Quick update, since my trip in November I have been down to the boat once got the boom vang off, its waiting in the garage to be mailed to Forespar, it has to be replaced, so sending the old one to them so they can figure out way it failed.  The A/C is still not working, that really bugs me, it had worked flawlessly until I brought the boat south now no end of trouble, but I think the problem has been poor people working on the system fleecing me of what little money I have and keeping it broke, so talked to the superviser at the Marina and he is working on getting a new A/C guy, come to find out I am not the only guy thats been screwed over.  So hoping that this works out and doesnt cost me anymore cash that needs to be spent on other things.  I think that covers things.  OH, almost forgot got an encloser for the cockpit this summer will get that put on and use it this winter, I will post about that and put up some pics of Surprise with it installed, it will really extend the use of the cockpit.  I can just see coffee in the cockpit on a cool morning with out the frost.  :) Good stuff.  I will close now. 
Merry Christmas to all. 
Capt. Bear

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  finally had time to update the blog, work has kept me super busy but got the last part written and now posted.  I hope you all enjoy.  Capt. Bear

I am sorry for the delay in writing and finishing the log.  The week after posting the last installment I was at the boat, the date was 23 September, and I suffered a ruptured appendices.  I drove 4 hours home then suffered all night long till around 11:30 Monday when I called for a friend to come get me and take me to the hospital.  I was in too much pain to drive myself.  When I arrived they gave me some pain meds, then after a while, hustled me off for a CT scan.  That was at 1600, shortly after the scan, I was on my way to surgery.  It was all a very surreal experience, no one was really being honest, but there was an urgency that I could detect, but was unable to pin down, I guess it was the pain meds that had mellowed me, I was so thankful to be free of some of the pain.  The next thing I know I am waking up in a hospital room, hooked up to an IV pump and morphine pain pump, wow, I remember being on the other side of this set up dealing with Brenda, never thought that I would be sitting here.  Thank God that I had learned so much from my experience with her, it helped me deal with this new place that I found myself in.  My greatest concern was for my kids, they had been through so much dealing with years their mother had been sick and then eventually passing.   I didn’t want them to go through that all again.  I was blessed by a close friend Dan who took care of the kids getting them food, and distracting them from this new situation we found ourselves in.  After I was awake and somewhat alert I ask Dan what all had happened.  He told me that I had been in surgery for 4 hours, 4 hours for typical short surgery; he also mentioned that the Dr. said I was tough guy to have driven 4 hours with such incredible pain.   I was a blessed man that is for sure; he also said that if I had waited 3-4 more hours I may not have made it.  WOW, that’s crazy, I had never been that close.  Something like that wakes you up, makes you appreciate life and all you have around you, family and friends.   Well I have now recovered and thought it was time to set down and work on finishing my log from my Galveston Trip. 

Friday, 31 August, 2012.  0600- Departure day for our return home to Mobile Bay.   

The morning starts with a bit of strife as the skipper and crew are not on the same sheet of music just yet.  Rob is in a rush, while I am waiting for more light before we head out into the shipping channels.  This breakdown is compounded by the events that follow,  I will let Rob take over from here… 

Friday, 31 August, 2012.  0600 hrs: Awake; beginning the day. The skies are still dark, but appear partly cloudy with variable winds out of the east-northeast gusting up to eighteen knots or more.

     0700 hrs: The skies have lightened enough for us to cautiously motor out of the marina, and we are underway.

     0900 hrs: We’ve already encountered a number of trials. First off, we weren’t even out of the channel when Captain Bear discovered that the cockpit VHF (emergency) radio mic is not working right.  Then, not long after he opened the hatch atop the forward head, in an effort to air out the cabin, a large ship crossed our bow and when we hit the huge wake wave it produced, Surprise nosed right into it.  Seawater poured in through the open hatch drenching the Captain’s cabin floor, bedding, etc.  While Captain Bear ran on deck to close the hatch, I went down below to begin sopping up the seawater.  The trials were not quite over, however.  Once we were well out into Galveston Bay, sailing quickly in strong winds through rather choppy seas, we went to secure the fenders into their place the dingy.  As we did so, the oar farthest from us suddenly, and without warning, came dislodged from its mount and plunged into the billowing sea, rapidly disappearing from sight.  Captain Bear quickly turned us around and we circled around in search of it, but there was no sign of it, and after a short while we resumed on our course.

     0930 hrs: after what has seemed like one trial after another, things appear to be looking up.  Captain Bear was able to get the cockpit VHF mic working again using some duct tape and a touch of ingenuity.

     0940 hrs: We took the time to lift up a heart-felt prayer to the Lord for our safety, the safety of our loved ones, and for favorable winds and passage.

Our position, at present:  29 degrees 18’.746 N by 94 degrees, 24’.172 W; course: 93 degrees’ speed: 8.5 knots through the water, (8.0 knots over ground); wind: out of south at 12 to 20 knots; depth: 48 feet, in 4 to 6 foot seas.

     Late morning: we’ve passed out of the shipping lanes now – there were dozens and dozens of big ships anchored out waiting their turn to enter Galveston Bay.  We’re now sailing along nicely under sunny blue skies, with a few white, puffy cumulus clouds.

     1300 hrs: we’ve already traveled some forty nautical miles from the marina – well ahead of schedule – thanks to the 8 and 9 knots we’ve averaged since leaving Galveston.  We had a treat just now.  A very small, beautiful, sparrow-like bird landed on Surprise’s rigging.  She is obviously exhausted from a long flight.  As we are presently more than thirty nautical miles from the nearest land, it is likely that she was blown out to sea by the hurricane’s winds.  She seems perfectly content to stay with us.

     As we approached one of the many peninsulas (which we can see on our GPS/ autopilot), and our distance from land diminished to about fifteen miles or so, the little bird took off exactly in the direction of the unseen land – as if she knew it was her best bet.  She’s a brave little bird.  Hope she makes it safely. 

     2040 hrs CDT:  We continue to cruise along at eight knots or more.  At this pace, we could possibly see close to two hundred nautical miles in a twenty-four hour period – an almost unheard of distance in a sailboat.  I have the midnight-to-four shift so; I’m heading to my rack.      

1930 Hrs CDT finds us at Position 29° 13’ 057N 93° 5’ 656W  Course 90° mag. Speed 8.3 knts Wind 19 knts Depth 69 ft. sea state: 4-6 feet.

We have had an excellent run today despite the rough start at the beginning of the day, Surprise continues to put the miles behind her and the crew is back into the routine of shore sailing.  As mentioned before Rob has headed below to get some shut eye while I enjoy the sweet sailing and another wonderful sunset.  I keep watch till 000 hrs, when Rob comes back on, our run continues to good, not as good as earlier in the day but we are still making good speed.  Ok, checking my memory and reading Robs log, I realize we have left out an event.  As I piece things together I am left with this night as the night of the storm.  We caught the edge of a thunder storm, had winds of about 25 knts max, before turning in I had reefed main and the jib down, it was mostly wet, with the rain coming in over the stern getting me a little wet and cooling things off just a bit. Things seemed to have cleared off when I went down at midnight but as I drifted off I was aware of more wind and rain and Surprise rushing thru the night.  As with every night I was intently in tune with her every motion and caper as Robs watch wore on, always ready to head back on deck to get Surprise reined back in.  I am vaguely aware of going on deck at one point and making some adjustments to the sail trim.  All in all it was nice night I think a little nerve racking for Rob, but overall a nice run.  With morning things would change immensely.   

Saturday 1 September 2012 1037 hrs CDT

Position: 29° 7’ 951N 91° 21’ 881W course 92° speed 6.5 Wind 10knts out of the south Depth 21feet seas 1ft

The run yesterday was excellent we covered 186 nautical miles, that’s an average of 7.75 knts all in the 24 hr period.  I am sure it would have been over 200 miles had the wind held, but still that’s a great run no complaints from the Captain or crew.  We continue our run to the east, speed is not as fast as the day before, but we continue to make good speed.  6.5 seems slow compared to 8.5 but its still progress.  As the day wears on, the wind continues to diminish, this becomes a trend that holds true till the next day when we have hardly any wind to speak of. 

Sunday 2 September 2012 0956 hrs CDT

Postion: 28° 50’ 394N  89° 19’ 751W Course 90° speed 7.3 knts (motoring) Wind 5 knts (out of the west)  Depth 249ft. seas 1-2 ft.

This will be our last full day on the gulf and will be the only day the whole trip that we have to motor.  We started motoring early on today, no choice if we still wanted to make Mobile by Monday morning.  This is a long hot day, made hotter by no wind; one high light is the flat seas something we have not experienced off shore the whole trip, it feels strange to be off shore with flat seas.  It gives us a chance to cook hotdogs, have some guitar music, enjoy a rum punch with ice from the icemaker when it was on in Galveston, amazing how good an iced drink goes down on a hot day with little wind.  We are also treated to a visit from some dolphins that race along at Surprises bow till the prospect of an easy snack happens along in the form of a shrimp boat.  Outside of motoring it’s a nice day.   The day ends nicely we set the watch up so that I am on at 000 hrs, we have figured that we should be making Mobile ship channel at that time. 

I am up a little early with a freshening breeze and a very crowded anchor zone with shipping awaiting its turn to go into Mobile.  I take a few moments to get my bearings, I don’t like going into Mobile at night keeps running through my head as work to pick out the red buoys from the red lights on shore and pick out the outgoing shipping from the myriad of lights on shore.  With one close call or what seems a close call we make into the bay where I can get Surprise to the east of the main channel and sail north to our turn to Dog River.   Our close call is when I am trying to pick the channel out and stay off the Dixie bar, yet close enough to the east side of the channel that I am not in the way of any shipping that’s using the channel.  While I was trying to pick the right red lights out from the wrong red lights we sail out of the channel and very close to Dixie bar.  I realize my mistake, get my bearings, and turn due west to get away from the bar as quickly as possible.  As I sail west, I am greeted by the huge black shadow of a ship moving across my bow, blotting out all light, it seems right on top of us.  I immediately steer to the north, we are now on the east edge of the channel, we continue north, I get a good course set,  and the markers are becoming easer to see as we get closer to the mouth of the bay.  The lights on shore are moving more to the east and west defining the entrance to the bay.  Thank God, we have made it safely into Mobile Bay; we have been blessed with a wonderful southwest wind that speeds us along to home.  As we sail north I am getting tired, it’s been some long nights, but it’s almost over.  Soon we will be in the marina, but 4 hours still remain to drive home. 

0500 we are arriving in the dog river channel, once again fighting the glare of lights to make out the channel markers, but I have got Rob up to help me navigate into the marina.  Other than being tired things are working nicely as the wind had dropped to a whisper making pulling Surprise into her slip as easy as parking your car in the drive way.  It’s been a long night with a long day yet to go.  All that remains is washing the salt off, unloading the boat for the trip home.  I look forward to the day when I just secure the boat and go to my cabin and crash.  I still have some years before Surprise is my home, so until then we unload and head home for some much needed rest. 

Things in the marina don’t look much different than when we left outside of some things being bent over and the debris laying around.  It has been an amazing trip, we have sailed over almost, if not over a 1000 nautical miles.  It’s the longest off shore trip for Surprise and she handled it well.  I am happy with her performance; I look forward to more sailing adventures with Surprise.   

I will now relay a new adventure while it’s fresh on my mind.  After 5 weeks away from Surprise since my close call with appendicitis, it was time to return to the Surprise.  Shiana (my daughter) and planned a trip to Lu Lu’s for music and fun.  We drove down on Friday, 26 October, for our little sailing trip.  Upon arrival at the marina we ran into many well wishers, who were aware with my close call.  It  was great to be back and know I was thought of in my absence.  I also ran into Keith and Stacy who were planning a similar trip to us on Saturday.  So we decided that we would travel together at least staying in contact as we travelled south.  This was a great boost to Keith and Stacy’s confidence, knowing they would have friends to travel with as they covered the length of Mobile Bay in 20-25 knt winds.  It was quite a ride south.  The wind was out of the north so we had the wind on the stern or the quarter all the way down.  We only had one thing go wrong, about mid way before we made our turn to the southeast the jib got back winded, then filling again as Surprise fell off her course causing the top portion of the jib to fill on one side of the furler and the remainder to fill on the other side and in the process to somehow tangle and not pull around.  I have no idea how it got tangled the way it did, but it took sailing Surprise in circles to get it untangled.  I then tucked a reef in the main, this helped, we then continued on our way to the Lu Lu’s for music by Sugar Cain Jane.  We had a great evening listening to music, Shiana did the haunted house called Boo Lu’s 6 times, and she got a kick out of it.  I went through with her the first time, it was very well done and all the proceeds went to the High Schools that worked it and put it together. 

We arose late the next morning and headed back home to Turner Marine.  WOW, what a sail it would be, the wind was still blowing out the North, once out of the inter-coastal waterway we shaped a course to the North West and started sailing, the wind was blowing 25 gust to 30.  We tried sailing back all the way but it was soon evident that if we tried sailing back it was going to take us much longer than we wanted so it was with a heavy heart that I started the motor and began motoring north into this wind. Now we experienced a new thing as the bow plunged into a wave after wave scooping water up that would roll down the deck and sometimes up over the cabin top.  For the first time, Surprise was pounding, as we would slip of the crest of one wave we would slap the next wave with a thudding slam.  I hated this, but we had few choices.  Finally we made it home, but what a day of boating it was, more stories to follow about the voyages of Surprise.

Lastly as I close, I am starting the prep process for Surprise, getting her ready for long term cruising. I have a list of things that I plan to add over the next few years and as I add or make changes to Surprise I will make a post in pictures as well as writing.  This will be a long process but in the end it will be rewarding.  I hope you all enjoy reading. 

Capt. Bear aka..Barry

big waves outside of Galveston

Big shipping out on the gulf waiting on that Texas crude

awesom sunsets

 The USNS Yano, we saw her outside of New Orleans

What follows is my story, and I am sticking to it...

Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season

I’m barrowing the title for my blog this time from the Jimmy Buffett song “Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season”.   I felt this was an apt title, as I went through this experience trying to decide what to do with my boat when faced with a looming Hurricane.      For many the solution was to place their boats on the hard and wait on inevitable storm, for others it was run north up the rivers and hunker down in a hurricane hole and party.  For me I chose to run on the ocean.  I had studied all the models for the predicted storm, labored over them,  I had a sailing trip planned for this week and I was not going to let a storm get in the way of it.  I was going sailing one way or the other.   So I got on the phone called my buddy Rob and told him that a hurricane was threatening our trip.  Our planned trip was a short sail to Port Saint Joseph Florida, this was a short 36 hour trip, one night at sea.  He as what are our options, I tell him the normal options.  He says that’s cool, but is there a way to sail?  This perks my interest I look for a destination, I find Galveston, and initially it appears to be short trip couple of days.  So I say sure we can go to Galveston, but I still leave the normal options open to stay and weather the storm like all the rest.    But as the time gets closer, we are talking days at this point; I try to reason with all the thoughts running through my head, hence Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season pops into my head, so this has become my theme for this trip.  Note, as I write I will include portions written my by crew/xo/ Rob.  This will add a little extra flavor to the trip. 

Upon arrival at the Marina I find everything in full swing preparing for the looming storm, not much reasoning going on here, so I tell Rob we are going to Galveston, I don’t want to miss our sailing trip.  So we start working like mad to prep Surprise for our trip and a quick departure for Galveston.   After stowing all the gear, provisions and filing a float plan the Roger at the marina we are losing dock lines at about 1400 and headed out on the bay. 

Rob’s Logbook: Sailing Surprise to safety in Galveston, Texas

Wednesday, 22 August, 2012.  Received call from Barry.  Our planned sailing trip to Port St. Joe, Florida has been threatened by “Isaac”, a tropical depression forming in the Caribbean, projected to strengthen into a tropical storm - or perhaps even a Hurricane - move up the Florida peninsula, and then skirt the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, including Mobile Bay, perhaps as far as New Orleans.  “We’ll just have to keep an eye on the weather, and probably re-route our destination”, was Barry’s proclamation.

Thursday, 23 August, 2012.   Barry called me, saying that Isaac was worsening, and that he was concerned about Surprise, and thinking that he might need to motor her up the Inland Waterway, out of Isaac’s reach.

Friday, 24 August 2012.  Isaac continues to strengthen, and Mobile Bay appears to be in its projected path.  I thought things over – what Barry’s friendship means to me and what the sailboat Surprise means to me, and made a command decision to spend my long-awaited vacation by going to Alabama, as planned anyway, to help Barry get Surprise to safety up the Inland Waterway. 

     Aware that time was everything with Hurricanes; I called Alyce Anne, and asked her how she felt about me going down to the Gulf on a “rescue mission” for the purpose of saving Surprise, leaving as soon as I could finish for the day at work.  She was concerned for my safety, but understood that I felt compelled to help Barry get the sailboat to safety, and she gave me her blessing.  I was able to depart work even earlier than I thought possible, and was at Caverna High School, saying “Goodbye” to Alyce Anne and the girls by 1410 hrs CDT.  By 1430 hrs, I was southbound on I-65 enroute Barry’s. 

     After some seven hours on the road, I finally arrived in Phenix, Alabama, at 2110 and was at Barry’s house not fifteen minutes later.  Within minutes after our hellos, we began transferring my things into the Jeep, and departed for the four-hour drive to Mobile Bay.  We arrived around 0200 hrs, and transferred everything into Surprise, which was berthed some one hundred feet, or so, away from the Jeep, rocking gently at the end of the jetty.  We finally lay down in our respective cabins and I fell fast asleep, thoroughly exhausted.

otoring.

Barrys Log: Day 1  25 August, 2012  Pos. 30° 33’ .639N  88° 03’ .786W  course 140° S Wind 16 knts speed 7 knts m

Our Great adventure begins around 1430 hours CDT, I now know that it’s not just a little over two days but closer to three, but at this point that’s just the all the better, it means more time sailing besides we are off and as Captain Ron says, “If it’s going to happen it will happen out there”  We start out motoring until we can get far enough south and the channel bends a little to the west so we can put the sails up and motor sail close hauled till we are outside the bay and are able to shape a course to a point off the Mississippi Delta then set a course due west for Galveston, at least that’s the plan and we are able to stick to it for the most part. 

1600 raised sails continue to motor south. 

1900 hrs 25 August 2012  finds us on a course of 206° mag, speed 6 knts sailing,  pos. 30° 03’ .76N  88° 06’ .617W 

We experience a wonderful sunset, reminds me why I love to sail out on blue water.  We set our watch and go into the night, it is an uneventful night. 

Robs Log:

Saturday, 25 August, 2012.  Awoke around 0900 hrs, and spent the rest of the morning, right up to lunchtime, repacking my hastily-gathered gear, cleaning and readying both of the aft cabins.  Barry and I went grocery shopping during lunch, and stocked the galley on our return.  We then finished readying Surprise for sea. 

     By 1430 hrs we were (at last) underway.  We motored out of the marina, and continued to do so well out into the bay.  By 1600 hrs, as we neared Gulf waters, we raised sails, but we continued to motor into the Gulf, to regain lost minutes.  By 1900 hrs, having long before turned off the motor, we were sailing along at seven knots through two to four-foot seas.  It was awesome to finally be on “blue water”.

Barrys Log: Day 2 26 August 2012  Pos: 29° 07’ .619 N  88° 39’ .368 W

Course; 228°

Wind: 10 knts

Speed: 4.3 knts

Depth: 329ft.

The Second day finds us with a drop in wind speed resulting in a drop in boat speed, I am not happy with this turn of events, I work on adjusting sails, but I can only get so much out of the wind, I eventually convince myself to get the spinnaker out and try our luck with it.  With a little trial we get the sail up and get it set, the sail is drawing nicely, and has boosted our boat speed, this is good.  As it is when sailing whenever you get out the bigger sail is when the winds begin to increases,  we are beginning to see 12 knts, but not too much we are doing fine beginning to make some good speed, I realize it’s time to change our course and move a little further south.  So, I explain to Rob how we are going to jibe the spinnaker, he seems to understand the process, we start the process, everything is going smoothly but we are having trouble adjusting its trim, I investigate and find that sheet is somehow managed to get its self caught behind the other sheet and is hung up, so being tired and not thinking, (not thinking can get you into trouble)  I say ok have to untangle the line I bring the working sheet out run it clear get it going back to the block and winch, when all of the sudden I realize that it’s not working, “What’s going on I shout” totally frustrated, I work and work but can’t get the twist that has developed in the sail, now as sailing luck would have the wind is now blowing 15-20, I realize that I can’t get the sail untangled, I got to the sock to snuff the sail and put it away, uughh the sock is stuck, I can’t get it down, it won’t budge, I work with get it down about 5 feet, now its stuck and will not move, the wind is becoming an issue, I know I have to get this sail down its becoming a huge mess, so I am yelling to Rob instructions, I am trying to hold the sail everything is starting to go wrong, sail is catching wind, I am fighting to get down into the hatch, Rob is letting it down, too slowly, wind is grabbing it and ripping it out of my hands,  I know that I can’t do it all myself, so I yell to Rob to go below and start pulling the sail in, he leaves the clutch open and thank God it doesn’t run away otherwise I could see myself with a knife cutting lines on a perfectly good sail, that’s the thought that runs through my head, at that moment I resolve THAT’S NOT HAPPENING, I reach deep and start heaving and pulling yell for Rob to pull the sail in, we are making head way, finally we have it below, now I have a cabin full of wet sail and sheets, I push the hatch shut heading for the cock pit, I am exhausted my hands ache I hot sweaty and wiped out, but thankful that we got the sail in the boat.  Rob comes up and lets me know that he has shoved the sail into the forward head, he informs me that it’s all wet, and needs to be laid out to dry, and I tried to worry about that at the moment.  I take a break then go below and stuff the whole thing into its bag, Rob had recommended laying the sail out in cabin, I said, NO I am not going to have that mess; it will be fine in its bag.  As I write this I realize I need to get to the boat and take it out of its bag, it’s going to be a mess now, but it will be ok, just needs a good rinse and hang dry,  I return to the cockpit and deal with the jib and main making sure they are trimmed properly, with the increase in wind they are drawing nicely and we making good speed now around 7kts so this is good, We run like this for a awhile we are cruising enjoying good sailing, seas have built some with the increase in wind speed and the boat has started to take a lot of spray and heavy splashes across the bow, we are having a good run.  Its time to go below and use the head, as I make my way forward I notice as I enter the cabin and bow plunges making water in process I see water spraying in around the hatch, and making its way onto bed, OH MY GOSH, this not what I wanted to see today,  OH how frustrating,  I go into fix problems mode, insuring the hatch was closed, now stripping the sheets of the bed and shoving them into the shower for a latter assessment, I am tired of problems and I have had one too many for one day.   I take care of my business and return to the cockpit, set down and discuss this with Rob.  Later I bring it up one sheet and quilt at a time to dry in the wind.  I am in luck it all dries nicely.  I know have a place to sleep again; It’s not all bad I did have other sheets but didn’t want lay on clean sheets as hot and sweaty as things were.  We finish the day out with Rob playing a little on his guitar I think this is a nice finish to a CRAZY day.  What will the next hold for us? 

OH, the next issue was the Batteries as Robs Log below reminded me, which caused an additional issue.  I knew the batteries were weak, but not to the extent they couldn’t even make it through a night, which was the result and something required constant checking.  My biggest fear was losing the ability to start the engine, which would have been a real problem, not to mention precise navigation.  I had no doubt that I could get to Galveston I just had to head west, I did have a back up GPS down below and I would be ok finding my way.  The real issue was hand steering for two days and nights, I could do it, but Rob had some problems holding a course being a ‘land lubber’ as he described himself.  So I stayed on top of the battery problem, I tried running the house set on their own to preserve the starting battery but this was a solution that did not work, I awoke two hours later to no battery power,  So I switch all to both sets and starting the engine is almost the kiss of death, Rob doesn’t realize this, but thank got the engine cranks, I run it and motor sail the rest of the night I hate motor sailing.  I know lots of people swear by it and do it a lot, but to me what’s the point, if you’re going to motor sail just by a motor yacht, anyway that’s my take on it.  Heck, I love pushing Surprise to see how much speed I can get out of her, trimming the sails getting them just right and then setting back and watching her take off run, anybody can set the sails the start a motor and say I did 10 knts, well I can say I trimmed the sails and kept the motor off and ran 10 knts and I did, on the way back on a beam reach right wind right seas I had Surprise run at 10 knts for 100 – 150 yards in fact she hit 10.5 at one point, now that’s amazing.  We ran all day long at between 8 knts and 10.5 all day, this gave us SOG of 8.1 knts most of the day that’s sailing.  At the end of this fantastic run we had an average speed of 8.18 knts for that run.  I will write more about this day later I am getting ahead of myself, We managed the batteries, and did fine.  I started our running the engine to charge batteries because on the generators first try it didn’t seem to kick enough juice out to charge, not sure why that was the case, its what caused me to use the engine,   I later resolved to give the generator another try and it did the trick so from that point on used the generator.  This did have a fringe benefit that would be wonderful on the way back, and that was using the air conditioner, only thing that kept it from being that way on the way to Galveston was the fact that the strainer was clogged something that should have been fixed before we left but no time was allowed for this.  Something that will be allowed for in the future, heck if you have to run the generator you may as well use the AC J 

Now its time for Rob’s part. 

Robs Log;

Sunday, 26 August, 2012.  I “awoke” around 0600 hrs from very little sleep to a lovely dawn, but was tired and worn out.  I had slept fitfully off and on, lying on a mat in the cockpit – the cabin was just too hot and stuffy.  Barry and I had taken turns throughout the long night keeping lookout, as the autopilot held Surprise on her westward course toward Galveston, still more than two full day’s sail away. 

               Nevertheless, there was one nice surprise in store; as I came fully awake.  It so happened that we were passing very close to an active off-shore oil rig – we had passed many such rigs, but this was our first close-up view of one.  As it was still just dawn, the rig was lit up brightly against the dawn skies.  The rig supervisor hailed our craft as we neared, asking if we were okay, and if we needed anything, which we both thought was pretty nice.  The wind has been coming straight out of the east, but the waves have been out of the northeast.  The wind has lessened to less than ten knots at times, and so we’re going to put up the spinnaker sail to see if we can get a few more knots out of this wind.

               The spinnaker sail incident – as it will no doubt be remembered – was a nightmare from the word “go”.  Barry struggled with setting it up - it didn’t help that he had a land-lubber novice assisting him.  Our first tack was slow and awkward.  The second tack was much worse.  In wind that was starting to gust up to twelve and fifteen knots, the lines tangled mid-tack.  Barry ran on deck to see what he could do, but the increasing wind’s effects on the spinnaker made it a real task.  Barry was almost whisked right off of Surprise several times, as he repeatedly lurched for the now-loose spinnaker, which was being whisked by the wind in every direction imaginable, while Surprise rolled in the waves.  Finally, in deep frustration, a soaked, resigned Captain Barry shoved the soaked, hopelessly entangled spinnaker in through the open hatch in his cabin to me positioned below; (if it had been a cartoon, I am certain there would have been smoke pouring from his ears). We then employed the Genoa (jib) sail once again.

               Once Captain Barry simmered down, he changed course, and ran south by southwest – a course much more forgiving of the wind-wave incongruence – and we made good time again.  Once slightly south of Galveston’s latitude, we changed course again and ran almost due west by just a tad bit north) toward our destination.  Surprise maintained a speed of seven to nine knots the remainder of the evening, while requiring only occasional adjustments to the sails.

               We have been sailing in deep waters – up to five hundred feet or more below the keel - for the best part of a day.  As a result, the color of the water has been the richest cobalt blue under the cloudless blue skies.  What amazes me is that the color stays consistent right up to the boat’s hull, as if it were inherently that color, (rather than reflecting the skies above).   The only time I remember seeing the sea this deep a blue was in 1993, when my unit flew to Somalia.  As we flew over the North Atlantic, at 33,000 feet, I awoke to the sun in my eyes.  I looked out the window at the ocean below, and was thoroughly amazed at its rich cobalt-blue color.  To see it up close like this today, is really thrilling.

               Barry saw a dolphin off our starboard, but the dolphin had disappeared by the time I could get over to that side – the boat is heeled over at ten to twenty degrees to port in the wind, so one sitting on the port side cannot see things off the starboard side without getting up.  I have seen a number of flying fish, as they scurry across the waves, but no dolphins.

               We have seen no other pleasure craft whatsoever since our departure.  We appear to share the Gulf with huge tankers and cargo ships only, with the exception of the oil platform tender vessels (which look like elongated tugs).

               Our primary glitch this journey has been keeping the boat’s batteries charged.   Captain Barry calls them “aged and neglected”, but felt they’d do fine for this trip.  Nevertheless, he’s had to run the motor quite a bit to keep them charged.  Replacing them is an $1,800.00 proposition, and it just has not been in the budget.  Barry has since discovered that running the generator charges the batteries just as well as running the motor, so we’ve switched to running that whenever we need to do so.

Day 3 Monday 27 Aug 2012 0648 hrs Local; Pos 28° 48’ .963N 91° 09’ .025W Course 288° Wind 21 knts NNE speed 7.78 knts Depth 26.8 feet  Not sure this depth is correct occasionally the depth would read out very shallow if the water was very deep, the depth sounder would not always give a correct reading in very deep water, from looking at the chart I am seeing over 200ft. 

This is day 3 it turns out to be a fantastic day of sailing the wind is on the beam we are cruising along nicely.  The deck is slanted like a roof top, so we are not moving around a lot, just enjoying the fantastic sailing and making great time.  Today we see some dolphins, the most fantastic is seeing one not 30 ft from the boat launch out of wave and reenter the water, Oh how I wish I had my camera out our the video camera to have caught such a fantastic sight,   Later this day I am treated to sight of a sea turtle swimming with way north just beneath surface of 5ft wave,   I am also lucky enough to see not one but two dolphins leaping from the water together, poor Rob misses all these sights, too bad I wish he would have been able to see them, nature at its best.  I think the key to these sights is constant observation; you have to be looking all the time.  Heck there was a time I was filming that I didn’t see a dolphin breech and only knew it later when I was at home watching the video and saw it.  So, I have a firm belief that you have to keep looking and when you least expect it you will see what you desire.   While sailing I have been treated with many dolphin sightings as well as flying fish, sea turtles and the not so elusive birds.  

This day is to be one of the best sailing days we will have of the trip, we experience the normal drop in wind in the evening and then its renewal as evening closes to sunset and we get the beginning of a sweet breeze that will carry us through the night. 

Thus 1645 in the evening finds us at Pos; 28° 59’ .635N 92° 29’ .940W course 275° mag wind 12 knts NE speed 6.4 knts depth 85 ft.

This is Robs take on the day.

         Monday, 27 August, 2012.    My original departure date.  Right now, (0648 hrs), I’d be not quite three hours south of home.  As it is, I am at 28 degrees, 48.936 minutes north, by 91 degrees, 09.25 minutes west, in the middle of the Gulf  of Mexico (about thirty-eight hours east of Galveston), with Tropical Storm Isaac grinding away in the east, aft of Surprise.

              We passed an uneventful night, taking 2-hour watches at the helm throughout the long nighttime, ensuring that our course remains clear.  The numerous oil platforms in the Gulf require us to make slight course adjustments now and then, and there’s always the risk of running into something.  I awoke from my last “rack time” to a very beautiful morning, sunny blue skies and a decidedly bluer sea, and we’re sailing along at seven to nine knots through four to five-foot rolling seas – a captain’s delight.

               While sailing along nicely, heeled over at ten to fifteen degrees, a beautiful bottle-nose dolphin suddenly leaped out of a wave not more than twenty-five feet directly off our port beam and then disappeared into the next wave.  Barry and I sat staring mesmerized.  The light gray color of the dolphin silhouetted sharply against the cobalt-blue waters was absolutely stunning, even though it lasted but a second or two, at the most.  The image was so intense that it was like a snapshot - I close my eyes and can still see it clearly.  What a treat!    

     We made very good time throughout the night, the morning, and early afternoon slicing through seven plus knot winds, but then the wind backed down in late afternoon, and we slowed to three and four knots, inching our way towards Galveston still some ninety-three miles to the west.  This didn’t last long, however, and now - early evening - the wind again has strengthened to between twelve and fourteen knots.  Once more, we’re making about eight knots through the water. 

Day 4 Tuesday, 28 August 2012. 0650 hrs local; Pos 29° 12’ .787N 94° 25’ .931W course 279° mag speed 8.49 Wind 15.2 kns NNE depth 38.3 ft. Conditions: increasing clouds in the east light haze, Tanker and a oil rig service boat with scattered oil rigs on the horizon. 

This is our last day at sea, we are closing on Galveston Bay and some welcome sleep and air conditioner.  I have become accustom to the heat, with the north wind its not unbearable, only when below decks does it get hot.  Fortunately during the nights it becomes almost bearable.  This trip has enforced the need for fans to be installed in the boat.  This would make sleeping below decks much more pleasant.  My thought is for two in the main saloon, one in the galley area and one for the dining table/navigation station and then one in aft cabin that the crew uses.  When I am sailing off shore I rarely open any hatches because of the chance of a breaking wave and the constant spray, salt on the outside is one thing, salt inside I don’t like.  So, I will have to break down this year and slowly pick up the fans that I need and install them. 

We are making good time this morning and they morning wears on we are encountering more and more shipping that is waiting to enter Galveston Bay, I am now picking way to the shipping channel making phone calls to arrange fuel and a slip for the next couple of nights and some well deserved sleep.  Getting in close to large ships is always unnerving, but we do fine, it is relatively slow when we go in so no close calls or anything of concern to worry about.  That is till we are pulling up to fuel dock, I am being followed by the Coast Guard, and they seem to really be giving me the eye, I don’t want to be boarded, I am not worried, just don’t like being bothered, lol, I am tired, it’s been a long 4 days.  As we get tied up I am just ignoring them, and then realize they are just getting fuel like me, whew, no more worries.   Why I should be worried I have no clue, guess I just like being able to go about my business without any distractions or silly questions.   We are able to top off the fuel and get a slip without any questions or harassment. 

Thus ends our sailing tied up safely at the Galveston Yacht Basin, we have avoid a possibly dangerous hurricane and had great fun in the process.  We are both tired and ready for a good meal, a shower and lots of sleep.  We start by getting the AC strainer cleaned and cooling units cooling the boat off, this is a welcome relief for it is hot when you’re not out on the ocean with the ocean breezes.  Next is to start preparing for supper and getting cleaned up.  Finally after a good shower we fix a fantastic pork tenderloin that’s been marinating for half a day, what a treat. 

Ending Pos 29° 19’ .228 94° 46’ .579 course N/A slip E13 Galveston Yacht Basin, speed stationary, wind 13 knts depth 9.8 ft.  Seas Flat  J 

Robs view. 

Tuesday, 28 August, 2012.  Awake since dawn, sailing nicely.  We made eight knots plus throughout the night, and we should reach Galveston by early afternoon today.

    Late morning – I laid down at about 0800 hrs and slept well.  We’re now just ten miles away from Galveston, sailing along at eight to nine knots in steady winds.  The shipping has picked up and a number of very large commercial ships are visible, all headed toward Galveston, like us.  Captain Barry says were now in Galveston’s “shipping lanes”.

     Early afternoon – Galveston is in or sights!  We’re surrounded by the big tankers, and are having to make constant course adjustments, to avoid crossing their bows. 

    We’ve now slowed down, as we’re not sure yet exactly where we’re going to berth.  As we now have cell service – following nearly three days without it - Barry is calling each of the three Galveston marinas in an attempt to secure a slip for Surprise while we’re here; he’s managing to do this while simultaneously maneuvering the boat in the busy shipping approaches.

      The first call -  to the marina we really wanted – got a “no vacancy” response.  Barry’s second and third calls yielded available transient slips, and we’ve made our decision.  We’re now headed to Galveston Yacht Basin Marina.

      1340 hrs CDT – after almost three full days at sea, Surprise is in a slip at Galveston Yacht Basin Marina.  The Lord has delivered us after sailing more than five hundred nautical miles across the Gulf of Mexico with a hurricane heading our way just one day behind us.  He gave us some wonderful sailing, too.  Praise his Holy Name!

Day 5 Wednesday 29 August 2012 Pos remains the same Galveston Yacht Basin.

It’s another beautiful day in south Texas, blue skies 20 knots of wind out of the north. This is a day of relaxation and a little sightseeing.  We enjoy ham-egg-cheese-omelets, and hot coffee.  Later in the day we undertake a dingy ride to Sea Wolf park to see a World War 2 era Destroyer escort, and Gato class fleet submarine also from WWII.  This a nice trip despite the fact that I get soaked on the way over, we took some cross seas that just happened to hit me alone, oh well, I am cool now.  This is an enjoyable trip exploring our history and giving respect to those that have gone before us.  Thanks to all of our Veterans past and present. 

Robs take on the day. 

Wednesday, 29 August, 2012.  Awoke to beautiful blue skies and a blustery day, with winds out of the east, north east at 20 knots plus!  My shower and shave yesterday afternoon, coupled with an awesome supper and a full night of uninterrupted sleep has made all the difference in this wanna-be sailor/ land-lubber’s state of mind.

Barry and I took the dingy across a rather choppy Galveston Channel (directly off Galveston Bay) to Sea Wolf Park WWII Museum and Memorial Plaza on Galveston Island.  There are two WWII-era U.S. Naval vessels there in a permanent display.  The USS Stewart, DE 238, a Destroyer Escort and the USS Cavella, SS 244, SSK 244, AGSS 244, a Gato-Class attack submarine that was credited with sinking a Japanese aircraft carrier.  Both vessels are open while restoration continues; the Stewart, especially, is rusting away and in desperate need of repair.  Nevertheless, it was an interesting and highly enjoyable afternoon.  

Day 6 Pos Galveston Yacht Basin.

I had thought of returning to Mobile today, but after checking and rechecking the weather, and talking to a local sailor I have decided that we will stay another night leave early Friday morning.  The seas are supposed to be very confused Thursday and therfore to avoid 6-10 seas we are waiting a day. This gives us a chance for more sleep and recovery and also a trip to restock some minor supplies.  I will leave the rest to Rob. 

Thursday, 30 August, 2012.  Barry and I walked several miles to and from the nearest (real) grocery store in order to get a few essentials for the sail home: Gatorade; peanut butter, and yet more bottled water; one sweats out a lot of electrolytes sailing, and dehydration is a constant risk for those who fail to take the proper precautions.

     Other than that, we’ve spent our last day in port by washing out some clothes, cleaning out and re-stocking the fridge – it’s much more “user-friendly” now for use while sailing in rough conditions, (where seconds below-deck really matter), and by relaxing.  It’s now 2040 hrs, and we still haven’t eaten supper.

  My boss, Debbie, was so cool about my possibly not coming back before Wednesday or maybe Thursday, (due to us not being able to leave bfore tomorrow morning).  On top of this Captain Barry has re-plotted our return course, cutting off enough travel time that we may actually get back on Sunday night  

This will end the first part the log “Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season 2012”.  Rob is going to update me with the rest of his log and then I will post the return portion of our trip and conclusion of our great adventure.    

     

 Rob the mate who dreams of being a mighty sailing man....

              

     

Bear the Skipper whos brave and sure

Surprise the tiny sailing vessel that they set sail in for a 4 day tour...

What! no rough weather, smooth sailing?  Wait this is not Gilligans Island....Thats good, or is it, if it was we would have Mary Anne, Ginger, and coconut cream pies, oh well...so guess we will have to do without the coconut cream pies ;(

one of many Oil rigs that would be dodged during our trip to Galveston. 

                                         

Just a quick note to anyone that still checks this out.  Look out for a huge blog on my trip to Galveston TX.  it will be titled Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season.  It was an awesome sail and the longest one I have done off shore.  I have gotten the short overnights down so this was a big step, but in the end I am ready for more.  :)  maybe 5 nights next time, heck that puts me to Key West in trip.  Ok, hang in there I will try to get my Log posted by the end of the week.  Till then Cheers All!
Barry