Pensasola to Home

Pensacola to Home Jan 20 - 30

Fairhope AL

We had a delightful cruise to Fairhope. It's a long day and we selected a marina that has a full service repair yard. Our Genset needed fixing.

We also wanted to meet George and Jean Douglas. They were docked in Fairhope.

They had expressed an interest in seeing our boat. They had a contract on their boat and would be needing a smaller replacement. We got a message to call them as soon as we returned from our provisioning trip.

They invited us to dinner on their 85 foot Sternwheeler Riverboat the Jean Mary .We also got the tour. It's a magnificent reproduction of a 19th century steamboat. It originally had a steam engine, but it was repowered with a diesel engine. The Diesel drives a hydraulic pump which in turn drives the paddlewheel. Underway she is driven the same as a any other paddlewheel boat.

Not long after they bought the boat, it sank in the Ohio river. The boat was floated and then completely rebuilt. The second time was better than the first. The Douglases shopped for period antiques and building materials to be used in the rebuild. It's Magnificent! Even has a calliope on the top deck.

They came to visit us the next day to see our boat. George is six feet seven inches tall. When he came aboard his head scraped the ceiling in the master stateroom and the salon. Our boat just would not do.

Next on our agenda was the Genset repair. The mechanic opened the sea water pump, and the impeller and its plate were taken to the shop. The mechanic did not like the "set" of the impeller blades. One appeared to be permanently bent. He explained that the rubber can loose its ability to spring back tight. He recommended a new impeller. The plate showed an irregular wear pattern so he polished it smooth. "The smooth surface, and the lively new impeller should give good enough suction for the pump to work," he said. He was right on.

After two days in port, it was time to leave. We wanted to head on home. There was an ominous weather system approaching. We did not want to be crossing Mobile Bay and the Mississippi Sound with a Blue Norther.

The Corps of Engineers had a dredge operating in the Marina Harbor.

It was parked right behind our boat. The long pipe carrying the dredged material to the bay snaked out of the marina blocking entrance and exit.

"This Port is closed to all traffic until we are finished dredging." proclaimed the project boss.

"Come on, cut us some slack," I pleaded, "I can make it out of the marina if you float your pipe over to the south side of the channel."

He refused, so I called his boss at Corps Headquarters. No Luck, he was out of town till the next week.

I tried the local chief of Operations. No Luck, he was in a meeting.

At each call I explained my situation to the person answering the phone. Somehow that worked because the word got back to the project boss that I was looking for help in higher places.

I was hanging around on the end of the finger pier, watching the dredge, and gazing at the pipeline when the project boss came by in a work boat. "I'm sorry I can't let you out, but if I made an exception for you, all those sailboats on the south side would want to get out too!" he explained. "There were several requests that I had to turn down. We should be finished tomorrow morning."

"Thanks for coming by, your explanation makes me feel better." While I could squeeze out on the north side, I could see there was no way the sailboats on the south could be freed.

"What the heck," I said to Marion, "We are on vacation, aren't we?"

That afternoon we looked at sailboats. And later Marion shopped the bulletin board at the marina. She found a Party Sized Magma Charcoal Grill offered by a Great Loop Cruiser that didn't need it anymore. They also had a small blender that they had not used at all. Both treasures were purchased at rock bottom flea market prices.

That evening we borrowed the marina car and dined at Gambino's. We could see the giant plates of food being served before we placed our order. We spit the Calamari appetizer, the Taste of Italy pasta special, and a carafe of house Chianti, all followed by Tira ma Su . Rating ****$$. You Must do Gambino's when you are in Fairhope.

Gulfport

True to his word the Dredge operation was over by 9 AM and the work boats unhitched the pipeline segment from the dredge and towed it out into the bay. As soon as we saw it clear the harbor jetties the project manager announced the port was open. We were outta there!

We usually run 8.5 kts, but this day with a late start and 70 miles to go I pushed the speed up to 9.5 kts. The economy falls of a bit, but it is not like getting up on plane. That's when you leave a trail of dollar bills floating in your wake spaced at half mile intervals.

At first we were up against a 2 knot current... so we were only doing 7.5 kts. Later in the sound we had help from a one knot current and made over 10 kts. It was sunset when we arrived.

I offered to cook steaks on our newly acquired Charcoal grill. There were two NY Strip steaks in the freezer left over from our provisioning at Indian Rocks. These were $4.95 per pound specials from Albertsons. I flavored them up with the spices at hand and let them thaw out well. Marion took two bites and after the second she left the table and went topside. When she came back she said, "I felt like I was choking and needed to go topside for air."

She could not finish dinner. She could not swallow. She tried several times to cough it up but nothing worked. We went to bed and, as usual, I fell sound asleep. At 4 AM I awoke to the sound of Marion's distress. "I can't clear my throat and I keep trying to swallow... but nothing works."

"I'm getting dressed and we are going to the hospital." I said.

Bert Jones Marina has 24 hour security so I hailed the night duty officer on the VHF. I requested a taxi and he had one on the way in short order. The Emergency room procedure is to use drugs to relax the throat muscles. Then the patient is given a glass of water and instructed to gulp it down. This was repeated three times over the course of three hours. Finally around 8 AM they gave up and called in a Gastroenterologist. Marion was heavily sedated and the doctor went down her throat with an orthoroscope and found the blockage where the esophagus joins the stomach.

It was a life threatening event caused by a tough piece of steak. The doctor recommended a soft diet for the next few days and a checkup when we got back to Texas. That evening Jay Green drove over to visit us from New Orleans. We had seafood dinners at the Whitecap Restaurant, Marion had angel hair pasta... it went down easy.

Lafitte

We had lost another day, but fortunately the Ominous Canadian front we were worried about, was stalled a few hundred miles north of us. We set out at 7:30 in a soupy fog. The objective was to get past New Orleans to BoomTown Casino.

The fog cleared in an hour and the day was sunny and cool. We made excellent time and arrived at Industrial Lock around noon. When we contacted the Lock master he informed us that it would be an hour wait. Ahead was a tow with Hazardous materials and we could not be in the lock with the barge.

WHUMP. We hit something in mid channel. It was below the surface. You never know about these things. Fortunately we were only going 2 or 3 kts. The hull is quite stout but the propellers are vulnerable.

We spent the next hour drifting in circles. Marion made Bloody Marries and we had crackers and cheese.
The tow ahead took forever getting into the lock. The door took forever to close. The water went up quickly enough, but the tow took another eternity getting out of the lock. We were next.

The lock master passed us through in less than 20 minutes start to finish.

Once through the lock we checked in with Gretna Traffic control. They keep you appraised of the boats around the bend that you cannot see.

We were treated to a close up pass of the Nachez Riverboat. She is so big that we had to get out in front to fit her in the picture.

Our next stop is the Algiers Lock. Mile zero on the GIWW (Gulf Intracostal Waterway West).

Again we had to wait for the lock. This time we made donut hole patterns in the Mississippi.

The tow ahead of us was pushing a spud barge. (No it is not full of .potatoes) A spud barge is a floating work platform held in place with two or more spuds that are driven into the bottom. A spud is a digging tool. We were allowed into the lock with the spud barge tow.

BoomTown Casino is on a riverboat permanently moored on the GIG near mile 4. It was nearing sunset as we got there. We decided to press on and spend the night at Lafitte. It's another 10 miles down the ICW. After about five miles it was DARK. I don't want to travel the ICW after dark again. I used the spotlight to see the banks and bends... not to easy to operate. We passed a tow near a bridge. I was on the wrong VHF channel so I did not get to speak with the tow. I'm sure he was upset with me. We did get tied up to the dock at Fleming Canal Store without trouble. No electric or water but a safe and secure place for the night.

We did 74 miles and had to wait for two locks. It was an 11 hour day.

Morgan City

The next day was a piece of cake. Only 68 miles and only one lock. We arrived at Bayou Boef Lock and there was no wait. We checked in with Berwick Traffic, and they passed us right on to our dock on the river front. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny. The front that had us worried, stayed north and did not threaten again.

We had so much time on our hands that we walked into the city about a mile and bought a full cart of groceries. Back on the boat before sunset we had the groceries put away in time to catch the lines of S/V Dulcinea from Kemah TX. Pat and Mike Davis were on their way to Florida and the Bahamas. We had happy hour that evening with them and shared stories of places visited.

That night I hit the charts to see if we could make it home in three days. We would need a place about half way to Port Arthur. That place ended up being:

Florence Canal

Fog greeted us the next morning . You could see about a quarter of a mile but not across the river. Berwick Traffic cleared us through the Railroad Bridge and said there was nothing more to worry about.
The fog lifted after about an hour. The rest of the day as sunny and nice.

We overtook six tows going West and passed at least a dozen headed East.

As we approached Intracoastal City we heard the tow boats discussing the closure of the Leeland Bowman Lock. It would be shut down until the next morning.

I asked the towboat captain if there was an alternate route. He said there was a way of going south by Schooner Bayou.

At Shell Morgan, where we planned to take on fuel, they would surely know.

We fueled up for .71 per gal. I asked the dock hand about the alternate route. He started to tell me, so I asked him to come topside and show me on my charts.

He pointed out all of the turns and where the shallow spots might be. The route is about 8 miles out of the way, but that was fine since we saved a whole day.

The bayou reminded us of Double Bayou in Texas. Winding stream with wilderness on both sides.

Once back in the ICW we started looking for a place to anchor for the night. Again I called my friendly towboat captain and asked for a recommendation. After asking our current location he said, "You can problee make Florence Canal fore dark... Down past dem high wires... Dee canal be on dee south side.. Good water and nobody bother you."

I thanked him and checked the chart. It is at mile 183 and about a hour away.

Meanwhile, we just sit back and have a cocktail and hors de'overs.

Enjoy the Sunset on the Marshland.

Darkness falls as we reach Florence Canal. A crew boat in the canal asks what we are doing.

"Just looking for a place to tie up," I answer.

"You be betta on dee other side... Dares a piling to tie off by dee road." he called back, "Y'all have a good night and be safe."

Again we were thankful for the local help. We tied bow and aft mid cleat to the piling and let the bow nose onto the soft grassy bank. In this last fifteen minutes the fog rolled in and blanketed us for the night.

Port Arthur TX

The sun did not rise the next morning ... it just illuminated the very dense fog.

A crew boat passed by us very slowly while we were still tied up in the canal. It crossed on over the ICW heading to the oil fields down the canal .

It was time for us to get moving. It is 82 miles to Ester's Restaurant under the Rainbow bridge in Port Arthur.

Visibility is less than an eighth of a mile... we announce our position and our intention to enter the ICW. We are looking for any concerned traffic. There is no answer so we start out slowly. The Capn (that's the name of our navigation software) shows our position accurately. We can see the right bank, but not the left bank. The ICW is straight as an arrow for the next mile or so.

After a while we establish contact with a tow. The tow is parked on the south bank, around the bend, about a mile away. He reports that none of the tows are moving in this fog.

Visibility is still poor. We can only see the right bank which we are following closely. We cut speed to less than 3 knots as we approach the bend. I contact the tow and report our position.

He replies, "I got you on my radar, you are about a quarter of a mile from my front barge."

In a few more seconds Marion calls out, "There he is off the port bow."

"I can't see him," I reply.

"You are OK, but he's right there."

Finally, I picked him out of the fog. It was un-nerving that she could see the tow, but I could not. We were in no danger. He was on one bank, and we were hugging the other. We passed with more than fifty feet between us.

Our next tow encounter was at the intersection of the Mermentau River and the ICW. A tow was approaching from the West when I made VHF contact.

He offered to hang back on the West side of the intersection until we made it through. At the intersection the long straight bank disappears. For the next 3/4 miles you pick your way from marker to marker. In the fog you could not see from one marker to the next. We relied on The Capn to lead us.

When we made it across the intersection, the tow was there to greet us. "You are getting close to that North bank," he reported. We were on his radar.

"Thanks," I replied, "making my turn right now."

"Y'all have a safe trip now." he came back, "And get that radar fixed," he chided.

"You have a nice one too," I replied. "Did you know the Bowman lock was closed till five today?"

"I heard that, but I don't go that far. I'll be running down Schooner Bayou with this single."

Just past Bayou Lacassine, Mile 205, the fog lifted. We had clear and sunny skies the rest of the journey.

About three miles away from the Calcasieu River Lock I called to ask about the wait at the lock.

The lock master came back, "We will be closing the lock from 1 PM to 5 PM today for repairs."

I'm over twenty five minutes away and the time is 12:45.

"Will you hold for me if I can make it by 1?" I pleaded.

"Check in at 1 and we will see what we can do." was his not too reassuring response.

If we did not make the lock, we would never get to Port Arthur. It was time to make those Caterpillars run fast. I pressed the throttles to the wall and was quickly on plane.... I backed down to 2500 RPM and the boat stayed on plane at 15.5 Kts. We roared along for fifteen minutes, and made the bend before Black Bayou bridge at 1PM.

I contacted the lock master again. "This is Remedy, we are in sight of the bridge and your lock, will you hold for us?"

"Sure thing, Remedy," he answered, "Make your way through the bridge, and wait in the pond till you are called. There is a long tow of dredge pipe coming East. You can pass after they clear."

It was another case of 'Hurry up and Wait' but we were assured of making it to Port Arthur.

Again it was sunset when we got tied up at Ester's Restaurant. I celebrated the return to Texas with the best Fried Shrimp known to man. Marion was disappointed with the Crab Au Gratin. Rating ****$$$

Seabrook TX

Again it was very foggy as we left the dock. The trip today would be 86 miles and take us all the way home.

Very few tows were moving in the fog. We passed under the Rainbow Bridge under the watchful Radar Eyes of a tow following us. At the intersection with the ICW we could not see either bank, but The Capn was showing us mid channel. The tow behind us headed on East. We turned to go West. In our parting conversation he said, "You better take a right... you are headed for shallow water dead ahead."

I was in the process of turning, but thanked him anyway.

After a few miles the fog began to clear. We were passing along the Port Arthur Levee and from our height could see over the levee into the city. I noticed when I looked at The Capn display that our position was plotting very close to the shoreline. We were actually about 100 yards off. Something was wrong with the charts. Maybe that's why I turned so late. Maybe I would have hit the island had he not warned me.

There were other things to do so I let these thoughts pass.

The ICW from Port Arthur to High Island is one long straight stretch after another. The waterway is 100 yards wide, so when you are traveling down the center, you are about 150 feet from each shore. So here I was driving right down the middle, and The Capn was showing me grazing the North Bank. With nothing better to do, I called Kevin in the technical support department and reported my finding. There appeared to be a consistent error of about 150 feet in the plot of position. He gave me several tests to perform, one which required precise reading of the Lat Long coordinates from a paper chart. I later wrote with all my findings but never got a reply.

Our final leg took us up Galveston Bay to home. The Seas were choppy and on the starboard quarter.
After 318 days and 3356 miles Remedy was back in Texas. We had made the Indian Rocks passage to Seabrook in fifteen days and had great weather for all but two.

The weather next week was awful all along the Gulf Coast. We had been most fortunate... we had found a two week weather window for our return home.