Gulfport to Venice for 2 days

Friday, November 16 – 17, 2012  - Venice Louisiana

We left the marina in pitch black darkness.  Fortunately, the marina was well lit to exit by and the channel was well marked with blinking lights all the way down past Ship Island where we left the channel. The sun came up as we approached Ship Island.  


From Ship Island we headed east across the upper Gulf through the Chandaleur Islands and Breaton Sound.  We were ahead of schedule and were so excited to reach the Baptiste Collette Channel Marker entrance by 2:00.  Woo Hoo!


Then disaster struck!  The entrance to Baptiste Collette was impeded by a Dredge. We tried to go around the east side of the white ball, as is usual, but we veered too far over and grounded.  Both boats!  (NOTE TO SELF:  NEVER AGAIN ENTER A CHANNEL WITHOUT TALKING TO THE DREDGE NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR THEM THE ANSWER!)

Both boats tried and tried to break free but to no avail.  A crew boat from the dredge and an air boat came by to try to get A Goode Ketch pulled off.   About 2 hours later they finally had him pulled free.  Then  the crew boats and air boat came to help us.  Unfortunately we were further out of the channel, so they had to use the airboat to bring us line and we had to add our lines to it to make it long enough.  Long story short, line was so long and heavy and the distance so far that the line kept breaking and it was getting dark so the air boat had to leave.  We called Boat U.S. 

The decision was made to stay put till morning and they would send someone for us at dawn.  We put the anchor out and set the anchor alarm.  The boat kept bouncing with the barges that passed and it would pound  down on the keel and rudder.   The pounding got worse and harder so we knew we were getting more water with the higher tide.  Finally, about 7:30 the anchor alarm went off so we knew that we had floated some.  It was dark, but Al said we had to leave. I hated having to travel in familiar waters at night but I knew it was safer than staying here and risk damaging our boat.  Which surely would have happened as the pounding was getting really badly.  

So I drove and Al went out and worked the anchor free.  He came back to the helm and plowed through until we reached the channel… We almost went all the way through the channel and hit the dredge pipes!  He turned just in time.  We (or rather... "I"...)  were so disoriented with the lights from the dredge and the channel markers.  I was mis-reading the chart plotter as I was looking back on the track we had made rather than looking ahead for channel markers.  Fortunately Al knew where we were and we took off up the channel.  There was a very nice supply boat captain who went in front of us and helped us negotiate the channel.  We played close attention to how the boat performed.  We had no idea what damage, if any, had been done to the boat with the grounding.  There was no problem with the steering, the engine sounded fine and the instruments read ok.  We kept checking the bilge to make sure there was no water and we checked inside the engine compartment to make sure there was not water coming from the rudder post or packing gland.  Everything seemed ok. Thank the good Lord!

It was confusing entering the Mississippi at night.  It took us a few minutes to get our bearings and we pulled out in front of a barge instead of waiting for him to pass, Yikes!  After crossing to the other side we had to find a marked channel to the right and were blinded by the lights on the bank .  We then had to find a tiny unmarked channel with both banks of rock marked the entrance to the marina.   There was no sign nor lights… while we made our way through it all with  the assistance of Ron guiding us through via our AIS… he did not fare so well as he had hit the rocks coming in earlier.  Then… as we entered the marina we had no idea where to go… we drug the ground AGAIN… and finally noticed the guy waving us with a flashlight to guide us to the bulkhead.  I don’t think I have ever been so happy to dock!  Tomorrow we will assess the situation.  Tonight we sleep.

Cypress Landing Marina was a pretty nice place.  

The boat seemed ok, but before we headed back out we needed to make sure. Unable to get anyone locally to dive or pull the boat we called in someone from New Orleans to come out.  Both boats checked out just fine!  Yea! 

Shell Morgan to Morgan City/Berwick

Shell Morgan to Morgan City  October 20, 1012

We had an issue again with the starter battery again.  We had to use house batteries again to start the engine again.

The fishing boat that was behind us left before we did so we were glad we did not have to try to back around it.  The fishing boat owners had called in a crew to take it back home… they drove out from the pier ripping off the bumpers and scraping along the pier… the owner of this brand new boat will not be happy to hear that.  We backed out just fine.  We reached the Cable Ferry at 11:20.  We saw several unusual boats.  The best one was this Redneck Man-Cave where it was being powered by one of two outboards on fishing boats attached astern.

We were not able to stay on the Morgan Side.  The group had called and L. was suppose to be there to make sure we had room, but he did not show and we were out of luck.  So, we went to the Berwick side. Piers were tall and ragged.  Stardust tied off and we tied up to them.  They let us use an extension cord for power.  There was a train track that kept ringing a bell all night. 

We were able to get Mike off the boat and we all had dinner at Bee Bee’s Seafood.  Gumbo was great, but fried food was not. 

Mermantau River to Intercoastal City - Shell Morgan

Mermantau River Anchorage to Intercoastal City - Shell Morgan October 19, 2012

        






              Cambria at anchor
 in the beautiful Mermantau River














                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Mermantau River Sunrise 

        

We got a snapshot of M/V Stardust in the sunrise.

                                          Looks like a great day to head back down the ICWW

Shell Morgan fuel stop/overnight at Inercoastal City. At Forked Island Bridge we hit something submerged.  Everything was ok, but its never fun to hit stuff in the water.  We entered the Leland Bowman Locks and they were open so we sailed right through. The Lock Master could not have been nicer. Barge Captains are also very nice in Louisiana.  

There are a lot of sea-planes in the area and it was so strange to see them landing and heading toward you....

We arrived at Shell Morgan at 1:30.  We tied off across from the fuel dock to take one of the two power stands.   .  We topped off our fuel and filled up our jerry cans. The folks there are very friendly especially the girl working there is Jade and she was so very sweet and helpful. She would not take a tip so I gave her a Cambria Coozie. She was so excited to get it.

There was a brand new fishing boat just behind us. They were up all nigh getting the boat ready to leave the next day.  Oh, and  I lost our head phones when docking. We found a hardware store just across the street that we walked to and bought some screws for the auto helm repair.  Al was not feeling well with cold/allergy.  Gave him some med and went to bed early.  There was a store with a restaurant down the way a bit but we will have to catch it next time.

Lake Charles to Mermentau River

October 18, 2012

We left Lake Charles and headed for Mermantau River anchorage.  We had to call for the Calcasieu Locks and Black Bayou Pontoon Bridge.  










We did not have to stop at the Black Bayou Pontoon Bridge and got to sail right through.   













At 11:10 we made the Grand Lake Pontoon Bridge and again sailed right through. 













                                                       3:10 we entered the North Cut of the Mermentau River. 

 

We winded our way back to the most beautiful anchorage! It was so calm and peaceful there and the cypress banks were breathtaking.  We had a nice dinner in the cockpit and there was a beautiful sunset....   We anchored without any problem and held tight all night.  However, battery would not start the engine so we had to switch to the house bank to start.

.  It was a beautiful night.  But the mosquitoes were horrible the minute the sun went down.  It was a great anchorage!

Lake Charles for 2 Days

Lake Charles, Wednesday, October 16-18

During the night we had a light rain.  But we slept well and awoke to a beautiful morning (Yes, I know I take a lot of sunrise and sunset photos... deal with it!  LOL)

Day Break in the Lake Charles Marina... Nice front porch picture!

Linda and Rene and I got up early and took a long walk around the Convention Center park.  We visited the 911 Memorial.  It overlooks the lake and contains beams from the world trade center. The different colored glass tiles represent the lives that were lost.  It is a beautiful tribute.

and the U.S. Armed Services Monument.  It is a work in progress with construction still under way.  The art that is currently with a tank and a helicopter.  There is a beautiful plaza with the U.S. Flag surrounded by flags representing all the branches of military services. 

The marina with our boats taken from the park

The park is really nice.  They are building a wonderful playground for children to enjoy.  There is an outdoor stage and the marina is just wonderful.                

It may be hard to see but this fence, the grounds and the water's edge was  LOADED  with all kinds of birds. It felt like an Alfred Hitchcock scene

Huge Geese were take a nap by the sidewalk

The park is under construction as they are adding more monuments and amenities.  It is such a lovely place in the morning on the lake.  I really enjoyed our walk!

On the ICW today we had an ISSUE.  Apparently our Auto Helm decided to fall apart. 

 Two of the wheels broke off the back plate rendering it useless!  We need to figure out if we can repair it somehow.  Major Bummer!

Broken auto helm!

After doing some boat maintenance and getting the boat ready for our next leg of the trip tomorrow morning we headed to the Casino for a look around and a late lunch at the GREAT BUFFET.  Needless to say we blew our diet with the steak and crab and crab legs and shrimp and ox tail and on and on!  It will be Slim Fast tomorrow.

We took a taxi over to the Casino to enjoy the steak and crab buffet! OMG I ate until I thought I would explode.  It is by far the best buffet I have ever been to!

Some of us enjoyed the pool bar while we were waiting to go to the buffet.  Instead of losing our money in the casino.

Mike and Rene

Phil and Matilde

The highlight of the day, however, was our timing had it that once we finished our lunch Stardust was just about to come under the bridge and would be passing the Casino... so I got on the phone and contacted them and they came by the Casino Marina and picked us up and took us back to the City Marina.... What a cool taxi ride!

Now, it is time to call it a night and dream about tomorrows adventures!

All is well on Cambria!

Taylor's Outfall to Lake Charles

Outfall to Lake Charles, Tuesday, October 16, 2012

What an amazing sunrise!  What an amazing nights sleep!  

We both got a much need good nights sleep.  

Our anchor held just great and we are ready to weigh the anchor 

and head to Lake Charles!  

Going through Port Arthur was fun!  Having been raised just 10 minutes from

 there it was so interesting to see the sights from the water!

Port Arthur Bridge

Pleasure Island Bridge

Shimp Boats along the seawall

Rosehill Mansion

Church in Downtown Port Arthur

Houses along the seawall.

As we moved on into Louisiana we were able to approach our first "lifting" bridge. Ellender Bridge.    We had to call four hours ahead of time to notify the bridge-master of our arrival time so that he could stop the traffic and lift the bridge so that we could sail through.

We were able to stop by Bow Tie Marina on Contraband Bayou to take on fuel and pump out.

Barb at Bow Tie Fuel stop

 It was a great little marina with good access to the pumps with 2 nice docks.  Just had to watch out for all of the cypress knees!  Funny name...

This is a putting green and 3-hole golf course on a pier behind someone's house... cool!

Passing the Casino

 We arrived at Lake Charles Marina about 4:30 in the afternoon.  

Baffle Point to Taylor's Outfall

Going East Day 2 Departure Day (again) KBH to Taylor's Outfall -  Monday, October 15, 2014

Last night was a very rough anchorage.  Baffle point is a very good anchorage, but only in a calm night!  We got anchored easily, and it was a beautiful sunset!  But during the night the winds shifted from out of the north, the water got rough.  And to say the least we got no sleep!  

When we preparing to get underway Al has a terrible time trying the weigh the anchor!  The bow of the boat was bucking up and down and the dangerous process took about 15 minutes to finally free the anchor..... The good note was that our anchor held like a champ!  And I can see a windless on Al's Christmas list!

We finally got underway by sunup and headed back to the ship channel and entered the ICW.  Finally, after 3 years went to Galveston and turned left!

Lexi and Al and I are on our way!

Lexi on Lookout!

It was interesting seeing the back side of Bolivar.  We saw all kinds of beautiful birds along the ICW... and some donkeys!  We also saw helicopters picking something up in a bag on one side of the ICW and dropping them on the other side... They did this several times...  We were told it was probably seismic equipment.  They were flying so low and dragging the line that I was afraid it was going to clip one of our masts!

By the time we made it through Bolivar we were joined by two of our "Power Boat" friends

Josh and Barb in M/V Last Trade

Phil and Matilde in M/V Awesome 1

The ICW is loaded with bridges and locks and other water navigation obstacles to clear.  Our first bridge was at High Island.  The group went under the 73' just fine!

 The second day of our journey was very good and we made it to Taylor's Outfall with no problems.  It was a really nice calm anchorage and we were grateful for the opportunity to get settled in.  I know that the mosquitoes were bad, but we were well protected down in the cabin with our great mosquito screens.  It was the first time we had the opportunity to use them and they worked quite well. 

We were totally exhausted and crashed.  I was sound asleep by 7:30 and slept till the alarm went off at 6:00.  Sleep..... GLORIOUS SLEEP!

The trip begins!

Going East Day 1 Departure Day (again) Sunday, October 14, 2014

Ready - Set - GO!   Well this time we actually were able to leave... Michi snaps a photo of us with "Kemah in the rear-view mirror"   We left the dock about 1200 hrs. and had a wonderful sail down to Galveston.  We arrived at our anchorage at Baffle Point at about 3:30.  We settled in for the evening... enjoyed a beautiful sunset.....

Then after a wonderful spaghetti dinner we are settled in for the evening.  Al is watching the Texans play... that does not look good at this point.... and I am... well as you can see, I am updating our blog!  We will be up early to head up the ICW...

Its really happening!  Somebody pinch me!

Going East - C3:TJE - Cocoon 3: The Journey East (Per Curtis Eddington)

Going East - Departure Day - October 13, 2012

A beautiful morning to start our trip!

The kids came in last night so that they could see us off today.  After a busy day today of making final preparations we were up early to get started.  We planned to leave around 1300 hrs.





Steve and Bronny come by with a wonderful bottle of wine as a gift for our trip...  They also brought mimosas and yummy breakfast goodies!

Bronny helps Al with mimosas 

Look!  It worked!

Good friends come

by the boat to wish

us fare well!!!!

Steve hanging out

Pete and Barbara

Joe and Rebecca

Bob and Clare present us with a beautiful

gift.... a plaque of the patron saint of sailors!  It is a lovely trifold wooden piece. 

We quickly hung it in our salon for good luck!

PLAN B

MAKES IT THE SEND-OFF 

EVEN BETTER!

Jake loves to ride the train!!!  Choo Choo

We had to delay our trip...... However, the decision was made to delay the trip by one day made it possible to spend time with our children!  Spending time with our Jacob was well worth the delay!

Captain Jake Checking out the situation

Jake loves HIS ZEBRA

Jake, Momma and Baby Teya.... watching PawPaw

Captain Jake so excited to be
at the helm!

All in all... this was just a great day!  And TOMORROW we will try this again.....