Ed Herndon, Remedy

Today is the start of our new life aboard Remedy. We moved out of our Seagate Townhouse this morning.  Our new tenants are in the process of moving in. As I write we are underway in the Houston ship Channel. I have moved the laptop to the flying bridge. Marion is on the helm and I have improvised a tent over the laptop so I can see the display.

We are on our way to Galveston for a weekend of partying at the Harbor House marina and along the Strand. I will post these reports to the Internet as we go.

Galveston

We got into Galveston around 4 PM and were met by Ed and Dorothy Hearon. In the process of tying up the Pelican Sculpture was knocked to the floor and suffered a broken beak. It must be repaired with super glue in the morning.
 

The Happy Hour started  at six on Shorty VI and is going on as we write this brief note at 8 PM. We have Taliesen, Shorty VI, AnnTicipation, Utopia, Remedy and New TMCA members, Dave and Rosie Cade on Valley Girl in port.  It's time for Pizza and I get to run the Convection Oven...  Signing off for now.

BTW if you can make it, come on down to Harbor House tomorrow for the Party.. anytime after 5 PM...
tell them Ed sent you.

The pizza was great ,and after dinner I set about trying to adjust the Satellite TV. Sam Whatley, a friendly guy from over by Port  Arthur, got to chatting with me as I worked. He has a  Present 41 and is busy working on the exhaust system. I met his wife Tammy also. We swapped Email Addresses and promised to check in with them on our trip East this fall. She is in Information Technology so we could relate on that level right away.

10 PM and time for bed....

Saturday Morning, the ladies went for a walk (that's spelled s h o p p i n g) and I chose to ride my bike to the end of the Seawall and out East Beach road till the pavement ends. It was an hour and a half round trip.

We are expecting two more boats to arrive, Pound Sterling and Dreamboat. We have measured the remaining space in the marina and it looks like a very tight fit for Dreamboat, because they will be the last to arrive. I hope we can get a photo of all the boats PACKED into this small marina.

The cocktail hour Saturday evening was on Taliesen. Then we all went to dinner at Fisherman's Wharf. Dinner took so long there was little time for the Art Walk... that's an evening each year that the galleries stay open and provide wine and cheese to the visitors. Some have the artists present to personally sell their works. Marion and I went to the Texas Seaport Museum. The nautical photography of Jeff DeBevec was featured at the museum. He has some spectacular sailboat racing scenes taken on Galveston Bay. Sunfish and J-22 National Championships... and a great picture of the Elissa under full sail. Also the museum features the work of Jim Cruz, he is the resident photographer for the Elissa. His photography always features seamen at work ... a wonderful shot taken from the bowsprit of a fore deck hand hanking on the jib... another with four sailors aloft furling one of the squared rigged topsails.

I also discovered a 1851 map of Galveston Bay. It showed a cluster of islands named Redfish Islands where in more recent times Redfish Island was located. About ten years ago the island finally succumbed to the pounding wakes of Houston Ship Channel traffic.  It is now more properly called Redfish Reef and it is a real hazard to navigation.

Sunday Morning Bicycle trip

We are short on select critical provisions... like cat food and dishwashing liquid.. so I decide to combine shopping with morning exercise. At 8 AM I set out on my bike for the Seawall.  On 25th Street I stopped at Arlan's market.  They had only two somewhat dented cans of Friskies Sliced Turkey dinner, (that's our cats favorite).  I left without purchasing, and headed to the Seawall; I remember a Kroger there.

At 8:30 there are only a few joggers and an occasional bike on the Seawall.  It's not real hot yet, and I am headed West, sun behind. The plan is to go to the end of the wall. Along the way I spot Krogers around 40th Street. Further down at 65th there is a Wall Mart Superstore. I made note of it for shopping on my way back.

Around 80th my buns are getting sore from the hard seat and I can't even see the end of the Seawall.

At 95th there is a fishing pier. "That's a worthy objective" I say to myself. I believe Galveston is laid out 10 streets to a mile, so I calculate (95th-25th)/10 = 7 miles along the Seawall.  Add another mile for Harbor House to the Seawall gives 8 miles one way. I decide to turn and start back.

At Wall Mart I found a good price on Friskies; so I buy a case. I also select two tubes of Crest, a pound of salted-in-the-shell peanuts, and a big Ivory liquid.

Over the PA system they announce a 50 cent Breakfast Burrito special, so I order two burritos with an OJ and dine in Wall Mart.

It took some clever packing to get the groceries to balance on the luggage rack.  That accomplished I put the bike in High Gear and headed back. It was 9:30 and I was running late.

Made the last 5 miles back in 30 minutes.

Big Black Cloud over La Port

Around 11 AM the TMCA fleet started back to Clear Lake. The wind was very light to calm and the seas were flat for the trip up the HSC to Seabrook.

Remedy was the lead boat, having passed both Taliesen and Dreamboat along the way. As we arrived at Seabrook marker #2 we could see a large black cloud in the distance over La Port. It appeared to be moving our way. By the time we reached the bridge we could see that it was a strong thunderstorm. It appeared to be over Bayport. With luck we might be able to get docked before it hit.

We got as far as the Lakewood fuel dock when the wind started picking up to 20 kts.

"Marion," I said, "we can't dock in this... I'm heading for the lake. Let's get the enclosures shut."

No sooner said, than the rain and winds hit. We were broadside and turning at the fuel dock. Getting out into the lake was a bit hairy... Steering the channel meant presenting the side to the wind for a period. That was uncomfortable. Winds were reported at 52Kts by Dennis and Beth on Utopia.

Once in the lake we were able to steer straight into the wind with engines at idle. We could pretty much stand still.  By occasionally using the Port engine in reverse we could keep pointed into the wind as it clocked from the North East counterclockwise to the South West. After the first few minutes, the terror wore off. It was clear that we, and the boat were in no danger.

The rest of the TMCA fleet were in the vicinity of Seabrook Marker #2 when they were hit. All fared well choosing to go back out into the Bay, away from shallow water, other boats and obstructions.

Valley Girl was close by a trimaran that capsized in the bay. Dave and Rosie Cade stayed near the boat and coordinated rescue operations with the Coast Guard and tow boats via VHF radio. Ultimately the boat was righted and crew was safely aboard.

By 5 PM the complete story of the weekend was unfolding over beers and oysters at Gillhooleys. We even heard the part about Commodore J.J. Wallace leaving his wife Claire behind on the docks at Harbor House.

Labor Day Weekend 99

Friday Wayne and Helen Christopher hosted a dock party at their home.  What better way to arrive than by boat; Granola II  loaded up the TMCA crowd from Blue Dolphin Marina. At the Clear Lake Shores canal Hank backed Granola II all the way from Clear Creek to the Christopher's dock. It was a Grand entry to a grand dock party.  Two Grills were busy and the temperature dropped into the low 80's. It was the first really pleasant evening in weeks.  The evening ended with a short cruise out to the bay then back to Blue Dolphin.

Saturday the trip to Moody Gardens was marked with thunderstorms all around Galveston bay. None of the TMCA boats reported more than a drop or two of rain from the fringes of the storms that passed.
 

We did a good job of filling the new Marina.  Shorty VI, Granola II, Remedy, Native Texan, Pound Sterling, Sea Cruise, Just for Play, Gotcha Covered, Hours Alone, Joint Venture, Alembic, Sol y Sombra, Low Flyer and ESea Ryder were counted at the dock.  Crews from MAC and AnnTicipation were also in this group.  Anchored out or at the Landings were Magic Reunion, St Somewhere and Flying Dolphin.

We approached Moody Gardens just as a BIG BLACK Cloud was heading our way. The TMCA crowd was alerted and ready to take our lines.  I was in a bit of a hurry to get safely tied up before the winds and rain struck us.  Speed was reduced from 8 kts to about 6 kts but that was not enough to eliminate our wake.  We passed a raft of four power boats and rocked them mightily on our way to the docking. As we approached the dock I was called on VHF by the power boat raft.  They were justifiably angry, and I had been completely unaware of the size of my wake.

It took two attempts to get  Remedy parked on 38 feet of available dock space. The winds were shoving me off and the docking crew decided to haul me in with lines perpendicular to the docks.  There was no way to drive onto a spring line aft and force the stern into the dock. The dockside crew just muscled us in.

Shortly after we were safely docked, two gentlemen from the raft of boats came via dinghy and registered their complaints face to face. It was the right thing to do. I got to apologize properly. They got their point made. I learned there was no physical injury to crew or boats (two plates fell and broke). They were, I believe, satisfied that I intended no harm and was unaware of the size of my wake. We parted with a handshake, when my sincere contrition was apparent.

Let the Party Begin

There was time from docking the boat until Party Time to get the Satellite TV antenna lined up and working, fill the depleted water tanks, shower and shave, and hook up the shore water to the aft AC unit. It had failed shortly after Tom and Sally arrived. Marion had threatened to check into the hotel, if the AC was not working. The crowd congregated along the docks in the shade of Shorty VI and Remedy for the Great Hors d'Overs Munch out.

Sue Knippa got a great volume deal on Pizza delivered to the boats. These came promptly at the end of the cocktail hour. It had been a very busy day and all turned in shortly after dark.

Sunday morning Dorothy and Marion were up early and did eight laps around the Moody Garden's track. I cleaned out the aft AC water strainer, and recruited shore side assistance to turn the boat around. This would allow the sailboat to be dropped into the water using the crane.

Tom took the Sunfish out, and while I was still sweaty, I took my bike on an eight mile ride to end of sea wall. This was done to complete the Seawall project I started the previous week. There is no beach from around 64th street to the western end, just granite blocks. There were fishermen on the rocks but none seemed to be celebrating.

When I returned Sally and Tom served Bagels and Lox with Cream Cheese, Capers and Chopped Onion for brunch. Then Sally and Marion took off in the Curran's car and I went sailing on the Sunfish. By noon I was plumb tuckered out, and had to take a nap.
 

Sue Knippa's Pool party started on time and filled one end of the hotel pool.  It was a such a hit that she left the party, went to the registration desk, and booked the Entire Marina for Easter, Memorial day and Labor day weekends in the Year 2000.  Here's what we looked like in the pool.

Sunday evening 24 of us went to Yamato Japanese Steak House. That's always a delight... the grill cooks are very entertaining and the food is consistently well prepared.  Afterwards Hank Knippa lead one crowd to get Ice Cream, our smaller group had Mudslide's on the Remedy aft deck.  We did our best to doctor up the Ice Box Mudslides but everyone agreed that the TGI Friday Mudslides were the best.

Monday, Labor day, was hot with calm winds... good for trawlers, no so good for sailing. The boats started pulling out at 8:30 and all were away by 11:00. The cruise back was quite pleasant and a group of ten made it to Gillhooleys for grilled oysters and burgers. The weekend was proclaimed a rousing success.
 
 
 

Bayland Cruise Sept 10 Philip Kropf did a great job of Cruise Leading and wrote a great Cruise Report. Visit his report and return here for more. Here's Remedy at Bayland.