What's Luck got to do with it?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.