We returned a couple days ago from a week in Tennessee taking care of Sue's mom. Sue is still spending 5-6 days a month at her mother's, giving the live-in caregiver a week of relief. Sue's been doing this every month for about 4 years now. All I can say is that TN is way too cold for us.
In New Orleans, everything is getting ready for the Superbowl this Sunday. Our boat is docked close to Lakefront Airport on Lake Pontchartrain, which is where many personal and corporate jets are landing for the weekend. Every 5 minutes or so today, all day today, a jet would land at the airport. And DirectTV had their blimp flying around dodging the landing jets. There must be so many planes at the airport that they are parking them out in the swamp! Who says that there's no money associated with sports?
Also in New Orleans, Carnival season is in full swing, with Mardi Gras on Feb 12. (For those who don't know the 4 seasons in New Orleans, they are shrimp season, crawfish season, Carnival season, and hurricane season). Parades have started, and King Cakes abound. The Superdome downtown is lit up in purple, green & gold lights for the run-up to the Superbowl.
In our world, Sue has a date for her surgery this coming Tuesday Feb 5. She was told by the surgeon initially that the earliest date for surgery would be Feb 20, but Sue sweet talked her into finding an earlier date. Sue was told that she may be released from the hospital the next day, and to expect a 4-6 week recovery period. What might be interesting is our previous plan to go to a Mardi Gras parade on Feb 9.......I want to see how well Sue bends down to pick up all the beads that the floats will throw!
On a more serious note, we're not sure how easily she can get up the ladder to board the boat after she is released from the hospital. The floating dock is very low & there are about 5 steps up the ladder to the deck. If we have to, I plan to borrow a "bosun's chair" from a sailboat friend. The sailboats use this sling chair to haul themselves to the top of the mast to do repairs. If Sue can't climb the ladder aboard, then I can rig up the bosun's chair to the dinghy davit, and hoist Sue from the swim platform up to the sundeck. Gotta admit..........it's real interesting living on a boat!!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Of note in Biloxi
As we spent 10 days in Biloxi, we of course tried to single-handedly spur the local economy with our tourist dollars. The casinos are back in full swing, having fully recovered from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The visitor's center along Beach Blvd on the west side of town, next to the Biloxi Lighthouse, has been re-built and is very nice. Several museums have also been rebuilt and are nice.
There remain many vacant lots for sale, where buildings and homes used to stand before Katrina pushed a 25 foot mountain of water across the land. In particular, the 150-year-old mansions that used to line Beach Blvd are only memories now. A lot of history was lost when that bad girl came ashore.
Additionally, there used to be 150-year-old oak trees lining the road that became US Hwy 90, After the hurricane, the city tried to keep the memory of the trees alive by having a "chain saw artist" carve sculptures out of the remnant tree trunks. I think the sculptures are impressive, so we drove along Beach Blvd to take photos.
There remain many vacant lots for sale, where buildings and homes used to stand before Katrina pushed a 25 foot mountain of water across the land. In particular, the 150-year-old mansions that used to line Beach Blvd are only memories now. A lot of history was lost when that bad girl came ashore.
Additionally, there used to be 150-year-old oak trees lining the road that became US Hwy 90, After the hurricane, the city tried to keep the memory of the trees alive by having a "chain saw artist" carve sculptures out of the remnant tree trunks. I think the sculptures are impressive, so we drove along Beach Blvd to take photos.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Where are we today??
So, this past Saturday Jan 19, we leave Biloxi harbor at sunrise and point the bow of the boat in the direction away from the sun. We are heading back to New Orleans to take care of Sue, and have selected Seabrook Marina since they offer month-to-month rates, and only 14-day notice to leave. Our boat was at Seabrook twice for haul out & maintenance work, so it know the way there.
We have a good trip westbound with 1-2' seas dead on our stern, bright sunshine above, and making as much as 11.5 mph (who says we have a "crawler"?). Takes right at 5 hours to get to the Rigolets, and then another 3 hours in the ICW canal to the Industrial Canal. Lots of towboats in the canal section, that we have to work around. Good thing we have experience passing the tows from a couple years ago when we cruised the inland rivers. Had an interesting landing at the dock when Sue's deck ape failed to read the wind correctly. But, as the airplane pilots say, "Any landing you can walk away from, is a good landing".
Our son & our fantastic granddaughter meet us with a car, so we can then turn around and drive back to Biloxi to pick up the car that we left there, and then drive 2 hours back to New Orleans. Made for a rather looooooong day.
The next morning we see who is docked right across the Industrial Canal from us. The Natchez comes here each January for maintenance.
And then, on Sunday, we pack the car to drive the 8.5 hours to Cleveland TN so we can spend our week this month caring for Sue's mother.
Sometimes you just need a scorecard to find out where we are today!
We have a good trip westbound with 1-2' seas dead on our stern, bright sunshine above, and making as much as 11.5 mph (who says we have a "crawler"?). Takes right at 5 hours to get to the Rigolets, and then another 3 hours in the ICW canal to the Industrial Canal. Lots of towboats in the canal section, that we have to work around. Good thing we have experience passing the tows from a couple years ago when we cruised the inland rivers. Had an interesting landing at the dock when Sue's deck ape failed to read the wind correctly. But, as the airplane pilots say, "Any landing you can walk away from, is a good landing".
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| Mississippi River paddlewheel boat "Natchez" |
The next morning we see who is docked right across the Industrial Canal from us. The Natchez comes here each January for maintenance.
And then, on Sunday, we pack the car to drive the 8.5 hours to Cleveland TN so we can spend our week this month caring for Sue's mother.
Sometimes you just need a scorecard to find out where we are today!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Two steps forward, one step back.......
Y'know, some folks like New Orleans so much they just can't leave! Every time they try to depart the city, some magical force grabs them and yanks them back. Well.............it's happened to us.
We are heading the boat back to New Orleans this Saturday, and postponing our cruising for about 2 months. I could blame it on this really lousy weather we've had since we left 2 weeks ago, but the real reason is that my Admiral needs to have some surgery to correct her internal plumbing, and that is WAY more important than any traveling. Besides, I need her shipshape so she can drive my boat (remember, I'm just the deck ape that handles the lines & fenders). We have our medical insurance through Ochsner (her former employer), so we need to have the surgery done in New Orleans.
We'll dock the boat at Seabrook Harbor, on the Industrial Canal, for the 2 months. That's the same place the boat was exactly one year ago (and also 3 years ago) when we hauled it for bottom work & other maintenance. When we went to Seabrook today to see their new floating docks, the manager recognized us right away & shouted "you're back!". He lives in Luling LA, close to where our house was, so we're both "from da bayou".
So, this means that we'll HAVE to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year. I know.........tough to take, but someone has to do it! Plus, we'll have 2 more months to spoil our only granddaughter, and then turn her back to her parents! And maybe, just maybe, the weather might be just a little bit better when we go cruising again in April!
We are heading the boat back to New Orleans this Saturday, and postponing our cruising for about 2 months. I could blame it on this really lousy weather we've had since we left 2 weeks ago, but the real reason is that my Admiral needs to have some surgery to correct her internal plumbing, and that is WAY more important than any traveling. Besides, I need her shipshape so she can drive my boat (remember, I'm just the deck ape that handles the lines & fenders). We have our medical insurance through Ochsner (her former employer), so we need to have the surgery done in New Orleans.
We'll dock the boat at Seabrook Harbor, on the Industrial Canal, for the 2 months. That's the same place the boat was exactly one year ago (and also 3 years ago) when we hauled it for bottom work & other maintenance. When we went to Seabrook today to see their new floating docks, the manager recognized us right away & shouted "you're back!". He lives in Luling LA, close to where our house was, so we're both "from da bayou".
So, this means that we'll HAVE to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year. I know.........tough to take, but someone has to do it! Plus, we'll have 2 more months to spoil our only granddaughter, and then turn her back to her parents! And maybe, just maybe, the weather might be just a little bit better when we go cruising again in April!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Just another foggy day........
When the winds finally quit a couple days ago, the weather front went stationary, with Biloxi in the warm sector. Warm air over cold water will get you fog every time! The fog has been constant for about 3 days, and at times so thick that you couldn't see the top of the casino hotel right next door. Today, the front changes to a cold front & finally comes through (temps down to 35 degrees tonite), but that means the north winds will kick up again. It finally looks like the weather will give us a break this weekend, so we can plan to depart our Biloxi home.
Actually, if you have to be weathered in somewhere, Biloxi isn't bad. Sue was born in Biloxi a mere 30 years ago, when her father was stationed at Keesler AFB. Wait!! Our oldest child is almost 40 years old, so maybe Sue is older than she looks!
Last night we had dinner with Susan and John Smith, our special friends from Chattanooga, who were in Biloxi on personal business. This special couple has found us & stopped to visit us when we were passing through Columbus MS two years ago, when the boat was in the boatyard in New Orleans last year, and now in Biloxi MS. John & Susan used to live just west of Gulfport MS until 2005 when some bad girl named Katrina stole everything from them except their boat. It was very relaxing to spend time with them & get caught up on the events in Chattanooga.
I believe that there is a method at the bottom of this blog page, for folks to sign up to be notified whenever I post something new. Maybe...........maybe not.
Actually, if you have to be weathered in somewhere, Biloxi isn't bad. Sue was born in Biloxi a mere 30 years ago, when her father was stationed at Keesler AFB. Wait!! Our oldest child is almost 40 years old, so maybe Sue is older than she looks!
Last night we had dinner with Susan and John Smith, our special friends from Chattanooga, who were in Biloxi on personal business. This special couple has found us & stopped to visit us when we were passing through Columbus MS two years ago, when the boat was in the boatyard in New Orleans last year, and now in Biloxi MS. John & Susan used to live just west of Gulfport MS until 2005 when some bad girl named Katrina stole everything from them except their boat. It was very relaxing to spend time with them & get caught up on the events in Chattanooga.
I believe that there is a method at the bottom of this blog page, for folks to sign up to be notified whenever I post something new. Maybe...........maybe not.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Is Biloxi our new home?
It's been over a week since we set sail from New Orleans, and we've made it all the way to Biloxi MS. In our car, we could drive this distance in less than 2 hours. Ain't boating fun?!?
The first couple days here in Biloxi, the unrelenting strong east wind continued. Even though we're tied next to a 75' sportfisherman yacht (yes, we're one of the smaller boats at this marina) which should break the east wind, our boat had a constant heel of about 15 degrees due to the wind. Additionally, because of the strong east winds, the local tides have been higher than normal. We're working with 3' tides at the dock, so we're constantly adjusting fenders & sometimes lines. At least there's only one high & one low tide each day, rather than along the Atlantic coast, which has 2 cycles per day. The weather front finally came through 2 nites ago, but yesterday the warm front backed up to the west. So, we have 70 degree air on top of 55 degree water, and my advanced math class says that the result equals FOG. The winds have died down enough to travel, but this morning we would have needed either a real big butter knife, or else Rudolph's red nose.
I continue to enjoy our association with the US Power Squadrons. Sue & I took a Weather course several years ago in New Orleans. It was taught by a retired professional meterologist, who we've maintained contact with. He & his wife are now living aboard their boat in Daytona Beach, but I called him this past week to help me watch the local weather for potential travel days. He's been wonderful with his advice.
Another sidebar.......this week, the national office of USPS put out their monthly email newsletter to the several thousand members, and their article about Vessel Safety Checks shows Sue's picture & write-up from the Chattanooga Squadron newsletter. Sue became a certified Safety Inspector while we lived in Chattanooga. I'm living with a famous published writer!
While we've been here, we've had our electrical/electronics contractor aboard to do some work. I've been using this guy for the past year to upgrade some systems on the boat. He called early in the week to let us know he was heading to New Orleans & wanted to stop by. Told him we were now in Biloxi, which was good for him since he lives along the MS coast. He replaced the fluxgate compass for the autopilot system, so now we can use our course from the chartplotter to link to the autopilot system, and then relax while the boat drives itself to our destination (at least that's how it is supposed to work). I'd post a picture of my new compass, but I think only one friend in New Orleans (who is an electrical geek) would be interested.
The first couple days here in Biloxi, the unrelenting strong east wind continued. Even though we're tied next to a 75' sportfisherman yacht (yes, we're one of the smaller boats at this marina) which should break the east wind, our boat had a constant heel of about 15 degrees due to the wind. Additionally, because of the strong east winds, the local tides have been higher than normal. We're working with 3' tides at the dock, so we're constantly adjusting fenders & sometimes lines. At least there's only one high & one low tide each day, rather than along the Atlantic coast, which has 2 cycles per day. The weather front finally came through 2 nites ago, but yesterday the warm front backed up to the west. So, we have 70 degree air on top of 55 degree water, and my advanced math class says that the result equals FOG. The winds have died down enough to travel, but this morning we would have needed either a real big butter knife, or else Rudolph's red nose.
I continue to enjoy our association with the US Power Squadrons. Sue & I took a Weather course several years ago in New Orleans. It was taught by a retired professional meterologist, who we've maintained contact with. He & his wife are now living aboard their boat in Daytona Beach, but I called him this past week to help me watch the local weather for potential travel days. He's been wonderful with his advice.
Another sidebar.......this week, the national office of USPS put out their monthly email newsletter to the several thousand members, and their article about Vessel Safety Checks shows Sue's picture & write-up from the Chattanooga Squadron newsletter. Sue became a certified Safety Inspector while we lived in Chattanooga. I'm living with a famous published writer!While we've been here, we've had our electrical/electronics contractor aboard to do some work. I've been using this guy for the past year to upgrade some systems on the boat. He called early in the week to let us know he was heading to New Orleans & wanted to stop by. Told him we were now in Biloxi, which was good for him since he lives along the MS coast. He replaced the fluxgate compass for the autopilot system, so now we can use our course from the chartplotter to link to the autopilot system, and then relax while the boat drives itself to our destination (at least that's how it is supposed to work). I'd post a picture of my new compass, but I think only one friend in New Orleans (who is an electrical geek) would be interested.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Tiny steps eastbound
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| Who needs a guard dog when you have a guard pelican? |
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| Biloxi Shrimpers |
Today, Tuesday, we had a slight break in the weather (winds died down to 15 mph), so we advanced eastward. We moved a whole 10.7 miles east to Biloxi. The city-owned marina here offers cheaper dockage, so, seeing that we may be here a week or more waiting for better weather, we moved over here. This marina is right next to one of the casinos, so Sue just might take her $20 of nickels & spend them soon. Lots more activity around here, with a shuttle bus that makes the route to all the casinos in town. The marina also has a dock of shrimp boats, so we'll see if someone has some fresh shrimp to sell.
The weather forecast is unreal. Only one day in the coming week has the winds along the ICW dying to 15 mph, with seas "decreasing" to 3-4'. The bad days have winds 25 gusting to 35 mph, with seas as much as 8'. Not sure when we'll get out of here to move on.
Some folks have asked just where in the heck we're headed! Well, for now, we're trying to get up to Chesapeake Bay by mid-summer. Then next winter, head to the St Johns River in Jacksonville. The following summer, head north to Lake Erie via the Erie Canal. On the first leg of the journey, we originally planned to get as far as Panama City FL, where we'll leave the boat for a week as we drive to TN to care for Sue's mom. Then shoot for Ft Myers, where we head back to TN (we need to be in TN for a week every month). Short term, we're just trying to get across Mobile Bay into the protected areas of the GICW. If anyone has any connections to Poseidon, please let me know!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Playing "chicken"
Sunday Jan 6 we got up at 5 AM to check the weather one last time before leaving to cross Mobile Bay. Even tho it was iffy (3' seas - possibly on the beam - and 15-20 mph winds), we decided to give it the ol' college try. We also set a GO/NOGO point at which we could turn back around. As we were on the flybridge ready to start engines, I watched the flags on the pier whipping around & the little white caps on the water within the marina. I then started "Cluck cluck". After a couple more minutes, I admitted that I'd rather be a safe, warm chicken today, than a wet, cold, sea sick sailor. We secured the bridge & climbed back into bed.
The forecast for the next 7 days is for worse weather than today. Seas will be anywhere from 3' up to 7' as the storms move through. We may just have to find & enjoy all the sights of Gulfport for the next 7 days!
The forecast for the next 7 days is for worse weather than today. Seas will be anywhere from 3' up to 7' as the storms move through. We may just have to find & enjoy all the sights of Gulfport for the next 7 days!
The first real day of cruising
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| Tchefuncte River Sunrise at Madisonville, LA |
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| Historic Tchefuncte River Lighthouse, with a range marker seen as you leave the river. Eeek! Get back on course! |
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| Sue (the Admiral) has to watch for crab traps forward, as well as range markers behind. |
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| Our escorts out in the Gulf |
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| Strange things seen on the Gulf ICW. Three brand new blue tow boats were being pushed by another tow boat. Talk about keeping your ducks in a line! |
Took the short cut into Gulfport & arrived at 1530. Went to the Small Craft Harbor, which is right next to the commercial docks where the banana boats unload. Dole brings in all their bananas from South America by container ship, which dock right next to us. The weather in the Gulf turned out to be better than forecast, but as we look towards tomorrow, the weather looks iffy. Just have to get up early to see.
Friday, January 4, 2013
A long journey starts with the first small step
We've started!! Only a small step today, but we got away from the dock & we've started!!
Originally, we saw a 3-4 day weather window, which turned out to be wishful thinking with these wintertime cold fronts. Our beautiful day this Tuesday to cross Mobile Bay (which can get tricky with the long fetch, north winds & incoming tide), turned to crap. We now are looking at Sat & Sunday to get all the way across Mobile Bay (85 miles Sat to Gulfport, then 96 miles Sunday to an anchorage on the other side of Mobile Bay). Talk about getting underway at zero-dark-thirty!
We spent most of the last 2 days putting away stuff & securing things on the boat, expecting to rock & roll when we get on the Mississippi Sound & across Mobile Bay. Forecast is 2-3 ft waves, partly broad on the beam, so we're gonna roll. We had been at that marina for 7 months, so we had all our junk just laying around, as well as the tools from the recent projects we had been working on. The marina turned out to be just what I wanted this summer - a good hurricane hole to protect the boat. And we did well for Hurricane Issac this past August.
Sue was especially glad to get away from the marina this afternoon, after the decrepit boat in the slip next to us (which gave us trouble during the hurricane) had its electrical fire in the breaker panel 2 nites ago. Sue went aboard with the owner ( a sweet ol lady of 83, but knows nothing about boats) and was turning off switches & breakers when the smoke started pouring out of the panel. Sue dragged the owner off the boat & ran to disconnect shore power. She did all the right things quickly. Must have learned that stuff in Power Squadron classes (and having lived on boats for 4 years now). The decrepit boat is an all wood Matthews, built in 1968 in Port Clinton OH on Lake Erie (Jeanette & Linda know all about these boats). But when you neglect them for several years, keep them in the water outside a covered slip, they rot rapidly.
So today, we left the marina & traveled a whole 45 minutes to the city wall at Madisonville, just below the Hwy 22 bridge. Since we had to go 85 miles tomorrow, and wait for 2 more bridges, we wanted to get a head start. We had been at this same dock this past August during a Power Squadron rendezvous. One of our friends from the marina came over to join us at dinner at a local seafood house.
So tomorrow, we want to depart at sunrise, and get to Gulfport. We had stopped at Gulfport a year ago when we brought the boat from Chattanooga to New Orleans. Sunday will be a very early start - we want to be underway a half hour prior to sunrise. We'll have to set something called an alarm clock - which we seldom use since we both retired. But, hey, would you rather get up real early to spend an hour in rush hour traffic, headed to a boring job, or would you rather get up real early to see the sun rise over the northern Gulf of Mexico, looking for the dolphin playing in your bow wake? (this is an I.Q. test!)
Originally, we saw a 3-4 day weather window, which turned out to be wishful thinking with these wintertime cold fronts. Our beautiful day this Tuesday to cross Mobile Bay (which can get tricky with the long fetch, north winds & incoming tide), turned to crap. We now are looking at Sat & Sunday to get all the way across Mobile Bay (85 miles Sat to Gulfport, then 96 miles Sunday to an anchorage on the other side of Mobile Bay). Talk about getting underway at zero-dark-thirty!
We spent most of the last 2 days putting away stuff & securing things on the boat, expecting to rock & roll when we get on the Mississippi Sound & across Mobile Bay. Forecast is 2-3 ft waves, partly broad on the beam, so we're gonna roll. We had been at that marina for 7 months, so we had all our junk just laying around, as well as the tools from the recent projects we had been working on. The marina turned out to be just what I wanted this summer - a good hurricane hole to protect the boat. And we did well for Hurricane Issac this past August.
Sue was especially glad to get away from the marina this afternoon, after the decrepit boat in the slip next to us (which gave us trouble during the hurricane) had its electrical fire in the breaker panel 2 nites ago. Sue went aboard with the owner ( a sweet ol lady of 83, but knows nothing about boats) and was turning off switches & breakers when the smoke started pouring out of the panel. Sue dragged the owner off the boat & ran to disconnect shore power. She did all the right things quickly. Must have learned that stuff in Power Squadron classes (and having lived on boats for 4 years now). The decrepit boat is an all wood Matthews, built in 1968 in Port Clinton OH on Lake Erie (Jeanette & Linda know all about these boats). But when you neglect them for several years, keep them in the water outside a covered slip, they rot rapidly.
So today, we left the marina & traveled a whole 45 minutes to the city wall at Madisonville, just below the Hwy 22 bridge. Since we had to go 85 miles tomorrow, and wait for 2 more bridges, we wanted to get a head start. We had been at this same dock this past August during a Power Squadron rendezvous. One of our friends from the marina came over to join us at dinner at a local seafood house.
So tomorrow, we want to depart at sunrise, and get to Gulfport. We had stopped at Gulfport a year ago when we brought the boat from Chattanooga to New Orleans. Sunday will be a very early start - we want to be underway a half hour prior to sunrise. We'll have to set something called an alarm clock - which we seldom use since we both retired. But, hey, would you rather get up real early to spend an hour in rush hour traffic, headed to a boring job, or would you rather get up real early to see the sun rise over the northern Gulf of Mexico, looking for the dolphin playing in your bow wake? (this is an I.Q. test!)
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