It had been an eleven hour day for them. We did happy hour before dining at Ester's. Rating ***$$$  All were sung in their bunks before 9.

Harrah's at Lake Charles

Next morning we saw Sorciere' off at 7:30 and departed around 8:00. The plan was basically to escort them for the first 12 miles until the 18 mile straightaway between the Sabine and Calcasieu Rivers. There are a couple of places where a wrong turn could cost a long delay.

When we got to the ICW  we were greeted by a 2 knot current coming down the Sabine. This considerably slowed Sorciere to 3.5 knots made good over ground. Charlotte's GPS was predicting an arrival at nightfall.

I got on the VHF to an Eastbound Tow. After the preliminaries I asked, "We are experiencing a 2 knot current against us. Will it change up ahead and help us on the long run after the Sabine?"

"You be Patient, It will help when you get past the cutoff island" he replied, "the water drains out both rivers."

We stayed within sight of Sorciere' until the straightaway. We now found the current helping to the tune of 1.5 knots. Sorciere reported 7.2 knots and an early afternoon arrival in Lake Charles.

Tired of the slow speeds I called them, "Sorciere' we are going to speed up... see you in Lake Charles."
And off we went on plane, 16.5 knots on the GPS. We had not seen those speeds since coming down the Mississippi last fall.

At around 2 PM we got a call from Sorciere on the cell phone. "We can't make it under the bridge, we will hit the spreaders," explained Charlotte.

"We will come back and see you through," I replied. The Ellender Bridge has a 50 clearance and most medium to small sized sailboats can pass without requiring an opening. "Meanwhile anchor or tie off on a parked barge and measure your mast height."

It was ten miles back to the bridge. While we went, we found out that the bridge would be opened for a  large sailboat at 5:30 PM. That would put us into Harrah's after dark.

Towboat Christy Ann had overheard our conversations. As we approached the Ellender bridge he volunteered that the height of his tallest antenna was 46 feet above the water. He was right in front of us. He cleared the bridge with at least 7 feet to spare.

He explained, "The chart has the clearance at 50 feet even though it is more like 53 at normal tides. The extra 3 feet is to handle the high tides."

As we got to theother side we found Sorciere' tied up to a coal barge. Sam was on deck running a light line up the mast with his main halyard.  He had marked the length of the line. The deck to mast top was 42 feet, add 5 feet for mast to water and add 2 feet for the antenna and you get 49 feet.

Charlotte would not believe Sorciere' would go under, because it had looked from below that it could not fit.  We discussed the matter at length they agreed to try. As we prepared to leave the coal barge their engine would not start.  And so it came to pass that we threw them a line and towed them behind us.

"Don't go fast, we could be dismasted," Sam called.

"We are doing less than a tenth of a knot," I called back.

We recruited people on the shore to reassure Sam that we would clear. Even they were ambivalent. I was confident in the measurements but played along with the mounting suspense. We cleared and headed on to Lake Charles with Sorciere in tow.

After a while Sam called on the radio. "Hear that noise in the background?" he proudly proclaimed.

I listened. It was his engine chugging back to life. "Don't turn it off," I pleaded.

"Not till we are at Harrah's" he came back.

Meanwhile we were making such good time, that we decided to continue the tow until we were within a few hundred yards of the Marina. We made it in as the sun was setting We celebrated the day with a mound of snacks and dry martinis. We then turned in for the night.

The following day we had lunch at the Buffet and supper at the very good Oriental restaraunt at Harrah's.
Both were ***$$ dining. Seem you always get great value and quantity at the casinos.

I found a video Blackjack in the Star Casino.  I like Blackjack more than the slots. It has better defined odds. I can stretch a $20 stake for an hour on Blackjack.  I will blow $20 in five minutes on the slots.
Anyway, you can tell I am not a heavy duty gambler... just looking for entertainment.
 

After two days it was time to head out.  Sorciere' was going back to Galveston; we were going on East. We gave Sorciere only a half  hour head start, because we wanted to see them again before the Ellender bridge turnoff. We caught up at Moss Lake about a mile before the turn. Sam had the mainsail up... We took several photos. "Here comes your Christmas Card picture," Marion called out to them.

We waved a fond farewell and parted at the ICW; we to the East, and they to the West.