FL TO TX CRUISE LOGS
March 8 – 27, 2003
Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Houston, TX

In Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Saturday – Wednesday, March 8 – 12, 2003

     Angela and I flew to Ft. Lauderdale, FL on Saturday, March 1.  For a week it had been 45 degrees F for the high in Houston, with rain.  In Ft. Lauderdale it was 85 degrees F.  We stayed on the boat Saturday and Sunday nights, and on Monday we drove across the state to Bonita Springs for a business meeting.  While in Ft. Lauderdale we began acquiring the provisions we would need on our trip back to Houston.  We also attended the International Orchid Show in Miami, and Angela bought some orchids to take back to Houston with us.

     We were on Florida’s west coast until Saturday, March 8.  We visited some friends in that area as well as attending the business meeting; then we drove back to Ft. Lauderdale.  The purchase date on the boat was January 16, 2003.  We had moved it up the New River right after we bought it.  Richard Gundal, whom we met in 1999, helped us find a berth for the boat.  It was right next door to Richard's house, at the home of Trem and Brenda.

     That was convenient for everyone because Richard was going to do some work on the boat for us, and Trem had a regular renter for his boat slip starting a month or so after we would be leaving.  Richard was a good mechanic, competent, fair, and friendly; I liked him and would recommend him to anyone.

     Richard was to replace the dinghy with a new one, arrange for new canvas and an isinglass enclosure around three sides of the flybridge, raise the flybridge table, lower the video camera under the boat deck, mount and wire our end table lamps, hang additional towel rods, rig up a harness to snub the anchor chain, mount the Magma gas grill, etc.  At the same time, we contracted with Concord Marine Electronics, who put in the original electronics, to add new antennas, upgrade the radar to the newest standard, add a chart plotter, a TV in the salon, satellite phone and TV receivers, a digital amplifier for the cell phones, a SSB radio, a wind instrument, etc.  The work was still going on when we arrived on March 8.

     We were to do a sea trial on Monday with Concord, and we did.  It rained offshore Port Everglades, and we lost our satellite TV signal.  We lost it several times after that; any cloud or rain shut down the system.  Concord promised to do several things on Tuesday, and some of them were done on Tuesday and some on Wednesday.  Some were never done.  The canvas maker came out on Monday to make a pattern for a dinghy cover, and he installed the dinghy cover Tuesday morning.

     We had several electrical problems and several plumbing problems. The boat had two water pumps; number one seemed to be too large and number two too small.  We had low voltage on Monday’s sea trial, which would not be good for the electronics.  After much deliberation, on Wednesday the builder’s electricians added at the helm a larger battery with its own battery charger and a Newmar converter that would use the engine’s 24-volt alternators to charge that 12-volt battery.  They also replaced the 1000-watt inverter, which was not working, with a new one.  We found out the purpose of that inverter was to supply the refrigerator if no 110-volt power was available.  Another smaller inverter was also located under the helm.  We found out its purpose was to supply lights and electrical outlets in the salon and galley (for the coffeepot, say) in the event of a loss of 110-volt power.

     Another problem was the two water pumps were pulling large amperages along long cables, so a pair of electrical solenoids were installed in the lazarette to activate the pumps.  The house batteries were low on water; they were filled and charged.  The number 2 water pump motor and control burned up Wednesday evening and were replaced on Thursday morning.

     Meanwhile Angela and I were provisioning the boat with groceries and with supplies from the BOAT US store down the street.  We bought hardware to install the helm seat that came in a box with the boat.  We bought an EPIRB, more life preservers, oil and oil filters, fuel and water filters, spares for the engines and the generator, over 500 gallons of diesel fuel, a portable phone for the satellite phone system, towels and rugs, etc.  We had a new mattress made for the master stateroom.

     We had dinner Sunday night with Richard and his wife Donna.  She was a professional photographer, and she passed on some pointers to Angela about photography.  Monday night we went out with Trem and Brenda.  He raised orchids in a greenhouse right next to our boat.  He and Angela had a lot to talk about.  Trem later took Angela to a greenhouse where she could buy some more orchids – she just can’t get enough of those orchids.

     Brenda called her chiropractor for me on Tuesday.  I had lunch with Glenn Hall with Essex Credit and then walked over to the chiropractor’s office from the restaurant.  Brenda and Angela went to lunch and the grocery store and then picked me up at the doctor’s.  My problems with my back continued for most of the trip.

      On Wednesday our friend from Melbourne, Bill O’Donnell, dropped in to see us and the boat; and we went to lunch with him.  The electricians were on the boat all day, and they seemed to do a very professional job.

Ft. Lauderdale to Riviera Beach, FL, Thursday, March 13, 2003

     We were ready to leave on Thursday morning, but the number 2 water pump had quit the night before and we were waiting for a new motor to be installed.  The electrician finally arrived with it, only to find he needed a new controller also.  He left to get a new one, and once he replaced it, it seemed to work fine.

     
               

     We finally left on Thursday morning about 11:30am.  The trip down the river was amazing, with old, smallish homes on both sides, some of which have been modernized and/or enlarged.  There were also, more and more, large, old homes, and new homes built where a small older home used to stand.  Downtown Ft. Lauderdale has all the chrome and glass, marble and concrete, anyone could want; and new, high-rise condos are being built all around that downtown area.  The south fork of the New River is home to many boat yards and marinas, some of which are quite large and modern; and there are more than a few boat manufacturing plants located there.  Very large vessels are commonly seen making sharp turns and passing boats going the opposite direction on the fairly narrow river.

       

     We went down the river and through Port Everglades and into the Atlantic Ocean.  At 2 miles out we were in water 600 feet deep, which is a lot deeper than the Gulf of Mexico waters back in Texas.  We turned north and rolled quite a bit, as the waves were coming from the SE.  After 30 miles or so I experienced a loss of steering at either helm station.  I checked the lazarette and noticed hydraulic steering fluid on the floor in the center and under the cylinder and reservoir on the port side.  The reservoir was empty and had no pressure in it.  We had no steering, and I believed I could not repair it (I had no fluid, for example, and no experience making such a repair).

     I called BOAT US towing service, and we drifted for about an hour until a towboat from Boynton Beach came out and began towing us to Palm Beach.  He could only tow us at 5 mph, so we were looking at a 2 – 3 hour tow.  After a while the towboat from Palm Beach came out and took over the tow, and he could do about 8 mph.  We were tied up in Riviera Beach just after 6:30pm and just before a huge thunderstorm passed through the area.

     I called Captain Scott Palmer, who represented the builder to us; and he promised to have a mechanic up to work on our problems the following morning.  Neither of the water pumps was working.  The area was not a good one for walking to a restaurant, so we ate on board.

In Riviera Beach, FL, Friday, March 14, 2003

     Scott Palmer called and said his mechanic could not come to Riviera Beach, and would we start looking also for a mechanic.  We did, but he eventually got a mechanic from the local Rybovitch Spencer yard.  Frank came over to the boat about 2pm, and he stayed until 8pm.  He got the air bled out of the steering system, we thought; made the TV camera in the engine room function again, with the aid of a wire-tie; made the water systems work again; and found out why the oil changer pump wouldn't work and fixed that (the wire was not attached at the circuit breaker); etc.  The wires on the Grand Harbour are all labeled with tags having numbers and letters on them.  You can identify a wire in the engine room, note its number, say D21, and then find the same wire at the circuit breaker panel.

     I had been watching our front flag staff bobbing and weaving, so I went out and checked it.  It was simply sitting in the hole in the railing.  I walked three blocks to a boat store and bought a screw to hold it in place.  I didn't want to lose it overboard when we hit a big wave.

     We ate on board again that evening.

Riviera Beach to Stuart, FL, Saturday, March 15, 2003

     We made a date with my Uncle Jim for lunch, so we were up at 6am and on our way at 7:30.  We left the marina and went first south and then east and out into the Atlantic.  We ran about two hours offshore and then turned into the St. Lucie Inlet.  I was worried about using that inlet, because the chart said to not use it without local knowledge.  My friend, Dick Stewart, said it is regularly dredged and easy to navigate, so that is what we did.

     He was right; we had no problems until we reached the junction with the ICW.  I went a little too far to the right, but I noticed the depth dropping and backed back into the channel.  That is a tricky area which requires some careful consideration, as there are shallow places all around.  We ran west and then north on the St. Lucie River.  There were very pretty homes on both sides of the waterway.  Also, the banks of the river were surprisingly high. 

     We had a slip at Northside Marina, just off the Roosevelt Bridge, which is US Highway 1.  We were across the river from downtown Stuart.  We pulled in and tied up, plugged in and changed, and then we walked up to the marina restaurant, YAHOO.  Jim and Mable were just arriving, so our timing was great.

     After lunch our friend and insurance agent, Chuck Woodruff, and his son came by to see us.  We all went out to the boat and had a tour.  Carolyn Stewart and her real estate friend, Tom Baker, joined the group at 2pm.  After that we went to look at houses with them.

     After seeing some pretty homes, we wound up at the home of Dick and Carolyn out on Hutchinson Island.  We went to a neighbor’s house for some hamburgers cooked on the grill; and we got to see another house in that subdivision.  They were all expensive, it seemed.

     Dick drove us back to the marina.  We were starting to learn our way around the area.  Dick and Carolyn were studying for their real estate license exams, planned for Monday in Miami; but Carolyn agreed to show us a few more houses on Sunday.

In Stuart, FL, Sunday, March 16, 2003

    We slept late and met Tom and Carolyn at noon.  By 2pm they had shown us the new places they wanted to show us and then delivered us back to our boat. We did not buy anything, but that was a very attractive area to us.  My Uncle Jim picked us up about 4pm.
                 

     We visited with Jim and Mable and then went out to dinner with them.  There was quite a rainstorm at several points in the evening.  We picked up a few items at the grocery store and retired for the night.

Stuart to Ft. Myers, FL, Monday, March 17, 2003

     We pulled out of the marina at 7:30am.  We went under the US Highway 1 bridge and through a couple of bascule bridges and turned left into the south fork of the St. Lucie River.  We passed under the bridge that connected Stuart proper with Palm City, where we had been looking at homes.  We were told there was a traffic problem getting into and out of that area, at least partly due to that bridge.  Traffic problems seemed common in Florida.  

     We wound around the turning channel of the river, and we went though a lock that put us into the St. Lucie Canal.  The vegetation changed as we moved out of the city and into the country.  Then we went through the lock at Port Mayaca and into Lake Okeechobee.

              

     We found the boat would not steer straight; the steering was sluggish and not responsive.  We deduced there was still air in the system, that the mechanic on Friday had not been entirely successful in getting all the air out of the system.

     On autopilot we raced across the lake, about 25 miles.  Our wake looked like the walk of a drunken sailor, but it didn’t matter as we had plenty of room.  Once we reached Clewiston, however, we found ourselves in a small channel leading to the first down lock at Moore Haven.

       

     Generally we would steer opposite to the direction of the boat.  When the steering caught up and the boat began to turn, we started steering the other way.  It was never possible to accurately predict when the boat would respond to the steering.  On one occasion it did not turn left soon enough, and we grazed the bottom in a left-hand turn.  The starboard prop was bent enough to cause some vibration at any speed, so we went slowly the rest of the way into Ft. Myers.

     It was a long afternoon and evening.  There were three down locks on the Ft. Myers side of the lake.  Sunset was 6:15pm or so.  We arrived at the municipal marina at 8:30pm.  They had been having a picnic or party, including wine; and everyone was so very nice when we pulled in.  One of the marina employees had read the book, ILLUSIONS, by Richard Bach; and he waxed long and poetic about what a great book it was.  I agreed; that’s why I named the boat after the book.

     Our friend Jim Ellsworth met us at the marina, and we went out to his home for dinner.  Jim and Diana had been on the Great Loop in their boat in 2000, and they had been with us on the Panama Canal Cruise in 2002.  We had a nice dinner with them and got to see yet another golf course home in southern FL.  Jim took us back to the boat after dinner.

In Ft. Myers, FL, Tuesday – Wednesday, March 18 – 19, 2003

     We needed to get lifted out of the water or to have a diver go under the boat and check out the running gear.  I would have preferred a lift, but no one could lift us out immediately.  We got Tim from Atlantis Diving, and he was a pleasure to work with. Many of the service people in south Florida moved there from up north, and they do not have a “southern hospitality” attitude towards their customers.  Tim was different; he was from Georgia.  He was polite, and he was competent.  He got the prop off and took it to Coastal Propeller Technology for refurbishing.

                  

     Meanwhile, Captain Scott Palmer had lined up Tropica, an electronics firm in Ft. Myers, to come to the boat and bleed the air out of the hydraulic steering system.  Other persistent problems included the water pumps would not work and the closed circuit TV in the engine room had quit again.  They came out about noon and bled the air out of the steering system but could not do anything about the other problems.  From that point on we had no engine room TV and no water pump service for the boat.  We had to stay in marinas where we could connect to City water.

     In the afternoon we dinghied down to the Royal Palm Yacht Club to check it out.  It was on the Caloosahatchee River just downstream of us, and we were welcome there for dinner if we wanted to eat there.  I dropped the dinghy into the water by the boat, and we rode down there.  It was rough and windy on the river.  The yacht club was small and nice; we checked it out and went back to the municipal marina.

     Our friends Bill and Phyllis had bought a home on a golf course in Ft. Myers.  We had been to see it once.  I called Phyllis at the Ft. Myers house, and I called Bill on his cell phone.  He was at the Des Moines airport preparing to return to Ft. Myers.  So we made plans to meet that evening for dinner.  I gave them the choice of the yacht club; and of course it was a new and different place for them, so that’s where we went.  We had a nice meal and a nice evening.

     The following day a mechanic named Larry and I changed the oil and filters on the ZF transmissions and the Northern Lights generator.  The manuals on both units recommended 50-hour oil and filter changes.  The Caterpillar dealer had told me to change the oil in the CAT engines at 250 hours.  I was pleased to find out the oil changer had been plumbed to the transmissions as well as to the engines and the generator, so changing the oil in the transmissions should be easier than it was in the past.

     We tied down the dinghy to make sure it would not slip from side to side.  Richard had put two straps on each end of the dinghy, but one of them had pulled out.  I would need a better system which I could get in Houston.

     We walked to the downtown area and had dinner.  The area was much improved over its appearance when we were there in 1999.  The US-led Coalition began its military activity against Iraq after President Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to get out of the country.

Ft. Myers to Sarasota, FL, Thursday, March 20, 2003

     We could not get the prop before 10am on Thursday, and I do think Coastal did a great job on it.  Tim was out to the boat with it about 11am, and then we pulled round to the fuel dock and filled up with diesel.  We were learning about the gauges and about the tanks, so I filled up often to see what I could learn about how the systems all functioned together.  For example, I learned the port tank went down faster than the starboard tank, even when the two engines were run at the same fuel usage levels; and I learned that both engines could be run at planning speed with fuel from only one tank available.  The manifolding was quite good, and very well labeled.

                  

     As I studied the charts and listened to the weather forecasts, I made a few discoveries and decisions.  For one, there is no good direct way to get to Sarasota from the Gulf of Mexico.  I had used Big Sarasota Pass in 1999, and neither it nor “New Pass”, which looks like a ship channel on the chart, were recommended by local officials for navigation.  After speaking with Royal Palm Yacht Club, I decided to try more of the yacht clubs along the way; slip rental there would have been almost $1 per foot less expensive than the municipal marina.

     Accordingly we made reservations for the night and for the lobster dinner at the Sarasota Yacht Club.  My friend Bruce from Treasure Island, FL recommended the ICW if we were careful and followed the markers.  Angela was great about that, and with her doing a lot of the piloting we arrived without incident.

     One interesting thing, no one at the Sarasota Yacht Club could tell us how to get to the club by boat.  All the people we spoke with knew how to get there by land, but they could not tell us how to navigate there by boat.  Finally we spoke with the club manager, and he knew that the name of the island or key was Coon.  That allowed me to figure out how to reach the club, and we arrived after dark about 7pm.

     We ate the lobster dinner, and it was good.  The club was very full, and it appeared to be a large yacht club.  We were treated with some courtesy, by our waiter, mainly, but otherwise basically ignored.  When the harbormaster presented us with our bill for the slip for one night, it set a new record high for the trip.

Sarasota to Clearwater, FL, Friday, March 21, 2003

     We left the windy dock at Sarasota Yacht Club at 8:15am and headed north on the ICW.  We just left our antennas down for those days in inland waters; most of the bridges were tall enough for us to pass under if our antennas were in the down position.  I was surprised to learn the ICW went under the Skyway Bridge and into Tampa Bay before it turned and went under the bridge again.

                 

     I had heard about an upside-down pyramid at St. Petersburg, FL; so we went there in hopes of having lunch in one of the restaurants in the "pyramid".  A bad thunderstorm passed through that area as we approached the Skyway, and we appreciated the way the new boat handled the waters there.  It was overcast and rainy, but we found the unusual structure at the municipal pier at St. Petersburg.  There was no slip for us to use to eat there, but the marina at the Vinoy Resort offered a slip if we ate there.  We took them up on it, and they nicely came out to the boat in the rain to help us get tied up.

     The Vinoy was a Renaissance hotel, which meant it was operated by Marriott.  It was a beautiful and expensive hotel in a lovely setting; and there were four condominium towers adjacent to the resort.  The original Vinoy was built in 1925.  Today the resort includes the renovated original building and a new tower and a pool, etc. in between.  I put it on my list of places to go and to stay when we have the opportunity.

       

     Rain ended after lunch; and we got a few good photos of the place, and of the St. Petersburg pier.  We went back south to the ICW and ran it north all the way to Clearwater, which was most of the remaining ICW on the west coast.  It started at Mile Zero on the Caloosahatchie River and ended just at Mile 145 just north of Clearwater.

                  

     We wanted to stay in Clearwater because we had stayed there in 1999 and liked the proximity of the marina to the town, the beach, and the open waters of the Gulf.  Their prices were better than we had been seeing; diesel fuel had gone down in price that day.  We had made the run from Panama City to Clearwater in 1999.  It took 15 hours at that time, and we expected we could do better in the new boat.

       

     The weather was nice, actually cool in the evening.  We walked to The Beachcomber restaurant and had a good meal.  It was packed.  The town looked like a nice area for family fun.  It looked busy and felt safe.

Clearwater to Panama City, FL, Saturday, March 22, 2003

    We were up at 4:30 and departed at 5:45am in the dark.  It took a while to adjust to the boat in the dark, and I’m glad we had that experience.  I would generally always go to the flybridge when docking and leaving a harbor.  Visibility is better, and Angela and I could communicate with each other better when I was up there.

     Once we were out in the Gulf I set up a waypoint over 100 miles away, and we cruised at about 20 knots towards the waypoint.  I changed the waypoint a couple of times, and we had decent if not flat seas.  The boat tended to roll under many offshore conditions, but that day we had only a minimum of rolling.  Our worst time was trying to get our speed right at the entrance to St. Andrews Bay.  We felt like we were surfing, and the surf was pushing us to the side of the channel.  One sportfishing boat blazed by us, making me think that the way to go in was full speed ahead, but that probably doesn’t always work, either.

     We arrived at the fuel dock about 5:15pm EST, which meant we had made the crossing in about 11.5 hours.  I calculated the distance to be 230 miles, for an average speed of 20 mph.  Panama City was on Central time, so it was 4:15 there.  The marina closed at 5pm.  We fueled up and tied up to an alongside berth.  The harbormaster, Chris, was very pleasant and helpful.

     Neither the marina nor the city was very large, and we walked to dinner in town.  Angela wisely took along a jacket; it was cool outside, in the low-60s (degrees F).  There was an Italian restaurant about 6 blocks away from the marina.  Our waiter, Al, was a young sailor who had written an article for a sailing magazine.  We talked about boating and writing and had a good meal there.

Panama City, FL to Dauphin Island, AL, Sunday, March 23, 2003

     On Sunday we left the marina at 8:30am and cleared the jetties into the Gulf at 9am.  The weather was better than the previous day, and we could have water skied behind the boat for several hours.  There were no clouds in the sky, which made it puzzling when we kept losing our satellite connection.  We were not accustomed to satellite TV, but our experience on that trip indicated it was not very reliable.  We lost the signal every day, sometimes several times per day.

     The impressive high rise buildings at Panama City Beach gave way to impressive buildings at Destin, Fort Walton Beach, and Pensacola.  Then we came to the area around Orange Beach, AL, a favorite of ours, Perdido Key, and then Gulf Shores.  Then we came to the Mobile, AL ship channel, and we turned north for a few miles to the ICW.  We went west under the Dauphin Island bridge and then doubled back to the marina just on the east side of the bridge.  The water was a little skinny there, but we just made it.  We put down the antennas for the 25’ clearance crossing under the bridge the second time.

     The marina was mainly a dry storage place for 20+-foot fishing boats.  They had some boats in the water including a few slips that would accommodate us, and we got into one of those and plugged in to electricity and water.  The area looked like a fishing village, with unpainted wooden buildings, a restaurant with letters missing from the name, and a few house trailers.  The dock attendant said the restaurant was only serving drinks until later in the year, but there was another restaurant about a half a mile away.

     For the day we ran 145 miles in 8.5 hours.  Our trip total was rising quickly and stood at 770 miles.  The waves increased at 2pm but leveled out again at 3:30pm.  We ate on board.

Dauphin Island, AL to Venice, LA, Monday, March 24, 2003

     We left the marina at 8:30am and bumped the bottom on the way out.  By 9:30 we had cleared the jetties and were into the Gulf of Mexico.  The day was the best yet – no clouds, no waves, low humidity, and mild temperatures.  We ran about 60 miles south and then went 20 miles west, to the entrance of Baptiste Collette Bayou.  That canal led us to the Mississippi River, at a point below the levees, so no locks were required to cross the river.

     We went to Asco Fuel in Venice, LA and filled up with diesel, at about $1.10 per gallon.  That stop was marred by two incidents.  The first involved a Coast Guardsman who tried to help tie us up and tied the front too tight.   When the back end of the boat came around, we got a ding on the fiberglass on the port side forward.  Secondly, I goofed when removing a screw for a chain in the fuel fill.  I set the point of a screwdriver on the screw hole and hit it with a hammer. It worked fine on one side, but I lost the screwdriver into the fuel tank on the other side.

     We got a slip for the night at Cypress Cove Marina, a home for fast sport fishing boats.  Their price for a transient slip was high compared to what we had been paying since Clearwater.  The restaurant on the premises was closed on Mondays until the season began, after the weather warmed up.  It was still cool outside.

     Our day totals were 115 miles in 7 running hours, and our trip totals were 885 miles in 63 running hours.

Venice to Morgan City, LA, Tuesday, March 25, 2003

     Our way out of Venice was Tiger Pass, which ran south and southwest about 10 miles into the Gulf.  It was not too windy, but the seas were running from the SE, and our course was to the west.  We were rolling around too much to be comfortable.  We adjusted speed and course to make it more comfortable, but it was not a pleasant ride.

     After 60 miles out in the Gulf, we turned into the Houma Navigation Canal and ran 35 miles to the ICW.  That may have been shorter, in addition to being more comfortable, than running to the Atchafalaya River and up the river to Morgan City.  The disadvantage was having to go through a lock.  I try to avoid them when I can, as they usually mean a delay.  Also, the lockmasters often will not give you any information other than “wait until we call you” or “move forward”; they are often not as friendly as I would like.

     The pontoon bridge across the navigation canal was open, and there was some repair work going on just west of the bridge.  The swing bridge at the ICW opened promptly for us.  The ICW was not crowded.  The weather was overcast and cool.  It looked like rain, and rain was forecast for later in the day, to be accompanied by a new cold front.

     While Angela was running the boat, I made a batch of chocolate fudge, which I had not done for many months.  I think Angela and I were beginning to relax and know that we would soon be home.  Later she made homemade bread for dinner.

     We got to the lock just east of Morgan City.  It is called the Bayou Bouef Lock.  The lockmaster was telling people on the radio, “Just stand by.  We’ll tell you when we’re ready for you.”  He would not estimate the delay for any one who asked.  I spoke to him on the radio and was told to wait.  I asked him if I should wait behind any particular towboat and barge string (usually they pass them through in the order they arrive).  He told me to just stay out of the way.

     We slowly motored up to the lock gate.  To our surprise one boat, slightly larger than ours, was coming out of the lock.  The doors were open on both ends.  I called him again and asked if we could enter and go through the lock.  He said “No.”  So we turned around and headed the other way.

     I guess they realized how foolish it was to deny a few agile boats the chance to get through the lock and out of their way.  The lockmaster called me back and said they had changed their minds and were going to lock us through.  We led two other crew boats into the lock.  We were told to float in the middle, not to tie up.  Then they opened the gate on the other end and let the water in from the other, higher side.  (Those locks on the ICW are for control of salt water, I’m told, for the benefit of rice farmers.)  Then the lock doors were completely opened, and we exited the lock.

     To our surprise, there were not a lot of tows waiting on the other side.  From the way the lockmaster had talked, I thought they were very busy.

     We called “Berwick Traffic” on Channel 11.  That’s the US Coast Guard VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) for the Morgan City area.  (Berwick is the town across the river from Morgan City.  Both have flood walls to protect the cities from high water levels on the Atchafalaya River.)  Then we went under the railroad bridge and over to the free dock in Morgan City.  There was one free dock space reserved for “Pleasure Craft Only”, and it came with free electricity and water.  The berth was available, and we did get into it.  It was tight, as the shrimp boats were up against us on both ends.  One of the locals took a line and helped us with the “parallel parking” we had to do.  The river was higher than we usually see it by a couple of feet.

                

     We ate on board and watched a movie after dinner.  The movie was named “Chocolat”, and we had recently purchased it in Florida.  We had read the book a few months earlier and enjoyed the movie, although we preferred the book, as we usually do if we have both read the book and seen the movie.

Morgan City to Lake Charles, LA, Wednesday, March 26, 2003

     We left the dock at 7:30am, after checking with Berwick Traffic on Channel 11.  It was humid, as usual, in Morgan City; and it was overcast and rainy – probably a good day to be in the ICW and not out in the Gulf.  We proceeded west on the ICW and ran 60 miles to Intracoastal City.

     I called both the Leland Bowman Lock and the Calcasieu Lock and found no problems at the former and big delays at the latter.  The Calcasieu Lock was closed for repairs and would reopen at 1700, or 5pm.  We had been through that drill before, and the towboats and barges stack up on both sides while they work on the lock.

     So I thought about going out into the Gulf via the Freshwater Bayou Lock.  I called there and found they planned to close in 50 minutes (12:30pm) and reopen at 5pm.  We could not get there in 50 minutes, so we decided to stay with the ICW and wait for the Calcasieu Lock.  We still had 80 miles to go to get to the lock, which meant we would arrive there by 4:15 or 4:30, not too long before it opened at 5pm.  Also, the last time this had happened to us, the lockmaster ran the “light boats” through first, including us; and the westbound boats had gone through first.  So, it might not be too bad.  We had had a bad day in the Gulf on Tuesday and did not want another one of those.

     We had some rain on and off, and we talked to several of the towboat captains along the way.  We were able to help a few of them by telling them of the closure at the Calcasieu Lock.  We did arrive about 4:30 by taking it a little slower than usual.  The barges were stacked up, usually pushed up to the bank.  Some were tied to floating “dolphins” placed there for the convenience of the tows and barges.

     As usual there was no place for a “recreational vessel” to tie up, so we ran our engines and maneuvered for position until we could go through.  At 5pm the lockmaster started the parade, but he started with the eastbound that time.  It was 6:15 before we could go through, and we did get to be the first westbound traffic after the closure.

     At 7:15 we were backing into our slip at Harrah’s Casino Marina, and our friend John Myers was there to help tie us up.  We showed the boat to John, and we went to the casino buffet for dinner.  They had crawfish cooked a number of ways, so we enjoyed a long, slow meal.  Then we talked with John for a while before turning in for the night.

     On the day we covered 170 miles in 12 hours, even though 1.5 of those hours were wasted milling around waiting for the lock. 

Lake Charles, LA to Houston, TX, Thursday, March 27, 2003

     We left the casino marina at 7:10am and went down the Calcasieu river to Cameron, LA.  We filled up with diesel at ASCO; the price was $0.93 per gallon.  A few minutes after refueling we were through the jetties and into the Gulf.

                  

     The weather was beautiful.  It was 54 degrees in Lake Charles at 7am.  The weather was forecast to be 5 – 10 mph winds from the N and NE, temperatures into the low 70s, and seas of two feet.  It actually involved more wind, and the seas were fine to start.  They gradually got stronger as we approached Galveston about 2pm.  But it was a good day to be offshore.

     There seemed to be a lot of traffic in Galveston Bay.  There were ocean-going ships, tows with barge strings, crew boats, yachts and fishing boats, shrimp boats, oyster boats, and a huge dredge.  That intersection of channels is a busy one, and it’s always inspiring whenever we return from a trip.

     We pulled into he Clear Lake channel and passed the row of restaurants and went under the Highway 146 bridge.  Things seemed smaller, such as channels; and I realized again how the size of our vessel had increased.  The channel to Lakewood Yacht Club seemed smaller, and we needed to sow the vessel down.  There is a switch called “Slow Vessel” for that purpose.  Without it on, the boat makes over 7 knots at dead slow throttle.

     Our friend Neal Pleasant saw us and stopped his vehicle to help us dock the boat.  We let it stay in the Inner Harbor overnight until I could speak with the harbormaster, Joan, and decide on a more permanent slip.

     We decided to put the boat on "I" Pier, and we returned Friday noon to fill it up with fuel and move it.  About the time we were moving the boat a cold front came through, dropping the temperatures noticeably while we were in the process.  Also, we had wind and rain.  We did get the job done, and we were very glad to not be out in the Gulf of Mexico trying to get home over that day and the next few very cool days.

    

Cruise Statistics

                Engine    Generator                   Fuel        Running     Lay      Total     Total
                Hours        Hours        Miles     Gallons       Days         Days     Days     Locks

FL to TX     85             92           1,330        2,388            11           4*          15            8

* After we got started on March 13.  We had delays before that of course.

     After we had been back a few days we made a few photographs of the interior of the boat to show the upgraded electronics and the new televisions and lamps, etc.