Freeport to Hitchcock

We knew we would not have a long day today since the distance we could go was limited due to the closed waterways from the oil spill.  We slept in until about 8am and pulled off the dock around 9 or so.
We pulled off the dock in a pretty good cross wind.  I ended up rubbing the hull on the side of the rubber dock protector as we left.  I turned into the ICW and Deb came up the companion way and in a very direct voice, said "Gil, I need you down stairs now"   I had someone else take the helm and quickly went to see what the issue was.  The engine room was full of smoke.  I could tell right away it was the smell of rubber and likely a belt that was a bit loose.  I had Deb turn on the exhaust fan and took the helm again keeping a very close eye on the temperature gauge in the event the belt gave way.   I reduced throttle and radioed to the tugs approaching in both directions to let them know I was going to be pulling an about face and then heading to the South side of the channel to get back into the Marina due to a mechanical issue.  Both Tug captains were great and the one coming from the West slowed to let me pass in front of him.

I pulled right back into the slip and in the end only made it about 1/4 of a mile or so in all.  It was a loose belt, I tightened it real good, checked it all the way around for any worn spots and we were back on our way within 30 minutes.

This was a pretty uneventful part of the trip.  It was fairly short.  About the most exciting thing was to

Dodging Barges - They were stopped everywhere along the ICW

navigate the traffic of barges and tugs EVERYWHERE.  With the ICW closed down to most traffic and vessel traffic service allowing some commercial traffic through, the barges had to radio and get a "slot" to pass through.  Because of that, many were just nosed up on the bank since there was no room at the barge docks or dolphins to tie up.  Sometimes they would be on the north or south side of the channel.  It was hard to know which side of them you needed to pass on so I would first check the AIS to see if they were broadcasting their vessel name.  If they were I could radio them directly.   If they were not, I would get the binoculars and attempt to read the name on the back of the tug and then radio for them by name.  It was like running a slalom course.

We made it to Hitchcock and got tied up on Wednesday (a day later than we anticipated being all the way to Kemah).  Deb and I took a taxi from there to where my car was at our intended destination.  Our friends/crew stayed at the boat while we picked up the car.  When we got back to the boat, it was about time to get them to the airport.  We dropped them off at the the airport, with enough time for them to have dinner before their flight.

Kenny wanted to see if he could sleep in rough water - Yep!

It was great to have our friends with us on this trip and I think Kenny really had a great time, he just kind of rolled with the flow and this was something he always wanted to do, so the oil spill delays, the rough weather, the delays, none of it bothered him at all.

 We haven't spent much time with Jim and Karen in a few years since we left Lewisville so it was cool to catch up and spend a few days together again.  When we lived in Lewisville and our boat was 2 slips away from theirs, we
spent every weekend together and then got together 2-3 times during the week for dinner or a sporting event or something.  I miss that so it was great to get a little of that time back too.

Jim and Karen

When we got back to the boat, they had cleaned everything up, dishes, put away all the clothes/blankets/towels, etc.  It was a really nice surprise and allowed Deb and I to just relax that night, which was great.

I ended up working on Thursday and Friday from that Marina and we planned on sailing the rest of the way ourselves over the weekend.  On Thursday they opened up the ICW and Houston Ship Channel for recreational boaters, as long as you had a specific destination and were not just out joy riding around in the area they were cleaning up.

The last leg of that trip will be covered on the next blog post...

First 2 days of the trip from Kemah to Corpus

The trip has been really nice so far from Kemah to Corpus.  We headed out on Saturday morning from Kemah, TX on Clear Lake.  We made our way out to Galveston Bay, ran South down the Ship Channel.  We went West on the InterCoastal before going out Bolivar Point to the Gulf of Mexico.    From there we just went a few miles to Harborwalk Marina in Hitchcock, TX.

We had a real nice slip and were able to all shower and then head over to the pool for a nice refreshing Dip in the pool.  After having a few drinks in the cockpit for a sun downer with the sun setting, we all changed and went up to the restaurant at the Marina.  It was "Floyds on the Water" and the meal was really good.  The Service was even better and it is so true that a server can make the experience.  She was so attentive and even when asking for things like "where is the restroom" she would walk you there instead of just pointing and saying "that way".

We woke to a nice cool morning of low 60's and heavy overcast skies with a forecast of high winds and rain.  Early in the morning we saw some lightning off to the North, but it faded quickly.  We got under way about 10am and headed into the wind and weather.

Dark skies as we departed Harborwalk

The bimini and eisenglass worked great keeping the majority of the water out and people warm in the cockpit.  We had a nice relaxing trip for just a short 30 miles or so.  The newly installed AIS was great to provide warning and ship data for all Tugs and Barges encountered.  We could get a warning of a ship approaching even when around the corner in "the ditch".  It allowed us to see their name and call them to discuss the best approach for passing.

Loaded down for the passage

We tied up for the night in Freeport at Surfside Marina.
They have Transient slips with Power, Water and nice floating docs.  They have showers, ships store and security 24 hours a day.    We were able to top off the water tanks, took on diesel to make sure we have plenty for tomorrow and created our routes  and waypoints for tomorrows departure offshore.  We programmed it all into the Helm GPS, the IPAD and PC as backups.  

After getting the fuel and relaxing for a while, we walked over to a little place called "Cast-Aways" for dinner.  It was a dark little bar and we didn't have high hopes, but it was one of the best burgers I have had in a long time.  We watched a little bit of the Cowboys game, had a beer and then walked to the little corner store and picked up some small munchies for the trip. Since we will be running a 25-30 hour passage, we grabbed some sunflower seeds, beef jerky and what not to keep the people on night shifts busy and occupied.  As we walked back to the Marina, we were greeted with a beautiful sunset over Freeport and all of the refineries.  They look like Christmas if you forget the fact that they are stinky and dangerous.

Red Sky at Night - Sailors Delight

We should be  departing out the Freeport Channel (as this is blog post is going live) to the outer light about 4-6 miles off shore.  From there we will turn Southwest and head toward the Port O'Conner outer light marker.
From there we will head toward the Aransas Pass outer lighted ship marker and at 27 51.55N 96 55.23W we will bear in toward the first channel marker for Aransas Pass.
From there it will be in the ship channel and over to the Corpus Christi Municipal Marina.

This will be our offshore route leaving Monday 10/6 at about 10am from Freeport