Galveston TX to Lake Charles LA

We were delayed one day in Galveston due to weather, the weather was very windy and with a North wind the water in Galveston Bay literally blows out to the Gulf and leaves a four foot drop at the dock. On the 16th we untied the lines and were off to Lake Charles.  Leaving Galveston we officially entered the ICW (intracoastal waterway).  We decided to anchor out just past Port Arthur so our trip to Lake Charles was a little shorter.  We anchored behind Shell Island and had a very peaceful night.  It really reminded us of the California Delta except for many crab traps.  The only difference is we anchored out in the winter and it got down to the thirty's.  Chloe finally took a leak after 12 hours.  We have really been trying to get her to go up on the bow and she finally gave in and let go but I think she thought she would be in trouble.  We made sure to over praise her.  There will be many anchorages that we will not be able to use the dinghy so hopefully she  is on her way.  We pulled anchor at 7:00am and off we go to Lake Charles, LA.  There was a lot of barge traffic today and I think I over took more than passed me.  They run about 4-5 knots and you need to call them every time you want to pass because they may want you to pass on the right or left (starboard or port).  They go by the one for port and the two for starboard.  A typical call would be from me saying the name of their tow this is Panacea on your stern would you like me to pass on the one or two?  It took a while to pass them with only about 30 feet in between.  So here we are in Lake Charles but not with out incident.  We were boarded by the Coast Guard while under way and in gear.  They dropped two guys off their boat to ours and did a full written inspection.  They were very nice and professional and they do a great job.  We passed except for not having a written disposal of trash plan and then we were off on our way again.  Lake Charles is a really nice town.  We are at a marina that is downtown and only twenty bucks for the night.  We walked over to Luna's for a late lunch and filled out all our Christmas cards then I rode my bike to the post office to drop them off.  Heading out early in the morning to Morgan City, LA which will take two days.  Total nautical miles from Galveston to Lake Charles is 110.

This is a double wide

Passing on the two

Port Arthur

Golf Coarse at Port Arthur

What can I say?

Anchored out

Ditto

Ditto

 

Ditto

Ditto

Bord Du Lac Marina

Lake Charles

Interstate 10 bridge into Lake Charles

Looking from our boat at the city park

Panacea

Chloe walking Jan

L'Auberge Du Lac Casino

House on Lake Charles

Just doing their job....did not tell them to take off their shoes

Galveston

Finally untied the lines and started our trip on the Great Loop.  We left Seabrook and are now in Galveston.  We thought we'd make a small step, only 20 miles, to get back in our routine and have a shorter distance to cover tomorrow.  One thing I really have to pay attention to is all the barge and ship traffic.  Don't ask me why they call a boat pushing a bunch of barges a tow rather than a tug.  The large ship traffic on the West Coast is nothing compared to here.  Tomorrow we will be leaving early for Port Arthur and if all goes well we hope to be in New Orleans on December 23rd. and spend Christmas there.  We were suppose to leave yesterday, but as we were getting ready I noticed the high water bilge pump light was on and found that we had a leak in a broken fitting for the fresh water system in the engine room.  Neither bilge pump was working due to corroded wires and one pump was not working at all. The water in the bilge covered both pumps! Since we turned our leased car in the day before it was a challenge to get the parts I needed.  Thanks to BM Boat Works for the ride to the hardware store and West Marine.  Last night we also met some new folks that live close to Seabrook and invited us to go to dinner with them.  Jack found us by responding to the forum comments I made through the AGLCA (Americas Great Loop Cruisers Assoc.)  Their friends, Ross and Barb, were there from Michigan and they all plan on doing the loop in 2014.  Thanks Jack, Patty, Ross, and Barb, hope to see you along the way.  So here we are in Galveston at the Galveston Yacht Basin moored at a fixed dock.  For all you boaters in California, they don't float in the water like we're used to, but are fingers out from the main dock attached to telephone poles.  They're only about 20 feet long so you have to stern in to get off and on your boat.  Tomorrow Port Arthur, Texas.

Tow or Tug?

Entrance to Galveston

Fixed dock

Seabrook TX

We've been in Seabrook now for almost three weeks.  Lots of things to tell everyone about.  We finally have everything on the boat put back together after some really cold days put us about a week behind in finishing.  We also sent the outboard for our dinghy out for repair.  The bad news is it has a scored piston and needs to be replaced and parts need to be ordered.  The first weekend we were here our friends June and Kelly drove from College Station and spent the night with us.  Sarah and Abigail, there twin English Shepards also joined us and Chloe made sure that they minded there manners.  It was fun spending time with them and hope to see them again along the way.  Captain Larry's Boat Service has been doing a few things for us such as hook up the inverter that I put in while in San Diego and change the oil.  They also were in charge of receiving the boat when it arrived and making sure the radar arch got installed, bottom painted, and hull polished.   Had to pick Captain Larry for obvious reasons.  We had a nice Thanksgiving , but of coarse missed family and friends.  We bought a butterball turkey that was pre-smoked and had to only heat it up in the stove.  Friday after Thanksgiving we, including Chloe, went to Galveston and checked out what's called "The Strand", which is like Old Sacramento with all the shops and touristy stuff.  Then we went to Moody Gardens for the Festival of Lights where you walk thru many different themes of lights and sounds.  Next day was bye bye turkey and get out the Christmas decorations.  I even put lights on the railing around the bow of the boat.  Thursday we had an unexpected visit from our dear friend Mike D.  He was down by Brownsville teaching a class and then flew to Houston rented a car and spent the night with his nephew in Conroe and drove here to visit us for a few hours before he had to go back to Houston and catch his flight to Sacramento.  We had lunch together and got caught up on our home town happenings.  Today the weather is bad again with a North wind of 20 knots and a wind chill outside of 32 degrees with rain.  We thought we were going to  get our outboard motor back today, however we were told more parts were needed.  We have a person coming to inspect our car on Monday so we can turn in our leased car to Ford.   If everything goes as planned we hope to be leaving mid next week.  Our first stop will be in Port Arthur, Texas and next day in Lake Charles, LA.  I hear the wifi along the way is far and few so I will try to post when I can.  Today we went into Houston and stopped at Costco and the biggest Galleria Mall I have ever seen.  Too big and crowded to get through the whole thing.  Hopefully will be writing next time somewhere other than Seabrook.

Looking out the back of the boat

Chloe, Abigail, and Sarah doing quiet time

Kelly, June, and us

Happy Thanksgiving

Galveston Festival of Lights

Our tree

More decorations

Panacea Festival of Lights

Our friend Mikey

History of the Great Loop

THE GREAT LOOP

The Great Loop became possible with the completion of U.S. and Canadian canals: Erie Canal (1827), Rideau (1826), Trent Severn Waterway (1850-1920) and the Welland Canal (1824). These land-cut channels connected the Eastern Seaboard with the Great Lakes. The completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal (1848) connected Lake Michigan to the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1900 congress funded the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway from Boston to the Florida Keys, completed in 1935. In 1985 the Tenn-Tom Waterway allowed for a more regulated, short-cut route to Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
An early account of a circumnavigation is A Year in a Yawl, the tale of four boys from St. Joseph, MI, who slid a homemade sailboat through the Illinois and Michigan Canal, then the Mississippi to the Gulf and around the Keys. At the Erie Canal they bought an old gray mare that pulled them through the Canal.

Heading to Seabrook Texas

We left on the 16th early in the morning from my sister's.  The plan is to spend the first day going to Tucson, then to El Paso, San Antonio, and finally Seabrook.  Since we had Chloe with us we stayed at only pet friendly hotels.  Did you know the speed limit in parts of Texas is 80mph?  We really did enjoy San Antonio, we probably could have spent an extra day there.  The riverwalk and Alamo was very cool.  We arrived in Seabrook on the 19th and got to see Panacea up on blocks with a new bottom job and buffed out hull.  The next day she is going to get her bottom wet and we can move back on board. So here we are back on board trying to get everything cleaned up and put back together.  First thing is to get the canvas and windshield back on because they're talking about a cold front coming in with rain on Friday.  Today is Thursday and it is 80 degrees with 100% humidity.  Welcome to Texas!

See you in Texas

Entering Arizona

Leaving New Mexico

This one is for you Gary

Texas

Remember the Alamo

The Alamo

San Antonia Riverwalk

New bottom and shiny hull

Let the fun begin

Our Last Hurrah with Family and Friends Before Leaving

I know it's been a while since our last post.  We spent time with family in Southern Calif. and drove to Northern Calif. to see more of our family and unfortunately not all of our friends, just not enough time. We had fun in San Diego and loved Cabrillo Isle Marina.  Our first weekend in San Diego our friends David and Susan stayed with us and we took Panacea out for a harbor cruise.  We also went downtown the next day and had breakfast at Croce's.  For all you senior citizens, like me, Jim Croce was a talented singer, ( Time in a Bottle, Bad Bad Leroy Brown, etc.) that had his life cut short in a plane crash.  His wife opened the restaurant some 30 years ago in homage to his legacy.  Much of our time was spent organizing with boat yards and truck transports for preparing the boat for its long journey over the asphalt roads to Texas.  We did buy an inverter and installed everything for it except the AC wiring to the electrical panel.  We just ran out of time and will have that done in Seabrook.  My sister drove Mike down and dropped him off to spend the last five days with us to help get the boat ready for transport.  We had to take all antenna, radar, windshield, canvas top and anything higher than highest point with the windshield removed.  Then we had to take the boat over to San Diego Boat Repair so they could use the crane to remove the radar arch.  Then back to the marina to start taping all the windows and doors.  The way the boat yard put it is, image your boat going backwards at 70mph so make sure you tape every crack and cranny so no water can get in.  We also had to store all breakables, chairs, tables, and on and on.  Thank you Mike for all your help.  Not sure we could have done it without you.  After the boat was loaded on the truck we drove to my sister's and the next day went to NorCal and stayed with our son Michael, Jess and Carter and Dylan, our Grandsons.  We also got to see our Granddaughter, Ashley, play in her last volleyball game.  Gary, Tiffany, and Ashley joined us at Michael and Jess's to celebrate Jan's birthday and the next day we went to Gary and Tiffany's to watch the 49er game and have dinner.   Two of the days I got to play golf with the Boys and my friend Mike D.   After four days we packed up and headed back down to my sisters.   We're going to miss ya all.  Leaving for Seabrook on the 16th.

Cabrillo Isle Marina

Susan, Jan, and Chloe on bay cruise

USS Midway

San Diego

Captain Larry

De Radar Arched

Strapped to the bow for transport

Ready for haul out

We'll see her in Texas

Do you see the 49er pillow?

Our Family

Here's to you...Pat, Linda, Jan, and Me

Linda and Jan

Jess, Carter, Dylan and Jan

My sister Lu-Lu and Mike