I’m not as creative a writer as Shirley, but I wanted to share a few things after our Gulf crossing. I was reviewing our logbook and wanted to give a timeline of events as they unfolded.

We left Palacios on Jan 10th, 2008 and headed for the Dry Tortugas. We had just had a weak front come through the day before so had a fair northerly breeze. I had to run into Port Lavaca at noon to pick up a part for the watermaker that I had ordered so we cast off mooring lines at about 1410. After a very pleasant sail down the bay against a moderate flood tide, we departed the Matagorda Sea Bouy at 1830 and were on our way. Read the rest of this entry »

Well we did it! We managed to hang around the US until the end of the year. This is not what we had in mind. But everything takes a little longer on a boat. So in order to help maintain our sanity we are going to do a brief recap of our activities aboard since September. We have come a long way, even though we haven’t gone very far. Read the rest of this entry »

Well our time in Galveston is rapidly coming to an end. The whole reason we have been here is so that we would be close to the USCG Regional Exam Center in Houston so I could take my Merchant Marine License test. Well today I took and passed the last section! Whew! This has been a long arduous process. I tested Read the rest of this entry »

Well, I’ve tried to avoid telling about it; but the silence is deafening. Shirley mentioned our running aground in Galveston. I’m sure you are all interested in what happened, so here is the whole story. It all started with us deciding to leave Galveston in the afternoon. We really hadn’t planned on leaving that day but our dinghy outboard was out of commission and parts weren’t readily available. Being at anchor has limited appeal when you can’t easily get ashore. Especially after the trip along the ICW through Louisiana. We were interested in a little shore time. Our dinghy is an 11′ RIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable) so it really isn’t meant for rowing. Just ask our boys, they paddled six passengers to and from the boat. It looked like hard work to me. So being eager to arrive at our destination, we raised anchor and headed west.

We were outbound in Offatts Bayou channel approaching the intercoastal. All we had to do was “keep it between the markers” how hard can it be? Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, first off… I’m not John, I’m Shirley but I’m too lazy to sign off on his login and sign in on mine. I’m using his computer to type this because he’s the only one blessed with internet. Also, we had a casualty a few days ago. My computer died!!! I’m still in mourning so bear with me.

Now that’s out of the way: If you are sitting around thinking of taking a pleasure cruise along the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway, ie: giant ditch), I must save you from a fate worse than death! Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little. While the ICW is a very useful means of transporting ones boat safely from one area off the Gulf Coast to another, I don’t recommend it for “FUN.” It’s been a most exciting trip, though. Read the rest of this entry »

Well we’re back in OKC. We are making arrangements for our remaining stuff to be either stored, sold, or given away. Lots of trips to my parents attic and lots of boxes to fill. We plan to head back to Pensacola midweek next week.