MV Refugio

Kentucky River

2011-08-17T15:23:00.010-04:00

A few miles back up the Ohio River, north of Madison, is the start of the Kentucky River. We've driven over this river many times as we've traversed back and forth across the state these past 10 years and have always thought it would be great fun to cruise it. So when Wendy & her family came up for a week long visit from Texas we thought it was a perfect time to investigate the river. Turns out we could have only traveled as far as the old Lock One, which is no longer operational. When the river is high, and if you have a smaller boat (not a vessel such as Refugio), you can go over the top of the lock and continue your journey, but we were happy to drop anchor at the first bend of the river. Our depth was 20+ feet, we were able to observe any other boat coming from either direction and the water & air temps could not have be more perfect for a swim! (As it turned out there was only one lone fisherman who passed us twice) Other than our own splashes, the only other sound was that of the occasional motor vehicle off in the distance on the highway and the numerous birds & cicadas who serenaded us all day. Alice hitched a ride on her Momma's back and was so relaxed that she feel asleep! We were able to pull her aboard and settle her in for a nap. As we all enjoyed swimming in the calm waters Refugio gently swayed between our two anchors in the small current at the bend of the river. After lunch and our swimming adventure our son-in-law and his son experienced their first try at fishing in the river! Nothing was caught, but no one seemed to mind – many memories were made this marvelous day!

On the Move

2011-07-12T15:43:00.038-04:00

When we arrived at Washington Marine for our splash, Refugio was already in the sling hanging over water. Honestly I didn’t mind not seeing her being moved over the roads just inches off the ground – boats just should not be that close to dirt (either wet or dry). One of my jobs as deck boss is to watch for water at the tail pipe when the engines fire up; there should be a big gush of water, then there after continual little spurts. This time however, giving a thumbs-up on the starboard and a ‘not-so-much’ thumb wiggle on the port engine. After an hour of investigation and a “dawn-liquid seal” test it turns out the sea strainer was not quite seated and was allowing more air to be sucked in rather than water. Easy fix! Tom cruised down the Ohio and I drove my car to the marina, 20 minutes later we met up at the marina. After a quick trip to the store for provisions and dinner (feeding a momma duck & babies too) we tucked in for the night. It was a relatively easy day and we logged 3 miles!

The next morning the first thing I noticed as we quietly slipped through downtown Cincinnati was how LOW the water levels are. In comparison to two years ago, there are no other boats on the water, it’s hot, the water is very still and the only breeze is the 7 knots we are making ourselves. The bridge that was purple two years ago is now yellow.

There are numerous abandoned barges being used as shore extensions, most of which were now totally exposed due to the water level. Also, more tree roots and shoreline rocks are more visible now too. I know there has been major flooding further down river, but it makes me wonder how things would have been if man did not try to control the rivers flow and just let Mother Nature take care of her own. I suppose if I understood the reasons for all the locks then maybe I’d understand that need for control; or the reasons for all the control then maybe I’d understand that need for the locks. We decided to drop anchor(s) behind the little island in Craig’s Creek, as we’d done on our trip north two years ago just north of Markland Lock. Not much has changed here, all the damaged pier and boat parts are still there rusting away. With the humid temps in the high 90’s we decided to run the generator all night in order to keep the air conditioners running. Noisy, but cool in the staterooms.

More times than not we’ve awoken to deteriorating weather & wind blowing us places we don’t want to be – namely into the rotting pier and boat parts along the island. Our anchors holding, but we’ve slid a wee bit closer to the junk pile than we liked, so as soon as it was light enough we weighed anchor(s) and calmly slipped away from Craig’s Creek. Back out under the 20’ bridge disturbing the thousands of mayflies who apparently want to come with us. Fortunately there is no activity at the lock this early (7:30am) and we’re able to lock though. So expertly we slid along the wall and I grabbed the bollard to hold us off as we lowered 35 feet. We were told come Monday the larger of the two locks will be down for a few months for repair, so we came through at a good time. (Thank the gods) Otherwise the wait could have been hours. Commercial vessels have priority, and being a smaller lock most will likely have to breakdown their tows to get them through. Believe it or not there appears to be much less water this side of the lock, they say pool is 14 feet. The remainder of our trip is pretty uneventful and we’ve noticed many familiar sights along the Ohio. Approaching the marina is always exciting; seeing it for the first time from this advantage rather than from shore. Just past the US 421 Harrison St. Bridge which connects Madison, Indiana & Milton, Kentucky tucked in behind a small land mass sits the Rivercrest Marina. Approach is good, a solid 7 feet under us – once in the marina we’re down to about 4 and when finally tucked into our slip we’ve got about 6” under our keel. Well we don’t have much water, but our slip is covered and it’s still only about 1.5 hours from home. The city of Madison is quite a lively little artsy town which seems to hop every weekend with one activity or another. This should be a good place for us to continue with our boat renovations and soul restorations.

New Look

2011-06-23T20:41:00.013-04:00

Anchors up, up and (put) away -

She's getting a fresh new look and she's looking good!

PROGRESS.....

2011-06-14T07:44:00.011-04:00

Happy to report there has been much progress with the coming of warm(er) weather. The covers are off, the console is complete, the bottom has been sanded and repainted, zincs (actually aluminum for fresh water) replaced and the hull being prepped for fresh paint next week. The captain has been working VERY hard, and I'm also happy to report he's no longer blue.

HAPPY SPRING

2011-03-03T09:38:00.002-05:00

We are anxiously awaiting the time when we can put her back in the water!! Tom plans to finish the pilot house this month and start prepping the bottom for new paint.

Slowly & Surely

2010-12-28T21:44:00.015-05:00

So much has been done to the interior of the pilot house it's hard to know where to start. Tom has completely gutted it and begun to remodel and rebuild. The console was built and idea's have been roughed out for placement of all gauges and controls. The interior lighting, paneling and moldings are done. Since we experienced an early winter work had to end sooner than wanted. She's covered in her blue tarp again and gone into hibernation for a few months. During these winter months Tom will be pre-wiring the gauges and prepping for all his upgrades that he will be installing next spring.

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Transformation

2010-05-20T20:06:00.026-04:00

Windows are done & open beautifully~

and how the Captain looks while at work~

Monday, July 26 2010

Nothing has changed since we've been out cruising the US in our motor home this past month, which I suppose is a good thing. The new windows are still there and looking great. Tom can not wait to get back to concentrating on finishing up the pilot house and remaining windows. There is a very sad abandoned house boat in the back of the yard which the owners have given us permission to remove the rails and ladders before they demolish her. Ah another task for Tom before winter hits. I believe the rails & ladders will look wonderful on our boat deck.

Friday, June 18 2010

Four years ago Toms wish was to alter this boat into a true pilothouse trawler and it’s coming to life right before my eyes. The stationary windows are in and now it’s on to the 3 hinged windows. Works in progress, we’ve yet to settle on which hinges or closures – but that’s half the fun, right – shopping. It’s shaping up to be one awesome pilothouse. Tom continues to amaze me; his attention to detail and patience are remarkable.

This is Eric, we believe he is the kindhearted soul that retied our tarp this winter when it tried to blow off. He was going to splash his houseboat today, so we’ll miss his tender neighborly care.

Happy motoring Eric.

We’ll be taking a little break next month, its road-trip time for July 4th. See you again in August when our vessel transformation continues.

June 6 2010

Tom just returned from installing two more stationary windows in the pilot house. He was able to park the motor home along side the boat and it's amusing to see both of our 'babies' side-by-side. The keel was also sanded down nice and smooth.

May 20 2010

Who knew we'd have to wait 2 months for a weather window - yes even with the boat being on the hard we had to wait to do our work. During these past few weeks Tom has been at home designing, planning and fabricating the windows for the pilot house in the garage. (Polyester resin has a very strong smell). We've had lots of discussions about the sizes, shapes, material, latches & hinges and came up with great custom windows. We decided NOT to put in a new door on the starboard, but rather utilize the small door at the rear of the pilot house. We will still need access from the boat deck to the aft deck, but that's on our future drawing board. With the motor home parked right in front of the boat Tom was able to work long days and get the 3 windows across the back of the pilot house done. I make it all sound so simple, but believe me working with the raw materials, actually having to form windows, frames, cut the plexiglas and secure them properly to the boat took many long hours of planning and doing. Tom hopes to get the other 4 fixed windows done within the next few weeks as well as the 3 hinged windows. We'll be installing two porthole windows and finishing the small door at the rear of the pilot house too. With these new windows now in place Refugio is taking on a new look and it's exciting to watch the redesign.

Springtime Inspection

2010-03-19T19:30:00.008-04:00

We were so pleased to find Refugio still tucked in under her big blue tarp today. The tarp however did not fare as well, but it did survive to see another season. At some point over the past few months someone took the time to retie various corners as they must have torn and ripped from the winter storms. It’s comforting to know there are such good folks out there looking out for one another, but that’s usually the case with boat people. Thank you!

We’ve decided to leave Refugio on-the-hard for one more year mainly to finish the pilot house. It’s very convenient to have her only one hours drive from home and the boat yard will let us park the motor home there for a little while too. This will make it easier to concentrate on completing the work without driving back and forth daily.

First up will be a final sanding and application of 2-part epoxy primer on the keel. We’ve decided to put in a door on the starboard side of the pilot house so there will lots of sawing, sanding and measuring. After much research on windows over this winter we’ve decided to go with acrylic (plexiglas) which Tom can cut and install himself. By end of the summer the interior will be finished and the console refurbished. I’ll post pictures as we progress, should be exciting! (See On-the-Hard Work photo album)

As we were leaving the boat yard we noticed the flooded ramp where boats are launched. Apparently the Ohio River just peaked at 50 feet so they won’t be splashing any boats for a few weeks yet.

Right now she’s dry and secure, what more could we ask for!

Let it Snow

2009-11-15T15:36:00.011-05:00

Over the past 4 months Tom has taken numerous north trips to work on the keel. It's been a lot of cutting, sawing, digging, pastering and sanding all while laying on the rocky ground. Not an easy task, but once again she's water tight along the keel.

We took advantage of what we think will be our last warm day this year to cover her up. After getting the price for getting her shrinked wrapped we opted for a BIG blue tarp. We just couldn't see spending so much money on something that was going to potentially get ruined over the winter and then taken off and thrown away in the spring. Wouldn't you know the minute we tried to unfurl this huge 40' x 60' tarp the breezes kicked up, if this had been a sail on a sail boat we'd be happy campers. It was not an easy task to 'evenly' cover Refugio, but we managed. For now the keel will get one more cosmetic coat of epoxy and under the protective cover of the tarp Tom will begin to remove, repair and replace damaged-rotted cap rail. All the water lines have been drained and various hoses disconnected in anticipation of freezing times ahead.

On the Hard

2009-07-24T18:21:00.009-04:00

A few days ago we made arrangements with Washington Marine to haul Refugio out of the water and keep her 'on-the-hard' for a few months in their yard. There are many other boats there and most are in the midst of being repaired and/or painted. This completes our summers plan to have her close to home (1 hr. drive) so we can finally fully repair the keel and completely sand and repaint her hull in the spring. There are just a few things we plan to get done over the next few months, one of them being 'winterizing' her, draining tanks, etc and then once we're done she'll be tucked in for the winter. We plan to splash her back in the water after the thaw next year and the spring high waters have receded. We have not decided yet but we may be keeping her in the Cincinnati area for a while or maybe we'll just take her back down to the Land between the lakes area. For now, she's close to home, easy to get to and safe from hurricanes.

Journey's End (& Craigs Creek Bay)

2009-07-20T20:43:00.014-04:00

We passed through the last of our 28 locks for this trip with only one minor incident on Friday. We were told to wait along the guide wall on the Kentucky side until the tow pushing 15 was safely in the outside lock, which we did for about ½ hour. As the tow wiggled his barges into the lock we noticed the water receding in our lock (there are two again). Once the tow was safely in his lock we had to wait for two smaller fishing boats to exit ours. I noticed at this particular lock there is an observation deck and it’s loaded with tourists watching the boats lock through. As this is our last lock and we’re feeling confident in our abilities as we saunter in, approach the wall and I’m just about ready to expertly lasso the bollard and guess what – there’s no bollard. Ha Ha on us, it’s an empty chamber. Oops, so Tom has to reposition away from the wall and begin our approach again. When we get to the next bollard along the wall the pin I am to lasso is almost a foot above my head – this is different. I missed the first time, but got it on the second try. And here we thought we had the procedures in these locks down pretty good. Goes to show ya never be too confident and to always be prepared for the unexpected.

Immediately following that lock through the captain of the tow in the other lock radioed us and say’s “go ahead captain” since he exited just ahead of us, but we were looking for our anchorage for the night 1 mile down river and declined. I feel it’s important to mention this since most times we found the tows to be indifferent to us, so thank you “Winchester” for your courtesy.

Our anchorage for the night was behind a small uninhabited island in Craig’s Creek Bay. That was the only thing uninhabited in this bay since there was a marina and a number of homes that lined the banks. Across the river was the Balterra Casino, a very popular casino in these parts. Again, we found ourselves being rocked around by tubers and otherwise fast speedy little boats most of the evening. As dusk approached so did a little Bayliner which dropped their anchor just off our bow. Off in the distance someone was using up the rest of their July 4th fireworks but I still didn’t see them.

Our passage up river that brings us into Cincinnati was just a continuation of our already pleasant trip. The landscape is breathtaking at times and it’s hard to believe this region is as populated as it is. Also the unfortunate aspect of this region is the number of power plants, seems around every corner there are stacks spewing their white vapors into the air.

Cincinnati was a HOOT to boat through. Both local pro stadiums are on the banks of the Ohio and the Reds had just started a ballgame. There were a number of small boats lingering around the area, we assume waiting for that one long ball. I felt very jubilant standing the bow for the last couple of miles as we passed under 7 bridges looking left and right and snapping pictures.

Amanda & Stella joined us at the Marina to help celebrate the completion of our trip which lasted 35 days and took us over 1800 miles on the water.

So close & yet so far

2009-07-17T20:07:00.007-04:00

We awoke around 3am to a massive storm exhibiting major lightening and thunder. We both came up top to be sure everything was secure and notice two small fishing boats just coming back in – strange time to be out fishing. We stayed awake for about an hour and watched as the storm blow through. We half expected to be boarded by the military sometime during the night being so close to Fort Knox and us looking so unusual (we know they were watching) but it never happened. Our suspicions were warranted when we saw 3 men in their camouflage fatigues leave in a little motor boat, and 3 different ones return – shift change somewhere…. (am I paranoid?) Do you suppose they give public tours at Fort Knox? (road trip!)

We drove through another little storm, but it never produced much rain. I never realized how much industrial and/or commercial activities takes place on the Ohio around Louisville. We did pass one casino, perhaps another road trip? I've also noticed lots of folks just walking along the banks - no boat in sight so we can only summarize they are "treasure hunters" looking for whatever the latest storm washed ashore.

We waited 1-1/2 hours for a tow to lock through first, pushing 15, and then it was our turn to lock through the older of the two locks at McAlpine Lock & Dam. We rose about 30 feet and out the other side to a great view of downtown Louisville. Nice looking city from the water. It’s strange to be this close to home (1 hour drive by car) and yet so far. There is much traffic on the Ohio at this point, not only barge traffic but lots of personal water craft – all sizes going in all different directions. One larger dinner cruiser and of course the Belle of Louisville which Brian and I had taken a few years ago. Tom and I had reconsidered looking for a haul out yard here, but nothing materialized so we’ll continue on to Cincinnati.

Tonight we’ve docked at the Juniper Beach Docks, behind the fuel dock. The winds have really picked up and even though we are behind the fuel dock we’ll be rocking and rolling most of the night. It’s right on the river so we’ll also get the wakes from any and all boats that go by. There is a young, friendly, good looking gentleman that works here, Clay – he’s quite proficient at assisting any sized boat that pulls up for fuel. His girlfriend, Alex was kind enough to stop off at the store and pick up lots of batteries for my camera. Such a sweet girl! Thank you Alex.

Nature Made

2009-07-16T20:01:00.011-04:00

(July 13-16)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KENNY!

I’ve discovered a much different river traveling up the Ohio. Gone are all the manmade retentions and the narrow canals, in their place are uprooted and forgotten trees, huge fallen boulders and overgrown muddy river banks that go on for miles. The waters are calmer, deeper and truly greener than I’ve observed before on this trip, and cooler. There are fewer places to stop for the night; marinas or anchorages. One such example would be the Mt. Vernon courtesy dock. After driving for over 10 hours any port begins to look good and we seriously needed a few provisions. Let me tell you, this ‘dock’ was 3 mini-floating docks hooked together with a hand rail running down the middle. It’s really meant for small fishing craft. It was anchored to the shore, so that was good, but for us to tie off and stay here was a treat. Not just for us, but the townsfolk that came to watch, and they did. They watched us dock, tie off (one helped) ride off on our bikes and return, then BBQ on the aft deck. At one point one of the townsfolk dumped his bike and took a running leap off the end of the dock for a swim. An older gentleman pulled up in his truck and unloaded a very anxious and excited dog, Sandy. He threw the ball in the water and in went Sandy; they did this a number of times. We looked forward to sundown when they’d all go home, and most did. Around 10pm the night fisherman appeared; set up chairs right off our bow and fished for several hours. Now keep in mind we are right on the river, so every time a barge went by we got rocked from their wake and the dock moaned and groaned like it was going to fall apart. It was like we were in their front yard and we were just part of the river comings & goings.

The daily river traffic has slowed, only occasionally do we come across a tow pushing barges (all seem to be 15 now), most smaller tug traffic seems to be relocating either full or empty barges from one side of the river to the other. We pass more commercial areas for river transportation and even a dry dock specific for tugs. The river continues to be wide so we’ve had no trouble passing whatever comes our way.

There has to be oodles of heritage wrapped up in this river so each older, smaller town we pass have their own story to tell. More than once we’ve seen towns tell their story via a mural along the flood wall that history itself would tell you was built to protect the town. Unique old buildings and churches peak over these walls or through the trees.

We drove through another torrential rain storm and very thankful for our plastic windows in the pilot house. There are still a few drain holes at the floor level that will need to be plugged once we begin renovations. It will be so nice to have windows with windshield wipers too. I was forced to take my pictures from the less wet aft deck.

We have noted a few places we’d like to see when we make our return trip back to the lake next summer and some that would require a road trip in the motor home. One really cool looking place is a small town called Cave-in-Rock. That’s truly what they have to offer a huge cave in the mountainside at water level. We did not see any place to tie off, but we did pass a ferry right there at the city, so that could be a fun road trip one day.

We did ride past Evansville, IN - it's a BIG city with lots going on around their river front. So take a look at the pictures labeled French Islands if you're curious.

We’ve anchored out for a few nights now, each one offering its own form of entertainment. As I mentioned before there are fewer places to tuck in for the night along the Ohio so it takes planning on our part. Our first spot after our splendid night at Mt. Vernon courtesy docks was the French Islands 55 miles up river. Between the two islands was wonderful, quiet, nice and deep - too deep. After a couple of failed attempts to get our stern anchor to hold we moved up and across the river – not such a pretty spot and much more shallow. Tom actually tossed the anchor on the shore and there it sat in 1 foot of water – but it held, and held nicely all night. It was easy to gather the next morning too. Our next night, after traveling 62 miles, we sounded our way (continually checking the depth) into the Big Poison Creek (great name) found we had a good 2-3 feet under us so we turned around and backed our big selves in just enough to be off the river. We could hear the deep thrumming of the tows as they slowly drove up river and eventually felt their wake as it washed upon the shoreline. Each night I’ve seen many fireflies and this anchorage was especially noisy with critters all night. Today we’ve traveled 57 miles to anchor in Salt River just outside of Fort Knox, KY. Before this stop we were motoring up river when a large (and armed I might add) helicopter flew overhead. I suppose they were checking us out. We anticipated being approached when we anchored, but this stop is a very pleasant surprise. It’s actually inhabited with humans. It’s not fair to say we are anchored, even though the stern anchor is sitting in a few feet of water again, but the bow has been tied off to a tree. This is something we’ve wanted to do the entire trip! Just down the river there are a number of tows working on a RR bridge, across the river is a boat launch and a small campground. We had a young man ride up to the boat on his jet ski – yelling “Hello?” he wanted to know if it was okay for his nephew to practice on the jet ski here rather than in the big river – didn’t want to bother us. This was a first. Of-course we thought just practice driving, but it was more like crazy-man wheelies. It didn’t last very long and they both appeared to be having such a good time.

Today was the first day on the Ohio River we did not have to go through a lock. With each one we’ve an average a lift of 20 feet. Now with more than 50 locks to our credit we’ve each become quite competent at our tasks. Tom maneuvers the boat right along the wall with no scraping and I lasso the bollard on the first try, then we sit back and enjoy the ride.

Ohio River

2009-07-12T20:34:00.006-04:00

Today we began the final phase of our journey; we are on the Ohio River. Our lock through at Kentucky Dam went great this morning. No body waiting on either side, and we locked down 55 feet. (I don’t get it; we’re traveling north, but lock down?!?) While in the lock the lockmaster gets a call on the radio saying, “I’ve just released the troops and we’ll have 12 coming through”. It would seem we made it through just in time before the long wait. This lock had a great echo "hellooooooooo". The last 20 mile stretch of the Tennessee River was pretty uneventful, lots of industry. It’s very understandable why Paducah is not ‘pleasure craft friendly’, so many tugs and barges on both sides of the river. It’s a large location for tug dry docks.

Once we hung a right onto the Ohio River we hit a small current and slowed down to 5.8 knots. We passed by where the Cumberland River joins up with the Ohio and slowed down even more, for a bit.

We’ve passed a couple of large barges and seen only a few fishing and motor boats today. The weather was not conducive to great water sports. We did come across a dredger, just before the lock. We traversed the first of 6 locks on the Ohio today, the Smithland Lock. This lock has two channels like the Pickwick. We locked through with a couple of small fishing boats and a gazillion mayflies. We hear they only live a few days, don’t bite and don’t eat – but they do swarm and attach to anything that’s not moving (YUCK). In this lock we rose 22 feet.

We pulled into and tied up at the Golconda Marina just as a storm pounded the river. They wanted to put us into a covered slip, but we were too tall. It’s nice to be docked when there’s a storm brewing; lots of lightening, thunder and rain. The air is fresh and cooler now that it’s passed. Maybe we’ll see the sun tomorrow.

Stormy Weather

2009-07-11T18:59:00.006-04:00

Today is the first time this entire trip we've hit really bad weather. Unlike our last trip from Florida we are totally prepared for it. So let the rains come down. Our new pilot house windows did the trick and kept us relatively dry. We did hit some nasty lightening and thunder, but it's nothing like being on the gulf. We did not have to contend with high seas or strong winds. Due to this weather our trip up the Kentucky Lake was not as picturesque as I had hoped, therefore there are not too many photos for ya’ll to look at. I know it’s beautiful and hopefully we’ll get another chance to explore it. There were a number of (crazy) fishermen out wearing their foul weather gear and a few houseboats hankered down in coves. We even passed our largest pushing tow yet, a 3 x 5 (15 barges!) The size alone is staggering, I can’t figure out how they maneuver them around in skinny water. We were told that at the Kentucky Lock the tows have to dismantle to lock through in pieces – apparently this is not a long lock and cannot accommodate too many. This is something to consider for tomorrows lock through, we may have to look more closely at the Barkley Lock. After a short 40 miles we’ve docked at the Kentucky Dam Marina and it’s GREAT to be back in Kentucky. (It’s only a 3 hour drive from home by car) Upon our arrival we had a great assist from Josh to get tied off and help with getting fuel. There are SO many houseboats here, a few larger speedy fishing boats and lots of seados! It’s the weekend so there are lots of folks playing on their docked boats.

We still prefer the quiet solitude of being anchored out.

Paris Landing

2009-07-10T21:42:00.007-04:00

We awoke to fog this morning, a first for this trip and it was very quiet and calm. The aft deck was great for tea & coffee this morning. The fog just meant we took it a little slower when we finally did pull out. Just a little up river we came across another dredger doing the same sand retention thing as the one yesterday – different company though. After the fog cleared the day was beautiful, traveling up river continued to be peaceful and uneventful. As we passed under the I40 freeway (driven on-top a few times) we entered the beginnings (or ending depending the direction you’re traveling) of Kentucky Lake. As we crossed where the Duck River fused with the Tennessee River & Kentucky Lake the waters really expanded, and will continue to be wide, like a lake, until we reach the Kentucky Dam, then the waters will become a river again. This area is called Land between the Lakes and is very popular in Tenn. and Kentucky for all outdoors enthusiasts.

We’ve passed a couple of pretty cool ruins today. Former bridges or pieced of them, one being the old L&N (Louisville & Nashville) RR and an abandoned dock just to the south of it.

We’ve arrived at the Paris Landing State Park for a couple of days. We decided we could use a day off from boating. Friday we got some good bike riding in; ‘up the hill’ to the mini-mart and across the highway to the restaurant at the hotel here in the park.

Picture Crazy

2009-07-09T19:51:00.012-04:00

(Wed July 8)
I’ve gone nuts taking pictures and I’m taking you with – it’s my daughter Wendy’s fault she loves looking at pictures. I can’t begin to tell you how beautiful these surroundings truly are and around every corner there is something different. Sure just another river bank, or just another house, or just another boat load of people, but I’ve yet to see the same thing twice – well maybe the underside of a bridge or two.

Our evening anchorage at Dry Creek was most pleasant for the first time we did not have to have any air on, just left the windows open and the night’s cool air was sufficient enough.
The lock-gods are still with us today as we approached the Pickwick Lock and Dam – under the jurisdiction of Tennessee Valley Authority – we were told to come on into the “main” chamber. (Turns out they have two; one seemed to be a wee bit smaller than the other). We were not sure what to expect in this chamber, but were told to tie off on the bollard at the 200 foot mark, then we slowly dropped – 55 feet. This was the first time we’ve experienced dropping in the locks, it’s a much nicer ride. While in the lock we were listening to the radio and heard another pleasure craft ask for a lock through and was told it would be up to 2.5 hours wait (UGH!) Turns out on the north side of the lock there was a tow pushing 4 x 3, plus one on the side waiting to enter, they figured it would take him over an hour just to ‘wiggle them in’. We were very lucky to arrive when we did.

Somewhere along the way we passed by the Shiloh National Military Park. I did see some canons on the hill, but did not get very good pictures – but got them nonetheless. I continue to take pictures of the various homesteads and surrounding countryside so be sure to look at my albums when you have a spare hour or two.

The terrain continues to change on an almost daily basis, its mostly cliffs and rocks now with much larger trees and bushes. It's interesting to see just how far some folks will go to have a house in 'just the right spot'.

We passed by a most unusual dredger today, it would appear it sucks the soil off the bottom of the river, separates it from the water and then loads this pristine sand onto a barge. Beside deepending the channel for us, someone is make a nice profit from this soil.

We’ve dropped anchors behind Kelly’s Island tonight which is just a snipped of an island no bigger than a postage stamp north of Perryville, Tenn. I recognize some native plants on the island – river oats and spiderworts, looking good! Should be a quiet night just (JUST) off the river. The water has turned a clear clean green and temps us for a swim each night.

Lock in - Lock out

2009-07-09T19:41:00.011-04:00

(Mon July 6th)
We got an early start today knowing we expected to lock through 3 locks. Even though the locks we’ve gone through have been easy, we never know when it’s going to get difficult or the wait long. We’ve been so fortunate with our locking through; we knew it would not last forever. Our first lock through was Amory Lock & Dam with a lift of 30 feet. We were in the chamber, all tied off and the doors began to close, but then stopped and reopened. We waited for 40 minutes for another pleasure craft GemDandy to lock through with us. Even so, 40 minutes did not seem too long to wait. Just a short 5 miles up river was the Glover Wilkins Lock & Dam which we locked through together for a 25 foot lift. I have notice since we’ve been on the TTW that immediately following a lock the river widens and spreads out, almost like a lake. There is evidence of past flooding due to the numerous shrubs and trees sticking out of the water just off the main channel. Then eventually the water pulls back into narrow manmade channels.

Someone’s gone to a lot of time and trouble place birdhouses (with a shield around the base to keep critters off) throughout this area. With so much nature abound I can’t for the life of me figure out why birds would need special houses.

20 miles later and our last lock for the day was Fulton Lock and Dam which we raised 30 feet.

For most of the day the weather was pretty gloomy with threatening rain so we decided to cut our day short, in case it got worse. We docked at Midway Marina in Fulton, We used the Marina courtesy car to go to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and hit up Walmart again. We even had cable TV so I was able to have a reality TV show fix.

(Tues July 7th)
We had not realized our travels up the TTW would pass so quickly, but here we are with only 3 locks to go before we’ve completed this portion of our trip. The weather is still threatening this morning however there is a promise of getting better as the day goes on.

5 miles up river the lock gods were smiling on us and we entered in John Rankin Lock, tied off on our starboard as we have in the other locks and rose 30 feet. There was some work being done outside the lock by the Corps of Engineers, which reminded me of what the US Snagboat Montgomery might have done if it was still in commission. Another 8 miles up river we entered and locked through the Montgomery lock and dam and rose another 30 feet. With just 6 more miles to go we anxiously looked forward to the grand-daddy of them all the Jamie Whitten lock and dam. Reading about this lock no way gives it justice, and I doubt my pictures will either – because it’s BIG. We entered into this huge empty chamber, walls rising more than 100 feet over our heads, with more exposed concrete wall under the gates than I’ve ever seen. This chamber has bolted doors scattered all over the walls, which none of the other locks had. Again, we were the only vessel in the lock which also emphasized its immense size. We figure it took over 20 minutes to rise the 85 feet to bring us to waters level on the other side.

We exited onto the vast Bay Springs Lake, no sunken trees or flooded areas, this looks like a real lake, even has a little beach area off on one side.

The homes along the river front continue to amaze me; some are enormous while others are mere covers over trailers. Some folks go to a lot of trouble to be sure the land facing the water is pristine and functional while others use the rivers banks for a place to dump their trash.

For 25 miles we tootled along what’s called the Divide Cut. This particular section of the TTW is a canal, a straight line with no stopping anywhere. It opened up into another lake with lots of comings and goings by all sorts of folks playing on and in the water.

When we came upon the Tennessee River we were both surprised at the sheer size of it. There was one tow way down river and dozens of pleasure craft of all shapes and sizes traveling in all different directions at the same time. I was even more amazed by the huge homes up and down the mountainsides. I can’t believe the number of steps they are willing to make just to get down to the water. We slowly made our way across the river into Dry Creek and anchored in about 6 feet of water at the rivers edge. This is one of the most beautiful coves we anchored in yet, so still and quiet. At the mouth of the cove a few pontoon boats full of folks are frolicking in the water and we’ve been joined by two other yachts anchored for the night.

To Aberdeen

2009-07-05T19:33:00.011-04:00

It was great to pass by a large field of water lilies as we left the Pirates Marina Cove; I keep looking for any of the frogs I heard last night, but never saw a one. As we re-entered the TTW a tow pushing 6 empties was just exiting the lock so we punched it just to keep ahead of him. We only passed one other tow later on our route today, the Ave Maria.

We pass by more and more homes every day and it always amazes me how many folks live along the River banks; whether it be vacation homes or weekend retreats – and all very different from the other. There are also numerous campgrounds and boat ramps. Take a look at the photo album to see the many varieties I'm talking about.

We managed to get through two locks today, the first was John Stennis Lock and Dam (rise of 27’) and then just 10 miles up the Aberdeen Lock and Dam (also a rise of 27’). We had no issues today with either lock; in fact both times we just drove up, in and locked on through. Just ahead of us in the Aberdeen lock chamber was the Silver Fox which was a houseboat with two other vessels rafted to it on the starboard side. This was how they were traveling up the river!

We’ve been watching the skies and anticipated hitting some rain today which we did. Not sure how the weather is going to behave we’ve decided to check out the Aberdeen Marina just north of the lock. Approaching the marina Tom cruised in at 5 knots which reminded me of riding in the jungle cruise at Disneyland minus the electronic animals. We snaked our way in past so many tree stumps and branches sticking out of the water on both sides. The channel as the clearly marked with green and red poles, it was a very cool approach.

Independence Day

2009-07-05T16:35:00.007-04:00

(Sat July 4th)
Today was our shortest day yet, only 27 miles. We decided to dock at the Pirates Marina Cove in Pickensville, Alabama in order to tour the visitor center at the Tom Bevill lock and dam. This center is an antebellum style mansion that sits up on a hill at the mouth of the lock. As a home it would have been extremely impressive, as a visitor center it was “informational” (guess that’s what it was suppose to be) I was hoping for more mid-19th century furnishings, etc. On-the-hard at the same location is the US Snagboat Montgomery (1926) a 180 foot sternwheel steamboat which was retired from service in 1982 and is now a National Historic Landmark. This vessel is basically a working barge with a huge crane on the front. It primarily removed submerged stumps and fallen trees from numerous rivers throughout the south for close to 60 years. It has been restored and is an interesting old vessel to wonder around.

The locks only operate every 2 hours (on the even hour) weekends and holidays. That’s both today so we expected to have a wait. About 1 hour from the lock a larger boat “second wind” passed by us, and then he had to wait at the lock for us to arrive to lock through. Like yesterday the lockmaster radioed for any other vessel on the water. Again we were fortunate to drive in and tie off, then be lifted 27 feet. No waiting, but I’m sure our time will come.

Apparently they set off fireworks last night from the visitor center so we won't be having a display tonight.

TTW

2009-07-05T16:22:00.010-04:00

(Fri July 3)
As we lifted our lines ready to move over to the fueling dock to pump out our holding tanks Tom yells “tie us off again I don’t have any port throttle”. Ehgads. So I quickly tie us off and Tom investigates. Turns out it was a simple fix this time, a set screw came loose. So Tom tightened it and we continued on with our plans. Pumped out and headed out.

Since we turned north from Mobile we’ve been on the Black Warrior/Tombigbee River (BWTB) however just north of Demopolis it changed to the Tenn-Tom (Tennessee-Tombigbee) Waterway (TTW) which is a manmade link from the Tennessee River to the Gulf of Mexico. (history lesson) This waterway was completed in 1984 consisting of 11 locks within a 234 miles section of canals/rivers and we expect to rise approx. 340 feet. Cool!

We passed by the White Cliffs of Epes before we entered into the Howell Heflin Lock (our first official lock on the TTW). We also passed under a RR Bridge just as a train crossed it – REALLY LOUD & COOL. There was a cruiser already in the lock waiting on us the “Brown Eyed Girl”. The lock masters will call up and down the river to see if anyone else is in the vicinity for a duel lock through and they did yesterday. Since they were waiting on us the first cruiser probably had to wait for about 30 minutes for the lock through, we just drove on in and tied off. Doesn’t seem fair, but I’m sure we’ll have our turn somewhere up the line. We lifted 37 feet.

We’ve encountered much more civilization today, many more homes along the river’s edge. More folks out playing and having a general good time on and in the water and in spite of them all it was an easy cruising day.

We decided to anchor in Cook Bend cutoff and drove the entire length of the oxbow to check it out. Once we rounded the bend we encountered numerous nice homes, boats, water skiers and tubers. Everyone having a great start to the Fourth of July weekend, and a few beers I think. We found a nice little nitch closer to the mouth of the cutoff and dropped anchors. Again, probably not necessary since it seems there’s a few feet of soft mud holding us in place – but we did anyway just in case. We popped our heads out at around 4am to enjoy a spectacular view of the stars.

Sad Day

2009-07-02T16:36:00.014-04:00

I've got sad, sad news. I lost one of my biggest fans today, my Mom. It was not always so, but when it came down to it she was there and loved me, always. For those of you who knew her and had not yet heard of her passing, I'm sorry you have to learn of it this way.

She told me many times she loved this poem and always wished someone would think of her that way when her time came.

I think of you this way Mom and love you dearly

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,

Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,

Silence the pianos and with muffled drum

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead

Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,

Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,

Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,

My working week and my Sunday rest,

My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;

I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.

For nothing now can ever come to any good.

Ruth Guarino (Oct. 28, 1924- July 2, 2009)

My mother enjoyed this blog very much and has shared it with many of her friends. She would want me to continue updating our travels, which I fully intend to do.

Please say a quiet little prayer for her everlasting peace. I love you Mom XXXOOO

Demopolis

2009-07-02T14:28:00.010-04:00

(Wed July 1)
Again, we sat so still and quiet last night we probably didn't even need to have two anchors out, but it's always nice to have them - just in case.

It’s been hard to judge just how far we’ll travel in one day and the layout of the river has so much to do with that. It’s not just a straight shot; the river has been very snaky, twisting and turning; still as beautiful as ever. We thought we’d do 70 miles and it would take us 10 hours (statute miles) but it was 63 miles and only 9 hours. We like traveling nautical miles much better.

With each turn we never know what to expect, sometimes it’s just another bend or perhaps it’s an unexpected tug and barge. Not always a pleasant surprise, but Tom deals with them very well. Today we had such an event and in some pretty skinny water too. We actually pulled over to the side (avoiding a potential underwater tree) and waited for the tow to pass, there would not have been enough room for us to pass each other. This particular tug was pushing 8 barges full of coal; 3 on each side and two in the middle. The tug itself was in the middle with barges down each side. We’ve seen a couple of times where the tug is pushing from the side or in the middle. I don’t think this practice would work down in the ICW, but here in the river systems it’s a common occurrence.

We passed by the old Rooster bridge, which is now covered in kudzu. If you do not know the story of the Rooster bridge take a look at this website, it’s amazing to me how this large tug managed to go under and come back up the other side. As we passed by today it was hard to picture the water being up so high back then.

http://www.littleriverbooks.com/cahaba.htm)

Our passage at the Demopolis Lock was another cool one. After passing miles of 'white cliffs' the first thing we noticed was the enormous amount of water being off let from the dam and the numerous smaller water fall areas. This is NOT a recreational area but it certainly was a beautiful site. Each lock we will encounter on the Tenn-Tom waterway will be the same size (110 x 660) but I believe the amount we lift will be different each time, this time it was only 20 feet as we rose to river level on the other side. We were told to tie off on the second bollard in on the starboard side and were the only ones in the lock. Usually we see a lock master or assistant out on the ‘wall’ watching us, but this time we saw no-one only dealt with a voice on the radio.

We arrived at our destination marina here in Demopolis Alabama for the next few days only to find ‘Bout Time” just two slips away. Ron came out and grabbed our lines as we docked, then Charm came out to say welcome & howdy. We joined them for drinks aboard there delightful boat along with their friends and traveling companions on this trip, Sharon & Norris.

For dinner Tom & I went to the local bar & grill “New Orleans” right here at the marina for some yummy good food. Tomorrow we’ll use the courtesy car hit up WalMart and restock for the next few weeks. Probably time to get some laundry done too.

Backwoods

2009-07-01T22:32:00.001-04:00

We've been traveling on the rivers with no internet, so I've updated the past 3 days below.

What a Difference a Day Makes

2009-07-01T21:50:00.010-04:00

(Tues June 30)

It was a beautiful sunrise as we still sat quietly in the mud this morning contemplating how to get us moving. With some major rocking and rolling Tom managed to get us moving while I weighed the anchor.

Only 16 miles down we came to Coffeeville Lock and Dam the first of 14 on the river systems for us. What a fun experience that was! This lock raised us up 27 feet. They have floating bollards to tie off to. These bollards rise with the water which is pretty cool so you can either hold on or tie off. Since we had such a long way to go we tied off and just kept an eye on it mid-ship. The water level was so low we could see the concrete bottom of the gates at the north end and we’ve never seen that before. It took us over ½ hour to lock through – just us nobody else in the lock. The lock master did ask if we were traveling with anyone else, guess they would have waited for more vessels since locking appears to be a major undertaking on the river. We felt privilege.

Once out of the lock it was evident where all the water is. Everything this close to the dam is so plush and green – trees right at the waters’ edge. Backing up the river banks are some larger mountains, something else we’ve not seen in some time. The terrain is ever changing and growing and so very beautiful. We cut through quiet waters undisturbed all day by any other boats. Perhaps just one or two speedy fishing boats, but that was it.

As we approached our anchorage for the night we noticed a tug sitting right across the access to it. Figures we don’t see one all day until we arrive where we want to anchor. Toms gets on the radio and asks if it’s ok for us to tuck in behind him to anchor – the captain say’s sure go right ahead on in. So Tom did, watching our depth we managed to squeeze by the tug, pass the little public boat launch, turn around and drop anchor – like we’ve been doing this for years! Shortly after we’d settled in another tug pulls up next to the first. It would appear both are doing crew change, gangplank down and off some men go. A truck pulls up and unloads more guys and aboard they all go. Then both tugs leave with fresh crews. So far only one little fishing boat has used the public boat ramp, so we are hopeful it will be a quiet night.

It’s still too warm in these here parts, so we’ll run the generator (a/c) tonight. Once the sun went down, I glanced out the window and noticed lots of twinkling in the trees.

Up a Lazy River

2009-07-01T21:36:00.007-04:00

(Mon June 29th - Happy Birthday Pat!)
We turned off the generator in hopes of a cool night breeze, which never materialized so it was a rough night’s sleep for me. Once again we were early risers and managed to get going by 7am. Weighing anchors was really easy this morning, soft mud. Almost immediately we had to pull up and wait for a tow to pass on the Mobile River, and then around the bend we both had to wait for the Jackson RR Bridge to open. After passing through the swing bridge and passing one south bound tow we pulled in front of the one ahead of us and that was it for the day – no more barges, almost. The river was smooth as glass for the most part; and we made a nice cool breeze for ourselves as we traveled up the river at 7 knots. Once we passed the junctures of the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers the scenery totally changed. Gone are the marsh lands and cicadas, now there seems to be ‘real’ river banks of soft sand or mud, trees and birds. I hear more chirping now than I’ve heard in weeks – it’s all very serene.

We passed by the Barry Steam Plant which looks to employ lots of people and there was some major construction going on around the Seaward and Greer Landings. We’d read an upcoming RR bridge is 8’ closed so we were prepared to call it when we noticed it’s like 19’. Duh - then it dawns on us that the river is extremely low and getting more and more so with each passing mile. The banks are becoming more pronounced and the lane in which we are allowed to traverse in is narrower. Our reality was when we attempted to enter “Old Lock #1” our home for the night and we bottomed out at about 50 feet in. Our guide had said ‘feel your way in should be 4-5 feet’. NOT. So the further up river we went, the closer we got to the lock, the more shallow the water became. Makes sense. Since we are on such a crazy switch-back portion of the river system we decided to log our miles real time instead of what’s on paper. Unfortunately that gave us a 12 hour day and traveled 80 miles; a record for us! (made up for the short day yesterday) Without wanting to travel any further we just turned around and backed into the Old Lock #1 and sat quietly in the mud for the night. We did drop anchors just in case, but never moved. There was one tow that passed us shortly after we’d turned off the engines and we asked him to let any other tows know that we were there, he indicated we were in a good spot and should have no trouble.

Transition

2009-07-01T21:22:00.004-04:00

(Sun June 28)

And so it begins our trek north. We left the marina early in anticipation of a busy day traveling into and through the Mobile Shipping channel. As we entered the bay we bravely cut north and off our magenta line. We figured we could travel along side the shipping channel and avoid any confrontations with tankers or other behemoths. Today was a quiet day, there was only one that we mirrored as we traveled along, but ¾ of the way up he turned around and headed back out to sea. We could only guess that his paperwork was not in order, or there was no tug available for him once he got into port. Who knows for sure, but it’s fun to speculate. Anyway that was our only competition for the channel today. There were plenty of little fishers buzzing around and a few sail boats, but otherwise it was strangely absent of any large vessels. Just about 3 miles before we began our port excursion a larger cruiser began speeding along from a starboard lane and cut into the lane ahead of us – guess who – yup, “Bout Time” we thought for sure they’d be long gone up the river by now.

The Mobile port area is very much like any other major metropolis port, huge cranes unloading and/or loading tankers. There were a couple of larger vessels, long forgotten and abandoned. We saw so many different kinds of vessels all in the course of one hour; one with large open vents and then a strange military looking ship with a large gun turret on the bow and a dingy lift on the side for quick deployment – But no name – curious….

Just past the downtown convention center the landscape became very marshy then further along the trees got a little taller. There were numerous speed boater pulling tubers and water skiers up and down the river. We even noticed one small speed boat loaded with about 8 ice chests cautiously duck under a RR bridge and disappear up a small outlet. We decide to call it an early day and anchored off the Mobile River, off the Tensas cutoff and in the Big Brier Creek. It’s still pretty hot so we ran the generator to cool off the staterooms; otherwise we did nothing for the rest of the afternoon but enjoy the quiet scenery and try to stay cool. As night moved in the noises picked up all around as all the little critters come out once the sun had gone down.

Last Gulf Night

2009-06-27T21:17:00.007-04:00

This was our last day of gulf crossing. (whoo whoo) We spent all day on the Mississippi Sound traveling between the mainland and barrier islands in deep water. I was very apprehensive and feared we’d have high winds and seas, but we had neither. The sun was shinning and there was actually a cooler breeze most of the day. We could not have planned for a more enjoyable and calm cruise. Only a few times did we experience a few major rolls. Passing by Cat, Ship and Horn Islands it was evident that something big had blown through since there were no trees left on the islands, nothing but bare trunks remained. While crossing the Pascagoula shipping channel we felt it best to slow down and wait for a large tanker which was traveling south out into the Gulf. It’s hard to say how fast he was traveling; he had some major bow wave action going. We also had some good bow wave action going today and had a few dolphins come by to play. I’ll miss seeing them; I don’t think anything on the rivers will be playing in our bow waves.

We had decided we’d get this last leg of the gulf crossing done today so we traveled 60 miles. We’ve docked at the Daulphin Island Marina at the mouth of the Mobile Ship Channel. Tomorrow it’s a straight shot up the Mobile bay an on to the river systems. We rode our bikes to the grocery store just a few blocks away and BBQ’d on the aft deck while watching a beautiful sunset and enjoying our last night on the gulf.

It's Friday

2009-06-26T21:58:00.005-04:00

6 AM and the marina was a beehive of activity but it’s not like we sleep in much these days anyway. Rather than take a tour of Lake Pontchartrain we decided to retrace our steps and returned to the ICW just back down the channel. From there we continued on our original path headed east through the marsh lands. Pretty quiet journey today not too much traffic. Just before entering the Mississippi sound we passed by Rabbit Island, one of our favorite anchorages from 2 years ago. The old dilapidated oil rig was still standing on the west end of the oxbow.

The weather had been extremely hot and sticky all morning and the winds began to kick up. We noticed all around dark ominous clouds forming, Tom even noticed a funnel cloud way off in the distance – I did not like the looks of that! (I took a ginger pill) Since we were just about to enter into ‘open’ waters I phoned daughter Wendy and asked her to check the weather in our area. We had listened to our NOAA and had not heard of any major storms cropping up and she confirmed they were just little, rather stationary, thunder storms. We did hit some rain and the swells got to 2-3 feet, but that was the worst of it (Thank you very much)

Not knowing for sure if the weather was going to stay nice we opted for another night in a Marina. So many marinas along this way did not make it through Katrina and have not reopened, but we did find (with the help of http://www.activecaptain.com/) Pass Christian Harbor in Mississippi. They did sustain lots of damage but have managed to rebuild, and in fact, are still rebuilding. We walked to the Harbor Masters office, stopped by the quickie mart and enjoyed a wonderful dinner on the outside patio overlooking the marina of Shaggy’s Restaurant.

After returning to the boat to get some minor clean up work done 2 gentlemen of the US Customs and Boarder Patrol walked down the dock and struck up a conversation with us. Seems they came specifically to inspect us so Tom invited them aboard. As it was 2 years ago they went through all our paperwork and investigated every cabinet, nook and cranny they could find, even did a thorough search of the engine room this time (bet that guy was hot!) I did ask if I could take their picture and they said no they’d prefer I not. They were both nice and friendly guys, but it was still weird having them aboard.

(sorry Wendy the stacks were closed and I was unable to get a picture)

Lucky Lady

2009-06-25T21:53:00.008-04:00

We knew today was going to be complex having to traverse two locks and the Mississippi River and it did not disappoint. We awoke abruptly this morning with water slamming against the hull of the boat. Just a simple wake from a north bound tug, but in our position it rode under the boat and loudly slapped bottom. Not a good way to wake up and an indication of the rest of our day.

We had to wait at the Harvey Lock for south bound, north bound, and then one more south bound traffic before it was our turn; 1-1/2 hours. The lock master attendant was an exceptionally friendly fellow, he chatted with us during the entire 9 foot lift. We were locked through with a very large tug just ahead of us, and then it was out the other side into surprisingly quiet waters of the muddy Mississippi. After radioing VTS (Vessel Traffic System) on channel 67 we were told there was no traffic, enjoy your ride. Hot damn, no bohemoths to contend with so we leisurely motored at 10 knots over 135 feet of water! (Going with the current in the Mississippi is NICE).

Once we turned the corner into the Inner Harbor Industrial Canal and radioed for a lock through we waited, and waited and waited. Over 2 hours later it was our turn to lock through with a very small fishing boat, we dropped 8 feet. While waiting we first tried to tie off to some pretty scary looking pylons on the port side of the entrance, and after about an hour of dancing around the lock master tells us to tie off on the starboard side of the entrance – nice dock and cleats – a far better location to wait our turn. He could have told us that earlier, but as it turns out he was not a very nice guy anyway, rather grumpy. Once inside the lock I was prepared to hand him the mid-line but he yells down STERN FIRST! (Maybe the heat got to him too- he wouldn’t even smile for a picture.

We had decided following our experiences today and the bad looking storm on the horizon (and it’s so hot) we’d just find a nice place to dock for the night and headed toward Lake Pontchartrain. What we found was Sea Brook Marina a very nice full service marina just south of the lake. They have one of those large structures where they store/stack the smaller boats on racks. They had just started to build it when Katrina struck. Following the hurricane they found two dogs that had taken refuse on a boat a couple of racks up. They believe they would have had to swim in. One of the dogs took off, but “Lady” stuck around and now she’s the marina pet. She’s still a little shy and stayed inside the store when our little rain storm hit – doesn’t care for rain they say.

Boatyards and backyards

2009-06-24T19:42:00.006-04:00

After our neighbors left this morning we pulled Refugio down to the pump out station (a very important task while docked).

This was a rather uneventful day as we passed by numerous boat yards and back yards. We did cruise through what’s called ‘stump alley’ and rightly so. This, of-course, was pretty much the only area we passed numerous barges.
We’ve tie up 5 miles shy of Harvey Lock in New Orleans at the Boontown Casino bulkhead, a very primitive bulkhead with not enough tie-offs. We’ve laid our fenders at water level to protect the boat from the cement cap.

There must be a military base nearby as very loud fighter jets have zoomed overhead a couple of times.

As we were sitting on the aft deck having dinner it would appear we witnessed a tugboat battle. The most unusual thing we’ve ever seen. Face to face they fought, pushed and pulled back and forth in the canal. Maybe they were really doing something legitimate, but it sure looked like a faceoff to me. It was most enjoyable and I don’t know that there was a clear winner.

We thought about going to the casino for dinner, but a storm blew in and we thought it best to stay aboard. So we were blessed with rain tonight which has broken the intense heat, at least for now.

Houma Revisited

2009-06-23T23:14:00.011-04:00

It was a very restful evening in Morgan City, with very little anticipated waking from the river traffic. We pulled back into the ICW in front of a 6-pack and just as the dredger barges were getting all set up for the day. First up was navigating the Bayou Boeuf Locks. We had to dance around for about ½ hour while waiting for a ‘jack-up’ to exit the lock. We have seen these special vessels before and just thought of them as pile drivers, but then the lockmaster referred to it as a jack-up. It’s always nice to know the language. Entering ahead of us was a working floating platform, they were told to stay to the port and we were told to pass them on a slow bell then hang out in the middle. Again we did not have tie off which I suppose it easier on everyone with only a 1 ½ foot drop.

As we cruised along just east of the locks we passed by major shipyards, scrap metal yards and dry docks. After a short while we got back to the simple quiet beauty of nature and lots and lots of birds. The plant life is overflowing into the waterways and a couple of times we had to pull some evasive maneuvers to avoid the larger patches of growth floating at us. This is not something we want to get sucked up in any of our intakes.

Our driving day was short and we found one other vessel tied up at the city docks here in Houma on the Bayou Terrebone when we arrived; the same vessel that was anchored in the middle of the channel at Mermentau. The gal came over and introduced herself – Charm & Ron of “Bout time” with another couple aboard and they’re headed to the Kentucky Lake via Mobile, originally from Port Aranasas, Texas. So it looks like we may be crossing paths with them a few more times.

We met Steve Willett who stopped by and asked if we needed anything. Apparently he keeps his trawler back down the ICW, lives nearby and when he sees fellow cruisers pull into the docks he come over to see if they need a ride to the store or anything. Although we did not need anything, it was a wonderful gesture, thank you Steve.

Tonight we did our laundry and while waiting we walked around a local cemetery. It’s a nice warm evening for a stroll and cemeteries are always one of my favorite places to stroll, especially here in Louisiana where they bury everyone above ground.

Morgan City

2009-06-22T22:30:00.006-04:00

(Please note the previous nights' blogs (below) - I've been without internet but I'm finally up to date)

What a hot and sticky night last night. I don’t remember the last time I’ve been so hot and sweaty 24/7. Every so often we feel a slight break in the temperature of a breeze, but not enough. Hopefully as we continue to travel east and then north the weather will become more tolerable.

Today we travelled by some spectacular scenery on both shores. Everything is so lush and green. I see an occasional flower in bloom and try to capture them so be sure to check out the photo albums.

There is an over abundance of dragon flies and butterflies (better than those bad nasty stinging bugs), I was blessed today to be a respite for one of the dragon flies.

Tonight we’ve docked at the Morgan City docks, just north of the ICW on the Lower Atchafalaya River. We are surrounded by work boats, bridges and folks fishing off the docks. We walked into town and enjoyed a nice dinner then over to the grocery store for some badly needed supplies. As we sat on the aft deck tonight enjoying a cooler breeze a train crossed the lift bridge just south of us – 106 cars and 6 engines. (guess who counted?)

Muggy Buggy Bayou

2009-06-22T22:24:00.008-04:00

June 21st

Last night’s anchorage was far more superior than it was 2 years ago. Both anchors held nicely and there was relatively no wind. Unfortunately we had to leave the generator running all night since the low was scheduled to be 80 deg and the air was so thick with bugs and humidity we never would have gotten any sleep. Around 2:30am I opened my side porthole just to check the temp and I could not believe the rush of hot air and noise of the bayou – all things considering the generator was a welcome racket. The tugs anchored in the ox bow with us were already up and working when we pulled out. They were transferring their load(s) of rock.

We are definitely in the Deep South; the landscape is primitive and overgrown with much larger trees, bushes and grasses. A couple of times we thought it would be appropriate to see a brontosaurus lift his head up while chewing on some plant life. This also brings us to Deep South bugs – they have some huge fly/bee type thing that loves to bite and they are everywhere. When the sun goes down the prehistoric mosquitoes come out and they don’t go down easily without a fight either.

We went though the Leland-Bowman lock today, but like a few days ago we just had to drive as we were locked through. We approached the lock behind a 6 strung out, but the lock master took us first rather than lock through together. That was very nice. We had intended to stay at Shell Morgan Landing in Intercoastal City, but upon inspection when we arrived there was no place for us to dock. So this is our 4th night anchoring out.

We’ve pulled up in Bayou Petite Anse just north of the ICW. We’ve dropped bow and stern anchors and both seem to holding fine. Like always we’ll each get up during the night to confirm we are in the same place. We did have one old salt stop by, Rollie Rogers, driving the most unusual shrimp boat we’ve ever seen, and offer us a good pound or more of fresh caught “boil” shrimp.

Mermentau Revisited

2009-06-22T22:11:00.007-04:00

June 20th -
Our anchorage was great last night, both anchors held very nicely and we were able to weigh anchor easy this morning. We pulled back into the ICW behind a 2 strung out barge. We watched as he entered the Calcasieu lock and after lifting 1 whopping foot exit and cross through the Black Bayou pontoon bridge. When it was our turn the lock master said ‘just stay in the middle captain’ which meant no tying off or fenders to put out for the deck boss (me) I put on my PFD just in case I had to step out on deck, but never did. This was a first for us, locking through and not securing the lines. Fortunately there was no breeze so it was easy for Tom to just mosey down the lane and out the other end (after a long blast on the horn from the lock master) Funny thing after he closed the gates behind us he hopped in his truck and drove down to the other end to open the exit gates. Then we passed through the pontoon bridge and eventually passed the barge that was ahead of us.

We have entered Louisiana and it’s easy to see the big difference in landscape. I believe the temperature has even dropped a few degrees. I’m seeing a few things I noted the first time we passed this way and you’ll likely see a few photos that look similar, but from a different direction. Such a the house who’s windows were bigger than the door, this time it was surrounded by family of folks fishing. The bulldozer that looks like it should be used as a swing.

We entered Mermentau River intending to stay the night 7 miles up at Myers Landing in the town of Lowry but when we arrived it was a beehive of activity. The one little bulkhead where I was told we could tie up was consumed with little boats, jet skis and families of all sort and sizes sitting around and frolicking in the water. Boats whizzed by us in all directions pulling skiers or tubers. We felt rather menacing being the largest thing on the water and totally out of our element. So we opted to skip Myers landing and anchor out in our old ox bow back down river. Now the last time we were here we found ourselves in a major storm and it was rather nerve racking pulling anchor and getting out of here. This time we expect the weather to be fantastic. We have dual gators, one aft and one forward keeping a close eye on our activities. When we pulled in we noticed a couple of tugs and about 6 barges ‘parked’ on the north entrance of the ox bow so Tom and I pulled along side and radioed to ask if they were going to have more visitors tonight or did they expect any work to be taking place (no late night deposits?) one of the captains indicated they’d been here for month and nothing was happening. In fact shortly after we anchored they left on a little work boat.

Both anchors are holding tight and we’ve got the generator going so we can have A/C tonight. We are surrounded by dragon flies, water hyacinth, cypress trees decorated with Spanish moss and exposed knees. The cicadas are chirping, birds are singing, and the gators are waiting.

Barge Adventures

2009-06-19T20:05:00.007-04:00

Before I get on with today’s update let me begin by telling you what happened last night. About 9:30 pm we were just getting ready for bed when we noticed a spot light skimming the tops of the bushes next to the barge and us. Tom and I watched from the pilot house as a tug w/barge slowly approached the kitty-corner end of the barges we’re tied to and slowly smacked into them. It’s a chilling noise when you hear two such heavy steel things come in contact with each other. Then we noticed someone walking around on the ‘abandoned barges’. With the spotlight behind him it was all quite eerie looking as the bugs flew everywhere. At first we were afraid they were going to move the barges WITH US ATTACHED. Eeghads! So Tom got his big spotlight/flashlight and hopped up on the barge himself, approached the guy in the spotlight and yelled “HEY HEY!” He explained our position and the guy relayed everything to the captain via walkie-talkies. Turns out they were just “getting rid of some garbage” (dead bodies?) It was all very mysterious and spooky, but we were very thankful they did not nudge and/or move the barges. After they left I was very nervous and opted to sleep in the salon on the settee. Well they returned at midnight and did the same operation – got rid of some “garbage” on the abandoned barge. We both thought it might be interesting investigate in mornings light to see exactly what they got rid of, but decided to mind our own business. So in dawns first light we are on the bow of the boat discussing which line to release first, start the engines, etc and a double-wide loaded barge starts down the channel and slowly begins to turn into the area we are!! They yelled something at us but we didn’t wait around and ask them to clarify. We just unhooked and got the hell out of there! When we left the barge was sitting crossways in the channel waiting for us to move before he moved in the two side-by-sides he was towing.

Okay, now for today – not as dramatic as last night and this morning. Twice we found ourselves part of a long parade of tugs and barges, there was lots of traffic in both directions all day at a consistent 6/7 knots. We also encountered a couple of big boys in Port Arthur. As we road past Adam’s Bayou we were tempted to go in and see if the Sabine Yacht Basin was still there and still abandoned, but didn’t. Otherwise uneventful and very hot day.

We’ve anchored in an oxbow 2 miles up the Calcasieu River. The CQR held as it should have in the mud and Tom threw out our new (used) stern anchor to keep us from swinging too much; so far so good. There is some sort of industrial plant relatively close to us and of-course tugs and barges seem to be working there as well. I think we are in a good enough place as to not interfere with them. A few little fishing boats whiz in and out of the oxbow, but I think this will be a nice anchorage especially since we have just enough of a breeze to not turn on the generator and run the a/c and instead enjoy silence. Might be pretty bright once they light up all the equipment at the plant and so far there's no smell.

Gators and Grass

2009-06-18T19:48:00.010-04:00

It was very calm and sunny when we backed out this morning; the sun is very bright on the water. For the most part it was a very quiet day, we continue to pass numerous barges some bigger than others. By the way, I only take pictures of only those that are nice and respond to our radio, some that don’t even respond I don’t bother with; sometimes I don’t even wave at them. I figure they are just grumpy and could care less about this little ‘Nat’ on the river. I did notice today the smell of the marshes got better as well. Took me back to my childhood when it was safe to jump into the river, you know that good fresh river smell. I was wondering where all the cows had gone to but I found them again. We decided to anchor in the Taylor Outfall Bayou just off the ICW just before Port Arthur. It’s a lovely and secluded spot, no trees just lots of tall grasses abound, with a slight breeze from the south. After a couple of failed attempts (with 2 anchors for just about an hour) we gave up. Upon further inspection when we brought up our CQR it was no wonder we could not get either anchor to hold the bottom is nothing but grass itself. We noticed when we approached the outlet a couple of abandoned barges, and you know we could not resist so we gingerly approached and I hooked a line. So here we are tied off to abandoned barges in the Taylor Bayou. It did not take Tom long to hop over and investigate. We also noticed we have a gator extremely curious in everything we’re doing and probably hoping someone would fall into the water. He seems to have no fear, unlike us. We did have a couple of Sheriff from Jefferson County pull up behind and ask if we were Okay. I forgot to take their picture!

There are lots of large flying things in the area so it’s great to sit here and update my blog behind the mosquito netting. I did brave the aft deck to quickly BBQ a couple of ham steaks. We’ll run the generator tonight so we can have A/C.

Short Day

2009-06-17T22:24:00.004-04:00

Did I tell you… We had no power last night – yes in an 80 degree night. We slept with everything open and enjoyed the breezes off the water, but it would have been nice to have the A/C going. The marina only took 50 amp and we did not have the proper adapter. UGH

Anyway, we both awoke filled with anticipation (or anxiety) about crossing the Houston shipping channel in Galveston Bay today. Two years ago crossing was miserable, high seas and winds and me wedged in the stairwell of the pilot house just trying not to be sick. Ugly day. Today’s crossing was nothing like that at all; it was marvelous – calm seas and winds. Approaching the channel we once again passed by bird island, I believe it stunk more this time than last. We’ve noticed since it’s the middle of summer and hotter than hell everything has a stronger smell than it did the last time we passed this way.

We held up slightly as we entered the shipping channel while two tankers crossed paths in front of us, one traveling north towards Houston and the other heading south and out to sea. We had no intentions of even trying to out run either of them. After entering the channel it was smooth motoring across the bay and out the other side back into the quiet ICW. We had decided to call it an early day in anticipation of being exhausted following the channel crossing and even though it was not, we pulled into our marina early anyway. We stopped at Stingaree in Crystal Beach Texas. There is evidence everywhere of hurricane Ike, lots of debris along the banks, few boats on the hard (where they shouldn’t be of course) and numerous uprooted trees – now just logs which are bird roosts. There don’t seem to be as many houses, restaurants, etc as there used to be – so much is lost.

Someone once wrote it’s best to go out to lunch rather that dinner, it’s less expensive – so we did and it was great. We each had a nice shrimp salad at the restaurant, returned to the boat and took a nap (how decadent and lovely in air conditioning). When it cooled off (haha) around 7pm we decided to try our bikes out and took a 5 mile (round-trip) ride to the one and only grocery store in the area for some small reprovisioning.

We are pretty much on the edge of ICW so we can watch barges pass by all night, if want to. Since the slip here is so shallow we’ll likely back out tomorrow and continue our trek east. We hope to anchor out tomorrow night.

Long Day

2009-06-16T21:56:00.006-04:00

Tom said when he was getting a drink of water around 1 am an older man and younger boy came walking down the docks with nets. They were catching something from the docks and having a grand time discussing the pros and cons of what they were catching. Being that the low was 80 deg last night it seemed like a good time to go fishing off the docks for anything.

We decided to leave early this morning and get as close as possible to Galveston so we could cross the Houston Shipping channel early tomorrow. We made 70 miles and are just west of the channel in Hitchcock Texas. We were fortunate in that the Brazos flood gates were restricted to commercial traffic today which meant most tugs/barges were not going to be allowed to cross until 4pm. Pleasure craft (that’s us) had no problems, however we were asked by the lock master to ‘pass on a slow bell’ aka not cause any wakes since they were working from a floating barge on the south side of the west gate and there was scarcely enough room for us to pass. So throughout most of the day we barely saw another vessel. The radio was pretty quiet too with the exception of a sailboat “nightingale’ ahead of us by about 1 hour. This was the same boat that docked ahead of at Matagorda last night had already pulled out when we got up this morning.

At some point I was below making tea and coffee and noticed a very strong burning smell – panic mode sets in just as Tom yells ‘hey look out the starboard window the entire marsh was burnt and it’s still smoldering’. This burnt out area went on for a few miles. I can’t tell you how happy I was it was not aboard Refugio. (I checked the engine room just in case). As we approached the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuse (somewhere between the Christmas & Bastrop Bays) we were inundated with white butterflies, never seen so many. I did notice however, the place really stunk with a very old stale yucky stink.

Traveling along West Bay (off Galveston) we noticed about 12 bouys that had become detatched presumably during the last hurricane and just washed up along the shore.

We pulled into the Harbor Walk Marina just about 6pm to find none other than the Nightingale docked next to us. It was really nice to have a few extra hands to help tie us off upon arrival, especially after such a long day. They have a wonderful pool here so Tom and I enjoyed a quick dip after we secured the boat.

Trawl la la la la

2009-06-15T18:29:00.006-04:00

We pulled out around 8:30 this morning after unintentionally leaving one of our longer lines snagged on a pylon. The bay was much choppier than it had been just a few days earlier with 2-4 ft swells and winds 18-20 knots. For the first time we decided to ‘cut the corner’ and brave wandering off the magenta line. We successfully maneuvered around Halfmoon reef and entered the GIWW just in behind a west bound barge. Once we were headed in a good easterly direction the sea and winds subsided and it was smooth motoring. We did have a few dolphins swim along and play in our wake; I had forgotten just how wonderful that felt.

Once we entered the channel with marsh lands on either side of us it was very still, with the exception of the cicadas which were very loud.

We did have one large and wide ‘red flag’ barge pass us on the “one whistle” heading west. We watched a sail boat ahead of us with a “light boat” (tug – no barge, we learn something new every day) ahead of him as we entered the lock area. Contractors have been working on the Colorado locks for a few months with restricted passage early morning and late evening, but they took a few days off. Lucky for us the lock was open without any restrictions. Immediately following the lock the Matagorda swing bridge waited for the first two vessels but then began to close with 5 sharp blasts of their horn. Tom immediately radioed them and asked if we’d be able to pass as well (oops) so they left us a little gap and asked if we could make it through there…… uh yea – so we did. We arrived in Matagorda Harbor early in the day and tied off with no trouble. We figure it’s a good thing to have a short day for our first day out.

We BBQ’d on the aft deck and watched the sunset tonight.

Good Bye Serendipity

2009-06-14T20:11:00.006-04:00

Our last day in Palacios Texas was a continuation of boat prep for our voyage up river. Uneventful and successful as Tom changed out the fuel filters on both engines, added transmission fluids, emptied and refilled various tanks. Since all my exterior painting of the cabin was completed a few days ago (and it looks lovely) my only task was laundry. Throughout the day a variety of friends stopped by to wish us a fond farewell and find out more about our journey. We have met so many good people here and thankful for all their help, suggestions and support. It’s been a good port of call these past 2 years; we know we have left our mark too at Serendipity Bay Resort and not just on the docks. (Dennis, check the pylon by the pump-out, we left you an extra line - mostly in the water......)

Winds

2009-06-13T22:45:00.005-04:00

In spite the strong winds on Thursday we managed to drive ourselves over to a local commercial fishing pier and fill up with diesel fuel (thanks David for the recommendation). The owner/manager Craig was extremely friendly and helpful, we pumped 500 gallons into Refugio which helps with ballast and levels us off. Our dockage back in the estuary was better than the day before, still not very pretty – but hey nothing got broken. We really have had a difficult time backing into our space with winds blowing 15-20 knots. I’ll be glad when we can pull out for the last time and begin our adventure.

We spent most of Friday running around town taking care of our last minute purchases for our trip. We were unable to find a repair kit for the water pump on the generator, Tom did manage to replace the impeller, but the pump still leaks. That’s going to have to be one of those ‘continue to check on it while underway’ things.

On Saturday Wendy and family arrived to pick up our car. We took them for a little cruise into Tres Palacios Bay. We had intended to anchor out and play in the water just to cool off, but the strong winds had something else in mind. So instead we returned to our little estuary and sat in the pilot house enjoying the breeze. Even though we noticed a few jellies when we arrived back, our grandson was still able to hang his feet off the swim step and get dunked a few times. Our dockage was once again a challenge due to winds, but Tom maneuvered very well and we tied off like pros – well almost, but we keep getting better. We opted to go to dinner early and stay longer in the restaurant since they had wonderful air conditioning.

The weather has been pretty unbearable here in south Texas this past week with a heat index of 110 today. We no longer have a car just our bikes so I sure hope we’ve got everything we need to depart on Monday.

All in a day's work

2009-06-10T22:41:00.007-04:00

While brushing my teeth I notice the water pressure was pretty low, then non-existent – funny we thought we had just filled that tank not more than 3 days ago. Upon inspection the next morning, it’s not the water level in the tank but another leaky pipe; which is now fixed.

Tom has completed wiring new charging and starting circuits and moved on to the leaking water pump on the generator (everything seems to be leaking) As he attempts to close the seacock (to inspect the water pump) it snapped off (oh s**t) For those of you non-boaters the seacock is a valve connected to a through hull, which is exactly that - a hole in the hull with a valve attached to it. So much of the machinery aboard operates with sea water and in order to work on them you need to close the seacock. Well this one was so rotted it simply broke when touched. We spent a good part of Tuesday hunting down a new valve and through-hull, and then made an appointment for a ‘mini-haul’ with the yard for today. (A mini-haul means we stay in the slings of the travel lift until our work gets done, roughly 2 hours) In the meantime Tom stuffed a nut-driver wrapped with a rag into the hole to stop any further water from coming into the boat. It’s not a comforting thing to have a hole in the bottom of your boat stuffed with a nut-driver and rag when you on the water. We both got up and checked it numerous times last night and it remained dry.

Today, with the help of our friend Bill, we hauled the boat out of the water and replaced the through-hull and valve. One troubling thing we discovered was the zincs on the shafts we installed one year ago were completely disintegrated, so we replaced them too.

We did not have a very graceful dockage upon returning and while attemping to tie us off I snapped off an entire fingernail (*$#@! ouch!!).

Since we’ve turned the boat around here in the estuary we don’t get much of a cross-draft but more mosquitoes. Our mosquito netting at the back doors and front hatches works great.

Week One

2009-06-06T20:53:00.010-04:00

We are finally back aboard Refugio, after spending a couple of wonderful days visiting daughter Wendy and her family in Austin. It’s always great to be with our grandbabies.

Ah, it’s hot and itchy in Texas. We were welcomed by hundreds of hungry mosquitoes upon our arrival in Palacios. For the past couple of days the air has been very still so the little critters have more opportunities to attack. We might as well have purchased stock in the “Johnson Company” since we’ve bought every OFF product we could find and use it all generously and daily.

Work has begun as planned with a “two steps forward and one step back” process as we continue to discover more things that require attention after sitting for 8 months. We knew there’d be some added projects, just didn’t expect them so quickly. First night, the shower hose was the first to blast away and needed replacement. Then the shore power plug ‘fried’ and the Y-valve for the head (aka toilet) froze. We’ve taken more trips to Ace Hardware in two days then we expected, and before we’ve even begun our intended maintenance.

Hey Kyla, the ducks are still here and more plentiful than last year - with 10 babies in the area it's great to watch their coming, going and bug catching antics.

Repositioning Ourselves

2009-05-26T12:34:00.026-04:00

Another school year has come to a close which means its boat time again. (whoo whoo) I have to say, it’s very difficult to sit in Kentucky, throughout the winter, watch the snow fall and wonder how our boat is faring in the gulf. Even more difficult when you know the weather is bad in Texas too. We don’t want to test that old myth “third times’ the charm” so with 2 hurricanes under our belts we’ve decided to move Refugio upstream away from the gulf and closer to home this summer; do a little work on her and check out the local waters.

This is our float plan this summer from Palacios, Texas to Cincinnati, Ohio (double click on the map to see it larger). Come along as we anticipate traveling approximately 1600 miles, navigating 22 locks/dams and engaging the ever present tugs and barges - - - and of course, cows.

Returning Soon

2009-04-16T17:52:00.006-04:00

We'll be back aboard in June - look for updates then. Can't wait to begin our next adventure. As a friend recently wrote "Somehow it always feels better when we're putting things back on the boat than when we're taking them off." Amen to that!

Yikes Ike

2008-09-14T14:55:00.018-04:00

At the beginning of last week hurricane Ike was dead-on for Palacios. As the week progressed we watched as Ike slowly began to turn more North/East towards Houston, and the 'cone of death' left our direct aim. Tom secured a few more lines before he left on Wednesday for Austin to spend some time with our daughter, son-in-law and grandson. He returned today to find Refugio floating fine. The water level is still pretty high and we did have a few lines come loose, but Refugio rode out the hurricane fine. In the last photo you can see some debris on the grass, so during the storm the water rose to over 5 feet. We are fortunate and are extremely happy to still have our boat intact. Our thoughts and prayers are with those that were not so fortunate throughout this hurricane.

It's a Wrap!

2008-07-31T18:29:00.015-04:00

We are back home in Kentucky and what a fantastic and industrious summer we had. We managed to get more done on Refugio than we had anticipated and planned for, starting with the haul-out and various paint jobs. Tom’s glassing of the pilot house went very well. The back wall, of the pilot house, stills needs to be completed, which he intends to do in September when he returns to Texas. We did find a color we intend to paint her next summer, as you’ll notice on the new pilot house. Neither of us has enjoyed having a “stark white” boat, when the sun is out - the glare is a killer; so she’ll be off-white. Tom also installed clear vinyl as temporary windows. We were also privileged to have our boat name hand-painted on the stern, by our dear friend and fellow cruiser, Kyla. We especially like the palm tree!

Brett and Kyla recently began their own sea adventure, be sure to check out their blog to watch their travels.(http://www.benevolentwanderings.com/) Kyla also makes and sells fantastic jewelry (I should know I've purchased lots of it!!) Help support their journey and buy some - www.kylacorbettdesigns.etsy.com
Next up we're off to Florida to baby-sit our Grand-daughter, Stella, while her Mom & Dad enjoy a vacation in Costa Rica.

Until next time - fair winds and happy travels.

Dolly

2008-07-23T10:59:00.013-04:00

After a wonderful weekend of enjoying Wendy and her family and celebrating Kenny’s 2nd birthday we sat back and anxiously watched the weather.

Personally, first hand knowledge of a hurricane is something I never want to experience. Thank you Mother Nature and Neptune,I didn’t have to. Not knowing which way this storm was going to turn, we secured Refugio with more lines and installed the back wall of the pilot house. WOW It’s great to see what the pilot house will look like once it’s painted and windows (albeit plastic) in place.

The gulf appeared to empty out of boats yesterday as we watched a constant stream of shrimpers come in. So many that they had to raft them together in the basin (rafting means tied together side-by-side). Torrential rains began in the wee hours of the morning; fortunately we did not get the wind speed we thought we might. I doubt we'll see the sun all day and the bands of rains are less frequent than expected. This is the closest I'd ever like to get to another hurricane.

We are doing fine, Tom is enjoying his last day of work at Serendipity and I'm hankered down in the motor home needle pointing a christmas stocking for grand-daugther #2 (Alice) expected late in September. We hope to finish up the pilot house windows, some engine work and securing Refugio this weekend then leave for Kentucky monday.

Work, work, work

2008-07-13T14:02:00.035-04:00

I figured out why I’ve been having such a difficult time sitting down to update our blog; it’s no longer a fun travel-log, but a lackluster labor-log. I’m not sure I can make this narrative truly interesting to any that read it but since you’re here, I’ll update you on our summertime goings-on. Ok, it’s safe to say these past few weeks have not totally been about boats (mostly) and we have thrown in some R&R outtings.

One such outing was a drive to check out Matagorda Beach. We had read and heard it was a unique place, and so it was. On this beach cars are allowed to drive right onto it. There were plenty of activities the day we were there, a couple of ultra-lights continually buzzing overhead flying up and down the coast line, we saw a couple of horses being unloaded as we left and some folks brought their 4-wheelers to torture the dunes directly behind the beach. We too joined in the fun and amused ourselves by getting wet. After we left the beach we drove to the local pier and walked the length of it. It is at this location you can see where the Colorado River joins the bay and hence empties into the gulf. We had been to Matagorda before, aboard Refugio the day before we arrived in Palacios. It was interesting to see it from this perspective.

Do you like to stroll through cemeteries? I do and always seem to seek them out no matter where we travel. It always interests me to see how old someone was when they passed, or perhaps there is a small story associated with the deceased. It’s generally very peaceful, and quiet. On this particular day (it was Sunday, usually not a typical day for a funeral service) we thought we had stumbled onto a burial service, but what it turned out to be was an anniversary of some kind with many folks gathered to pay their respects. We found several special engraved headstones, either by implanted pictures or special carvings. One showed a picture of a married couple on the day of their wedding on “his” headstone, and another picture taken perhaps 60, or so years later, on “hers”- sweet. Another gravesite, of a young boy, had cards and letters tucked in behind his cross, (to be read at a later time) and many toys laying on and encircling his plot. All very respectful and yet thought provoking.

Wendy (#2 daughter) and her family relocated to Austin this summer. Seeing that we were already in Texas, I was fortunate enough to pick her and #1 grand, Kenny up at the airport, meanwhile her husband, Keith drove down from San Francisco. Wendy, Kenny and I spent a few days touring Austin and checking out surrounding areas, including their new home. It was wonderful to spend a few days with Wendy and Kenny.

Enough R&R talk - let’s talk boat. After seeing how fantastic our new green boot stripe looked on the hull we decided to paint out the blue on the hull as well. It was relatively easy to pull the boat along side the dock, tape and paint, and then turn it around to paint the other side. Along with the large accent stripe on the hull we painted two smaller ones along side. Finally, I painted the eyebrow of the pilot house. This entire painting process took well over a few weeks and the boat looks GREAT!! Better and better every day.

Unfortunately, it did cut into Tom’s work time on his pilot house windows, but he’s back at them now and talk about looking wonderful. It’s going to be unbelievably great, a true pilot house trawler, when the windows are finished.

What's Luck got to do with it?

2008-06-19T13:33:00.018-04:00

I truly surprised myself as I watched our boat get hoisted out of the water for our first haul-out today. It was thrilling as I observed the bottom of our boat slowly appear, yet terrifying to see our 40 ton vessel just hanging there by a few straps. I also never knew I could be so excited at seeing the bottom of a boat, above the water. Ours was pretty clean, with just a few random barnacles. On the other hand, the rudders and propellers were quite encrusted with the little devils. Fortunately, they are easy to scrape off when still wet, so immediately following our power wash – that was the first thing we did – scrape barnacles. A few larger mussels wedged themselves into whatever tight little place they could find and they proved a little bit harder to dislodge. Those that came off easy got a trip back to the water (as promised). Got to tell you though, it’s very intimating being under the boat as it’s propped up by a few blocks of wood and 6 metal stabilizing tri-pod jacks. One of Tom’s primary goals was to remove the old, sporadic operating transducer, which he did by cutting it out. Yipes! Yup, a nice 2” hold in the bottom of the boat. He constructed a new fairing block out of a block of wood by slicing it in half (at a hull-angle) then drilling the proper sized hole, installing the new transducer, slapping it back on the hull, and then fiber glassing over it. Not as easy as I make it sound, but Tom has a way of making things work, and work WELL! After being painted it looks great!

Throughout the next week, along with the help of our friends, Steve and Cissy, we scraped, taped, sanded, blasted and banged our way to a clean, freshly painted bottom. To help prevent corrosion, the underside of our swim step was also treated and painted. Also under our corrosion control department Tom replaced 6 “sacrificial” zincs on the props, shafts and rudders.

Hanging around a boat yard for a week proved very colorful and enlightening for this novice. It was interesting to watch a pilot boat replace their experimental ‘bumpers’. A couple of crews came and went with little progress being made on their respective boats, with the exception of shrimp boat, Texas Rose, and her captain, Robert. They completely replaced the bow rail of the ship, along with the installation of a nice angle iron at the very front tip of the boat and were beginning fiber glass work when we left.

It was a pleasure to meet the captains’ son, Brandon. He’s off for the summer and will be attending high school next fall. He was a very engaging young man, as we spoke of many things. He seemed mesmerized with Refugio and it was our pleasure to have him assist us with our ‘splash’ back into the water and join us on our trip back to the marina.

As scheduled on our 7th day we went back to the boat yard to pay up and ship out. As Keith, the yard manager approached our boat while operating the travel lift one of the hydraulic lines burst, sending a fine spray of fluid all over our bow (yuck). It took him the good part of the day to repair/replace it so we opted to return the next day for our SPLASH. Once in the water and before Keith removed the slings, Tom attempted to start both engines - NOT. After sitting for a week, and without being charged, neither engine cooperated. So Tom started the generator (love that generator) jumped and charged both engine batteries – and “botta-bing, botta-boom” we have ignition, and backed out of the craddle.

Refugio is now safely tucked back into her little estuary at Serendipity Bay Resort awaiting our next project.

I’ve learned more than I care to know about the bottom of a boat, it’s no longer just a welcome sight to this weary scuba diver.

And so it begins

2008-06-12T16:28:00.010-04:00

It’s hotter than a fire cracker on the fourth of July and it’s only June. Tom seems to slide right back into this environment so easily; however, it takes me a wee bit longer. It’s great to be back on the boat; I’ve truly missed sitting on the back deck enjoying the gulf breezes, cries of the gulls and pelicans and watching the ‘happy fish’ shoot out of the water and back in again.

During our first weekend together we helped friends celebrate the renaming of their sail boat with a joyful party at the yacht club. Neptune (aka Captain Brett) carried out a fabulous presentation of ritual and rite, with libations, during the renaming ceremony. Brett and Kyla have been working on their boat for more than 2 years.

We were happy to share in their joy along with old friends from California; Steve and Cissy. Tom and Steve worked together for more than 20 years at the City of Glendale and have been revisiting the past this week. With no destination in mind we managed to take a quick little spin out into Matagorda Bay. It was a short jaunt enabling them to experience the flavor of cruising aboard Refugio.

Summertime

2008-05-20T22:24:00.030-04:00

We’re back on the boat and it’s about time for an update (or two) on our mariner adventures. Frankly, there’s just not enough of it!

This paragraph was written by the captain last summer and I thought I should share his perspective. "After a few short weeks at home we turned around and headed back to Texas. Then Sue flew back to Florida to retrieve the motor home and have another short visit. Once she delivered the motor home back to Palacios, First mate Sue left the vessel to secure the home front in Lexington. Meanwhile I've elected to continue living my dream by staying here on the Texas gulf coast for the summer. After a two day career at Wal-Mart in Port Lavaca, Dennis, the manager of Serendipity Bay Resort offered me a job at the marina/RV park. It is so much more convenient and in keeping with the plan to have the boat, motor home, my old truck and a job all at the same place. But even more pertinent to the vision is having the means, time and resources to make Refugio the vessel of our (my) dreams. Admittedly, I never envisioned 10 hour days of physical labor in the intense heat and humidity, but I am acclimating. It's a great way to work-out, but maybe not so great for one of my age; time will tell."

Tom spent 5 months puttering on the boat and working for the folks at Serendipity. I did return to Lexington and got a job at Transylvania University (to pay for the boat). One true benefit of Tom's arrangement with Serendipity was the free RV site, which afforded him a place to cool off during the sweltering summer heat of south Texas. During his time in Texas Tom was able to ward off the continual march of mold, and take care of many repairs on our boat.

We have been asked (many times) if we had named our boat after Refugio, Texas, or perhaps we were FROM Refugio, Texas. As I mentioned earlier on in this blog, our boat name, Refugio, comes from the state park on the coast of California, where our family spent many a wonderful night camping out, hiking the cliffs and gathered around the evening campfire; warm memories for us all. We were intrigued and set out to find this place - Refugio, Texas. As it turns out the town is about 80 miles south-west of Palacios, nice little town with a history of Irish immigration and battles.

Tom’s Mom and brother joined us for a few days, along with their dogs, Bruno & Annie. I thought the boat was big until their dogs came aboard for a visit. They were very brave in spite of being surrounded by water – which neither dog is fond of.

Our son, Brian, was able to take some time off work, drive down to Texas and check out the boat. We tested our live-well as Brian did some fishing and actually caught a big ole fish, which was later released.

Towards the end of the summer Tom moved Refugio out of our end slip to a small outlet. It’s in the same location the owner keeps his 44 foot shrimp boat.

It’s been a year and summer has come around again. Tom has already returned to Texas and I've got a couple of weeks till school is out and I can join him. I'll be updating the blog a couple more times so keep checking back.

Final Destination

2007-03-19T17:53:00.000-04:00

3/18/07 – Today we’ve arrived at our final destination – the Serendipity Bay Resort in Palacios, Texas. After coordinating with the lock master, we passed one last swing bridge and traversed the twin Colorado River Locks – (without incident since all restrictions had been removed that morning). As a final trial we encountered another dredger cutting across the canal and a few more barges. Alone we motored into the Matagorda Bay as the winds began to kick up and seas swelled to 2-4 feet. (Ugh!) A few miles out we found our cut into Tres Palacios and found our way to the docks – BUT not without one final difficult landing. As I jumped off onto the dock the winds began to seriously push Refugio down the lane of other vessels (and not in a good way) I had no choice but to release the line as Tom gunned her from rubbing the sail boats docked next to us. Of course the line got tangled in the prop and halted any movement from the port engine. Just about this time two men came to our rescue and helped tie us off. We sat rather cockeyed in the slip for most of the day hoping for the wind to subside. It never did, so with strong perseverance Tom and I managed to pull her over the starboard side dock and secure the lines again. We’ve traveled over 1,300 miles to get her here; it’s been an incredible journey from start to finish.

As a PS - Monday 3/19 - I donned my dive gear and dove under the boat today to untangle the line, it was good to be UNDER the water instead of on top.

To Matagorda Harbor

2007-03-19T12:27:00.000-04:00

3/17/06 – Like yesterday we thought it would be better to get an early start, now knowing what we were facing. In some respect made it better, but also intimidating. We passed through the Freeport Shipping Canal without incident and plowed on. It wasn’t long before we began fighting a strong current and began seeing lots of ‘large’ debris in the canal. We had to ‘do the dance’ while waiting for a few tugs to exit the Flood Gates; maneuver themselves to their barges and found ourselves lightly grounded a few times on soft mud. Once the Lock Master told us it was clear to proceed we started, but stopped suddenly with a lurch! (I hate that feeling) Yup, we’d bottomed out smack dab in the middle of the boat. While the tug operators watched on, Tom rocked us back and forth, back and forth until we finally worked ourselves free. We immediately proceeded to the middle of the canal; deeper wider water, cautiously moved through the Flood Gates, crossed the Brazos River and out. (Nothing ever seems easy any more). Being Saturday there are many pleasure crafts and the ever present speedy little fishers out. All sorts of folks line the banks; it is a pleasure to watch individuals and entire families out for a day of fishing and play. It’s actually a nice sunny day, and the winds have subsided, a wee bit. When we pulled into Matagorda Harbor a nice young man, David, helped pull us in and tie us off (even though the wind are keeping us nice and tight along the dock). Across the little harbor there was an old wooden boat. Turns out it’s a touring vessel, a ‘historically correct replica of a 15th century caravel’. After a nice yummy dinner at the Waterfront, a casual seafood restaurant, we strolled around the docks and found ourselves buying tickets to tour “Nina”. We met Captain Kyle and crew member Michael and talked of many things, sailing ships, cabbages and kings. We invited them down to tour Refugio later that evening, which they did.

To Bridge Harbor Yacht Club

2007-03-19T12:21:00.000-04:00

3/16/07 - We decided to get an early start since we’d have to cross Galveston Bay this morning and need to be ‘fresh’ to tackle whatever comes our way. Good thing because the winds and seas kicked up something fierce. I’m talking white caps again. It was reminisce of our gulf crossing when I got so sick – but hey – I didn’t this time. Tom again had to maneuver around one of the big boys coming in on the Houston Ship Channel; I wedged myself in the doorway and watched. The passage lasted a long 2 hours and we found ourselves back in calm waters once past the bay. I found the Texas coastline to be rather wild and open. The waterway continues to expand and retract as we pass various inlets into the gulf. Little speed fishers continue to wiz by us in all directions and the occasional tug and barges are still with us. There are numerous fishing shacks along the GIWW, not the cute little houses with docks, just plain shacks. Our destination tonight is Bridge Harbor Yacht Club just before Freeport. The hard-hitting winds are still with us, which, again, made for a rather difficult dockage. Two other boater men came to our rescue and helped with the lines. Once tied up, a little Albin 27ft pulled into the same little U-shaped pier with us for the night. They reported just coming from the west and told us about their intricate passage through the Brazos River Flood Gates. Apparently many larger logs (aka uprooted trees) have been washed downriver from the recent storms.

To Stingaree

2007-03-19T12:13:00.000-04:00

3/15/07 - It was spooky quiet last night - nothing moved, but after yesterday it was very welcome silence and being fogged in this morning added a special hush. Once it burned off we slipped out of Adam’s Bayou back into the GIWW. The waterways cut across the top of Sabine Lake which caused some unruly conditions; winds and currents. We learned to watch the barge ahead of us and when he started to turn sideways, we knew - caution strong current ahead. This mode of operation continued each time we passed any river or large body of water. At the intersection of GIWW, Turning Basin and Neches River there is what’s called the Texaco Tank Farm. This is the starting place or filling station for many of these barges we’ve been coming in contact with these past few days. Vigilance again became our position as we maneuvered around tied-up barges and tugs either picking up or dropping off. It also appeared to be the destination for a few of the larger vessels which had come in via the Houston Shipping Cannel. Interesting how some of the homes tucked behind a solid patch work of granite levee built their own decks to watch the parade on the GIWW. This levee continued on for many miles. As we passed Port Arthur we found it entertaining to actually recognize many of the landmarks from this side of the water we had seen on land a few years ago. Once past Port Arthur we again found ourselves in the quiet countryside with cows, and more cows. Islands and homes began to spring up around us as we approached the East Bay of Galveston. We found dockage at Stingarees Restaurant and Landing in the city of Crystal Beach right on the GIWW. (Restaurant, means no cooking for me tonight – yee haw) We were told to not go beyond the Bait Shop otherwise we’d find ourselves in shallow water. Our depth finder blinked at 4ft when we finally cut our engines for the night. Needless to say we decided to back out the next morning rather than try to turn around.

To Sabine Yacht Basin

2007-03-17T21:39:00.000-04:00

3/14/07 – We arose early hoping to leave and stay ahead of an approaching storm, but it found us first. After an hour of watching our location slowly shift we threw out our other bow anchor, which seemed to grab quite nicely. The winds became fierce (reported 40 mph) and tried to blow our dinghy off the boat, so we wedged it long-ways across the pilot house, and tied it down again. At first sign of clearing we decided to ride it out on the waterways, pulled anchors and left Mermantau River behind. (Not before fishing the Captain's hat out of the water which had blown off his head while pulling up anchor) I continued to get weather reports from both daughters so we knew it wasn’t going to be a pretty day. The sun came out briefly and we had high hopes of missing the storms, but alas alas, it found us again. When we approached the Black Bayou pontoon bridge we were told the lock immediately following the bridge was down until 5pm which meant we’d have to wait about 3 or so hours with the other traffic. UGH! There were already two barges tied off waiting, with a few more coming down the canal towards us. Tom radioed the lock master to be sure our name was ‘on the list’ if that’s how they were going to lock us through. Of-course the rains came down harder as we coasted back and forth on the canal waiting. There are very few choices in these here parts of Louisiana when you’re on the water – we had no option but wait and proceed when called. Somewhere the gods smiled on us and it wasn’t more than 30 minutes later the lock master starting calling boats to line up for the lock through. We were the third called, behind two unencumbered tugs. We threw on life jackets and tossed lines around the cleats along the side wall, as the rains continued to pelt us. Once out the lock we continued through poring rain; an occasional lightening bolt with some thunder thrown in just for fun. (ARE WE HAV’N FUN?!) Fortunately, it’s not a freezing cold rain but with an open pilot house it makes everything wet. It’s very interesting being on the water in the poring rain; without winds, the waterways become smooth, taking on the appearance of blacktop. We managed to find our dockage for the night at the Sabine Yacht Basin just before the last of the storm blew through. We were not totally sure we were in the right place since I had attempted to phone them all day and never got an answer, now I know why. It’s like a boat burial ground and the buildings deserted; obviously another place that didn’t survive a hurricane. Those boats that are not half sunk already have clearly not been attended to for some time.

To Mermantau River

2007-03-17T21:29:00.000-04:00

3/13/07 – This morning we were again treated to 6am rush hour, but the boats are now bigger and so was their roar. I just never knew so many folks went to work via the waterways. When we pulled out we feared for more wet weather since the clouds were so dark, but the sun came out not long after we left. Even with our wind-block-plastic-wrap the rain would still be a pain in our pilot house. As we continue, we see less and less commercial traffic, the amount of tug and barges has easily been cut in half. We only had one lock to deal with today; had to hold up for ½ hour while waiting on an east-bound 1000Ft 5 strung out barge to exit. When he did we were told to proceed and pull within 50 feet of the end to allow another barge to lock through with us - Crickies – 2 strung out right behind us on the other wall (Didn't I say - every day it’s something new). These puppies can be gigantic and we’ve seen, more than once, where one of them has nudged the river banks or plowed into a bridge (BIG Oops). Once more we had to wear life vests on deck while locking through. We passed another cable ferry, but it does not appear to be used often, if at all. It would appear the marsh lands are giving way to farm lands; my camera now seems to be finding more and more cows posing for pictures. Just as the little fishing shacks are transforming into smaller family homes. With the weather still questionable we’ve decided to drop anchor early today at probably one of the loveliest places yet. We are in an oxbow about 2 miles up the Mermentau River; surrounded by cypress (with their knees) and various other trees and bushes. This is truly beautiful and isolated. We have not seen or heard another vessel for some time and I don’t expect to hear any rush hour tomorrow morning. This evening we only hear the charming songs from birds and the occasionally slap of water on the hull. We both peeked our heads out at midnight and enjoyed seeing the many stars above. Way off in the distance, over the top of the trees, we could see the glow of a barge search light scanning the river as it traveled through the darkness.

To Intracoastal City

2007-03-17T21:26:00.000-04:00

3/12/07 – This was a pretty quiet traveling day, only made a sparse 33 miles due an impending storm heading our direction. We pulled into the Shell Morgan Landing/Marina in Intracoastal City just before the first rain drops fell. If this storm decides to get nasty we’re hankered down for the night.
This is a small commercial marina and Refugio seems so much more at home here, there are other boats that look like her, no other small pleasure craft. We walked to the local grocery, Maxie Pierces, which is now just a trailer, with very little food, mostly beer, but she makes poor-boy sandwiches. She showed us the picture of her old grocery store, actually just the roof, totally submerged in Rita 2005. She has not rebuilt yet, but hopes to someday. We continued to travel with lot of tugs and barges on the GIWW, but have stopped taking pictures of most of them. Really how many different kinds are there?!?

To Charenton Drainage Canal

2007-03-17T21:10:00.000-04:00

3/11/07 - A touch of fog this morning which burned off quickly and it remained cool most of the day. We thought being Sunday morning it would be rather quiet, but again, we were awoken by rush hour on the water. For 15 minutes the river was a constant buzz of motor boats. Again, being Sunday we were hoping barges took a day off, but not even close. We passed, and were passed by more barges today than any other day on this trip; too many to continue to take pictures of. Fortunately for us the waters were wide all day with outlets, inlets, canals and bayous’ which made for easier maneuverability. When we arrived at the Bayou Boeuf Lock we were pleased to discover it ‘open’ with no waiting or locking, even though there was strong current it was great to get through it without having to tie off or hang on. We also anticipated crossing paths with a cable ferry, but it was not operating as we passed so there was no cable for us to watch out for. We arrived at Morgan City where the Lower Atchafalaya River and GIWW combine which pushed us to 9.5 knots– the fastest we’ve ever gone. There continues to be a steady amount of debris in the river, either from the numerous shipyards we pass or Mother Nature herself. I continue to be amazed by this environment, this Louisianan Bayou region. It’s not just rustic in nature, but fierce in a realistic way. The scenery itself is the best attraction of all; cypress knees and/or mangrove trees; Spanish moss hangs everywhere, spring wild flowers blooming, pungent mud and buzzing bugs all over the place. It’s all so COOL. I wish I could capture it with my photos, and hopefully what I have taken will provide some insight to this day’s trip. We’ve dropped anchor just inside the Charenton Drainage Canal in front of a depilated abandoned barge which is finding its way back to nature. Seriously, it’s got trees, bushes and ferns growing on it. This barge is very much a rust bucket now so we didn’t want to get too close, but Tom couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a little stroll on deck. Our isolated canal didn’t last very long as two sail boats arrived and rafted together just downstream from us. Somehow, I’d like to screen in this aft deck. It would have been nice to sit out there tonight and just listen to the bayou melody and not be eaten by it.

To Houma

2007-03-17T20:47:00.000-04:00

3/9-10/07 – This morning we experienced our first taste of rush hour on the water. There was a constant stream of speed boats whizzing by starting at 6am and giving us a nice roll out of bed wake up call. As we pulled out we are being following by a flock of birds, all crying out “fish, fish fish-mine, mine, mine” I know we look like a fishing boat, but really!!! The terrain is not at all what I expected to find this far south in Louisiana; it’s actually quite beautiful and green. Not just water surrounded by marsh grasses, but many different kinds of trees and bushes; some in bloom. Entering Larose we found ourselves again surrounded by shipyards. It’s amazing to see how they work on these vessels, some on the hard, and some still in the water. I’m talking BIG ships and we’re still not sure how they got there. Next to these operations are pastures of horses and cows, all very unusual – boats and grazing animals. We still have the many different barges and tugs to deal with, but we are learning their language. Do you know what a red flag two strung out is? We do! Or how about a two empty side-by-side? For about 3 miles today we tagged along behind a loaded two strung out, at 3.9 knots. (Aren’t you impressed?!?) It’s been rather another stressful day, weaving in and out of barge traffic; avoiding the various growths of water plants and debris, so we’ve decided to tie up in Houma (pronounced Home-Ah). The city marina is located right off the canal between twin bridges. This enables us to watch barge traffic all day. (Oh Boy) Houma is a nice little town, we had dinner at the Samari Dragon and decided to walk it off and see what we could find. What we found was reminisce of their own Marti-Gras celebration; purple, green and gold bead necklaces hung, or thrown everywhere. This is an old town with lots of pride and history. There is also a sizeable medical center right across the canal. We found a large size announcing a CASA festival next weekend. Those of you that know me know of my association and affection for CASA, it made me feel good to see this wonderful organization hosting what would appear to be a large event.
I was sitting on the aft deck watching a dad and son fish across the canal, when all of a sudden we all heard a very loud noise, much louder than any speed boater or tug. It was sea plane taking off UNDER the bridge; I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. It was too quick to grab my camera, but it would have made a great shot. After these last few days we’ve decided to take a MHD (Mental Health Day). It’s time to restock our food supply, get some laundry done and relax a bit before we continue with our journey.

To LaFitte (through New Orleans)

2007-03-17T20:34:00.000-04:00

3/8/07 – We awoke to fog so took our time getting underway. Barges continue to tug along the GIWW (Gulf Intercostal Water Way) so we tucked in behind one of them as we pulled back into the canal. Not long thereafter we were sandwiched between the barge and another tug. The boat traffic became more and more relentless the closer we got to New Orleans. The GIWW crosses paths with numerous deep-water canals which connect directly to the Gulf of Mexico, it all becomes so industrial. Throughout the day the damage caused by Katrina was unmistakable in all directions. We did see a few vessels ‘on the hard’ and found ourselves actually lusting after their windows – wonder who has salvage rights? Our first difficult task of the day was the Industrial Locks. When we radioed the lockmaster, we were instructed to tie up off on the port side and wait, which we did. With the amount of boat traffic it is not uncommon to have to wait your turn. 30 minutes later out comes two side-by-side barges and in we go. It seemed rather silly us being the only vessel in this large lock, but it was great not having to share the space. Now I understand the phrase, “Mississippi mud” at least in color. The water is liquid mud and when it’s calm it’s like a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar. The Mighty Mississippi River is overcrowded with vessels of all sizes and shapes, everywhere. Upon entering the river we passed by a Navy vessel and had to avoid the Admirals’ Dinghy which was approaching from the opposite bank.
There is a choice of two locks to take through New Orleans, the Harvey Lock (granddaddy of all locks) and the Algiers Lock. Apparently the Algiers is mostly used by commercial, so we’re traveling upstream to the Harvey. It was a very intimidating 4 miles. Tom doing his best to stay off to the right and well out of the mainstream was hailed on the VHF radio, “Small white pleasure craft - this is Navy Security, please switch to channel 77” (Oh Sh**T) what now?!?! Apparently there is a Navy vessel just ahead that we are too close to; Ok, no problem. There were 3 navy skiffs surrounding this mysterious vessel, each skiff had guns on their bows and one actually road along with us till we were well enough away. By the looks of her we think it was a guided missile frigate – not sure what it was doing downtown New Orleans. The only problem with pulling back into the mainstream was the behemoth behind us, and getting closer every minute. We decided to pull over and wait under a bridge for it to pass, since traveling upstream (against current) we are doing about 5 knots and it was doing more like 10. Only a few more miles and we reached the Harvey Lock, where again, we were told to pull up to port and wait. This time there was nothing to tie off to so we bobbed in place and fought the river current for close to 45 minutes. Upon entering, the lock master informed us that anyone on deck had to wear a life vest. With our vast experience at locks this was the first time we’d heard this, but hey, we made the fashion statement. Leaving the lock we entered into an avenue of shipyards, it was like driving down an alley behind the river; so many places fixing and building ships of all sizes. (And lots of debris to maneuver around) Within the hour the canal became more scenic as the settings were much more relaxed. There were lots of nice houses and small working boats on both banks. We decided to tie up at the C-Way Marina on the Barataria Waterway, in the city of Lafitte. This was probably our worst dockage ever – not Tom’s driving but the marina itself. One of the first planks I stepped on flew up and almost smacked me right in the face. It felt like candid-camera. We did not have power, but were happy to be tied up somewhere for the night. Today was very demanding, but it was so awesome!

To Rabbit Island

2007-03-17T20:30:00.000-04:00

3/7/07 – Such a splendid uneventful (and boring) day; nothing but wide calm water all day as we left Mobile Bay and headed into the Mississippi Sound. However, Tom did manage a tricky evasive maneuver through the shipping lane of Mobile Bay (That WAS the excitement of the day.) As we cruised by Biloxi, we waived “hi” for daughter Wendy. We managed to get 70 miles under our belt as we passed Ship Island, Gulfport, Cat Island, Long Beach, Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis, Pearl River and The Rigolets; settling for the night at Rabbit Island in Louisiana. This was a small little island with nothing but marsh grasses growing on it and numerous various birds doing what they do. We were able to circle around, pick our spot and drop anchor – smack dab in the middle of the waterway. This afforded us plenty of ‘swing’ room since we no longer have our stern anchor. Also, on the other side of the island were the remains of a sea drill after, apparently, not surviving Katrina. There was a very cool RR swing bridge not far from our location and we were treated with RR traffic most of the evening (Reminded me of home). Tomorrow we negotiate New Orleans.

To Petit Bois Island

2007-03-17T19:51:00.000-04:00

3/6/07 - This morning we continue west in the peaceful Perdido Bay; as it thinned into even a smaller cannel. It didn’t take long however for the boat traffic to pick up, we passed the first of 10 barges upon entering these ‘more narrows’ I like to call them. Fortunately, we never got stuck behind any slow movers – just movers. They are doing a great job at maintaining the integrity of the canal – but this means lots of working barges and tugs moving ‘stuff’ to and fro. This far north there is lots of sweet smelling pines lining the channel, so much more different than the marshes and cypress we’ve been used to seeing. We passed LuLu’s Restaurant, owned and operated by Lucy Buffet (sister to Jimmy). Further on down the canal and on into Oyster Bay, there is much development, which is unfortunate; takes away so much of the rustic charm. On the south side we continued to see waterfront homes with their waterfront docks; some delightfully decorated and other simply functional. On the north shore there are numerous condo complex sites being constructed with oversized marinas associated with them. From Oyster Bay we moved into Bon Secour River and finally into Mobile Bay. As they say in mariner talk - the water gets wide here - and there is little to look at, other than an occasional passing vessel. We did run across the Coast Guard working on a navigational day marker that shapes our watery path. Mobile Bay is dotted numerous oil derricks and various other working rigs, commercial traffic seemingly going in all directions as well as the ever present sport fishermen running in and out of the gulf passes. We anchored out in the lee of Petit Bois Island, a nature preserve about 20 miles south of Pascagoula. There was little to tuck in behind since there were very few trees on the island, but we managed to settled in a nice quiet spot for the night. Off in the distance we could hear the repeating sorrowful sound of a fog horn.

To Orange Beach ALABAMA

2007-03-05T19:48:00.000-05:00

3/5/07 – Hey Toto – We’re not in Florida Anymore!!! Not by much but 35 days later – we’re in Orange Beach, Alabama. We took off across Pensacola Bay in some pretty rough and choppy water this morning and still very cold. It's not wonderful traveling in an open pilot house when it's 40 degrees! Can't wait for warmer weather so we can both defrost. I did have a couple of dolphins come by to play in our bow wave and I knew it was going to be a good day. With a variety of little islands between us and the gulf we had choice of homes along the north shore and clean white sandy beaches on the south to look at. Located on the western tip of Santa Rosa Island is the remains of Fort Pickens, which was the largest of a group of forts designed to fortify Pensacola Harbor; constructed in the 1800's. The cold winds subsided once we entered the Big Lagoon where we again confronted more barges, Lucy and Hunt Girls, which I always wave at while passing. We entered ‘the narrows’ along the intercostals known as the Perdido Key region, more colorful homes painted in what I call the Padre Island theme. These colorful homes are such a treat to the eye, so perky, playful and frisky. We’ve arrived at the Bear Point Marina for a good nights sleep, it’s a larger marina tucked into a nice little cove. Tomorrow we traverse Mobile Bay and Mississippi sound where we expect to see larger vessels as we navigate shipping lanes.

To Little Sabine

2007-03-04T18:50:00.001-05:00

3/4/07 - Did I say “never a dull moment”?!? How about 3:30 am the winds are howling and we’re drifting into the abandoned sail boat. Yup, neither anchor seems to be holding anymore, the winds are dragging them, slowly, in unison. Neither anchor would budge when we try to pull them in, but yet neither would hold against the wind. Our only alternative was to cut the stern anchor and let us swing with the wind, which worked for a while until we noticed we were still easing back towards the sailboat (SH**T). We weighed anchor 4 different times, each time trying to get a solid hold, but the winds were too strong. Even though the sun had not quite yet rose, we decided to make a run for it, only to have a barge, at a snail's pace mind you, enter the bay. It’s not a big channel and very shallow water on either side, so we had no choice but to wait. Tom danced the boat around for a bit until the channel was clear. We felt it was better to move forward then take any chance banging into another vessel, so we departed at 6 am. It’s very cold at that hour of the morning in the pilot house even without a 40 deg wind chill. The weather did not improve as the sun rose behind us.

We did pass by Fort Walton Beach, which seem to be a great little town, again lots of cool houses dotting the shoreline and there was a military training ground of some sort along the south shore for miles.

It’s not easy keeping a 35 ton vessel traveling in a straight line with strong winds pushing you, can you image how it must be for a tug pushing a couple of barges? We passed such a vessel, very closely.

After a short rough 37 miles, we opted for another night at a marina – warm, safe and secure. If the weather was better this would be a great little spot to go exploring, but since it’s still so cold outside, we’ll have to postpone any outings for tonight. We’ve docked at the Beach Marina in Little Sabine Bay just east of Pensacola. The sand bar just to our starboard has been occupied all day with various birds, either grounded or simply hunting for food. Since I wanted to release our third little stowaway I opted for a safe place under the boardwalk, far from watchful eyes.

To Joe's Bayou

2007-03-03T19:09:00.000-05:00

3/3/07 – It seems every day there is something new to experience on this trip, truly, never a dull moment and I’ve come to appreciate all of them. We cruised across the St. Andrews Bay and entered the West Bay Creek, where we knew it would become tapered. Just at the entrance of the creek they were putting in new pylons, I’m sure all the workers wore ear plugs it was the loudest BOOM BOOM I’ve heard; interesting operation. I also saw my first seaplane today.

Just on the other side of the bridge was a slow moving barge. Ugh! There was no room for us to pass and being the larger, less maneuverable vessel he had the right of way. For close to 10 miles we had to follow behind this barge (Captain Dean) at a screaming 4 knots. It’s not like we go very fast anyway at 7-8 knots but it really made us slow way down. I drove for a wee bit and took the opportunity for (you guessed it) tea and coffee. We passed by what was called the "little grand canyon" and other remarkable shorelines. After about 1-1/2 hours the barge pulled over to the right and stopped is engines, allowing us to pass. Actually, it turns out there was another barge coming downstream and this was the widest part of the creek to enable them to pass each other.

After we got ourselves back up to speed (haha) we soon came upon a big red thing being maneuvered by a tug. Turns out it was a dredger (as the tug captain informed us – oops) It was hooked up with miles of piping and other little red pieces of dredger. This was a very intriguing operation, the miles of pipe go up and over the banks, delivering and separating the silt and/or creek bottom then depositing the solid and pumping the water back into the creek. See, everyday it’s something new. We’ve anchored in Joe’s Bayou off the Choctawhatchee Bay for the evening. There are 3 other vessels anchored here, one is a rust bucket and the other two look abandoned. There would appear to be an airport close by, we’ve seen a few older bombers fly by with landing gear down. I caught a baby lizard today, and will keep it until he hit dry land. I think we caught his mama in Panama City and already put her ashore there. We were blessed with another beautiful sunset tonight.

On Hold in Panama City

2007-03-01T11:59:00.001-05:00

2/28- 3/2/07 – We passed a brand new tanker this morning apparently pumping out its ballast, it was an enormous amount of water! We pulled into Panama City pretty early in the day so we’d have plenty of time to get the water pump and install it. One gentleman in the office overheard us asking for directions to a marine store and quickly offered up his friend to give us a lift; he only asked that we return the favor to another cruiser stranded in our home port. AH HA! That’s how it works! Pretty cool system – again, what goes around comes around. With a new water pump installed we had the rest of the day to walk around the city. It would appear that we are in ‘old town’ and it’s not very big. We were able to do two trips to the store and walk the piers checking out other boats. Some merchants appear to be working very hard at improving the ambiance of this general area; there are a number of ‘antique’ stores, various eateries and for some strange reason a large number of attorneys. Perhaps Panama City is a district seat for the courts or something.
Each time I look overboard more and more jellies become visible in the marina. There always seems to be some attention-grabbing creature to watch on this journey.
After watching the weather channel (It’s great to have cable TV) we’ve decided to hold up one more day here in calmer waters. Good thing, even here in the marina, which inside the bay, the waters are a pretty wicked chop. So we’ll take another down day and as they say ‘wait for our weather window’. After this storm passes, in a day or two, we expect to have nice weather along the intercostals for the next several days as we continue to head west!

To California Bayou

2007-03-01T08:07:00.000-05:00

2/27/06 – We both woke up around 5am; it was so dark we could not see our hands in front of our faces and so very quiet outside it was downright eerie. We went out on the aft deck to discover we were in an incredibly solid fog. Whelp, nothing to do about that but go back to sleep and hope it was lifted when we awoke again. When we did, a few hours later, it was a little thinner but we then noticed how much the tide had gone out and there were little sandbars all around that weren’t there the night before. Pulling anchors was a little trickier since we didn’t want to edge any closer to the sandbars, but Tom managed just fine without incident. Today we left the gulf for the quieter waters of the intercostals. Passing the Gorrie Memorial Bridge we saw lots of little fishing boats, doing what I assume is clamming. They were using hole diggers with wire nets. We entered at Apalachicola Bay and passed a fleet of fishing boats then the surroundings quickly became marshy. The water returned to the root beer color we’ve seen so much of inland. We did see a few bald eagles, and of course the ever present, entertaining dolphins. We only passed one other cruising vessel so for the most part we were the only vessel on the river. The terrain changed from marshlands to tall pine, still keeping the backwater atmosphere. We did pass an occasional fisherman either on shore or in their little boats along shore. As you would imagine, there were numerous houseboats tucked in bayous and inlets along the river. It was by far one of the most pleasurable and relaxing days we’ve had. We anchored in the California Bayou of East Bay about 300 yards from shore using two anchors again. There is a military base across the bay and numerous times today we were buzzed by jets; tonight we’ve seen (and heard) them take off. At night you can see the jet engine flames. Somewhere along our route today we changed into central time.

To Dog Island

2007-02-28T20:47:00.000-05:00

2/26/07 – (Happy Birthday Charlie!) We settled up our bill with Sherri, the owner of River Haven, and we were seen off by Bill and Thomas, such good guys. It was pleasure to meet them and I sure hope to run across their paths again someday. I imagine we’ll keep in touch regardless. Our gulf crossing was very mild and uneventful; other than an occasionally dolphin swimming along side or in our bow wave. We made about 72 miles and anchored out in a small bay of Dog Island, one of many in the St. George Sound. This should be the last we see of the big open water for some time as we can re-enter intercostals again tomorrow. Just as we put out our anchors I spotted a large jelly swimming by, it was beautiful shades of pink and purple. Dog Island appears to be a small island with some houses on it, also listed is a small runway for planes – however and fortunately I don’t see it from here. This is the type of island you can image that would not be inhibited and the white sands are virgin, never before stepped on by man. The various birds flap and croon as they search for food plucking along the ground. It’s tranquil here and hopefully no other boats will join us tonight in this quiet little bay. Well our water pump finally died tonight, it’s been singing a sad tune for some time. This just means I can’t cook because I can’t clean dishes – sounds good to me. We will need to find a marine store in the next few days to purchase a water pump. Just before bed we sat on the aft deck enjoyed the soft hues of the sunset while listening to a hooting owl.

On Hold in Steinhatchee

2007-02-25T15:00:00.000-05:00

2/24-25/07 – Following my worst day ever arriving in Steinhatchee has been a blessing. We could have left again yesterday, but I seriously needed a breather from ocean travel. Besides the folks here are the nicest I’ve met in a long time, real down-home friendly – they make you want to stick around for a while. Saturday, Captain Bill of TowBoatUS drove us over 30 miles (to Cross City) to get a prescription renewed and since the wait would be over an hour we went out to eat at a real comfy little place called Cypress Inn with home style cook’n, it was simple and very good. We spent a good part of the afternoon walking around Steinhatchee and taking pictures. It’s not a big town, again only one grocery store, but it appears to be adequate for just about anything you’d need.
Apparently scallops are a big thing here; the season being July-Sept and most locals anchor out and go a-scalloping. Two fans of scallops are Norma & Joe, live close by and have two boats docked here; one being a houseboat, and they spend lots of time at the marina. Cap’t Bill runs the TowBoatUS service here at River Haven and boy does he have a gazillion stories to tell about his adventures. (He should write a book) Everyone we’ve met here is very knowledgeable about marine mechanics and boats in general; they all share their expertise and equipment without hesitation. There is a sense of giving and karma, "what goes around comes around" kinda stuff. The five of us had an enjoyable BBQ on Joe’s house boat Sat. night. The other folks that populate the marina are; Thomas - a young man (19) who works here and does just about anything and everything that needs doing, under the watchful eye of Bill – who actually does live here and Toni - the gal that works in the office/marina/store for Sheri the owner. There are also various dogs that come and go, which everyone knows, as well as two parrots that spend their days perched during business hours. Our weather watch told us that Sunday would not be a good day for the gulf, seas around 4-6’. Luckily for me its one more day docked in a safe harbor and one more day to settle my head and stomach before venturing back out. The only good weather window looks to be Monday for our last little jaunt across the gulf so we’ll be off tomorrow. I’m not sure if we’ll be anchored out or docked close to internet, but I will keep ya’ll posted when I can. On our last night here we took Bill out to dinner at one of the local restaurants "Roys". Bill has so many life experiences; we listened to interesting stories all night. Turns out another of Bill's talents is wine-making. He gave us a bottle of persimmon wine which we intend to keep chilled until we can celebrate our arrival at our home port.

To Steinhatchee

2007-02-25T12:31:00.000-05:00

2/23/07 - Our day started out with a beautiful sunrise and departure, but once out in the gulf the seas rose to 2-4' winds out of the northeast and I became a green-eyed monster. My worst seasick day ever - even though Tom did a magnificent job of driving through the rough waters. We radioed ahead to the River Haven Marina in Steinhatchee for dockage and were met at the docks by Captain Bill of TowBoatUS, who guided us in around 7pm after 12 dreadful hours at sea. The only good thing I can say about this day is that it's over!

To Crystal River

2007-02-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

2/22/07 – (Happy Birthday Alex) We awoke around 2am to a much muted engine sound and looked out to see a very strange vessel pass by only to turn around and go back to where it came. We both figured it was a ferry by the shape, just didn’t understand what it was doing out at 2am. We learned later this morning, after seeing what we think is the same boat, it was a floating gambling casino. That explains the 2am cruising lit up like a Christmas tree. We’ve reached the point of our journey where the Florida intercoastal waterway ends and a decision must be made – which way to go from here. We can either cruise up and around ‘the bend’ or cut straight across the gulf. Easy choice actually, without radar we’re not about to go out THAT FAR in open water. We were out over 3 miles today and lost sight of land altogether, and that was far enough for me. However, this person I’m traveling with thought it was pretty awesome. Who is this person anyway? Hey, we were pulled over today – in the middle of the ocean - can you believe it?!?! The US Customs and Boarder Patrol pulled up along side and boarded us. Out in the middle of nowhere! I guess we do look suspicious after all; strange looking boat with no name on the stern. We spent over 45 minutes bobbing around like a cork while they went through our documentation and drawers. After they confirmed everything we told them, they left just as stealthy as they appeared. But the worse thing is (and I could kick myself) I forgot to take any pictures!!! After that the rest of our day was pretty normal. We cruised up over 3 miles on the Crystal River only to find the marina closed. So we docked at their fueling station and then walked into town (about 1 mile) for dinner at a nice little Mexican restaurant and did a little grocery store shopping. Sorry to say the Crystal River is not very clear. We had read you could see the bottom, and that the water was generally 72 deg- which attracted lots of manatees, we never saw either. I did see –what I think is- lots of manatee poop, not sure what else it could be – judge for yourself by the photo. Anyway Crystal River was very tropical looking as you approached, (even with the water towers) but once into the lake area it lost its charm (especially with lots of poop floating in the water).

To Anclote Key

2007-02-24T21:28:00.000-05:00

2/21/07 - We awoke in the early hours to get a jump on the day but as we were leaving got grounded (briefly). Fortunately with a sandy bottom we were able to wiggle ourselves off. Our passageway crossed the Tampa Bay main approach channel for commercial vessels and we were hoping to get through early. Still, we found ourselves playing chicken with a massive tanker upon his approach – he won. The best part watching this tanker stream by was the dolphins’ flying out of the water as they played in the bow wave. Those dolphins do know how to have fun! We skirted the Sunshine Skyway Bridge for a few miles then cut westward towards more narrow channels and condos. Five miles in we discovered the only short bridge we needed to be opened would be out of commission until 3pm. The gods must be shinning on Tom today, so we backtracked to first next gulf opening. As we entered the channel to the gulf a US Custom Boat pulled up along side and ‘checked us out’, but then took off as quickly as they appeared. Guess we don’t look TOO suspicious. The winds were at our back for the most part so the passage was relatively smooth. Without having to worry about our depth it was very enjoyable. We opted to skip by Clearwater and headed straight for Anclote Key, just west of Tarpon Springs. I’ve seen my first lighthouse this trip located on the key, which is also a nature preserve. I did get a little green during the last hour or so of our gulf journey, but it passed quickly once we anchored for the night tucked in behind the key.

To Longboat Key

2007-02-24T20:38:00.000-05:00

2/20/07 – The water was a mirror this morning as we left our anchorage at Cape Haze; so smooth and green. There were no other boats out yet and it was so serene and still. We skirted a number of small islands some inhabited and some not, maneuvered our way through shallow waters and shoals. As in Charlotte Harbor yesterday, we entered San Carlos Bay and found ourselves again tempted by the Gulf of Mexico. We were rewarded today by more dolphins playing. It was amazing to watch them swim in our wake, along side the boat and the bow wave. I also spotted two bald eagles today, but was unable to snap their picture. Just seeing them in the wild was awesome. It was a very unique narrow channel as we approached Venus, FL. There are walkways on each side of the channel, each busy with walkers, bikers, runners, strollers and folks just fishing. I waved to so many people along that route I felt like I was on a float in the Rose Parade. Roberts Bay and Sarasota Bay were just vast bodies of water, too far from the shores to see anything of interest. We’ve anchored tonight just south Cortez Bridge in Longboat Keys with about 6 other boats. We set two anchors tonight so we would not swing - and we never moved. From the stern we could see the city lights of Sarasota, as well as an immeasurable ceiling of stars.

To Cape Haze

2007-02-24T20:32:00.000-05:00

2/19/07 - What a splendid uneventful day this was. Throughout our travels on the ICW we’ve transitioned from river to canal and back to river but the waters’ color seldom changed; for the most part it remained a grimy russet shade. I noticed it changed as we entered into the San Carlos Bay and said good-bye to the Okeechobee waterway. The waters became green and for the first time I could actually smell the ocean in the air. We began to see dolphins (real ones) swimming around the bow of the boat and seaweed was very prevalent, probably kicked up by the storm yesterday. We passed by Fort Myers (downtown) and dozens of little islands before entering Charlotte Harbor, where we saw the gulf for the first time. We considered taking a sharp left and heading out across the gulf for a straight shot to Texas, but thought better of it and decided to stay our course of inland waterways. We anchored in a nice little cove (Cape Haze) surrounded by terrific little homes with about 4 other boats. The sunset was soft tonight as we enjoyed a cup of tea and coffee on our aft deck. We sat and watched as an Osprey attempted to catch his dinner, a couple of times, unsuccessfully. Think they eat bread?

It's a No-Go Today

2007-02-24T20:29:00.000-05:00

2/18/07 – We awoke to a frightfully wet and windy storm this morning and being the prudent mariners that we are we listened to the NOAA weather forecast on VHF. It’s a no-go today; seas in the bay at 4-6 feet and winds up to 30 knots, so we stay one more day at the Sweetwater Landing just outside Fort Myers. It’s a good thing to know when to go and when to stay. The rain stopped and even though the skies are clear, the winds intensified to gale force this afternoon. We managed to get out and take a little stroll and were very surprised to find white caps on the canal. The winds finally settled down and we had a good nights sleep.

Underway Again 2

2007-02-24T20:08:00.000-05:00

2/17/07 – Finally got our rebuilt transmission installed back in the starboard engine as well as new oil cooler. But now we have a small exhaust leak, which Tom feels he can fix once we reach Texas. We’ll just be sure to keep the rear hatch open (while underway) for circulation and pray it does not get worse. (it’s always something!) It got down into the 30’s last night which made for a very chilly departure this morning; we even had frost on the dock. There was a slight fog hovering over the water which reminded me of home. We wrapped the pilot house in a commercial ‘saran wrap’ – looks goofy, but hey it cut the wind chill down, which is very important in 30/40 degree weather! Our first lock today was rather unnerving; Tom discovered neutral, as is posted on the shifter, did not agree with the transmissions. The lock masters at the Ortona Lock were very understanding as we awkwardly attempted to come along starboard side and grab a hold of the lines, while keeping our big stern out of everyone else’s way. Following that graceful lock-through, and well out of waterway traffic, we investigated exactly where our neutral positions are, and once discovered -marked the shifter with a nice big black line! (Something else that goes on Tom’s ‘to do’ list once we’ve reached Texas). We passed by a quiet old river town called LaBelle also known as a honey capital and we did see a few of the local bees. The town is holding their annual Swamp Cabbage Festival next weekend. If we had not already spent so much time docked elsewhere – we would have stuck around for it. Also quite notable is the light sweet scent in the air as you pass by the many orange orchards currently in bloom. We’ve read stories about the Fort DeNaud Swing Bridge Mistress, who always wears a red hat and were told to be sure to wave to her as we passed by. It’s pretty cool that she actually walks out to the center of the bridge and rides along while it swings open. Today she wore a red scarf, I imagine because it was so cold. The final lock on the Okeechobee waterway (Franklin Lock) is being worked on and only schedules openings every few hours. We had over an hour for west bound lock-through so we decided to dock at a small campground to the north of the lock. This was a good test for Tom’s new understanding of the transmissions. It was a welcome escape from the cold winds of the pilot house; I made tea and coffee. Our lock-through was uneventful, thank god. The waterway, into the landing we chose, is relatively narrow but Tom managed a superb turn ‘on-a-dime’ and pulled us up starboard side to tie off for the night. Tom say’s I’m becoming quite the expert myself at handling lines.

On Hold in Moore Haven

2007-02-10T21:28:00.000-05:00

2/9-15/07 - This morning it’s through the Port Mayaca Lock and off across Lake Okeechobee (gulp!) It’s a big lake rather choppy this morning with little 2’ swells. With only the one engine we are chugging along in true trawler style and speed (6 knots). As we entered the approach channel we felt we were in a marsh and actually dragged bottom a couple of times – not a good sound or feeling. Perhaps there was a short cut or alternate route we were unaware of, but we stayed true to the magenta line on our chart plotter and made it through. The channel from Clewiston to Moore Haven was like traveling through a different planet, or a ride at Disneyland; very bizarre. I have heard the corps of engineers is killing off invasive non-native trees in hopes of native marsh vegetation returning- It looks like its working. The ride was smooth and quiet and we saw many gators basking in the sun along the banks. We’ve docked at the city docks of Moore Haven just west of Lake Okeechobee for a few days; it’s relatively inexpensive and convenient to most supplies. It’s a very small, old town. Not much going on, so it should be very quiet. We had a mechanic stop by and he’s coming back Monday to check out the transmission further. Hopefully he’ll fix us up sooner than later and we can be on our way, again. We spent Saturday puttering around the boat, hit a couple of yard sales and walked to a local very authentic Mexican restaurant for a great dinner. Sunday; we walked up the Hwy 27 Bridge behind us, walked around town. Tom spent the day tightening screws and tracking down the wiring system. Valentines Day was a beautiful day for us; we experienced a massive rain storm early then it cleared to be a perfect day. We scrubbed all the life jackets left aboard when we bought the boat and hung them out to dry. I shared some donut with an aggressive squirrel and Tom continues to hunt down the wiring systems. I walked across the street and purchased some used paperbacks and we've made half a dozen trips to the little local grocery store (We can only carry so much). The weather has turned very cold and wet. We hope to have the transmission back and installed by late Friday and depart Saturday morning - if it's not snowing.......

Underway Again

2007-02-09T19:39:00.000-05:00

2/6/07 – The weather is expected to improve as the day progresses, so we went for it. Pulled out at about 10:30am, it wasn’t very graceful, (hit a pylon or two) but we managed. The ICW narrowed into a nice little cannel just past the north end of Lake Worth. The houses and condo’s along the ICW continue to amaze me; you’ll see a bunch of them in our photo album when I get it downloaded. It’s very cool in the pilot house when the sun retreats behind the clouds, but when it’s out, it’s fantastic to be up there with the breeze in your face. We saw the Atlantic Ocean just as we entered the Jupiter Sound and the water became astonishingly clear. I saw my first manatee swimming just under us. We dropped anchor at 3pm in Peck Lake, only to discover we had run aground. But Tom was able to back us off and re-drop the anchor a little deeper. Another trawler anchored within 50ft AND they rafted with a catamaran. (Far too close for our liking) With all this room I don’t understand why they came so close. This little lake has about 15 other vessels anchored for the night. The weather has definitely improved and hopefully will be even warmer tomorrow. Our sunset was beautiful.
2/7/07 - We were up and down all night making sure the distance stayed between us and we did not swing into the other trawler, fortunately we didn’t. While preparing to leave we backed onto another shoal luckily Tom was able to get us back off and on our way – sort of. We’ve discovered that our starboard transmission doesn’t work very well, if at all. So we found a nice little cove (Manatee Pocket) about 7 miles up, anchored and checked transmissions. After adding a quart of transmission fluid to the starboard transmission we decided to continue and hope for the best. Regrettably the transmission still does not want to cooperate fully so we’ll need to find a marina and/or yard to get it fixed before we head into the gulf. Approaching our first lock we had to wait for another vessel and drifted aground AGAIN. Tom is becoming quite the expert at getting us off while only using one transmission! We made it through the Saint Lucie Lock (12ft water) fine and dandy, and anchored for the night at the mouth of a little inlet across from a campground just west of the lock. This is so cool, there is wild life everywhere; on the shore, in the air and in the water. Gators basking in the sun, herons search for fish and old folks from the campground watching it all; like us. I could not have chosen a better location to recognize being one year older – even though lately it feels more like 20. We phoned Amanda and asked for her assistance in locating a mechanic to help us work on the transmission. It’s been a blessing to have her available to us in our hour(s) of need. Hopefully tonight no other vessels will decide to anchor here and we’ll get a good night sleep. The sunset was again remarkable; the waters are calm and the reflections are stunning.

2/8/07 – After a very restful sleep last night (and no other vessels joined us) I awoke to play with a gator – I’ve learned gators like wheat bread. Saw a raccoon foraging for his breakfast along the shore and hoped the gator didn’t want him instead of the wheat bread. As we sat on the aft deck enjoying our breakfast 13 kayakers took off heading west and I hoped we didn’t run across them later (literally) since we are heading in that direction ourselves. We did pass the kayakers on their return trip. I don’t think I’d like to be on those little water craft with so many gators in the water. Our trip along the St. Lucie Canal was wonderful today; so peaceful and uneventful. The weather could not have been more perfect. I actually piloted Refugio a bit today, but I’ve decided to downgrade my status as co-captain. I am so out of my comfort zone and I don’t feel it’s proper for me to even assume I’m proficient enough to consider myself a co-captain. So from here on out I’m going to be known as First Mate, which is so appropriate on so many levels. We reached the Port Mayaca Lock and moored to a couple of dolphins (aka pylons). This is the last lock before entering Lake Okeechobee, which we will tackle tomorrow on one engine. This is also a great location to spend the night. We’ve watched as a number of vessels have passed by and one sail boat in particular that was forced to return since its mast was too tall (55ft) to pass under the RR Lift Bridge just before the lock at 52ft. The sail boat has since joined us along the same row of dolphins for the night. We are not sure what their plans are. Later tonight we got to watch the RR Lift Bridge lower for a train to pass. The moon came out late so we were treated to a spectacular sky full of stars.

Awaiting Weather Window

2007-02-09T19:24:00.000-05:00

2/3/07 – Tom spent today down in the engine room (again) reinstalling the various cables and hoses. I continued to work on the windows in the salon. I now have two of the four operational. We did fire up both engines and the generator and all seems to be good to go. The weather is getting cooler and we expect rain tonight.

2/4-5/07 - Go Colts!!! Super Bowl Sunday; today we take it easy and putter on the boat. Tom fixed a few things that have been bothering him, and believe me there are plenty of more things that need attention. I scrubbed the boat (soap & water) and then hosed it down with fresh water. Monday was also a down day. The weather never got much better today, too windy so we decided to stay put. We are both anxious to get going, but also apprehensive due to what we’ve already been through.

Under Way and Not

2007-02-03T11:12:00.000-05:00

1/30/07 – Well this is it, if we’re not ready now, we never will be. Boat is loaded and (hopefully) as ready to go as we are. Amanda and Stella joined us for our rededication ceremony and then saw us off.

The skies are clear and water calm, at least here in the channel. Since this is Tuesday we are hoping there are not too many other boats on the Inner Coastal Waterways (ICW) giving us plenty of room to maneuver. Part of my duties as Navigator and Co-Captain is to run around the boat and continually check things, and keep an eye on the Navsoftware “Tiki”. (Tiki is our back up to the Garmin Chart plotter Tom installed in the pilot house). On one of my checks I noticed some pale red liquid running out of a vent onto the starboard side deck and down a drain hole into the water. (Ugh!) So we hustled and began mopping up the diesel fuel which was running in a nice steady stream out of the vent. Tom switched fuel tanks he was drawing from and that appeared to fix the problem, temporarily. We anchored, shut down both main engines and expected to leave the generator running for a bit when we notice, again, some pale red liquid running out of a vent onto the starboard side deck and down a drain hole into the water (double Ugh!) BUT it was a different vent. So we shut down the generator and mopped up the new stream. Turns out, we think, the tanks were overfilled; so we are hoping with continued use the levels will lower and stop running out of the side vents. Just in case, we’ve cut a couple of small buckets, and taped them to the side of the boat to catch ANY fuel that appears. This is our first anchorage so neither of us expects to get much sleep tonight.

1/31/07 – We must have done something right, we held our anchor all night. What started out as a great day, turned ugly very soon. We thought the starboard transmission was dead, played with it a little and it began to function properly. Next time we worked the transmission, while waiting on the Flagler Bridge opening tens miles up the ICW, all pilot house power went dead. I smelled smoke and noticed it coming from the engine room vent. (Holy Sh**t) Tom steered clear of the channel, dropped the anchor and killed the engines, we lifted the hatch and yup there’s flames. So we extinguished the fire and I made tea and coffee. Well I had to do something while the engine room cooled before Tom could assess the damage. With no electrical power aboard, I phoned Amanda for assistance. So here we are, our second day out and we’re being towed into the Newport Cove Marina in Riviera Beach, FL.

2/1/07 – Could we have picked a more expensive place to break down? The marina is full of Mega-yachts. They have quite the valet service for smaller fishing boats as well. Tom spent all day in the engine room evaluating the damage and cleaning up. He says “the starboard engine starter cable shorted to the transmission case”. OK, so we have a few cables and hoses to replace, but all in all it could have been much worse. The weather as picked up and the marina is full of other cruisers not wanting to anchor out. We met our first fellow cruisers, Jerry & Rosalyn (MV Sunrise). They are heading south doing the “little loop” around Florida. The couple next to us is from Connecticut and they have 2 cats aboard. Even though it’s been very windy, and water choppy it’s still pretty warm and sitting on the back deck watching sunsets has been wonderful.

2/2/07 – Amanda came up and drove us around to pick up our hoses, cables, and get our starter repaired. We had not expected to see her and Stella again so soon, but it was a wonderful day with them. Earlier this morning, and far north of our location, a tornado swept across Florida, causing much damage. It made me appreciate the fabulous weather we were experiencing today as well as the marvelous company. We met Pierre & Valerie (MS Echappe) docked next to us. They live aboard with the two cats mention earlier (Charlie & Francis) and are heading to the Bahamas, and then across the Atlantic with 3 other motor-sails also docked here - they are waiting for their weather window sometime next week. Tomorrow we start putting everything back together. I've run out of computer time, and there's a line of folks waiting to get on, so I'll sign off for now and upload more pictures later.

Boat Prep

2007-01-28T17:58:00.000-05:00

1/21-24/07 – Ah warm weather and sunshine; we must be back in Florida. The boat is in great shape, and I would swear appears to smile and bob with eagerness of new ownership. Unfortunately the previous owner never bothered to remove any of his “rubbish” and I’ve had my work cut out for me. Every day we make trips to the dumpster and/or Goodwill with his treasures. Meanwhile, Tom has been busy in the pilot house installing all the new electronics we’ve recently purchased. It was great to discover the boats transducer appears to work, so there’s one less thing to install.

1/25/07 – (Happy Birthday Wendy) Today we took on our first load of fuel, 645 gallons. As it turns out, we’ve got four tanks, each holds 250 gallons. As the tanks are just about full, jokingly we said “better check the engine room, see if those tanks are holding”. Oops, not so funny to find diesel fluid on the engine room floor and a drip-drip-drip coming from a small hose. Since Tom has not had the opportunity to familiarize himself with everything in the engine room, this was a great first test. As it turned out, not such a big dilemma with a few hose clamps and lots of rags to clean up the gallon or so of spilled diesel.

1/28/07 -We've done as much as we need to get under way and plan to depart Tuesday morning. I never arranged for 24/7 internet access so I will only update this website when we've found a marina with Wi-Fi.

Road Trip

2007-01-28T17:37:00.000-05:00

1/15-17/07 – We decided to start our journey today. We’ve waited a few extra days hoping the weather would improve for our drive to Texas, but it doesn’t appear that it’s going to get any better – so we’re off. I’m driving the motor home loaded with everything we’ve purchased for the boat, and then some. Tom is driving behind in his truck. We’ve got these great walkie-talkies son Brian bought for us so we can communicate while we drive. (They are wonderful!) Since the motor home is so heavy it’s eating up gas, and the drive is slow with the bad weather we’ve been experiencing. Coming down through Texas we actually hit the fringes of an ice storm, made for a very scary drive that day since it iced the extremities of both vehicles.

1/18-20/07 – We arrive in Texas during the coldest, wettest winter in years at our final destination, Palacios, Texas. After driving around this amiable little town we found the Serendipity Bay Resort. (www.campingfriend.com/serendipitybayresort) This is the place we’ve chosen to dock our boat, for now. It’s a nice marina with plenty of room for motor homes (currently full of snow birds) and appears to have quite an agenda of activities for everyone. We drove to Port Lavaca and checked out the Nautical Landings Marina, also a great location. We headed to Florida with improved weather, and very excited to see Amanda and number one grand-daughter, Stella.

Our Boat

2006-12-24T20:03:00.000-05:00

Well here she is; M/V Refugio. When Tom first showed me this boat I thought she was ugly. But after going aboard and taking our sea trial we both fell in love.

She's 46' long, 16' wide, 2 staterooms, 1 head, and an open salon/galley with a great big aft deck and swim step(s). We hope to enclose the bridge thus making it a true pilothouse trawler. It's a very substantial boat, not lots of rock and rolling since its so big, weighing 35 tons and has a 4'.6"' draft. She's been neglected for a few years but is in good overall condition, but lacks the ever important electronics required for cruising - anywhere. She'll stay in FL during December while we travel home to Kentucky, enjoy the holidays and begin to ready ourselves for her shake down cruise to Texas in January. We've got routes to map out and much to buy. Check out our Photo Album to the left, we'll be posting more photo's there.