Past Commodore's Cruise Jan 10-11, 2004


The Weather Forecast 5 days before the Past Commodore's cruise never looks good, and this year was no different. Finally there was a modest break and we were treated to mid 60's temperatures during the day and mid 40's overnight.  The disappointment was winds out of the North East. Nevertheless, we had a fourteen boat fleet at the anchorage in Double Bayou.
Remedy was the only boat from SeaGate Marina that had ever been to Double Bayou.

On this occasion she led the small fleet of six from SeaGate.

The three sail boats left early and only used engines at the South Boater Cut. We beat into the North East wind from there up to the DB entrance channel.

We made it almost to Marker #2 when the winds dropped to only 2 kts. Just then the three powerboats from Seagate caught up with us.
Seagate fleet
Sea Cruise, My Other Joy, Gugi, Selah, Weekend@Burnies

 I announced to the Fleet, "Well it looks like time to start our engines, this wind won't carry us in."

 I tried my engine but it would not start. The Gen Set would not start either. The voltage read Off Scale High... All the starters would do is "Click, Click, Click",  no "Rhumba, Rhumba"

I announced my predicament to the fleet and asked Bill Berg to come aboard and help me check out the system. We rafted and he asked to see the battery. When I began loosening the Electrical panel he said, "No, Ed, I need to see the BIG Batteries that start your engines."

I showed him the little battery behind the panel and explained, "The BIG Batteries do the House. This little battery does all the intermittent jobs."

We removed the cover and Bill found that the connectors were loose on both terminals. This fixed the problem and the engines started immediately. It was embarrassing enough that I was not to be able to lead the fleet right in, but Bill later spread a story that "Ed was operating with two screws loose."
 
We all got tied up safely at the anchorage and then set off looking for firewood. The forest had been picked pretty clean at Halloween and the French Picnic. Johnny Mc Daniel took to lassoing dead limbs up in the trees.  Burnie Sims, not to be outdone, uprooted a sizable tree stump and dragged it out to the Bonfire location.


Fly Over
Here we are greeted by a fly over.
  This was followed by:

Cocktails in the Cow Pasture

Cocktail
 Coctails
ann
 Don and Ann
Seagate Boats

The Seagate Sailboats all in a row.
Remedy, Gugi, Selah
Marion and Roxie

After Cocktails, There was Dining aboard Boats and later, The Bonfire Ashore. Ben Reyna had his Guitar and provided non stop entertainment. We did "Guacamole All Night Long...."

Next Morning Preparations for Departure

Bradbury's
 Glascocks
Reynas
 depart
 

The Fleet under full sail Heading Home

Racing for Home


Veteran DB Participants:  Ed and Dorothy Hearon, Don and Ann Thomson,  M/V Shorty , Philip and Penelope Kropf, S/V Silhouette,  Ed and Marion Herndon,  S/V Remedy , Ben and Cathy Reyna, S/V Savanah Rayne, Frank and Sue LeGrand, S/V LeGrand Amour, Luke Sterling and Linda Fuel, S/V £ Sterling,

Double Bayou First Timers: Jay and Birgit Green S/V Gugi , Chris and Rhonda Bradbury S/V Selah,
Bernie and Sharon Sims, M/V Weekend@Bernies Bill Berg and Lizette Schindell, M/V Sea Cruise,
Johnny and Joy McDaniel, M/V My Other Joy,  Keith and Ann Bice S/V Stray Cat, David and Lorna Glascock, S/V Windswept , Ernie Rodgers,  S/V La Soliel

Thank you all for coming. I had a memorable cruise, after a memorable year.

Ed Herndon.  XXV