M/V ILLUSIONS                              TX TO FL CRUISE TRIP 1 LOGS Houston, TX to Panama City, FL May 22 – June 2, 1999 Houston, TX to Lake Charles, LA, Saturday, May 22, 1999      We left South Shore Harbour on Clear Lake, TX at 7:15am Saturday, May 22, 1999, stopping at Lakewood to fill up with diesel.  The weather forecast was good, and we had hoped to go offshore.  At 7am it was 75 degrees F, 82% humidity, with a light breeze from the South.      The previous day we had received our newly recovered chairs and ottomans.  We weren't sure we would want them, since the place they were being recovered had experienced a fire, but they seemed acceptable, so we loaded them on the boat with the food and luggage.  I had changed the oil and filters the previous weekend.  On Friday I finally got our TX numbers for the dinghy, so we could finally be legal and proper.  Repair number 6 had been made to the Glendinning.      We went right through the Galveston jetties and out into the Gulf.  I think the swells there were worse than any of the next three days.  Our course was 67 degrees, and our depth was about 36 feet.  The GPS said it was 80 nautical miles to the Calcasieu River channel.  We set a waypoint on the marker outside the jetties and followed the GPS course right to it.      It was 36 miles up the river to Lake Charles, and we were in our slip at the Players Island Casino Marina at 5:20pm. We met our friends, John Myers and Sue Simmons, at 6:30pm at the boat.  Bob Simmons had to work, so we missed seeing him.  We had a great meal at the Island Buffet inside the Casino and then went to visit Bill Wilson, after which John dropped us back at the marina.  It was a nice evening, and it was good to be with friends we haven't seen for some time.      John had picked up the fuel filters I needed for the generator.  I was glad to get them.  Running time for this first day was 10 hours, miles were 148 (some nautical and some statute, probably). Lake Charles, LA to Morgan City, LA, Sunday, May 23, 1999      We left the marina on Sunday, May 23, at 6:45am and went down the river to Cameron, LA.  We bought 290 gals of diesel at L&L Oil Co for about $0.60 per gallon.  The 20-year-old attendant was so impressed with our boat; he wanted to have enough money to buy one "now".  I reminded him of his age and experience in life, and encouraged him  to "follow his dreams" so he could buy one "some day".      We went offshore about 10 miles and turned east and went 100 nautical miles to the Atchafalaya River channel.  The water at the mouth of the river is brown with silt, and shallow, too.  It was 27 miles to the railroad bridge and the Morgan City pleasure boat dock, where we spent the night.  What a deal - free dockage, free 220volt 50amp power, free water - and Bobby (with the City) came by with maps and literature about Morgan City and gave us a free ride to Rita Mae's Kitchen.  We enjoyed our crawfish dinner there and walked the 4-5 blocks back to the boat.  Due to poor communication, we ordered and received two dinners each, so we had leftovers for lunch on Monday.      We checked in with Berwick Traffic at Marker No 36 coming up the river.  There's a sign there saying to check in with them at that point.  You're supposed to have a copy of their book of regulations on board, but I could not find mine-it must have been at home.  The Coast Guard runs the VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) there and in about 6-8 other busy harbors in the USA.  We fueled up at L&L in Berwick before docking at Morgan City.      The little shaft for the tachometer and the Glendinning engine synchronizer went out again, so we had no tachometer on the starboard engine.  This had happened over and over again over the past two years.      The people in Louisiana were the friendliest I've ever met anywhere, especially on or near the water.  They have a good time and want you to have a good time, too.  There was a real beauty in the French names of some of these bayous and streams, and a grandiosity, also.  I liked being on the water here, and I liked the cooking! Morgan City, LA to Venice, LA, Monday, May 24, 1999      On Monday, May 24, we pulled away from the dock at 6:45am and went under the railroad bridge and down the river, all with the permission of the VTS, of course.  It was Angela's birthday, and she didn't have to cook lunch (we had leftovers).  Lunch offshore is pretty much of a snack anyway, due to the rolling of the boat in the swells.  Our run that afternoon was fine, and we entered Tiger Pass about 3:30pm. We've probably seen 1000 oil rigs and gas platforms; it is amazing how many are out there.  We saw all kinds of boats, including millions of dollars worth of oil industry support boats, plus fishing boats, shrimpers, and tankers.  It's a whole new world out in the Gulf.      We went 11 or so miles up Tiger Pass to Venice, LA, where I had not been before.  We fueled at L&L and got a slip for the night at Cypress Cove Marina.  It's full of fishing boats, including some large sportfishermen, like Bertrams and Hatterases.  We tied up around 5pm and walked around and looked at the boats and the fish they were bringing in.  The fishing appeared to be good there.  We ate on board and turned in early. Venice, LA to Fairhope, AL, Tuesday, May 25, 1999      On Tuesday, May 25, we left our slip at 6:30am and realized again what a current was running in the pass.  The water from the Mississippi River was going out to the Gulf through Tiger Pass and many other passes, and the total flow was a lot of water.  We crossed the wide Mississippi and entered Baptiste Collette Bayou and ran about 10 miles to the open waters of the Gulf.  We ran in an easterly direction and crossed the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Canal and then turned NE on a heading for Mobile Bay.  The surface of the water was glassy smooth, but it changed to a chop that stayed with us until we reached Mobile Bay about 1:00pm.      We arranged for a slip at Eastern Shore Marina in Fairhope, AL and borrowed their "courtesy truck" to go to town.  We saw the Marriott Grand Hotel, which was over 150 years old and very nice. It's on the bay at Point Clear.  Fairhope itself was cute as it could be, with lots of flowers and live oak trees.  The terrain there is hilly, with steep slopes and abrupt changes in contour.  Fairhope is an old town with one- and two-story buildings and houses very well taken care of, along with many estates and newer houses.       The marina was exposed to the west, and the chop coming into the marina from the bay kept all the boats moving up and down, which was unusual for us.  It wasn't too bad, but required some getting used to.  Offshore, with the roll and pitch of the boat in the swells, it was imperative to hold on when moving about and be aware the surface nearest you may hit you on the next swell.  Avoiding accidents on board requires constant attention, as does avoidance of dropping things overboard.      We cooked and ate on board and then went back to town for some more visiting.  We bought a few groceries and worked on email.  Our long travel days were behind us then.  We had arrived in the area of white sands and clear water and planned to adopt a slower pace in those next few days.      Our distance traveled at that point totaled 578 miles in four days with 40 hours running time.  We'd managed to miss all locks and bridges that had to open to let you pass (except the RR bridge at Morgan City, which was open for us when we went by it).  We'd had no rain, yet, and only a few minor mechanical problems.  Our friends, Marc and Cindy, were coming up behind us; and our friends, Frank and Sue, were coming from FL, and we hoped to see them in passing. Fairhope, AL to Ingram Bayou, AL, Wednesday, May 26, 1999     On Wednesday, May 26, Angela & I slept late; and I sent our first email of this trip.  We had a leisurely breakfast and did some chores on the boat.  It rained from 11:30am to noon.  We pulled out at 12:30pm and went 4 miles to Marriott's Grand Hotel at Point Clear.  They had fuel, and we took 224 gals of it.      Our plan was to anchor in the area South of the ICW and North of the peninsula of Fort Morgan, 18 miles south of Eastern Shore Marina.  It was very windy in the bay and at our selected anchorage.  SW winds were forecast to shift to NW as a cool front passed in the night.  We decided to choose a more protected anchorage, and so we proceeded east on the ICW to Wolf Bay, which we had seen in 1995.      We were surprised and disappointed that the depths in Wolf Bay were inadequate, so we moved on to Ingram Bayou.  There were six sailboats already there, but our depth indicator said there wasn't enough water.  We did note the lack of a mud trail behind the boat and so followed the bayou to an open place for an anchorage.  Our depth indicator said 2.9 feet, 3.4 feet, etc.  With a boat hook, we estimated the real depth was 8-10 feet--something wrong with the depth gauge?      The water system started acting up, and we deduced the inline filter might be plugged up.  So, we opened it, cleaned it, and reinstated it, with satisfactory results.  The anchor light didn't work, so I climbed up to retrieve the bulb, but it worked after a little "jiggle".  We grilled salmon and enjoyed a good meal on board.  It rained about 1:30am, and we got up to close the zippers on all the enclosure windows on the flying bridge. Lay Day, Thursday, May 27, 1999      On Thursday, May 27, we slept late, and Angela woke with a bad headache.  We decided to stay where we were for the day and night, so we didn't move.  I tried bathing off the swim platform, in salty water, with a freshwater rinse.  It was fine.  The weather was warm with light winds and low humidity-nice!      I put our TX numbers for the dinghy on the plastic panels bought from West Marine for that purpose, and then I mounted the boards on the dinghy.  We launched the dinghy and explored Ingram Bayou. It was not very big, but interesting and pretty.  All of the sailboats from the previous night had departed, and a couple of new ones took their places.      We turned off the generator for a few hours to give it a break, and rested and read on the aft deck.  It rained again briefly at 4pm.  We did some chores, enjoyed a good dinner, and reviewed the video of the trip so far.  It was a relaxing day. Ingram Bayou, AL to Orange Beach, AL, Friday, May 28, 1999      On Friday, May 28, we pulled up anchor and motored over to Orange Beach, AL and had lunch at Zeke's Landing, the downstairs luncheon restaurant.  The channel through Cotton Bayou to get there was not very wide or deep.  We grounded several times in the middle of the channel.      After lunch we bought fuel and added water to our tank.  A terrific storm blew in, and the sky was very dark about 2:30pm.  We had planned to go to Big Lagoon and anchor, but the storm gave us pause.  I decided to pay a visit on Mr. Walker, at Walker Marina in Terry Cove.  He had been very nice to us in 1995 when we were here with a blown engine.  Our 38' boat stayed in his marina for two months.    Mr. Walker was there, and he remembered us.  He offered us an overnight space alongside his dock and moved a couple of boats for us to get in.  He said we didn't need to pay him, he's that way; but we always do, probably more than if he just charged us.  He loaned us his truck, and we went to Foley, AL to the First Presbyterian Church.  But, on the way, we discovered Riviera Centre, an outlet mall with 175-200 factory stores nicely arranged to reduce walking.  We only did damage to three of them.      On the way back we filled the truck up with gas and stopped for dinner at Cotton's, but they closed at 10pm.  So we wound up back at Zeke's Landing-the nicer upstairs restaurant this time.  It was after 11pm when we got back and left Mr. Walker's truck with the keys in it and turned in. Lay Day, Saturday, May 29, 1999      Angela's neck was bothering her, and she woke up Saturday, May 29 with a lot of pain.  I got on the phone and located a chiropractor and massage therapist and borrowed Mr. Walker's truck again.  We both got adjustments and massage therapy and had lunch at Hazel's before returning the truck about 2:30pm.      It had rained during the night and at 7,8, and 9am; so we decided to stay another night at Walker's.  The weathermen there are like they are in Houston--once it starts raining, they increase the forecast chances of rain from 20 or 30% to 50 or 60%.    Angela took a nap, and I worked on email and made plans to go into Gulf Shores that night, courtesy of Mr. Walker's truck again.  We ate a meal of crawfish at The Shrimp Hut.  We sat outside and watched the thunderstorm clouds build up.  Gulf Shores and Orange Beach were both packed with visitors for the holiday weekend, and the good restaurants had a line and long wait times from 6pm on.  Upon our return to the marina, we met a couple who lived there on MV Pelican, a 42 ft Kady Krogen, and talked with them about cruising.  We discussed the possibilities of crossing the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas on December 1. Orange Beach, AL to Destin, FL, Sunday, May 30, 1999     On Sunday, May 30, we decided to move, partly because the weather was too bad to do anything else.  The weather on the first four days of this trip was nice, and the balance of the trip was rainy.  We ran 80 miles to Sandestin, the resort 8 miles east of Destin, FL.  Marc and Cindy had told us about it, and we were looking forward to seeing it.  We pulled out of the marina at 9am and tied up at Sandestin at 3pm.      The waterway was crowded with picnickers, campers, boaters, fishermen, sailboats, etc.  Some of them had bad manners; some wanted to tell us how to operate a boat.  We had wanted to anchor at Big Lagoon, and we pulled in next to some boats anchored there-looked like a good anchorage for next time.  But the day was dreary, overcast, humid, squally--if you get my drift.  So, we pressed on to Pensacola, Destin, and the Sandestin Resort.      No one responded to our calls for assistance at the dock, but we had called earlier and had a slip assignment and a map, so we got ourselves in and tied up.  At the check-in desk, a couple of girls were on duty who knew next to nothing, but they called a tram (large van) for us.  (We told them we thought they would loan us a car and/or a golf cart to use for a little tour.  They insisted they did not do that.  Bikes were available, for rent, but golf carts were unavailable, even for rent.)  The tram took us to the beach, so we could see a lot of the property (which totals 2400 acres).  It was crowded and noisy at the beach, so we went back to the boat and cooked dinner.  The slip rental was $1 per foot, $44 plus tax of $3.08.  I think the brochure said cable tv was $2 extra.  No one offered it to us, and we wouldn't have it for an extra fee.  Their laundry room and rest rooms were nice. Destin, FL to Panama City, FL, Monday, May 31, 1999      On Monday, May 31, Memorial Day, we woke up in the night to rain.  It was raining lightly at 6, 7, 8, and 9am.  The forecast was for rain for several days, so we pulled out at 9:30am and headed for Panama City.  Rain began in earnest shortly after we left the marina, and it rained harder and longer than I have ever seen it before.      The ICW markers in the open bays are few and far between, and the radar doesn't work as well in the rain as it does in the dark.  Our chart plotter had run out of charts around Pensacola, so we couldn't set a course for a marker on the charts, as I have in the past.  We followed a tow and barge string and passed him.  We found the bridge over Choctawhatchee Bay, mile 250 EHL; and we entered the land cut without too many visibility problems.  It just rained hard, and the water came into the flying bridge from everywhere.  We got wet, and the instruments at the helm got wet; and we were trying to cover them up with towels, which got wet.  (We were looking forward to the laundromat at the nice marina in Panama City to wash and dry all these wet things.)      The landcut was about 20 miles long, with very high (30 feet) banks of sand and pine trees.  There was a lot of debris in the water, and it was a challenge to not run over a log.  After the bridge at the end of the landcut, we experienced fog in addition to the rain.  Also, the markers became few and far between.  After a few markers, the direction of the channel would change.  Then we had to locate the first marker of the new direction, which marker might be two miles away.  And the radar wouldn't pick it up, and we couldn't see very far.  I used the depth indicator and the chart depths in part to find our way.  We did encounter several boats coming towards us.  It was an interesting afternoon.  We had 20 more miles of that, without ever seeing the land, before we got to Grand Lagoon.      As we approached the Highway 98 bridge, the bay was becoming more narrow, and I could just see the banks on the radar.  Also, I could keep us in the deep water with the depth finder and the paper charts.  We were at the red marker just outside of the bridge when we saw the bridge.  (This was a major, high bridge with 6-8 lanes of traffic.)      After passing under the bridge, the channel turned left, and there was, I believe, a port on the north bank.  At least it looked like one to me on the occasion when the fog lifted briefly.  Fortunately the water was deep all around us, so being out of the channel didn't also mean being aground.      As we tried to follow the markers around to the right and pick up the ship channel, we got a little too far east and wound up behind Shell Island, where there are good anchorages.  We recognized the error and turned back and found the ship channel without too much lost time.      When we were ready to enter Grand Lagoon, where the marina was, we saw markers not shown on our paper charts.  Red No 2 was about 50 ft from a sandy point; I could not believe we were supposed to go between the point and that marker.  While I was backing up and calling the marina on the radio, another boat went through there and showed us how it's done.  A professional captain told me later that night there's not 6 inches of water on the right side of that red marker.  And there was no marker No 1.      It was still raining when we got to our slip about 2:30pm, but young Matt came out to help us tie up.  He was very helpful.  A Feadship about 125 feet long was right behind us.  There were a lot of long, wide sportfish boats there since the Gulf was only 15 minutes away.  Boats 60, 70, and 80 feet long were not unusual.  The captain I spoke with was on a 1990 Hatteras 70 feet long, and they had been everywhere in it.  The marina was called Bay Point Marina, and it was a part of the Marriott Bay Point Resort there, another big place like Sandestin.      The marina did have a courtesy car, but we couldn't use it after 7pm, so we went visiting from 5:30-6:30.  They had some young, inexperienced staff, too; and their laundromat was no longer in existence!      We estimated mileage for the day at 57 and the trip from Clear Lake (Houston, TX) at 765.  Total running hours were 57, for an average speed of 13.4 nautical miles per hour.  We ran the generator very little during all the rainy travel, since it wasn't hot, so the total hours on the generator for the trip so far was 67.  We didn't top off our tanks, so the fuel totals are on the following trip log, July 2 onward. In Panama City, June 1-2, 1999      We spent Tuesday, June 1, doing laundry and buying a few things we needed.  Marc and Cindy arrived and occupied the slip next to ours.  We had a nice meal at the Marriott Hotel that evening.  It didn't rain on Tuesday, but it looked like it would in the afternoon.     On Wednesday, June 2, we caught a 9am flight from Panama City to Houston via Atlanta.  This first portion of the 1999 Boat Trip was an enjoyable one, and we're grateful for good health and a safe voyage and no major boat problems.      I was asked to report on our use of a laptop computer and a cell phone to send these logs.  The current system was actually only two weeks old on this trip.  The phone was a Nokia 6161 digital and analog purchased with an annual contract from Houston Cellular (AT&T in other locales).  The phone supplier supplied the two cords to connect the phone to the cellular modem card, also supplied by H. Cellular, which was a 56.6 kbps speed modem card.  It will only connect at 9600 (or perhaps 4800, but we got 9600) with the cell phone, and we have seen connect rates above 50,000 baud rate with a land line.  The phone was $219, the cords were about $100, and the cellular modem card was about $200.      It was my understanding that voice transmission could be analog, which is more commonly available, or digital, which is unavailable in some remote areas, like some of the coastal areas where we had been.  So, a digital only phone would be unusable in those areas.  Also, data transmission must be analog, so a digital-only phone would not be capable of sending email.  Hope this was helpful and accurate info for you.      I have not been in the habit of using a marina's landline to connect to the internet, but we did that at Eastern Shore Marina in Fairhope, AL.  On the "Princess-type" phone we were using we just disconnected the phone line from the handset and plugged it into the modem card in the laptop.  I entered several local phone numbers for America Online into the "Setup", and the modem dialed them for me.  We had a local call on a free phone to send and receive email.  (AOL calls it Flash mail, where you prepare all your email messages offline, then send and receive emails quickly, and read your received emails later offline.  It only took a couple of minutes, which was what the marina wanted-get on and get off and don't tie up the courtesy phone.)  We have seen courtesy phones for use by transient boaters at Bay Point Marina and Green Turtle Bay Marina, for example.