The Home Stretch

Foggy Morning on the Atchafalaya

Saturday, April 18, 2020, started early.  The alarm was set for 0530 and I was dancing, singing and laughing to the tunes of “shake your booty.”  I figured that approach would bode better than banging pots and screaming “rise and shine,” a mistake I made recently.  Well she was laughing but still not happy to rise or shine.  I’ll think of another approach.  When we could see, at 0605, we pulled up anchor and turned the bow toward the Atchafalaya River. Soon afterward we called Berwick river traffic on Channel 11, as required.  They sounded surprised to hear from us and replied that no commercial traffic was moving due to the fog.

  

Shell Morgan dock at Intracoastal Citt

The light fog we started into seemed to get denser as we entered the “20 grand”, a location where Bayou Boeuf meets the Atchafalaya River, known locally and referred to by Berwick traffic and commercial traffic.  We made our way doing about 2.5 knots at 1800 RPM’s.  The advantage we had was that no commercial traffic moves when there is fog.  As we reached the river the currents came to life and the boat started moving.  The outflow of the Mississippi was having a strong affect on the Atchafalaya.  We were anticipating this and also looking forward to it but we didn’t anticipate the fog.  With radar and AIS deployed we turned south and continued to pick up speed eventually reaching 8.5 knots.  The motor was still only turning 1800 RPM’s so the river was obviously flowing pretty fast.  Before we reached our westward turn into Little Wax Bayou-a leg of the ICW- the fog had improved but the current made our right (west) turn a challenge.  Favoring the west bank of the river and starting the turn early, all went well.  The trip to Intracoastal City where we spent the night at Shell Morgan, a fueling station along the ICW, was pretty uneventful.  I wondered if the current would stop once we turned off the Atchafalaya and to our surprise it did not.  For the first 30 or 40 miles our lowest sustained speed was probably 7.5 knots.  With the speed we were making we considered bypassing Intracoastal City and heading straight to the Mermentau River, forty miles further.  However, by the time we reached West Cote Blanche Bay our favorable current had come to an end and we were traveling 6.5 knots, our cruising speed for 2800 RPM’s.  We pulled into Shell Morgan and tied up at 1530, even though they were closed.  I checked the fuel and figured we still had about 20 gallons in the tank plus 2 five gallon jerry cans.  Thirty gallons was enough to get us home but I was hoping to pick up at least 10 gallons more.  Though the facility closed at noon the owner happened by and agreed to turn the diesel pump on.  I put the 10 gallons from the jerry cans into the tank and refilled the cans.  For only the second time in 5 months, we pulled out the shore power cord and plugged in to 110 volt service.  I have used the generator a time or two but only briefly, you know, for popcorn, and popcorn it was tonight after Ruth’s awesome meal.  During the night we had hard rain, strong wind and some small hail.  No damage occurred to PV.

Making Great Speed

We were up early on Sunday hoping we might find a way to travel all the way to the Calcasieu lock.  After waking at 0600 we waited until 0730 to pull up anchor because of fog.  We were concerned the Leland Bowman Lock, ICW mile 162, might slow us down or even ruin our day.  However, one of the gates was broken so they were not locking boats in and we passed through it without stopping.  Throughout our travels we looked ahead for other possible anchorages and even called the Calcasieu Lock hoping they’d let us tie up for the night.  They said no and we found no anchorages we felt good about.  So, once again we took the conservative route and stopped at the Mermentau River.  Ruth has long wanted to anchor there so it all worked out.  Along the journey, we saw the usual eagles and alligators.  Louisiana is very beautiful throughout the entire ICW route.  The only close call was when towboat Belle, pushing a few barges, decided he wanted our side of the channel causing us to spit up a little dirt.  I believe he lost steerage in the wind and his barged slid our way some.  He said nothing over the VHF and neither did I so as not to embarrass him amongst his buddies listening in.  Or perhaps embarrass myself and Ruth.  We dropped anchor about 2 miles north of the ICW in the river at 1420, in 14 feet of water.  The chain rode transferred a ton of mud to our next anchorage, it made a mess.  The VHF weather alert came on several times with tornado warnings in the area.  We also received a text from our good friend, Steve Romeis, alerting us of the forecast of inclement weather.  We planned to up anchor early on Monday, if fog was not an issue, hoping to get an early jump toward the Calcasieu lock.  We heard tugs and tows discussing that the hold up at the lock was as long as two days.  Often the lock allows pleasure craft to slide in with non-hazardous barges or light boats (tugs and tows without barges), so we were hoping our wait would not be too bad.

Sunrise over the Mermentau

On Monday, April 21, 2020, we were up at 0545.  I went on deck expecting to be saturated by fog, as we had been the previous two days.  It was still dark but I could see distant outlines of cypress trees with hanging moss, and no fog.  So I woke Ruth and we went into fast action mode.  Coffee in bed seemed to get her up faster than my previous lame stunts.  Why didn't I think of that before?  By 0605 the anchor was clanking through the windlass and soon we were off.  It was still dark for the first 10 minutes but we were able to follow our track through the river back to the ICW where we entered at mile 200.  We were determined to make it back home to Port Arthur.  We had 85 miles to go but one giant barrier, the Calcasieu Lock.  The day slipped by quickly.  We felt cheered on by friends, calling, texting and John even wrote and posted a poem in Facebook about Ruth.  As we traveled we heard towboat captains discussing the state of the Calcasieu Lock.  It seems there truly was an extreme backlog for transiting through.  The commercial vessels in tow are required to contact the lock and are given a number which they follow in order for transiting.  They were backed up for as much as two days.  This didn’t sound promising to us.  When we were about 10 miles east of the lock we started seeing the barges waiting passage.  Most were pushed up against the bank waiting to move forward.  As we got closer many were just drifting toward the lock at less than one knot.  They would bump their engines occasionally to keep it straight or keep it moving slowly.  As we made our last turn toward the lock it was actually hard to get by as some had swung in a way in which they were almost across the canal.  In one case we skirted by in 6 feet of water.  We were not going to be denied.  When we were about a mile away I contacted the lock on channel 14.  They told me to move up and wait.  That didn’t sound good.  At noon we pulled up close to the Black Bayou Pontoon Bridge and dropped anchor.  We listened as boats were called and given directions.  To our surprise at 1245 the lock master called out Pura Vida.  We answered and were told we could proceed directly through the open lock.  We immediately pulled up the muddy anchor, not taking time to rinse it, and proceeded forward.  By 1300 we were through the lock and on our way home.  It was an extremely fast day and at the same time everything slowed down as we got closer to home.  By 1730 we turned south into 1000 foot cut and the Sabine Lake.  At 1900 I could see Art’s sailboat, with his colorful jib sail near the entrance to the PAYC channel.  In ‘Art style’ he and Craig greeted us by “doing donuts,” circling under sail.  We pulled into our slip at 1930 and were greeted by friends.  We enjoyed distant socializing into the night. 

AIS showing boats stacked east of the Calcacieu River

It has been a trip of a life time.  I’m thankful to have been to beautiful places and to waters you can only see by boat, to have accomplished a goal that I studied about and planned for 12 years and experienced meeting wonderful people and a beautiful culture.  I’m thankful that I got so spend time with my two sons, Bryce and Blake and best friend Chris, my sweet daughter-in-law Veronica, my brother Art and of course Baby Ruth.  I appreciate the encouragement we were given along the way from old and new friends and family.  It was not an easy journey but perhaps that made it more rewarding. 

And if I might add: Get off the coach, get into your pucker zone a little and enjoy life.  Don’t regret what you didn’t do.  Regret that you lived maybe a little too hard. 

Until next time…….

( I will write a follow-up sharing things I learned about cruising for anyone considering such a trip.)

Mr. Gator crossing Pura Vida's path

Pura Vida finally resting at home

The water bottle I used for 5 months

Ths same bottle 2 months earlier

Slow Boating

PV back at Houma City Dock

Throughout Wednesday night, April 15, we digested the day we experienced in New Orleans, particularly the Industrial Lock and the Mississippi river.  We did a little research regarding the near-record flow rates and flood levels of New Orleans and it scared us a little.  Pura Vida did well…and perhaps we did okay with a few lessons learned.

Mr. Majestic (eagle) in South Louisiana

We awoke at 0700 Thursday, pulled up both anchors at Lafitte and were off by 0730.  We planned to go at least to Houma and were considering stops further west such as Black Bayou.  We experienced the usual swing and lift bridges, slow-downs by barges and of course a work boat pulling out of a channel blocking traffic. We were also steering into a current throughout the day slowing us to about 5.8 knots.  Running at 2800 RPM, cruising speed, we usually attain a speed of about 6.5 knots so we figure the ICW was flowing almost a knot against us.  We reached the Houma City Dock by 1430 and tied up.  It was hard to stop so early in the day but because of the uncertainties we faced we didn’t want to push too hard.  We covered only 60 miles since leaving Seabrook Marina in New Orleans, two days ago, which is a little disheartening because we were previously covering 80 – 85 miles each day.  Besides the flow rates, normal obstacles and locks ahead, the ICW does not offer as many anchorages as you see in the Bahamas, Florida and even the Mississippi Sound.  Being limited we have to plan ahead and consider all possible stops and sometimes just stop before we really want to.

Bayou Beouf Anchoage (notice Mr. Aligator)

The Bayou Dularge lift bridge, at Houma, mile 60 on the chart, has a curfew, meaning it does not open, from 0630 to 0830 for morning rush hour.  Some people have to work, I guess.  So we had the choice of leaving the Houma City dock at 0600 to beat the curfew or 0800 to make the first lift after curfew.  The vote was unanimous.  So at exactly 0800, on Friday, April 17, 2020, we pulled into the ICW and steered west.  We saw the usual wildlife along the way including beautiful majestic eagles.  Otherwise, the trip was another appreciatively uneventful transition down the ICW with the exception of the Bayou Boeuf Lock (mile 95), at Morgan City.  The lock is closed Monday – Thursday, from 0700 to 1900, for maintenance, so we were fortunate because today is Friday.  We also arrived at a good time as our wait was minimal.  The water only rose a few feet in the lock and we were able to hang onto the sides, fairly well, with our boat hooks.  It did get squirrely toward the end but as Ruth said, “we lost no boat or body parts, so all is good”.  Immediately upon exiting the lock we steered into a tiny bay on the north side of the lock.  We set the anchor at 1430, for the night and were greeted by Mr. Alligator.  We would much rather have kept moving but with the flooding and strong flowing waters of the Atchafalaya River and no certain anchorage within range before dark we took the conservative approach, once again.  Morgan City is a nice little town with a fantastic city dock on the east bank of the Atchafalaya River.  However, sadly when I was last here it was silted in and was unusable.  I also previously stayed on the west bank of the river at the Berwick city dock but it would not be favorable with the strong currents currently existing in the river and we read on Active Captain that it has been flooded out since I was here in early December.

Spot Tracker - Why Not?

Tomorrow, we plan to pull up anchor early and make the 65-mile journey to Shell Morgan, at Intracoastal City, to pick up fuel and tie up for the night.  Ruth has been wanting to anchor at the Mermentau River for years and if all goes as planned she’ll get that wish Sunday night.  By Monday night we should be in our home slip in Port Arthur.  Until next time.  

Chaos in the Industrial Canal Lock

Pura Vida pinned against the fuel dock in NOLA

Every time I transit through New Orleans’ elaborate system of bridges and locks, I say, “I swear, I will never do that again!” Well, I swear, I will never do that again. 

Our day began at 0630 trying to figure how to get off the fuel dock with the north wind pinning us to it.  When we fueled yesterday evening I told Ruth I don’t really like staying the night on this dock in fear of the expected increasing north wind.  After all, we were here instead of offshore because of the small craft warning.  However, this is the dock the marina offered us for free, so I didn’t want to appear unappreciative.  Another problem, besides the strong wind, was that we had a boat directly in front and behind us, limiting our maneuverability.  However, with the help of a local boater holding the bow we were able to get the stern off and we backed into the 20 knot north wind at 0730.

Tied to Wendy C awaiting a lock

We made it through the L & N lift bridge with no issues by 0745.  Next was the Florida Ave. Bridge (Ch. 13) which had a curfew disallowing boat passage, during rush hour, until 0830.  While circling and waiting, we were informed that it might not open on time as they were going to perform maintenance.  However, at 0831 the bridge began to lift.  Next was the Claiborne bridge (ch. 13) just shy of the first lock.  The Claiborne opened after we had confirmation with the Industrial Canal Lock (ch. 14) that we would be granted passage.  At 0845 we cleared the Claiborne.  The lock requested we tie up to some pilings on our port side and wait, as there was maintenance being performed on the lock gate.  As we approached the pilings, I realized they were too far apart to tie bow and stern and they appeared to be too shallow to drift with one line attached, so I contacted tow boat Wendy C, also awaiting entrance, and was granted permission to tie to its starboard side.  So we were set for the 2 hour wait.  At 1100 after a tow boat pushing 6 barges, 3 long by 2 wide exited, we were contacted by the lockmaster with instructions.  We would follow three light boats,

New Orleans Industrial Lock 

tows without barges, into the lock and tie on our starboard side. 

With fenders deployed on the starboard side we made our way into the lock.  Ruth moved to her position on the bow armed with a boat hook. The part that must be explained is there are River Flood Warnings throughout southern Louisiana including New Orleans and the Mighty Mississippi River.  The lock tender dropped Ruth a line, while I was steering and we never saw him again.  With a 20 knot wind tunneling from the rear, I told her to tie it to the stern cleat and wait on the bow line.  We never received a bow line.  I believe the intent was for us to hang onto the line, to keep us against the wall of the lock, taking in slack as the lock filled with water. As we rose, I suddenly remembered this from past experiences and moved the line to the mid cleat giving Ruth instructions to fend the bow off the wall with her boat hook, while I fended the stern.  This worked for only a few seconds until the water started pumping into the lock.  The flow into the lock was not gentle as I had experienced in the past.  It felt as if it was being pumped directly where PV floated, half way through the lock.  Eventually, as we drifted, we ran out of line to hold on to.  I had a tremendous sinking feeling when the line slipped through the mid cleat and my hands.  I actually thought it was going to rip the mid cleat off the boat.  Pura Vida met chaos this day.  Adrift in the Industrial Lock with 20 knot winds astern and water flowing into the lock we were suddenly headed to the port side wall.  We reached the wall swiftly and fended off the best we could, with no line from above, using our boat hooks, with only our fender board to port.  However, we couldn’t maintain this for long.  I floored the throttle in forward determined I would tie to a towboat ahead.  Apparently, Silver Fox, saw the event, radioed the lock stating “the sailboat lost his line”, then he offered us to tie to his port side, where I was already approaching.  With their help and our gratitude, we swiftly tied bow and stern and waited out the flooding of the lock.  The lock rose 13 feet, not a common amount.  This was attributable to the River Flood Warning and the Mississippi River being abnormally high.  We thanked the lock master, as is customary, and bellowed appreciation to Silver Fox then exited the lock with a sigh of relief and a change of shorts and socks.

Bridge after Bridge

 

Next was the Mighty Mississippi.  I figured the flow would be too great to turn up river to the Harvey Lock, which I have done previously, so we were prepared to travel the Algiers Alternate Canal.  However, I thought I would give it one last look before turning down river toward the Algiers Lock.  Following the tow boats I watched them as they entered into the river.  They seemed to be drifting almost sideways down river as they entered the river.  This made my decision easy.  After entering the Mississippi I contacted New Orleans Traffic (ch. 12), as required.  They informed us there was a ship heading upstream and to contact them on ch. 67.  We did as requested and passed them on the 1 whistle side.  I then noticed we were traveling at 12 knots throttled back.  The Yanmar was turning 2000 RPM’s, which usually pushes PV only 4 knots.  I doubt the river was flowing at 8 knots but we were flying.  I contacted the Algiers lockmaster who kindly gave directions.  Another unknown vessel contacted us requesting to hail us on Ch. 22a.  We changed channels and they informed us there was a very bad eddy at the entrance to the fore bay into the canal, which was just prior to the lock.  We survived the eddy then contacted the lockmaster for further instructions.  Fortunately, he requested we enter directly into the lock and “float.”  We were happy to “float,” and perhaps lucky to be floating.  The 13 foot descend from the Mississippi River level to the Algiers Canal level was pleasant.  We had no line to hold on to but the water was not flooding in.  We simply fended off the wall with our boat hooks, throttled forward and reverse as needed and floated back down to normalcy. 

Flooded Banks of the Mississippi River

We needed one more bridge lift for the day, the Belle Chase, before finding our anchorage for the night.  We dropped two anchors, bow and stern, into the familiar Barataria Waterway anchorage at Lafitte.  We felt grateful this day passed without a scratch on us or PV.  I swear... until next time.  By the way, cruising is not for sissies. 

Three States in Three Days

Pura Vida at Tacky Jack's

On Friday, April 10, knowing we would travel a short distance we weren’t in a hurry to get moving; thus, we pulled up anchor at 0800.  By 1130 we were saying goodbye to Florida.  What a great state! Knowing of the impending strong blow from the south on Sunday, we decided we would stay out of Mobile Bay until it passed.  Having previously stayed at Tacky Jack’s restaurant dock in Gulf Shores Alabama, we made several unsuccessful attempts to contact them. Tacky Jack’s has dockage for maybe two large boats (40 ft.) and a couple small power boats and is tucked perfectly off the ICW.  We first attempted to gain fuel at Lulu’s fuel dock on the north side immediately across from Tacky Jack’s but they were not open so we looped around into Tacky Jack’s at 1230.  There were no boats docked there and once we entered we noticed a sign that read “Temporarily Closed.”  With few options, except heading to Dauphin Island, we tied up hoping we wouldn’t be asked to leave.  After waiting an hour, we grabbed the jerry cans and headed to the Chevron, .3 miles away.  Ruth made a great offer to carry the jugs ½ the time.  She chose to carry them to the station.  She never needed to rest as I did on the return trip.  What a girl! Once we returned, Ruth informed me we were walking to Walmart, 1 mile away.  She made the same deal to carry the grocery bags to the store.  I slept well Saturday night.

Yay Bryce and Veronica

Happy Easter! We weren’t asked to move during the night so that was a good start to our Easter. Since we were sitting still I figured it was a good day to take care of boat projects so I changed the oil, impeller and air filter and fiddled with a few other miscellaneous boat projects.  Ruth walked to a nearby diner offering take out.  “The Diner,” turned out to be a real score of a traditional Easter dinner for only $10 each.  The southern blow, expected Easter, seemed to be delayed so we did a little walking in the PM.  We waited and waited all day and finally turned in with nothing.  Around 2300 the wind picked up and the rain got serious.  I believe we even had some hail, but we were tucked in nicely at Tacky Jack’s and road it out like Ty Murray.

Sailing into the sunset in Mississippi Sound

The next morning, Monday, all was calm so we pushed off the dock at 0745 and went on our merry way.  Oyster Bay was dead calm.  Mobile Bay was as smooth as bath water so we decided to keep our plans to anchor on the north shore of Dauphin Island, dingy to Circle K and pick up 10 gallons of diesel in jerry cans, then head offshore on Tuesday or Wednesday.  As we were nearing the Mobile Channel, the Coast Guard announced a small craft warning.  What?  You could spit into the wind and stay dry.  So we went back to our weather forecasting apps and still no small craft warning.  Well, not being foolish, we took the alert serious.  We decided that instead of stopping at Dauphin Island, we would continue, in case we needed to transit through New Orleans.  We continued to sail west through the Mississippi Sound and still couldn’t believe there was a small craft warning.  We did notice, as we approached areas without a barrier island to the south, there were large swells up to 5 feet.  But the south winds kept us sailing swiftly on a beam reach.  By mid afternoon our target changed to Cat Island, south of Biloxi.  We felt this would be an accomplishment as it would be approximately 80 miles for the day.  Pura Vida was purring and pushing hull speed again under sail alone.   I have been experimenting with routes and during a 40 mile stretch through the Mississippi Sound, I set a route with 6 or 7 waypoints and let the Raymarine steer to each, never touching an instrument or the wheel.  Thus, there was a sense of accomplishment.  Near 1830 about 8 miles short of Cat Island I noticed a swift wind shift.  Over a period of about 10 minutes I watched the main sail go limp then gain winds as the winds shifted clockwise from a beam reach on the port to a beam reach on the starboard side.  It also started increasing from 12 to 16 knots.  We chose to anchor on the north side of Cat Island, unlike Art and I anchoring on the south side in December, because we heard boaters discussing the swells offshore and the winds were from the south all day.  Just before turning south from the channel towards our anchorage we noticed the wind increasing to near 18 knots.  At this point it was getting dark and we were committed to Little Bend, the NE corner of Cat Island.  At 2000 we dropped the anchor and noticed the winds had increased to a steady 20 knots.  Of course we’ve experienced such winds many times but this time we were without protection from a lee shore.  Ruth slept like, well, Baby Ruth.  I slept like an overweight hog with a sinus infection knowing the next day I would be turned into pork chops.

Back to Seabrook Marina in NOLA

At 0600, Tuesday, April 14, 2020, I was banging pans and hollering “rise and shine” as if I was at church camp.  Before Sleepy Ruth waddled out of bed the coffee was made and the motor was running.  We pulled up anchor at 0630 and made our way west through the final few miles of the Mississippi Sound, into the Rigolets toward New Orleans.  My Tuesday Mom call was made during this section of the journey.  I’m glad to hear your cats are doing well, Mom.  LOL.  All went smooth until our discussion of ‘which way to turn when we hit the industrial canal’?  Ruth won this one and we pulled into Seabrook Marina in New Orleans at 0400.  We secured 18.8 gallons of diesel and topped off our water supply.  Happy Ruth made a delicious dinner and we tucked away with plans to rise early enough to pass through 80 bridges and 20 locks tomorrow.  Please God, give me the patience to gracefully endure the upcoming torture of transiting New Orleans, tomorrow.  More about that….. next time. 

West bound

Tough going against the tide

In December, 2019, Bryce and I left Apalachicola at 0800 making it to East Pass at 1130, to make the Gulf passage across Apalachee Bay to Clearwater. So this time with Ruth and I being anchored near East Pass at Dog Island, I assumed the jump to Apalachicola would take no more than 4 hours. We pulled up the anchor at 0800, on Wednesday, April 8, and steered the boat west through the St. George Sound into Apalachicola Bay where we turned north to the town of Apalachicola. We faced a strong current of 3 knots and west winds of 20-25 knots the entire distance.  The trip took 6 hours.  Our speed was 3-4 knots the entire journey.  Since we needed fuel, water and laundry we paid for a night at the Scipio Creek Marina. Apalachicola is a lovely fishing village with great history that is pretty much shut down because of the virus.

We shoved off the following morning at 0700 EDT

Old Apalachicola Northern Railroad Bridge

uncertain of where we would stop for the night, but knowing we needed to make some headway.  The trip carried us through 2 large lakes and the St. Andrew Bay system which is several bays in the Panama City area.  The wind blew near 20 knots, from the west, most of the day. In narrow parts of the ICW we were mostly protected and in the large lakes and bays, not so much.  The trip took exactly12 hours and covered 76 ICW statute miles, a trip record for a day, excluding overnighters. We left at 0700 EDT and arrived at 1800 CDT in a different time zone. We noticed many damaged trees, especially snapped pines, damaged from Hurricane Michael in 2017.  On the positive side we noticed many bald eagles.  It must be spring because there were many nests with mom and dad eagles.  They must have been guarding eggs or chicks.  We dropped the anchor in the NW corner of West Bay, at Crooked Creek Point and were greeted by a large pod of dolphins; always a good sign.  The anchorage provided some shelter from the northerly winds that blew through. 

Nesting eagles

On Good Friday, April 10, 2020, we upped anchor near ICW mile marker 275 at 0700 CDT hoping to make as many miles as yesterday.  During the early morning we had strong winds and hard rain.  Some of the rain lingered and the temperature dropped into the 50’s as we shoved off.  This portion of the journey would have 3 legs.  The first 22 miles included narrow, winding but smooth motoring just west of West Bay.  It was eventless.  With the temp drop and slight rain we deployed the remainder of the “bubble” (wrap around) to keep the weather out.  The second leg, ICW miles 256 to 223, included the open waters of the Choctawhatchee Bay, between Panama City and Ft. Walton Beach.  With winds between 15 and 20 knots most of the distance, we turned off the Yanmar and deployed both sails.  We did some Art style sailing, meaning no reefing under any circumstances.  Fortunately, the wind was abeam most of the time and we were able to fly.  We sustained our hull speed (7.48 knots) and greater, often.  It truly was a great 30-mile sail.  The third leg of today’s journey included the very beautiful and narrow ICW waters into the Santa Rosa Sound.  On the gulf (south) side is the white sands of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, a protected area.  The north side includes more private and government property including several military bases where we heard a presumed bombing practice.  At 1815 we dropped the anchor off Big Sabine Pt. on the south shoreline, at mile 195.  The 80 Statute miles traveled today is again a record for a daytime travel for Pura Vida.  I’ve been working the ole’ girl pretty hard… and Pura Vida too. 

Remnants of Hurricane Michael

Plans are not set for tomorrow but if we travel we will probably drop the hook in Alabama. 

Old Guy getting lazy steering by remote control

Passage Across the Apalachee Bay, NE Gulf

Apogee

Sunday night, in our Pura Vida team meeting, we decided there would be an early departure for our next leg.  Our plan had several options.  We would awake at 0545, shove off at 0615 to make the 0645 lift at the Ana Maria bascule bridge.  We would follow the ICW into Tampa Bay where we would decide to head west into the Gulf of Mexico or turn east then take the inside passage north.  The inside passage meant the crossing across the Apalachee Bay, the NE corner of the Gulf requiring a night passage offshore, would be delayed at least a week because of weather.  If we steered into the Gulf we would turn NW toward Apalachicola and still have the option of bailing out to Clearwater or Tarpon Springs if the conditions were unfavorable. Otherwise we would make the overnight, 175 mile passage to Saint George Sound near Apalachicola.

Monday morning we were out of bed shortly after 0545 but didn't pull up anchor in time to make the 0645 lift.  So, we circled for 25 minutes waiting on the 0715 lift.  When we reached Tampa Bay, conditions were acceptable so we turned west.  The bay had a chop with NE winds at 14 knots.  We traveled west in the Egmont Channel for about 10 miles before turning NW, 320 degrees.  The Gulf had 3 ft rolling waves on our beam with 14 knots of wind also on our beam.  We were able to travel at over 7 knots, with both sails deployed and the motor running at half throttle.  Normally I would have shut the engine off and traveled near 6 knots but with predicted light winds ahead it was best to get ahead of the curve.

Little Stowaway

I pretended to turn several crab pot floats into packing peanuts with a pretend Remington 1100, along the way.  By early afternoon it was obvious that the wind was rotating clockwise into a more northerly direction.  We tightened the sails until the wind was just too close to sail.  We finally furled the jib around 1600 and steered the boat directly toward East Pass at Saint George Sound. The AIS alarm sounded when another sailboat entered our safety zone at 1500 on Monday. Apogee was headed to Galveston. We had a nice conversation and wished each other well. Throughout the evening we had visitors.  A small bird which looked out of place took a break and eventually got stuck in the bubble of our cockpit enclosure.  A small, but very fast variety of dolphins hung out a while. Finally the sun set in the west, Ruth and I started our 2-hour shifts and the nearly full moon rose in the SE.  This corner of the gulf is very quiet.  Very rarely did we see a blip on the radar or an AIS signal.  Throughout the early morning the wind continued its clockwise rotation becoming very light behind us.  The seas became smooth, like mirrored glass.  When the sun rose at 0719 we still had 28 N/M to our destination. By 0800 there was hardly a ripple. We followed an incoming tide through the East Pass, turned east and anchored behind Dog Island at noon. 

AIS sounding alarm

After making my Tuesday call to Mom, I gave the Yanmar some love and thanks, meaning I performed a little maintenance.  Unfortunately, the weather dictates that we will be required to start our westerly direction in the ICW.   I contacted the Scipio Creek Marina where Art and I secured fuel in December to make sure they are up and running.  We are considering renting a slip there tomorrow to more easily secure fuel, water and do laundry.  This would be the first time Pura Vida has been in a marina slip since early December 2019. For now we will regroup and get some rest.  Until next time! 

All Night Long...

A new day

Heading North

Crab Pots, Enemy #1

We left Key Largo 0800 Thursday, April 2, 2020 after waiting for favorable winds.  We slipped under the Channel 5 bridge, at Long Key, shortly after noon.  We were seeing crab traps throughout Hawk Channel, which is the southern travel route of the Keys, but not as many as we saw in late December, heading east.  Our hopes were that there would be few enough in Florida Bay and the west coast of Florida, that we could make a safe passage straight to Pensacola.  We sailed Yacht Channel NW entertained by frequent visits of dolphins.  We noticed the crab pot population wasn't terrible but grew as we went north.  We continued a northwest direction off the Cape of Florida, instead of turning more northerly while trying to reach deeper water and hoping the crab trap population would be less. However, we saw more pots as we continued. At 0100 we were extremely tired and determined the pots were too dense to continue. So, 20 miles offshore, west of Little Shark River, we dropped anchor in 30 feet of water. It was very rough and we didn’t get much sleep, but we were mostly concerned for the boat. Even though we had a hundred and forty feet of chain deployed, a safely line and a snubber attached, the anchor still jerked the bow pretty hard as waves pounded. At 0430, we determined that we had had enough, pulled up anchor and proceeded north. The crab pots continued to be dense, so we both stayed on watch throughout the morning until daylight. I made a comment to Ruth that I would rather deal with the offshore oil platforms then these little crab pots. The oil platforms show up pretty big on radar, which we run continuously on night passages.  By now our plans had changed. We determined that it would be safest to take the intercoastal waterway route. So, we changed course and headed towards Fort Myers. The sail was smooth and pretty fast.  We saw the wind swing about 245 degrees throughout the day.  When we deployed sails at 0700 we were on a beam reach.  Throughout the day it shifted clockwise until we were on a close haul with the winds at 45 degrees on a port tack.  I moved the whisker pole from starboard to port before removing it completely. We dropped anchor at 2030, in San Carlos Bay, showered, then hit the sack. This is the first time that we went to bed without a definitive plan for the next day.  During the 150 N/M (173 mile) voyage from Key Largo to San Carlos Bay we used only 5 gallons of fuel. Not a bad MPG.

Rainy winter has returned. 64 degrees

On Saturday we awoke late, and wondered if the bridge schedule would be altered because of the corona virus. We made a few phone calls to no avail, so we pulled up anchor at 0830 and turned the vessel north, into the ICW, at mile 0. It turns out the bridge opening schedule had not changed and because it was the weekend the bridges opened more often, mostly on demand. We were surprised to see so many pleasure boats under the “corona” circumstances.  The journey was fast and pleasant. We experienced the same kindness from the bridge tenders as our southern journey in December. At 1930 we dropped the anchor in Little Sarasota Bay at Terrace Cove, 72 nautical miles from San Carlos Bay.  Not a bad day. 

We set no alarm on Sunday thinking we would only go to Sarasota, 7 miles to our north.  After checking the wind forecast we further verified that Monday and Tuesday would be a possible window for crossing the Apalachee Bay, the NE corner of the Gulf of Mexico. The crossing is an overnighter, approximately 135 miles from Clearwater to Apalachicola.  Bryce and I made the crossing in December, his first night on the boat.  After Tuesday, the wind will be from the west for many days and we would be unable to cross.  It was good having Don Thornton, Electric Gypsy, who is back in Kemah, verify the weather forecast. We pulled up anchor at 0930 with a new plan.  We would fuel up and top off the water tanks in Sarasota and continue north hoping to jump outside toward Pensacola or Apalachicola on Monday morning. 

There would be only four bridge openings required which wouldn’t slow us down too much. The first two went smoothly with no delays.  We were making good time until we were stalled for 30 minutes by the Cortez Bridge.  This bridge only opens every 30 minutes and we had just missed it.  A couple miles north was the Ana Maria bridge with only a 10 minute delay.  However, by the time we reached Cortez the wind had increased to about 22 knots, on our nose.  We continued forward knowing the large Tampa Bay was in front of us.  And, if we wanted to jump out at Clearwater on Monday we would have to cross it.  By the time we reached the Ana Maria Bridge the winds had increase to 24 knots, gusting to 28.  The bascule bridge raised its arms at 1515 and we throttled under it.  By now the light rain had increased to “steady”, but we continued-with uncertainty.  Before we reached Tampa Bay, the wind had increased to 28 knots and the rain continued.  When we made the last turn directly into the wind our 6 knot forward progress turned to 3 and we knew it was time to turn around.  We made it back through the Ana Maria Bridge at 1615 and dropped the anchor on the NE side of Cortez Bridge at 1645.  

I put on socks and shoes for the first time in months as winter returned today.  We also dropped the side and top front Strataglass panels for the first time in months.  The rain is supposed to cease tonight and the predicted winds are still favorable for a crossing.  If all is perfect we might still make the crossing, perhaps from Tampa Bay.  However, today Mother Nature warned us that she is still in charge.

Ruth Video'd these guys dancing off the bow: 

Rodriquez Key

Location:  Rodriquez Key, Key Largo, Florida

Mileage Log (N/M):  1831

Engine Hours:  1569

Lat/Lon:  N 25 3.424, W 80 26.918

Our daily shower

Monday, March 30, 2020, we secured the boat for anchorage at Rodriguez Key, an island off Key Largo, took real showers for the first time in a while, instead of using the camping solar bag, and hit the rack.  We were both tired from our 36-hour recent passage. We slept well. 

Crash Corner at Port Largo

The following day I made my regular Tuesday morning call to mom; then prepared the boat to travel to the Ocean Dives Marina nearby, for fuel and water.  Monica and Rob, the managers, were extremely nice people. Monica offered to take Ruth to the nearby Publix for groceries. She graciously accepted .  Some of her pay-it-forward was returned as she as often offered her vehicle to transient sailors passing through our home marina.  I secured 23 gallons of diesel and 2 gallons of gasoline then filled the water tanks and every jug I could find with fresh water. Afterward I walked to the post office to mail off our Island Wi-Fi card, used exclusively in the Bahamas. Ruth secured enough food to last us a long time. We were hoping the wind would be in a direction to sail to Channel 5, at Long Key, 22 mi SW where we planned to stage for the next leg; however, the wind had already shifted to the west, so we decided to wait out the blow at Rodriguez Key. Upon entering the Port Largo Channel, you must announce your entry on the radio using a securite’.  The channel is so narrow it allows for only one way of traffic. There is also a 90 degree turn, known as crash corner, which could create a dicey situation. Since everything is shut down there were very few boats moving. Thus, entry and exit was simple.

Stocked up with the essentials

One blunder I could not mention previously, that I can now since we have full tanks of water is that while on passage from Nassau we lost a tank of water.  After washing my hands in the head sink I forgot to turn off the electric water pump.  We generally leave it on while at anchor but have a steadfast rule to turn it off while underway.  On passage we put several items that live on the counters into the sinks. One jug pushed the galley sink faucet into the on position. Approximately 20 gallons remaining in the tank went down the drain from our 40 gallon tank. Under the limited prospects for water at the time, it was very disheartening. Those feelings went away once our tanks were full again.

Wednesday, April Fool’s day, was a day of boat projects and rest.  Most projects are menial, such as checking oil, improving the preventer line system and tightening jerry can lashings.  Pura Vida has served us well and has held up very well.  With west winds, on this day, we would of had to motor to Long Key where we plan to stage for the next leg. Thus, we stayed at anchor.

Some have it tough in Key Largo

Thursday, April 2, we pulled up anchor at 0700 and turned the boat SW toward Long Key anchorage. Our initial plans were to anchor there overnight then leave Friday morning as the winds were predicted to be from the SE for the next several days.  However, the wind apps have changed their minds.  They are predicted to be SE for Thursday and Friday then become light and variable for the next few days.  So, the decision was made to continue past Long Key into the Florida Bay (north of the keys) and continue up the west coast of Florida.  Until next time. 

Port Largo Channel

Back in the U.S. of A!

Too Close for Comfort

I could barely sleep on Saturday night as we faced the dilemma of sailing straight to Florida, about a 36-hour trip or waiting on a weather window and opportunity to cross the Gulf Stream, likely as long as 10 days.   Ruth had never done an overnight passage though I had no doubt she could handle it.  With little moon on the shallow banks there was added pressure; not to mention our visas expire in a few days.  After ‘barely’ sleeping on it, I told Ruth on Sunday morning my plan.   She agreed.  At 0730 we pulled the Yamaha from the dinghy and mounted it on the stern rail.  I emptied one of our diesel jerry cans into Pura Vida’s fuel tank, topping it off.  I estimated we had about 95 gallons of water.  We pulled up anchor at 0800 and worked our way through the coral heads and rocks of the north entrance of Nassau's West Bay into the Tongue of the Ocean.  I set the autopilot to a course of 317 degrees toward the NW Channel.  At approximately 0930 I contacted Alaris, a boat that appeared on the AIS, a few miles behind us.  He informed me he was headed to Bird Island for the night then to Bimini on Monday.  Toucan, a cat about 5 miles ahead broke in at the end of our conversation stating he would be going straight to Florida possibly without stopping.  His route to the Keys was similar to mine so we committed to staying in touch.  Our route would take us to the NW channel, onto the Exuma Banks, past the Russell Beacon to South Riding Rock and into the Gulf Stream before arriving in Florida.  The total distance to Riding Rocks is 100 miles.  Rodriquez Island, in the Keys would be about another 85 miles.  Along the route to the NW Channel we were in 2000 to 3000 feet of water, prime fishing zone.  However, we were in business mode and no fish whackers were deployed.  We saw hundreds of flying fish and once again made unsuccessful efforts to take pictures.  I thought I captured a few but the picture revealed just water.

One tired sailor

Approximately 25 miles prior to arriving at South Riding Rock, the wind started blowing steadily at 21 knots. We had the jib reefed but the main was fully deployed with a preventer.  After a couple hours of overworking the main, I decided to crawl out on the deck and remove the preventer. We motored from that point into the Gulf Stream.  I should have reefed both sails and removed the preventer before dark but until dark we had light winds pushing Pura Vida about 5 knots, on a broad reach.  Lesson learned.  We arrived at South Riding Rock on Sunday late into the night.  I really don’t remember the time but it had been dark for a while, so perhaps midnight.  The Gulf Stream was in front of us for the next 56 NM, then there would be several miles of the Hawk Channel.  The wind settled a few miles prior to reaching South Round Rock and the Gulf Stream.  Ruth asked where we would drop anchor and I replied, “we are not.”  The cut through the rocks was large and deep.  We were uncertain what to expect from the Gulf Stream.  Once we entered there was almost no difference from the Banks.  After a while the winds settle to about 10-12 knots with long swells from the south.    

The splash of a flying fish; as close as I'll get

Like most night sails it was long.  Ruth shared watches like a true champ; however, neither of us got much rest.  I was amazed how many tankers and other ships we passed during the night.  During our eastward passage to the Bahamas I believe we saw one.  During the Monday morning passage the AIS was constantly lit.  I radioed one ship, as our collision intersection point was too close for comfort.  The captain informed me he was fully aware of my presence and would pass behind me.  The Mare Nostram, all 839 feet of it came ½ mile to aft.  I saw Liberty Grace on the AIS approximately 11 miles before our intersection and noticed she changed course slightly to miss us by several miles.  The captain surprised me when he contacted me at 0700 inquiring about Pura Vida.  It turns out he previously owned an O’day but now cruises around on a 65 foot Stamas.  We had a pleasant and lengthy discussion on Channel 68. 

It seemed forever before we reached Angelfish Cut to Hawk Channel and the Keys.  We were able to sail most of the channel so it made life more pleasant.  Tomorrow we hope to find water, fuel and an open grocery store.  Like most of the world the Keys have a stay at home order requiring residence to show proof for entry.  It still feels good to be back in the US.