First Voyage - New Orleans to Corpus Christi

[markpj23]

Well, here we go folks. Leaving Saturday to join the boat in the Big Easy... let's hope the voyage will be that as well.

Taking a coast-hopping route vice the rhumb line. Not much along the LA coast and I'm hoping for a good weather window to get us to Galveston.

90+ miles motoring down the big muddy should be fun, then out Southwest Pass and westward.

Got more redundant systems than anxiety at this point.. voyage planning has a way of doing that - for me anyway. Navigation my strong suit .. it's these funny rags hanging off the stick that will cause me the most trouble. Been repeating the "reef early" mantra for days now

Should be fun... if I can figure out how to get pix uploaded I'll share some after the trip.

Cheers!

[CaptainK]

Good luck on your trip Mark.

[markpj23]

Rats - after temps in the 70s all week, the day we depart has rain forecast and 60 deg temps. Looks fairly decent for next week departure day.

Where did I put the weather gear">foul weather gear....

[CaptainK]

About the weather, bummer dude!!

Hope you'll enjoy your sailing trip?

[markpj23]

Well, the first 'voyage' is out of the way. Boat & crew safely arrived Port Aransas last Sunday 3/5. Tough trip where I got to enjoy:
- sailmaker not delivering new Genoa as promised. Cost:2 days departure delay and having to motor the whole way.
- seawater strainer for genset disintegrated upon opening it to clean. Guess I'm not supposed to ever get one dirty... Cost: sore knees and stealing from the sink SW pump to cool the genset.
- Autopilot quit after 3 hrs in a quartering sea. Cost: Sore knees while trying to coax the pump back into operation. No luck, but my arms are much stronger now.
- BAD FUEL - where the hell did all that sludge come from?? Once in the Gulf in 4 - 6ft seas we clogged the Racors. Cost: Sore knees while cleaning filters, 'concerned' crew.
- BAD FUEL again clogged both fuel suction lines, this time while in 6 - 8ft seas and just 3 miles from the jetties at Belle Pass. Cost: The embarassment of getting a tow from a crew boat, plus the bow cleat that he took with him on the first attempt. Nothing like being seasick while head-down in the bilge slinging diesel sludge around. I highly recommend it!!
- the OUTSTANDING hospitality of the good people of Port Lafource LA. The Harbor Police shuttled us around to find help, tug captain Jason Cressonie M/V Harvey Thunder and his engineer worked with me until 0100 to suck out the old diesel and refuel. Then they refused any sort of payment for their trouble. Even fed us a wonderful crawfish feast... an amazing experience that I hope to be able to repay in kind someday!!
- arriving too late to enter Pt AuFer before dark. Too rough to anchor, so I spent a long, cold night "moving the lawn" amidst the oil wells / pipes / platforms that are for the most part unlit. Cost: lost sleep, but at least my knees got a break.
- balky refrigeration. Choices are frozen solid or room temp. Cost: some spoiled food.
- clogged FWD head. What a JOY this was... never did get it cleared but I sure do know how it's put together now. Cost: Sore knees and an urge to shower twice an hour for 3 days.
- 2 of 3 A/C units broken. Is stuff really supposed to work on a sailboat?? Cost: Don't know yet, but I'll bet it's a big number...
- Running aground after dark in the ICW while trying to find an anchorage. The guide and the tug captain both said 6ft of water in there, but it was shy of that. I KNOW BETTER than to push it and stumble around after dark in unknown places.. lesson re-learned. Cost: Embarassed captain who was very thankful for that unlimited towing Boat US membership


Weather in Port A was good.. glad to have finally made it. Next time we sail - if I have to do 7 knots I at least want it quiet.

[Weyalan]

Jeepers! It sounds like you had an adventure and a half! Ot also sounds as though you did a fine job of coping with the various "challenges" as they arose. There is no such thing as a hassle free trip - to expect plain sailing is to delude oneself; it is how we cope with the unexpected that matters, and it sounds as though you fell into the proverbial bucket of s**t and came put smelling fo roses.

Hopefully, you have used up several cruises worth of dramas in the one trip, and your next few will be relatively hassle free!