Last Gulf Night

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

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

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

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

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

(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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.