Skip to main content

Sailing Tallships

Image
By


Good morning everyone. Barry here, reporting in from Galveston after our trip back from Corpus Christi. With an impending cold front approaching the Texas coast on Tuesday morning and winds forecast to come NE we "beat feet" back to Galveston. I stood the mid to 4 watch. The trip back was largely uneventful. A light southerly tailwind was welcome but the apparent wind was not enough to give us the easting we desired so the 450 hp power plant gave us the boost we needed to keep a 7-8 knot pace through the night.

The big excitement came while traveling in the fairway, the channel that passes 10 or so miles off the coast with occasional intersection leading to major harbors. At 0200 we came across 4 seismic research vessels working cables across the bottom in the fairway. A few radio calls established the idea that small floats across the fairway were connected to the seismic cables with wire rope and that wrapping one of these up in Elissa's propeller would hinder our progress. These folks working in the oil industry are very good at what they do and managed to guide us on radar through the "mine field" and safely on our way. We had at hand a night vision scope that turned up no sign of buoys but that is not surprising in the 1-2 foot seas. From there on out the shrimp boats and oil platforms (by the dozens) created the usual slalom course encountered in these waters. We missed the full moon we had on the trip down to Corpus so the boat watch was on pins and needles keeping us safe through the night.

I was so gratified and thankful to see how seriously the Elissa volunteers take their jobs. You can't imagine how hard they work to keep this ship alive and well. Teaching them is a joy. We arrived back in Galveston a day early, a heart wrenching decision in the face of knowing how hard these folks have worked to bring her to life. But that is the nature of sailing and the weather pays no heed to schedules. Tomorrow I fly home. This weekend I will be attending an Emergency Medical Services seminar, from the frying pan into the fire. But I am looking forward to getting back to Jen, the kids, the pace of home life and thinking about all you folks and getting ready for next summer.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

PS Our Canada goose friend was waiting here at the dock to welcome us and make me feel a little more homesick. I like that goose.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hail Mary

By
My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui...
28 comments
Read more

We are Nuts

By
Good morning everyone. Well I just had to say it before you did. Yes, we are truly nuts. Now we have gone and added one more adventure to our already full lives. As you can see she is some cunnin'. We have named her Colby. We had a sign... literally. We were in the car brainstorming names on the way to get her at WalMart (yes, you heard it right) and there at the Waterville exit was a sign for Colby College. Colby just happens to be dear Mary's alma mater. It is also the name of one of my favorite ledges in Jericho Bay, the Colby Pup. It just seemed to fit just like the way she came to us. Nothing about our Sunday was going to be different than any other except that I just happened to be helping a friend get her generator back in the barn while Jen and the kids met her new puppy Sherman. They fell in love... so easy to do. We called and there were had two pups from the same litter available... no commitments yet. We had been having the long family debate for weeks about the k...
11 comments
Read more

Galley Gadgets

By
Good morning everyone. As any of you who have sailed with me know I love gadgets. Creating new and easy ways of doing things is a fun challenge for me even if I am slow on the uptake. So here is a gadget I have tried before that I felt I should share with the universe. I am sure I am not the first person to think of this but, hey, this works slicker than greased owl droppings and it reeks just enough of red neck that the devil in me just has to laugh. We buy our peanut butter by the 9 lb. tub. The stuff we buy is that organic, all natural stuff with the hefty layer of oil on top when you open the lid. I have tried inverting the tub every few days to get the oil to work its way through but getting even consistency is still a challenge. Who hasn't got to the bottom of this kind of a peanut butter tub to find a layer of peanut butter cement? The mother of invention was not necessity. It was laziness as any of you who have tried to hand stir peanut butter will know. If you do not own a...
7 comments
Read more