Below is the comprehensive log of the ketch Olivia, as she made her way north from Port Isabel to Rockport. The journey was accomplished over the three days spanning October 10th to October 12th, 2008 covering a distance of 154 miles through the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GICWW).
The GICWW is narrow and treacherous in places. Definitely somewhere one doesn’t want to travel after dark. A poorly maintained channel was initially dredged to 16 feet, but storms and recent budget cuts to the Army Corps of Engineers have relegated this inland passageway to a low priority item.
Mostly barges navigate this area of the ditch with a very few large pleasure craft thrown in for good measure. And it is constantly crisscrossed by small bay skiffs, scooters with powerful outboards in hopeful pursuit of trout, redfish and flounder, blasting through the various shallow embayments; Redfish Bay, Baffin Bay, Corpus and Aransas Bays. From here to Corpus Christi it is virtually unpopulated by humans except about thirty miles to the north, at the town of Port Mansfield. In addition to large barge traffic, there are many fishing shacks built on the spoil islands or sometimes built on pilings along the channel, and some even built on floating platforms, towed out by boat and anchored in place. The only access to any of them is by water, so weekends can be a very crowded place along the way.
The weather window looked pretty good over the period we selected and so I began work last Wednesday getting everything cleaned up, checked and ready. By Friday I felt we were ready.
Date: 10.10.08 / Depart: 0910 From: Port Isabel Modern Venice complex / Arrive: 1850,Landcut / Wind: SE 8-16 mph / Skies: Clear / Water: Blue / Tides (PI): High: 0212, 2.06ft Low: 1823 0.99ft/Water temp: 82 deg F
0910 After a late start, we load enough provisions and items to make a decent passage to Isla Mujeres. Outside the channel, the winds are light, the skies are breathtakingly clear, the day is warm. As soon as the Westerbeke warms up I pop out the mizzen and we set the main and 135% jib as we turn north up the intracoastal near the causeway underpass. A throttle setting of a little over 2000 rpm combined with the three sails and a light wind keeps our over the water speed a little better than five and a half. We busy ourselves with sail trim and a general tidying up. Near the entrance to the Three Islands area a consort of six ‘Possum cop patrol boats head south, roaring along until they get near. They cool the throttle, then accelerate once again as they clear our stern. Probably a bunch of rookies out training. Keeping us all safe from licenseless lawless criminals….
1305 Passing the Arroyo Colorado (N 26 21 790 W 097 19 536 / 22.9M) and all of it’s attendant spoil and confusing buoyage system. Briefly we bump as the GPS course shows the channel outside the green marker on our starboard side. We pick up a small pod of dolphins and they guide us safely to the other side where we are once again on our own. We pass Green Island and a multitude of fishing shacks, some several stories with satellite antennas for TV, solar and wind generators as well as the big diesel that powers everything from the lights to the air conditioners. I guess they really rough it out here…
1315 Pass six pack tow vicinity of marker 203. Advises us to pass on the one whistle (port side to port side)
1500 Aground in the GICWW near marker 159. West side of channel appears silted in with heavy clay. We are stuck fast, and no backing or wiggling will budge the boat, so I change into surf shorts, grab the big heavy 35 lb danforth storm anchor on the stern rail and go over the side. Finding the channel only about twenty feet from the stern, and sufficient water to float just several stinkin’ inches, we winch from the port sheet winch and finally ‘Div begins to budge. I jump aboard after setting the anchor out again, and with a combination of winch and reverse we are once again in the ditch and heading north.
1530 Passing Port Mansfield to the west (N 26 33 543 W 097 24 392 / 37.5M). I am momentarily tempted to pull in and make it a short first days run, just try and make up for it the next two days, but the wind is now piping up and we are doing an easy seven, so we continue on in the golden bay on a golden day. There is no other traffic in sight, not even a fishing skiff.
1850 Beginning of the land cut, about a mile or so in we find a dock that looks OK, right near dayboard 21 on the east side of the channel (N26 49 432 W 097 28 391 Daily total miles = 56.4 total miles = 56.4). There are what appears to be a couple of guys and their sons at the next cabin to the south so I holler over and ask if they think that it would be OK to tie up to the next dock, which looks like it has been unused for some time. The house is falling down, and there are no signs of humans. They tell us it’s fine and there’s plenty of water underneath us. I make several passes as we get it lined up in the wind and current, finally getting tied off and shut down. We clean things up and spray on mosquito repellant as the sun sinks and the swarms begin. A good breeze is blowing so I shove the windscoop down the forward hatch and we relax a bit with a beer and some tunes before going below and eating a dinner of chicken pasta salad. After dinner I hang a tiny powerful lantern from the mizzen and it lights up the entire cockpit, bringing in moths now as well as cinch bugs to join the pinche sancudos. I hope the light will let any oncoming barges know we’re this close before they are on top of us. We are asleep by 2100 to the drone of our neighbors generator as they light up the whole landcut for hundreds of yards with fishing lights, waiting for the speckled trout to show up. During the night at approximately 0030 and 0200 we are passed by two different tows pushing barges both southbound and northound. Only on the GICWW southbound is called westbound and northbound is called eastbound.
Date: 10.11.08 / Depart: 0710 From: Landcut / Arrive: 1930, Port Aransas / Wind: SE 4-30 mph / Skies: clear to rainy / Water: blue to offcolor/ Tides (CC): High: 0154, 1.99ft Low: 0847, 1.57ft, High 1034, 1.59ft Low 1827, 0.77ft/Water temp: 81 deg F
0710 Underway after cleaning up, adding 6 gallons of fuel, making engine checks and getting things ready. Turn on the Spot, the GPS the VHF, fire up the engine and glide out onto an early morning void of wind and cloud, and soon the only sound is the pulse of Olivia’s iron heart. We glide along the landcut, down the channel, setting the big main and mizzen sail at the first hint of breeze. There is a following current and we make a good six and a half along the ditch. Along the eastern horizon the sun is hidden behind distant dark clouds so the clear sky morning is tinged with subdued gold, heavy blue and velvety grays under the long morning shadows
0800 Passing tow on two whistles as we hug the west, the red side. The skipper thanks us for communicating with him telling us that we are a rarity among small boat mariners out here. On the port side we see the field of wind generators that are being constructed along the shoreline, hundreds of them. Far from detracting from the landscape, they lend a surreal beautiful presence. Clouds are gathering, thick and menacing from the east. The wind is beginning to pick up from the southeast.
0930 Passing tow MS Vecturian on one whistle. We wish each other a good day. I am hoping so.
1025 Exiting the first marker to the landcut in the south end of Baffin Bay (N27 06 650 W 097 26 465, 21.9mi., 78.3 total miles). Later we spot the platform JW2 and I tied up to what seems like an eternity ago as we delivered this special boat south. There are many fishermen out, zipping around the bay among the myriad of fishing shacks. We are soon joined by a contingent of playful bottlenose dolphins, and one especially playful one shadows our starboard side for more than ten minutes, intent on soaking everything in the cockpit with her exhalations. We continue on at an average speed of 6.5 SOG. We are in and out of overcast skies, and the wind is steady. It appears as though we have a following current as well. Lunch is pocket bread stuffed with ham, roast pork, Swiss cheese and hummus. Yummy.
1430 JFK causeway in sight. Civilization ahead.
1605 After an interminably long time with the span of the JFK looming ahead, we overcome the strong current on our nose which at times has us down to 5.9 SOG at a throttle of 2200rpm with sails still set as we finally pass underneath the causeway (N27 38 096 W 097 14 391 59.3mi, 115.7 total miles), past Snoopys and out into Corpus Christi Bay. Wind is up to around 20 to 25mph and as we exit the shelter of the spoil cut ‘Div lurches out into the generally nasty deep bay studded with production platforms. I am no fan of Corpus Christi Bay, and today is no exception. Although there is still over two hours till sunset, gathering clouds pregnant with rain create mist and obscure the view. Pitching and rolling along we are averaging better than 6.8 SOG. Ahead looms the “Eye of the Needle”, a dangerous intersection where traffic ranging from super tankers and barges to small craft like ours funnel together to either transit west towards Corpus Christi Port, eastward past Port Aransas and offshore or continue northbound along the shoreline past Ingleside, Portland and Aransas Pass. We reach the Eye around 1800, and turn north towards Port Aransas, dead into the wind. The big main begins to flog, and D gets beaned. I am immediately worried remembering last years Harvest Moon race when Gene, the commanders dad got so badly hurt by an accidental jibe, but thank goodness, she is OK, and so we douse the canvas without delay. We are drenched as closely spaced swell after closely spaced swell slam the bow creating breaking waves into the cockpit. Why does it have to be like this? Finally the car ferries come into sight and we are near the shelter of Port Aransas harbor.
1930 We enter the harbor (N 27 50 402 W 097 03 771, 81.1 mi., 137.6 total miles) and pull into a slip that I remember was transient dockage last year. I ask a sportfisherman cleaning his boat alongside, and he tells us that the transient is now “over by the boat ramp….new docks…..real nice” so we back out and head over there. Lo and behold, there’s Night Magic (sans Rocky), so we tie up several slips away. When we jump out onto the docks, a sign greets us saying that these slips are by advance registration only and all others will be towed away thank-you-very-much. So now we get on the phone and call ITJ (who had just been there several weeks earlier), and he tells us that the transient docks are in front of the pavilion, side ties. Back aboard once again, we steam over there and tie up as the skies let loose with rain. We briefly consider a hotel, but after talking with a harbor resident who lends us his key to the showers, we feel better, and tiredly walk around the harbor and to the first eatery we see, Fins. A humongous margarita, beer and crab burger later we stumble back to the boat and pass out. The rain has stopped and the wind pumps cool air down the hatch thanks to the wind scoop. Delicious sleep is instant, deep and black.
Date: 10.12.08 / Depart: 0835 From: Port Aransas / Arrive: 1130, Rockport / Wind: SE 15-25 mph / Skies: clear / Water: blue to offcolor/ Tides (PA): High: 0208, 1.92ft Low: 0759, 1.31ft, High 1422, 2.07ft Low 2031, 1.39ft/ Water temp: 81 deg F
0835 After settling up with the harbormaster ($20, no electricity used), making the engine checks we are under way and by 0900 are in the Lydia Ann Channel. There are sailboats anchored and people in pleasure craft everywhere, exploring the islands. Accompanied by more playful dolphins (and another one determined to flood the cockpit with his exhalations), we enter open Aransas Bay by 0930 (N 27 53 663 W 097 02 981, 4.2 mi, 141.7 total miles). The wind is on our stern, but we keep the sails on the boom. Just tired today. Anyway we are making over 7 SOG at a throttle setting of 2000rpm, so we just motor on toward Rockport. I call Art and he graciously finds us a slip and is waiting there as we turn west and roll toward the harbor entrance. The bay is rough and things are flying around down below as we turn along the jetty watching the seas overtop it now and then. There is the smell of food and the sound of lively music and people. Alongside the harbor, Sea Fair is taking place, Rockports’ largest annual event.
1130 Secured to mooring at Rockport Municipal harbor (N 28 01 479 W 097 02 919, 16.2mi., 153.7 total miles, 24hrs 55 minutes running time, 18 gallons total fuel used)
After securing and cleaning up, ITJ arrives with the twins at around 1430 and we join the Smiths at Sea Fair. Later the girls go with Olivia, our boats namesake and the Smiths and we deliver Jim to Island Time at the House of Boats where she has gotten her bottom painted. Tiredly we depart heading south around 1800. On the way home I am the passenger after having driven Olivia the past three days. I am tired and introspective. A flood of emotions washes over me as I think about all of the work and reward that this boat has been. Predictably the skies burst open and a heavy rain starts as we drive south of Sarita on the King Ranch, adjacent to the Land cut to our east.
D tells me that she will never view the drive between Port Isabel and Rockport in the same light again. I know exactly what she means.
Neither will I. |
