CORPUS CHRISTI CRUISE
Houston to Corpus Christi, Texas and Return
May 18 – June 1, 2002

 Clear Lake (Houston) to Freeport, TX, Saturday, May 18, 2002

     We were slow in getting ready for a long trip since it had been a while since our last long cruise.  We were shopping and loading the boat until noon.  We had just found out our application to Lakewood Yacht Club had been approved, and also they had a boat slip for us.  So, when we left South Shore Harbour Marina we were moving to a new marina.  We said a few good-byes and moved over to the fuel dock, where we added slightly over 300 gallons of diesel to our tanks.

     Angela and Susy (Angela’s sister, visiting from Paraguay) drove the vehicle with the Lakewood sticker on the windshield, and I brought the boat.  We met at Slip 32, B Shed, on the “T”-head and not under the cover.  I had seen it earlier in the day, and I wanted Angela to see it as well.  Being undercover was not possible at South Shore since they did not have covered slips.  At Lakewood we would be on a waiting list to move inside B Shed whenever a vacancy occurred.

     A cold front had passed through the area the previous day; it rained over six inches in Friendswood, TX, which is near our home and marina.  The high for the day was lower than 70 degrees; and at noon on Saturday it was still in the mid-60s, much cooler than usual.  Also, the wind was 20 knots out of the North.  The sailors were getting out to Galveston Bay in droves to catch the good winds.  We took the wind and the waves on the port side leaving Clear Lake and making our way out to the Houston Ship Channel.  Once there we turned to a course of 150 – 160 degrees, not quite 180 degrees, so we continued to roll a little instead of having the wind at our back.  It was uncomfortable, but we could plane off.

     At the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), we turned west at Mile 350.  (That meant 350 miles west of Harvey Locks on the Mississippi River at New Orleans.)  The winds were then on our starboard side, and we got some spray on the boat and windows.  After we passed the I-45 Causeway and Deer Island, we entered the landcut; and the breeze was less of a problem.  The tows and their barges were crabbing at an angle to stay on a straight course.  We spoke to many of them on the radio and stayed out of their way.

     We arrived at Bridge Harbor Marina in Freeport (close to Mile 394) without mishap and slightly earlier than I had expected at 5:30pm.  It had been six or so years since we had been there.  There seemed to be more slips and more boat sheds then earlier.   The restaurant was not yet open for the season, which surprised me.  It had been unusually hot for the prior month, and it seemed like summer to me.  Their season opened with Memorial Day, which was a week away.

     Our friends, Don and Monica, formerly lived in Clear Lake but now resided in nearby Lake Jackson, TX.   We agreed to meet at the marina at 6:45pm.  We showered and changed for dinner.  They picked us up, and we showed them the marina.  They took us to Lake Jackson to an eclectic/Italian restaurant called Café Annice, which was very good.  We ate too much and took some home.

     Driving back we went over the bridge to Surfside.  We showed them the Red Snapper restaurant, where we had eaten before.  Then we drove over to the park at the jetties.  We looked at the Ship Channel, and we looked at the beach and the surf.  None of us had been there at those spots before.  Don and Monica came into the boat for a while, and we discussed the history of the creation of a new channel for the Brazos River.  It used to run through the town of Freeport, and there is still a channel there called Old River.  In the 1920s the US Army Corps of Engineers diverted the river to a new, more western channel.  The Brazos is the longest river in Texas.

Freeport to Matagorda, TX, Sunday, May 19, 2002

     Part of the idea of this cruise was to relax and take it easy.  We did that on Sunday, sleeping late and having breakfast at 11am.  We invited Don and Monica to ride with us up the Old River into Old Freeport, and they accepted.  While we waited for them we shopped for T-shirts and took some photos of the marina complex, which included condos, tennis courts, and a swimming pool overlooking the ICW.  Sports fishermen like that area because it’s close to the Gulf of Mexico, and because the water is deeper close to the coast, compared to Galveston, for example.

     When Don and Monica arrived we developed a plan of action to get us out of the slip.  The day was bright and sunny, but the breeze was cool and brisk.  The wind was on the other side of our finger pier, so we would be blown away from the finger pier when we let go the lines.  Fortunately we had extra room on the starboard side, so all I had to do was to move out quickly, which is what I did.  It all worked out well, and we turned right and went under the Surfside Bridge.

     We passed the “inlet” to the Gulf of Mexico and turned sightly to the right to enter the Old River.  The Freeport Pilot boat was standing be there to assist a ship in backing into the channel from its unloading berth.  They announced over the VHF radio what they were doing and when.  We went by and passed numerous loading docks and industry on our way upstream.

     About 3 miles from the ICW we passed under a guillotine type “tide gate” the charts called it.  A levee system extended in either direction, and we estimated the water could get to 15 or 20 feet above MSL before it would go over the levees.  I thought the function of the gate would be to keep any storm water out of the town, to prevent flooding of the built-up area.  Clearance beneath both the tide gate and the next bridge we went under was 60’.

     Upstream were many places for the shrimp boats to unload their catches, and berths for the boats while in port.  We went through the old swing railroad bridge, which appeared to be permanently open.  Don wanted to see the upper end of the channel, where it had been dammed off by the Corps.  We could not get under the last bridge with clearance of 17’, but we could just see the end of the channel anyway by looking under the bridge.

     We turned around and retraced our path to Bridge Harbor Marina.  The large ship had pulled out by the time we passed its berth.  We pulled in long enough to drop off Don and Monica.  They took some photos of us and the boat, in the marina, and under the Surfside Bridge.

     Just west of the Old River channel, we followed a tow with two barges through the Bryan Beach pontoon bridge.  A new high bridge was being built there at the time.  Before we reached the floodgates at the Brazos River we passed the tow and barges.  We radioed him first, of course, and we spoke to the gatekeepers at the Brazos as well.  We expected more floating debris given the amount of rain we had on Friday, but we didn’t see very much.

     At Mile 405 we passed the intersection with the San Bernard River, a Wilderness River designated by the government.  It brought back fond memories of our first cruise with TMCA in 1994.  We anchored south of the ICW on the San Bernard.  We ran our dinghy, and we walked the beaches in the surf.  The outlet was not navigable to the Gulf though.

     At Mile 418 we slowed and passed through the pontoon bridge at the community of Caney Creek.  The harbor at Matagorda was at Mile 440, and we arrived there at 7pm.  We had called earlier and were told they did not take reservations.  Pick a spot on the transient wall, they said, which we did.  After getting tied up and plugged in, we walked over to the office and paid our $30 fee.  They took our check; I believe they did not accept credit cards.

     Having been there before we knew of the vertical pilings we would be up against, so we put our two fender boards to use.  They were on the boat when we bought it.  We didn’t use them often, but they were great in those situations.  A fender between the fender board and the boat provided a cushion effect not provided by the hard rubber ends of the fender boards.

     We checked out the new restaurant but had already made plans to eat on board.  We covered about 60 miles for the day.  The drinking water there was very soft, and it was difficult to know if you got all the soap off in the shower.

Matagorda to Palacios, TX, Monday, May 20, 2002

     We were up at 8am, but we took our time getting ready to leave the marina.  We sat outside and enjoyed the cool breeze, which was pretty much out of the east.  We made a few phone calls, ate breakfast, etc. and left at 11:15am.  Upon leaving the marina we had to transit a pontoon bridge and the locks at the Colorado River.  I called the locks, and they said they were clear and ready for us.  The bridge tender heard the conversation and opened the bridge.  The locks were open at each end, on both sides of the Colorado River.  I read that the “inlet” from the Gulf to the Colorado River was now being maintained for use by boaters, but I have not yet had that confirmed.

     We passed a tow with two barges and planed off.  It was an easy run of 15 miles to the eastern end of Matagorda Bay.  Then we were out in the open bay, with strong winds and choppy waves.  I called another boater and found out some details about an alternate channel to the ICW.  We located it and followed it to the Palacios Channel, where we turned right and headed to Palacios, “The City by the Sea”.

     We had never before been to Palacois, but I had heard about it for along time.  Apparently it was something of a vacation spot, and it called itself the Shrimp Capital of Texas based on the tonnage of shrimp brought in there each year.  I had called the Serendipity Marina and the Navigation District looking for a slip.  A nice lady named Cella at Serendipity said she would look for a slip big enough for us and call us when she found one.  Mr. Bill Turner, Port Director and Harbormaster at the Navigation District, offered us a slip without power next to the shrimp boats at no charge.

     The harbor was quite large and reportedly held 400 shrimp boats.  Some were as large as I’ve ever seen in Texas.   I called the Harbormaster and told him where I thought I was.  He came over to the docks, showed us where to tie up, and volunteered to take us to town.  We quickly buttoned up the boat and took him up on his offer.

     On the way Mr. Turner outlined their plans for enlarging the harbor, adding a new turning basin, building a new office and maintenance building, constructing a new marina, which he showed us, leasing some land to developers for a hotel and a marina, and so on.  The Texas Highway Department was making their main highway a four lane instead of a two lane road.  He drove us around the town and through the Baptist Encampment, which looked to be a place where retreats and summer camps could be held.

     Since it was Monday the only restaurant open was a Mexican restaurant; and he dropped us off there for lunch about 2:30pm.  The name of it was Palacios Mexican Restaurant.  It was neat and clean; and the food was good.  After lunch we visited the Chamber of Commerce (closed), City Hall, a museum (closed), and a bed and breakfast (closed).  We walked to the beachfront and went into the 100-year-old Luther Hotel.  We photographed a couple of the attractive bed and breakfast places and headed back to the boat.

                      

                We had quite a walk, say a mile or more.  I was tempted to buy some pretty shrimp for $5 per pound, heads on.  They must have been 10 – 12 to the pound.  But Angela was unsure about cooking them, and we had to carry them a ways further; so we let them pass.  We had to walk around the turning basin because our boat was on the bay side.  We were docked right next to a RV park.

     When we got back to the boat, Angela started tatting and Susy began to crochet.  The two of them never sat down without pulling out their projects.  I walked down to the RV park and met a man from Salado, TX.  He said he spent a month there about three times a year.  He also said the fishing had not been good because of the wind.  I heard the next day that lack of rain affected shrimp harvesting; Palacois had had only 6 inches for the year to date.  Friendswood had had 6 inches in one day – the previous Friday.  The big shrimp boats were tied up to the dock and rafted three deep.  They were neat and clean, and everything seemed to have been put in its place before the people left the boats.

     That evening Angela made one of her great chocolate cheesecakes.  After diner we watched a very nice sunset.  The sky was purple and gold together.  Our slip was free with good city water, which again was very soft.  Our mileage for the day was about 35 miles.

Palacios to Port Lavaca, TX, Tuesday, May 21, 2002

     Since we had a short run planned on the water, we had a leisurely morning on the boat.  We sat on the aft deck and watched the shrimp boats coming and going, and we got the idea again to buy some shrimp.  I made some calls and Cella told me about a service called “Straight from the Boat”.  It was run by Terry and Beverly Kahanck.  They went to a boat, bought three pounds of shrimp for us, deheaded them, and delivered them to the boat.  They were very nice, too.  Call them at 361-972-1480 if you can use their services.

     We left the marina at 12:15pm,and it was windy on Matagorda Bay.  We took the Palacios Channel down to green marker 15; then I turned 90 degrees to the channel and passed through the spoil bank.  After getting clear of the spoil, I set a course for a point near marker 46 on the Matagorda Ship Channel (MSC).  (I looked at the chart and roughed out the latitude and longitude we should reach to cross the spoil bank and set a course to it on the GPS.)  The wind didn’t bother us as much on our course of about 257 degrees; the wind was coming from about 100 degrees.  It was slowly coming around clockwise after having been from the north Friday and Saturday.

     As we approached the MSC, I wanted to be careful to avoid the spoil banks and shell reefs between us and the channel.  There was a cut at marker 46, but we couldn’t really read the marker number due to our angle with the MSC.  I watched the depth finder and worked my way over to the red marker, relieved to see it was 46 and to not have touched bottom.

     Then we turned and ran upstream in about 40 feet of water.  We could barely see the statue of LaSalle in the vicinity of the site of Indianola, Texas.  He was a French explorer who attempted to settle in the area, and a recent shipwreck of his was excavated in Matagorda Bay.  Indianola was a town of almost 5,000 residents from 1844 – 1877.  It was hit by a couple of hurricanes and a bad fire, and the site was abandoned after that.

     The channel divided into the Point Comfort Channel on the right and the Port Lavaca Channel on the left.  We went left and the bottom rose to 10 – 12 feet.  The Point Comfort Channel led to the big Alcoa aluminum plant at Point Comfort, TX.  There were a couple of other channels off to the left, and Magnolia Beach lay over there, too, just south of Port Lavaca.

     At marker 15 we turned into the entrance channel to Nautical Landings Marina.  Mr. Jim O’Neil, Harbormaster, had requested we call him 30 minutes ahead of our arrival, and we did.  He was there to greet us and to direct us to a slip.  He said we looked like a battleship coming into his channel; we were the largest boat there.  It was windy and hard to control the boat, so I was steering carefully to avoid getting out of the channel.

     Once inside the breakwater, Jim directed us right, then left, then right again, then back into Slip 17, if it was wide enough; and it was.  He told us not to get too close to the wall on our right because some sand had been washed into the harbor there and it was shallow.  We were helped into the slip by Mark and C. J., in addition to Jim.  Everyone we met was very friendly.  Unfortunately, Susy injured her big toe on the aft deck furniture.  For shore power they had two 30-amp circuits for us, and the slip rental was $10 for the night.  Miles covered for the day were about 25.

     We got directions to the grocery store and a restaurant for lunch, and we walked three blocks down Main Street.  We passed the 100-year-old Beach Hotel and the Main Street Theatre as soon as we crossed the first street.  There were some interesting places along the way and some boarded-up ones, too.  Like Palacios, Port Lavaca had been receiving guests for over 100 years and had some buildings there to prove it.

     We ate at another Mexican restaurant, mainly because of its location and the time of day.  It was about 3pm, and the Green Iguana we passed on Main was closed from 2pm until 5pm.  We were the only customers, and it felt like we were in a family’s home, since there were four children running wild through the place.  They were forced to settle down when their Daddy found them with matches and cotton balls, starting small fires they couldn’t put out.

     Across the street was the grocery store, and we bought a few things there we needed to boil the shrimp.  On the way back to the boat we stopped at the Indianola Trading Company, but didn’t see anything there we couldn’t live without.  Across the street was the Roseate Spoonbill Gallery, and we went in there to see the photos hanging on the walls.  After we had been looking around for 10 – 15 minutes, the owner came in and introduced himself as Dean Johnson.  He was a very nice fellow to talk with, and he specialized in restoration of old or damaged photographs.  He had some great examples of his work there, along with some photos of Indianola and early Port Lavaca.

     As we prepared to leave, I set my post cards on the counter to pay for them.  Dean said he was giving away post cards that day, working down their inventory.  It was a nice gesture to us as visitors to his town and store.  He was restoring the building next door as well; that’s where he had been while we were alone in his shop.

     Back at the boat, we boiled the shrimp and Angela made a couple of different sauces for dipping the shrimp in.  After they cooled a couple of hours we ate shrimp and salad and cheesecake and had a great meal.

Port Lavaca to Matagorda Island, TX, Wednesday, May 22, 2002

     We thought we would get out of the marina before the wind came up, so we were up at 8:30am.  After showering and getting dressed, etc. it was 10:15, and the winds were back.  We hurried and moved out of the slip by 10:30, and we maneuvered out of the marina to the Port Lavaca channel.  That was no small feat given the wind and the tight fairways and multiple turns.

     The Port Lavaca Channel ended at the Port, and we went into there looking for fuel.  I didn’t have to speak Spanish to buy the diesel, but Angela’s Spanish got us to the right dock with the diesel pump.  We tried unsuccessfully to buy some shrimp, and I asked for and got an old bucket to use for used filters.

     By 11:30 we were on our way down the Matagorda Ship Channel (MSC).  Since the wind was so strong, we went slowly, a little over 8 knots.  It was choppy, and the wind was almost on the nose (121 degrees or so).  The boat was up and down with the waves, and we threw a spray with each drop.  At that speed the salt water didn’t reach the flybridge though.

     We turned into the alternate ICW channel and motored to the jetties outside Port O’Connor.  I called Clark’s and confirmed our reservations for Friday night; they would pick us up at the marina at 7pm.  Angela and Susy both had birthdays that Friday.

    We stopped at The Fishing Center and were welcomed by Gary, who had become well known there over the past twenty years.  We bought diesel and bait and some gasoline and outboard motor oil for the dinghy.  I made a few other phone calls, and we moved ahead towards our planned anchorage for the night.

     The worst part of the channel leading to Matagorda Island and the ferry landing was the beginning.  I was reading low water depths on my depth finder, but we weren’t hitting anything on the bottom.  I may have been too far from the green markers (there were no red markers).  After we passed the first 5 or so, I had found the 8-foot channel and was fine until we passed marker 15.  After that I could not see the next marker.  It was there, but a small platform was behind it, making it hard to see it.  At marker 17 the channel turned left, and the remaining green markers were easy to see, but not close together.

     At marker 23 we turned east out of the channel and went towards the lighthouse.  We anchored in 7 feet of water, but we drug anchor for a while until I got enough chain out there.  The wind was howling, and I wished we had some protection from it.  But the forecast called for diminished wind velocities beginning Wednesday night, so that was supposed to be the worst it would get.

     After getting the anchor down about 4:30pm, we sat on the flybridge and watched the scenery.  Susy was crocheting, Angela was tatting, and I was reading a book.  About 7pm Angela grilled salmon for us, and we had a great meal.  When we cranked the generator and prepared dinner, the a/c said it was 86 degrees F in the salon, but it did not feel like it.  We were very comfortable outside in the wind.  I think the high for the day was in the low 80s.  Our mileage for the day was about 35.

Lay Day, Anchored at Matagorda Island, TX, Thursday, May 23, 2002

     I had promised Angela she could sleep late, so I left her alone until she decided to get up.  Meantime I turned on the GPS and checked our position.  We had moved about 0.035 seconds of latitude and the same amount of longitude.  We were west and north of our position the previous evening.  I calculated that to be a couple of hundred feet in each direction – not enough to be alarmed about; and our depth was still 7 feet.

     But the wind had not diminished, and the forecast then was not 15 mph but 15–20 mph.  When Angela got up we moved to reset the anchor and get closer to shore and to the harbor.  I could tell it was going to be a wet dinghy ride over there.  The anchor did not hold to suit me, so I moved us again.  This time I put out all 200 feet of chain, and we stayed put.

     We ate breakfast and got ready for the island.  I lowered the dinghy and added another life preserver.  We made a slow and sometimes wet ride into the harbor and found some new slips had been added.  We tied up in one and went exploring.  The ferry, M/V McBRIDE, was in its slip; we had watched it arrive from Port O‘Connor about 9:45am.  The boat was about 50 feet long and twenty years old. 

     The nearest building to the ferry held a Visitors Center, and we walked around and looked at displays there for a while.  There also were rest rooms and bunks there.  I believe there was also another building with bunks; those were available for groups such as scouts that wanted to camp out.  It was pretty primitive.  There was no map, however, or brochure on the park.  We walked outside and spoke to a fisherman who had come out on the ferry.  He said fishing was not good because it was too windy.

     We walked inland and saw a sign that said the beach was 2.5 miles and the lighthouse was 3.0 miles, both in the same direction.  We started walking, and the road kept turning.  (That was an old asphalt road about one and one-half lanes wide, which got more narrow and then changed to two ruts with shells and gravel in the ruts.)  We saw at least two places where we could not continue because of signs such as No Trespassing, and Park Boundary.  The road turned and took us back to the north side of the island; we saw our boat several times.  We kept walking and eventually felt we were headed south for the beach and/or the lighthouse.

     Then we saw another sign, like the very first one, that said we were headed for the beach and the lighthouse, but it gave no mileage.  The next road seemed to go left to the lighthouse but it had no sign, so we stayed the course.  We came to a shelter with a picnic table under it, so we stopped for a drink of water.  (It was necessary to bring anything you wanted to drink or eat, or use, with you because the island park offered nothing except some shelters.

     Then we saw a road to the left and a sign that said to turn there for the lighthouse.  The lighthouse looked pretty far away, so we elected to press on to the beach.  Before we reached it we could hear the surf; it was strong.  The tide was in, too; and there wasn’t much beach that wasn’t covered in water.  Angela and Susy took their shoes off and walked the beach anyway, beach combing.  I waited for them.

     After they returned we walked back to the picnic table under the rusty old cover and stopped for a drink of water.  Angela and I walked to the lighthouse; Susy waited for us.  I was glad we had gone out to see it.  It was built in 1852, and was 150 years old at that time.

     We got back to the boat at 5:15 and enjoyed a good shower and bottle of water.  It was hot and humid, but the breeze saved us.  We felt like we had accomplished something, and we really had.  That was a lot of walking.

     Angela whipped up a dinner for us, and we enjoyed the sunset and a game of Sequence.

Matagorda Island to Port O’Connor, TX, Friday, May 24, 2002

     Friday was the birthday for both of my lady crew members, so we went to the marina early so they could call Paraguay, Susy’s current home and Angela’s former home.  We pulled up the anchor at 9am and passed the ferry as we approached the ICW.  We called the marina and spoke to Mike, who told us to pick a slip.  I wanted him to tell us which slip had the right power for us; he apparently didn’t know.  He told us to get into a slip with finger piers on both sides, and I liked the sound of that.  So we did, and we got tied up generally in a north/south orientation.  We eventually found a source of 220v, 50a power two slips away; but we were never sure if the slip we were in was rented to someone else.  There did not appear to be any slip numbers on the slips.

     The wind was out of the east and southeast, and it was strong – 15 to 20 mph from late morning until late at night.  We washed the transom of the boat and rinsed the rest of it.  Angela wanted to try some fishing off the dock, so I got her set up to do that.  I went into the engine room and changed the oil and filter on the generator.  I also changed the Caterpillar Racor filters, thinking they would need it soon.  I also checked the other fluids and added some as needed.

    We tasted the water and decided we didn’t want it in our water tank.  It was salty and had a bad taste.  Sure enough, it was well water.  Mike and Sam, and The Fishing Center, had City water, which was good water.  So we left the shore water off and ship water on to make ice while we were away from the boat.  If we had known, we would have filled up at the Fishing Center before getting a slip.

     About 4pm we walked over to Mike and Sam’s duplex to do some laundry.  Once we got a load started there we went next door to their rental trailer and started a load.  I went back to the boat to read and get ready for dinner, while the ladies stayed with the clothes.  I helped them bring the clothes back at 6:45.  Clark’s came to pick us up at 7:30.

     We were surprised to hear that Mr. Clark had sold his restaurant about a week earlier.  The new owners were still calling it Clark’s, though.  We sat outside in the moderate temperature with a breeze.  The ICW is just a few feet from the tables; it’s always a surprise when a barge appears near the dinner table.  We had a great meal, and Clark’s supplied a piece of chocolate pie for each of the birthday girls.  It was good, too.

     We asked June to drop us at Mike’s, since our clothes were not finished.  As we pulled up just before 9:30, Mike and Sam were driving in from League City, TX.  They make that drive almost every weekend.  We visited with them, finished with the clothes, and made plans for the next day.

Lay Day, Port O’Connor, TX, Saturday, May 25, 2002

     We were up and fed by 9 or so, and Mike picked us up.  We left his place in his 24’ Carolina Skiff around 10:30.  We tried several places inside the MSC jetties, and we caught a few fish including one keeper.  We caught a few strange fish, like a dogfish, a sea lice, and catfish, of course.  The fishing wasn’t great, but the weather was.  We enjoyed it and went back to their duplex about 1:30.

     Mike took us to the grocery store, which was a convenience store anywhere else.  Port ‘Connor was a small town; I couldn’t get a radio station or a television station on our equipment at the boat.  The main activity there was fishing.  We showered and changed clothes, read, took a nap, and later ate dinner on board.  We spent the evening with Mike and some friends of his.

Lay Day, Port O’Connor, TX, Sunday, May 26, 2002

     Again we tried fishing, but Sam and Susy stayed home.  This time we caught two keepers, and some more dogfish and hardheads.  Angela and Mike also caught very small groupers, one of them purple in color.  It wasn’t a great day for fishing.  The weather was good, and we enjoyed being out in the boat.  We left at 9am and returned to the boat about 12:30.

     After a sandwich on the boat, we walked back to Mike’s.  This time with Susy we went out in the boat to get to the beach.  We went the “back way”, which is a twisting channel through the islands and marsh, to the bay just inside Matagorda Island and Cavallo Pass.  We entered the “J-hook” and went to the southern end of it.  We pulled the bow of the boat up close to the shore with anchors to hold it in and out.  Mike counted over 60 boats there, and he remarked they were usually the only ones there.  Port O’Connor was growing.

     We walked over the sand dunes to the beach and started beachcombing.  Mike showed us how to recognize “sea beans”, and we each found a few to take home and clean up.  We did that for about an hour, and then we ran the boat back through the winding channel.  We stopped frequently to see birds and to take some photographs.

     We took out treasures back to the boat and cleaned them. Then we ate dinner on board.  I started thinking about the chocolate pie at Clark’s.  Angela thought they might sell a whole pie.  So I called and spoke to June.  She said $15, and she’d call me when she started our way with the next group of boaters.  She did, a I met her at the end of the pier with the money.  The pie was good.

Port O’Conner to Rockport, TX, Monday, May 27, 2002

     We were up and ready for Mike and Sam when they arrived at 8:30am.  All our engines were started, and out shore power cables and hoses were stowed on the boat.  We just had to let loose those lines and scoot out of the slip before the wind pushed us into a piling.  Everything went as planned.

     We ran out to the jetties and into the Gulf.  There was a strong current coming in through the jetties.  Some birds were diving on some bait fish just inside the island.  There were a lot of boats out fishing.  Then we went back to The Fishing Center to top off our diesel and water tanks.  A charter boat was fueling with diesel, so we circled around for 20 or 30 minutes until we could get to the dock.  Our friends on M/V DEMOLITION MAN, from South Shore Harbour, passed us on their way home from a cruise to Port Aransas about that time.  We spoke to them on the radio.

     Mike and Sam saw us off at 11am after filling up.  They had chores to do and a drive back to League City.  We headed west to Rockport.  We traveled over 15 miles in a land cut where the biggest problem was lots of small boats fishing.  We slowed to a crawl for each of them.  Then we crossed San Antonio Bay.  Halfway across we passed S/V SAVANNAH RAYNE, whose owners, Ben and Kathy Reyna, were TMCA members.  We chatted with them a few minutes on the VHF radio.

     The wind was from our left, so we passed the sailboats on the one whistle, or our port side, to avoid cutting off their wind.  They ran closer to the green markers when we came up behind them.  We were on the red marker side, but there were no red markers.  We occasionally saw depths of 6, 8, and 9 feet as we drifted in and out of the channel on the north side.

     At Mile 500 I drifted too far to the right and hit the bottom with the starboard rudder and prop.  I was slow to realize what was happening, so were aground with one engine shut down in short order.  By trying to get us off the reef and back into the channel, I recognized we were pivoting on the starboard running gear.  The port engine and rudder were responsive, and I found I could back with that engine until I was perpendicular to the channel.  There were some waves along with the high winds.  I asked the crew to stand on the port forward side of the boat and tried to time my efforts with the waves.  Eventually it worked and we got off.

     We had been passed by a couple of the sailboats we had passed earlier.  Ben Reyna radioed me and offered to help when he caught up to us, but we were off by then.  I passed the sailboats and planed off to see if we had any bad vibrations.  We didn’t; the only problem I felt was the rudder was harder to turn at high speed.  It was normal at slow speeds.  Then I spent some unproductive time wishing I hadn’t done that etc.

     After San Antonio Bay we crossed Aransas Bay.  It was rougher because the wind was stronger.  I found a likely crossing of the spoil bank and eased into the bay outside the ICW.  We came around Nine Mile Point and approached the Key Allegro entrance channel. A tow and barge with a crane on it were in the channel, apparently doing some dredging.  There was just enough room to pass him, so we went on into the canal-home subdivision.  The water depths were not great, 6 or 7 feet maximum.

     I tried unsuccessfully to raise the Key Allegro Marina on VHF channel 16.  Then I called the number I had used to speak to Terri and make a reservation.  The man who answered said he was at the store, Terri was off, and would I call another number.  I did and got the marina.  The marina man wanted me to call the store.  I asked them to decide what slip I was in and let me know.  Water depths were concerning me.  The man from the store came down to the dock and pointed out our slip to us.

     A young dockhand was there to take our line and help us tie up.  After we got plugged in, we walked to the store and paid for the slip.  (The store man asked me what price I had been quoted for the slip.  I told him $0.75 per foot, since that’s what Ed Campbell’s book said.  He charged me that and then said their regular rate was $1 per foot.)  We then walked around a few streets so we could show Susy the canals, the homes, and the bay nearby.  It was an impressive and colorful site, especially at the marina.

     Mike had filleted the fish we had caught, and Angela had been marinating them since we left Port O’Connor.  We decided to eat early, and by 7:30 we were ready for coffee and chocolate pie.  I was reading and realized my eyes were closing, so I excused myself for a short nap. I slept all night.

Rockport to Corpus Christi, TX, Tuesday, May 28, 2002

      We were up and having coffee on the aft deck at 8am.  It was 78 degrees F, but there was a cool breeze blowing.  We had breakfast and pulled out of the marina at 10:30.  We cruised by several of the canals to get video and still photos of some of the fabulous homes.  When we got to the entrance channel it was windy.
      
      
     I turned toward the Rockport shore to intersect the ICW just as it became a landcut.  We ran about 20 miles in the ICW, passing the town of Aransas Pass on the way.  There was a lot of ship and offshore platform building in that 20 miles, along with ship repair and a few marinas and a few more waterfront subdivisions.  Right before we reached the Corpus Christi Ship Channel (CCSC) we passed a large ship with several large spools, for carrying cable perhaps.  I had never seen anything quite like it.

      

         We turned right into the CCSC.  Our course was almost west, or 270 degrees.  The waves were coming across the bay at a course of about 200 degrees.  The wind was at 160 – 170 degrees.  There were whitecaps in the bay, and wave heights were at least 2 or 3 feet.  We were twisting and turning in a corkscrew-type fashion.  Our best option was to run slightly less than plane speed, and even then we sometimes came over a wave and surfed down the other side.

     I decided to leave the CCSC just after the range markers, and as a result I got us into some shallow water.  I later saw a map that showed a spoil bank there, so we read 6 feet or so going over it.  The better route would have been to get out of the CCSC just before the range markers; there’s a cut through the spoil bank there.  My charts did not show it.

     No problem, we aimed for the entrance to the breakwater indicated by the red and green markers, 1 and 2.  Once inside and approaching the first T-head, my depth indicator showed very shallow and erratic depths.  We never stirred up any mud or hit anything; it may have been fine silt.  We cruised around the area, which was quite picturesque.  We approached the Corpus Christi Yacht Club and called Jenny for confirmation of our slip assignment.  It looked too narrow to us.  She moved us over two slips, and we backed into LE 16.  It had 2 30-amp plugs, but I spotted a 220v, 50a next to a sailboat that was not being used, so we plugged into that.

     Angela and I both had a headache.  I went up to the front to register and met Jenny, the Club secretary, who fixed me up with a gate key and guest card.  The slip cost was $30 per night.  Back at the boat we ate a few left-overs and then walked over to the next T-head.  We looked for tourist information but didn’t find very much.  I called Enterprise and reserved a car for the following day.  We ate at the Yacht Club from 7:15 or so until 9pm.  We got to see the night lights in the buildings of downtown Corpus Christi.  It was a very clear night, and the wind was impressive.

    


Lay Day, Drive to South Padre Island, TX, Wednesday, May 29, 2002

     Enterprise came and picked us up at 9:30am, and we were fueled up and on our way south at 10:30.  It took about three hours to get onto the island.  Then we found a place to eat; we were hungry.  Lunch was seafood, and it was okay.  Then we drove north on Padre Blvd. to the upper end of the inhabited island, past the Convention Center.  There we pulled into a parking area, locked the car, and took a walk on the beach.

     It was all very pretty; but I saw brown sand, not white sand, as I had been told it would be.  It was pretty, and the water and waves were nice, too.  The developed island was smaller we had expected, which was appealing.  There were three north/south streets and about 50 east/west streets.  A lot of it was new, too; so our impressions were of growth and expansion, both in houses and in condos and apartments.

     We drove down Gulf Blvd and were able to see most of the island.  We stopped and bought some souvenirs and then crossed the causeway to see the Port Isabel Lighthouse.  Their Chamber of Commerce was located inside a replica of the old lighthouse keeper’s house.  We climbed all 75 steps in the spiral staircase to get to the top of the lighthouse.  It was a great view, and the breeze was good, too.  It was a hot day.

     At 4:30 we began our return to Corpus Christi.  It seemed longer going back.  Of course, we did stop and buy some fresh fruit, etc. from the roadside vendors.  What also delayed us, however, was rain.  Between 5:30 and 6:30 we had lightning and lots of rain, sometimes so heavy all traffic stopped on the highway.  By the time we got into Corpus, the rain was over; but it did rain there, too.  In fact, another cold front came through and brought rain and somewhat cooler temperatures.  They really needed it; Texas and many parts of the USA were suffering from severe drought.

     We changed clothes at the boat and ate out at Water Street Seafood Company, a place the man from Enterprise had recommended to us.  We had a good meal and then desert back on the boat.

Lay Day, Tour the Area, Thursday, May 30, 2002

     We slept late and had breakfast and then went to the HEB for groceries.  (HEB was started in Kerrville and in 2002 had its headquarters in San Antonio. (The H. E. Butt family had some property and a strong presence in Corpus Christi.)  We drove part of Ocean Drive on the way back to the boat – nice houses there.

     Then we drove to Rockport.  I had seen a video tape at the Texas Maritime Museum in 1996.  It was about the construction of the ICW.  I wanted to duplicate it if possible since they did not then offer it for sale.  We spoke to two very friendly ladies there, and they helped me look through all their video tapes.  It was not there.  I was disappointed, but we looked around the museum anyway.

     We also drove around the harbor and checked out the Rockport Yacht Club.  I had been trying to get someone on the phone to try and get a slip there.  Key Allegro was not convenient to the town itself, and a slip in the harbor would put the downtown right at the doorstep.

    Next we drove back down Highway 35 to the USS Lexington, a famous aircraft carrier and now a museum.  We toured it and saw the movie, “To Fly”, from 3:30 until it closed at 6pm.  It was very worthwhile doing that; I’m very glad we did.  The complexities of the ship were overwhelming, and the feelings it brought up about wars and relatives who have been in wars were touching.

     Angela was hungry for a hamburger, so we ate at Whataburger downtown.  Not any Whataburger, this one was a double-decker with an outside patio on the top floor so you could eat and see the T-heads and the boats.  Whataburger started in Corpus Christi in 1950, and that unit was described on a plaque as a special building to honor the City and the company's first 50 years.  It was named "Whataburger on the Bay".

     We drove down Ocean Drive all the way to the Naval Air Station, then over to the JFK Causeway over to Mustang Island.  The road was under construction, so I’m glad we weren’t there during rush hour, if they have such a thing in Corpus Christi.  We got an impression of a small town, although Corpus is not small.  There seemed to be a lack of stress in most of the people we met.  Susy was so impressed with the friendliness of the people we met; and we were, too.  No person was rude or unkind to us in any way.

Corpus Christi to Matagorda, TX, Friday, May 31, 2002

     I was up at 7 and returned the rental car to Enterprise soon after.  We pulled out of the marina at 8:30.  I left a note and the gate key for Jenny; she had been very helpful to us.

     The VHF radio said the winds were out of the north at 8mph.  If so, it picked up soon after we left the marina.  We crossed Corpus Christi Bay and went out the ship channel, almost to the Gulf of Mexico, to show the waterfront of Port Aransas to Susy.  Then we turned into the Lydia Ann Channel.  (The lighthouse there was owned by the H. E. Butt family.)  That channel was also called the Alternate ICW channel. We were headed almost due north then, and the winds were strong and on the nose.  It was choppy.

     We passed Key Allegro about 11am, so the run from Corpus to Key Allegro or Rockport was about a 2.5-hour run.  We passed The Fishing Center at port O’Connor at 2pm.  We were doing so well we decided to go on to Matagorda, and we tied up there at 4:30pm.  We covered 125 miles in 8 running hours.  It was a nice day, with a high temperature of about 80 degrees F.  Wind was shifting to the Northeast, and it was choppy on the bays (three of them: Aransas, San Antonio, and Matagorda).  There was not much traffic, which helped us to move along.  When the waterway is filled with small boats fishing, your progress is slowed by having to slow way down for each of them.

     It seemed funny: we took 11 days to get to Corpus Christi and 2 days to get back home again.  It’s about a 16 or 17 hour trip; I guess you can do it in a day or in any number of days longer than that, depending where you stop and how long you stay there along the way.

Matagorda to Houston, TX, Saturday, June 1, 2002

     We pulled out of the marina at 7:30am.  The day seemed like it was going to be another windy one, but it developed into a beautiful day.  We arrived in Freeport at 11am and stopped for thirty minutes to fill up with diesel.  We arrived at Lakewood Yacht Club at 4pm, and we spent a little while getting our lines and fenders rigged for our new slip.  Then we unloaded the boat, loaded the car, and went home.  Along the way we stopped at South Shore Harbour Marina and picked up the other car.

     Going up the Houston Ship Channel in Galveston Bay was the worst part of the trip, at least for that day.  The ICW had more traffic than the previous day, but still it was not too crowded, at least early in the day.  The high temperature was in the low 80’s, and the humidity and wind were less than usual.

     Total miles for the cruise were 575 (statute).  (A one-way direct trip to Corpus Christi would have been about 235 miles.)  Our running hours were 47, so our average speed was 12.2 mph, lower than our usual average.  Generator hours were 88, reflecting the 40 straight hours of use at Matagorda Island State Park and the overnight use at Palacios.  We began to use it less during running hours as the cruise progressed.

     I changed the oil and filter on the generator, and I changed the Racor filters on the main engines.  They had not been changed since October, and they looked like they would need changing soon.  So I did it while in port instead of while we were moving.  We would have some repairs due to our grounding, but for the moment we were not handicapped by the experience.  I changed the oil and filters on the main engines after we were back at home.

     We enjoyed the small towns we visited and the really nice people we met.  We enjoyed seeing our friends in Port O’Connor and fishing there.  We enjoyed seeing Corpus Christi, Rockport, and South Padre Island.  There’s a lot to see in those places.  We enjoyed each other’s company.

     Susy, being from Paraguay, was seeing everything for the first time.  Her impressions of everything were generally appreciative and favorable, and it made me appreciate even more than I usually do what a treasure we have in our Intracoastal Waterway.  It provides the opportunity for us to travel by boat to those places, and to see and experience things that cannot be done any other way.  It was a good feeling to be grateful and to appreciate the cruise in a different way because of her experience.