5-5-07

Saturday, Cinco de Mayo, and a weekend of "firsts" for us! We got to the boat about noon and Margie and I reinstalled my newly rebuilt carburetor. It only took us about an hour to get everything hooked up and we were ready to test it. The motor fired right up and ran great! No hesitation and lots of power.

Next we got the boat ready to go sailing but this time we cleared off the dock of all our ropes since we don't plan on coming back to this marina. Alma Del Viento is moving to her new home at Bayland Marina on the north end of Galveston Bay. The new marina is about 12 miles from the Kemah/Clearlake area, so it will be our first long distance sail.

We motored out of the marina and across Clear Lake and into the Kemah Channel right past all the restaurants and the motor kept on running. It was running good and I could easily get 6 knots of speed. Then we hit the open bay WOW! 20-25 knots of wind gusting to 30 knots, waves to 4 feet and choppy and rough. The waves are breaking, lots of white caps, and busting over our deck. I had been wondering about a dodger for the boat and sure wish I had one now. I am soaked from the spray blasting across the boat. We continue motoring on out into the bay and I give Margie the helm while I go on deck and try to get the main sail up. The wind and waves are just too much for Margie to handle and she cant keep the boat headed into the wind and I cant get the sail up until she gets us into the wind. Now Margie is totally freaked out and scared and you should have seen the look on her face when she got broadside to the wind and the boat rolled. It was nowhere near a capsize only 20 degrees or so but I think Margie was already swimming. Ha-HA! I told her you have to keep the boat pointed towards a spot on the horizon and feel the movement of the boat with your butt. She said the horizon was spinning by too fast to see any spots and her butt was too busy holding on to the seat. HA-HA!  Well I come back to the helm and turn the boat around and head back to Kemah.

We get back into the Kemah channel and just past the bridge and everything is calm and easy again. I give Margie a chance to relax and get herself back together again. While she is chilling out I put the main sail up and reef it. This is the first time I have had to reef the sail. I ask her if she is ready to try it again and she said "no" but would go anyway. We turn around and motor sail back out the channel and on into the bay. The boat is much much smoother with the sail up and I shut down the motor as we leave the channel and sail on out into the bay, we sail about a mile out to the last marker for the channel. I had hoped we could sail south down to Red Fish island and anchor up to spend the night but it was just too rough and the weather report said it was going to stay that way all night and even until Sunday night. So we just sailed around the last marker did some tacks and then sailed back to Kemah.

We sailed into Clearlake and tucked into the south shore protected from the wind and anchored up for the first time. If you had checked the Clearlake Web Cam then you could have just seen us on the left side of the picture in the distance. It was a great night, we drank some beers and fired up the grill on the stern of the boat for the first time and cooked some great steaks and Margie cooked some asparagus on the stove. A really nice meal and we sat outside in the cockpit for a long time and watched the wind blow and boats go in and out of Kemah. It was getting late so we made our bunks and tried to get some sleep.

Alma Del Viento

 Clearlake Web Cam

5-6-07

Sunday, anchored up in Clearlake. We must have picked a good spot because about 2 am another sailboat anchored up next to us about 20 yards away and they spent the night with us but I never got to talk to them. About 4 am the anchor alarm went off on the GPS and I got up to see what happened. We were not really dragging anchor but had just swung in a different direction due to the outgoing current but I did find a problem, we had swung around and the anchor rope was wrapped around the keel. I got Margie up to help me get the rope untangled and we finally got enough slack pulled up that the rope slipped off the keel. We went back to bed but I still didn't sleep too well. Just too many different sounds and a different environment to get use to.

We got out of bed about 9 am and Margie cooked breakfast of fried eggs and toast. The other sailboat hauled anchor, while we were eating, and they headed off to the bay.

We hauled anchor about 10:30 am and with Margie at the helm in the calm waters of Clearlake she headed us down the channel towards the bay and I raised the main sail and checked the reef lines. As we entered the bay I took over the helm since it was still blowing 20 - 30 knots and 4 - 5 foot chop in the bay. We continued on out to marker 2 and then turned North on a route I had laid in to the chart plotter. It was a mostly downwind run after marker 2 and we were making 5 knots and every so often 6 knots with only the reefed main up. It was neat watching the waves behind us, some of them were taller than the stern and look like they were going to roll right in the cockpit with us but would just lift the stern up and roll right under us. Every once in a while one would break right as it reached the boat and slap us in the stern. It wasn't an easy sail but not too bad either. I really had to keep up with the tiller to keep us on course, it was kind of like slowly rowing a boat working the rudder to keep the waves from pushing us around. Probably if I would have put the jib up I could have got the boat balanced better. We continued sailing north about 12 miles until we reached marker 89 of the Houston ship channel where we entered the channel and continued on up the ship channel to marker 100. We met a tug with a 100 foot barge and a huge cargo ship in the channel but no problem we stayed on our side and they stayed on there's. Right after marker 100 we turned out of the ship channel and into the marina channel and fired up the motor and I went forward to lower the sail. We then motored around the marina and into our new slip, D dock slip 3 at Bayland Marina.

Bayland Marina is just beautiful. They have floating docks! Yeah! with nice concrete tops and finger piers that are really wide. We got a slip with finger piers on both sides of the boat. They have a big convenience store with gas docks. There are showers, a laundry, and a big bar and restaurant all right there next to the docks. And just to mention, the marina is about 45 minutes drive time closer to home. We met a real nice guy in the slip next to ours and he helped get us in the slip and helped me flake the jib and rig the dock lines and then gave me a beer. YEEHAW!! I'm in heaven!

Link to info about Upper Galveston Bay

Satellite Map of Bayland Marina

5-11-07

Friday, slipped out of work early and arrived at the boat about 7 pm. Hooked up shore power and got a fan running in the hatch since it was a warm evening. I just love these floating docks, I just had to step aboard, no climbing down or walking a plank Didn't do much but sit in the cockpit and watch the sun set behind the Fred Hartman Bridge and drink a cold Corona with a fresh lime. mmm good!  

Alma Del Viento

5-12-07

Saturday, Got up about 8 am and Margie arrived about 9 am but NO WIND! We waited around hoping the wind would pick up a little but not a ripple on the water anywhere. So about 11 am we decided this would be a work day on the boat and no sailing, Awwww! I broke out the tools and drilled and tapped 4 small holes in the mast to install mast gates. The gates allow the sail to slide all the way down to the boom and makes reefing easier and the sail flakes better.

We then went to work on the sink drain since it was stopped up and not draining at all. I thought it was just a kinked hose but after I got in there under the galley cabinet I found that the through hull valve is completely clogged and it has a crack in it plus there was a lot of galvanized pipe fittings and old valves. It all needed to be replaced so I ripped it all out. I had to cut a new access hole under the galley cabinet to get the parts out because they were too corroded up to take them apart inside the cabinet.. I wish I would have looked at the drain while we had the boat out of the water. I actually had to use one of the wooden cone plugs that are all around the boat. These plugs are for emergency use to plug up a hole in the boat. So I used one to plug the hole when I removed the through hull valve. We made a trip to the hardware store and I got a proper brass valve and a brass elbow to go on the through hull. Whew! that was a sinking boat waiting to happen and would have been hard to fix out in the bay. It was getting dark and Margie and I decided to call it a day.

We used the marina showers for the first time and they are really nice. After we got all cleaned up we stopped by the Tiki Bay Bar and had a few drinks. And then we had a few more drinks and did a little dancing and then we had a few more drinks. I'm sure glad we didn't have to drive anywhere. Margie had a really really good time Ha-Ha! and I helped her find the boat and go to bed. He-He!  

5-13-07

Sunday, we dragged around all morning but finally got up and headed to the parts store and got some reinforced hose and new valves then we stopped by IHOP for breakfast. We got back to the boat and went to work on the plumbing. I replaced the drain hose and valve from the ice box and the galley sink and hooked those up to the new brass through hull valve. The drains all work great now and no parts to corrode up and break. I treated the water tank with some bleach to kill all the germs and checked out the foot pump to make sure it worked ok. There is another faucet on the sink that is not hooked up so I may make use of that and install a small 12 volt water pump to have on demand running water. 

We cleaned up the boat and then sat in the cockpit and relaxed a while then we packed up and headed home. I hope the wind is blowing next weekend so I don't have to work so hard. But it was still a great weekend and lots of fun!!  

5-18-07

Friday, arrived at the boat about 11pm after work. It's so nice to just step aboard from the floating docks and the shore power is already connected so I just flipped a switch and the lights are on and the batteries have been trickle charging all week so they are ready to go. Didn't do anything except load the ice box with beer cokes and ice then made my bed and turned in.  

5-19-07

Saturday,  Got up about 8 am and took some measurements under the galley where I cut the hole to get the drain valve out last week and then headed to West Marine to pick up a hatch door to patch the hole. I got an 8 x 11 hatch with a slam latch. Got back to the boat and had to tape up a pattern sheet that came with the hatch and check clearances and measure everything twice before I got the jigsaw out and cut a 8 x 11 hole in the boat. I installed the hatch and it looks really good and can now access the valves easily.

 Well, I finished the hatch about 2 pm and the weather is great. The wind is blowing only 5 or 10 knots and it a beautiful sunny day. The problem is that Margie slipped out of her leg irons and chains and is not coming down to the boat this weekend. So I will be single handling the boat for the first time.

Time to go sailing! I got the boat all rigged and ready to go. Started the motor and backed out of the slip. It wasn't pretty, but I got it out of the slip and only bumped the dock with the bow pulpit a little. He-He! I motored around the marina and down the ship channel all the way to marker 89 where I entered the open bay. I wanted to have plenty of open water to try this out by myself.  I got the autopilot out and tried it out with just the motor running. Pushing the buttons to tack and change directions was kind of fun and I played with it for a while till I was comfortable with using it to drive the boat. Once I was sure it was working and would do what I thought it should do I pointed the boat into the wind and had Auto hold that heading. I left the cockpit and went forward to the mast and raised the main sail. I got the main up and ran back to the cockpit to make sure Auto was still holding the course. I turned the boat South and adjusted the main for a beam reach. Auto was doing a pretty good job but not handling the gusts very well and all of a sudden Auto just headed off to the west for no reason and I yelled at Auto "You drive like Margie" but Auto just kept turning us (us?) around in a circle. I read the manual a little closer and found I need to adjust the sensitivity of the autopilot down. Hmmm, I wished that worked with Margie. I adjusted the autopilot and calibrated it and it was doing good so I went forward and raised the jenny up. Wahoo! full sail and hauling butt at 6 knots. Redfish Island here I come!

Redfish Island is about 18 miles from the marina, the wind was good and I made it there in about 3 hours. I had to make a few tacks because the island was up wind but it was smooth sailing. The island is nothing but a manmade breakwater for the ship channel but it does provide protection from southeast winds and waves and ship wakes. I arrived and found 10 other boats anchored in the protected area of the island so I snuggled myself in between them and got the anchor down and a cold beer in my hand just in time to sit in the cockpit and watch a beautiful purple and red sunset. It was great!!

It was a beautiful cool evening and the island is way out in the middle of Galveston bay so no mosquitoes. I watched a guy step out on the transom of his 40 footer and cook dinner on his grill. Another boat behind me had their 3 little kids aboard enjoying a family outing. And another big power boat off to my right I didn't see anyone aboard but the lights were on so they must be below watching satellite TV. Ha-Ha! I just sat in the cockpit enjoying my snacks and beer and watched the stars and the big ships go up and down the ship channel. I turned in and only woke up once to pop my head out to make sure I was still in the same spot and everything was ok.  

First time to solo single handed.

Redfish Island info here

5-20-07

Sunday, crawled out of my bunk about 7 am and watched the birds and activity around the area. A couple of boats hauled anchor and sailed out and others were cooking breakfast. I got up and around and finally hauled anchor about 9 am. The winds were not blowing as much as Saturday but it was a nice steady breeze and was east southeast so I couldn't do a downwind run, it was more like a aft quarter reach and only got 4 or 5 knots but that was ok I wasn't in a hurry.

I let Auto drive most of the way and I just kicked back with my feet up and watching the sights. I got to watch a sailboat race as they rounded the mark and then flew their spinnakers on the downwind leg. I actually had to alter course to stay out of the racing area.

I made my way back up Galveston Bay and entered the ship channel. I sailed all the way up the ship channel to the marina channel before I dropped my sails. I then motored back into the marina and Joel, the guy in the slip next to me helped me get back in the slip and tied up. It took me about 4 hours to get back.

There was a live band playing outside the Tiki Bar when I arrived and Joel and I sat on our boats talking about boats, drinking beer and listening to the band. We had a great time and the music made the boat cleanup a little more fun. I got the boat all secure and everything stowed away and then  I packed up and headed for home. 

5-25-07

Friday, Margie and I arrived at the boat about 3 pm. Our main goal today was to get the new bimini top back on the boat. We had to make several adjustments and had to shorten the support bars by cutting them off since I had lowered the boom about 3 inches. We worked on it for several hours trying to get it to look just right. After we finished that we stowed away our provisions for the long weekend and got the boat ready to sail. It was too dark to head out so we ran into town and got a bite to eat and brought back more ice for the ice chest. We got back and made our bunks and spent the night in the slip.

Memorial Day Weekend Cruise report

5-26-07

Saturday in our slip at Bayland Marina. We got up about 9 am and Margie made breakfast. I took a look around the boat in the daylight and still didn't like the way the bimini top was riding so we took it down again and adjusted it some more.  We finished adjusting it and got it looking good around noon so it was time to head out for our long sail down to Galveston.

We backed out of the slip and motored around the marina to the fuel dock. This was the first time I had approached a dock with the boat and it wasn't pretty but I finally got it up to the dock without punching a hole in the boat. We filled the tank and then headed out of the marina.

As soon as we got in the marina channel I raised sail and we sailed down the marina channel into the Houston ship channel and on towards the bay. When we finally made it out into the open waters of the bay the weather was looking bad and a huge squall line was coming up from the south. It started raining so I turned the boat around and headed back to the marina, and the race was on, I was hauling butt on a beam reach across the wind to beat the squall line back to the marina. I dropped the jib as we entered the ship channel so I would not have too much sail up if the squall line caught up to us. We then ran downwind in the ship channel and turned into the marina channel on a reach and just as we entered the marina and slipped in behind an 8 foot seawall the squall hit. We Won! we won! As we were in the calm waters behind the seawall the winds blasted to 20 or 30 knots and it was hard to see the front of the boat in the downpour of rain. We coasted back and forth behind the seawall until the squall line passed by.

The weather then settled in to a steady rain for the rest of the afternoon so that was the end of our sailing and we put the boat back into the slip. The bimini top didn't help much since the rain was blowing sideways so I was soaked.

Margie and I stayed below while it rained all afternoon, we played cards and listened to the radio. Just about dark the rain finally quit and we went up to the cockpit and cooked some steaks on the grill. It was a great meal and we still had fun just sitting on the boat in the marina. 

5-27-07

Sunday in the slip at Bayland Marina. We got up about 9 am and waited around to see what the weather was going to do today. It had rained off and on through the night and early morning but it finally broke up about 11 am to a beautiful partly cloudy day with a nice 10 knot wind.

We backed out of the slip about noon and raised sail as soon as we got in the marina channel and then sailed down the ship channel to the open bay. We were still unsure what the weather was doing since it has been so flaky this weekend so we decided we would just go from anchorage to anchorage the first one we headed to was the Houston Yacht Club, they have a protected anchorage just north of their marina. and it only 8 or 9 miles from Bayland. We arrived at the Houston Yacht Club and the weather was just great so we continued on now heading for Redfish Island which is about 18 miles from Bayland. The sail down the bay was just beautiful the weather was holding so we decided to press on to Galveston. We changed course at the south boater cut just north of Redfish Island and crossed over the ship channel headed toward Smith Point. If you (click here) you can see the approx. route we took. We were a little more east and sailed very close to Bird Island and Baffle Point and had to tack several times as shown on the map to sail into the wind. Crossing Bolivar Roads was very interesting with all the ship wakes and sea waves rolling down from the jetties and we had to time our crossing of the ship channel to go behind a huge cargo ship.

The sail from Pelican Island to the railroad bridge seemed like it took forever, mainly because it was sunset and I knew we were not going to make it to Moody before dark. As we approached the railroad bridge but still 2 or 3 miles away, we hear over the radio that the bridge is going down for 15 to 20 minutes for 1 train. We continue on, expecting we will have to heave to and wait for the bridge to open but as we are lining up with the narrow opening still at full speed the bridge opens and we slip through in the twilight of the evening and continue on.

By the time we enter Offats Bayou channel at marker 12 (see photo map) it is pitch black. Even though the map shows a lot of hazards in this area we don't have any problems. At marker 12 I lowered the sails and we slowly motor down the channel. The chartplotter earned its cost now and I just kept the boat in the channel on the plotter and Margie lit up the red channel markers with a big spotlight.

We motor right up in front of Moody Gardens just off the 3 big pyramids in between about 20 other boats and drop anchor. Whew! we made it. Approximately 40 miles sailed in about 8 hours with an average speed of 5 knots.   

Me at the helm under our new bimini top

Moody Gardens on Offats Bayou Info

5-28-07

Monday anchored in Offats Bayou just off of Moody Gardens on Galveston Island.

 We woke up about 7 am to a grey rainy morning with big squall lines moving in from the gulf. We saw several sailboats head out early which we should have done but we stayed a little longer hoping the weather would clear up.

We sat in the cockpit looking at the sights and wishing we had a dingy to go exploring Offats Bayou. Offats is mostly manmade since this is where they got all the dirt to build the Galveston seawall and is one of the deepest anchorages in Galveston bay. We were anchored in 20 feet of water and it is 30 to 40 feet deep in other areas. The average depth of Galveston Bay is 9 feet. I was also hoping to go explore the jetties and make a quick run offshore for a few miles but the weather was just not cooperating.

About 10 am and the weather is still lousy and not expected to get any better so we haul anchor and head for home. The winds are only blowing about 10 knots but with all these squall lines around I raised the main and put the reef in, just in case. I should have flown the storm jib but I wanted to make good time back home so I flew the #1 jib.

We sail out of Offats Bayou and around the bend and as we are making the approach to the railroad bridge I call the bridge operator on the radio and inform him of or intention to pass through. He says " are you that little sail boat bobbing around out there west of the bridge?" I responded "yes this is sailboat Alma Del Viento" He said " are you sure you want to go out there in this lousy weather today?" I said "well I have to get back home so I guess I gota go." He said "ok, I understand ,  you are clear to pass and have a nice day" As we passed under the bridge I could see the operator up in the window of the control room and he gave us a wave, but it was one of those waves like goodbye, seeya, good luck, I hope you don't die, waves. Ha-Ha!

Although the bridge operator wasn't too inspiring we did see a good omen as we were near the bridge. Several pods of dolphin were playing nearby. I never did get to see them since I was too busy trying to not hit the bridge. Margie saw 6 dolphin and one came up close to the boat and rolled his eye up to take a look at her before jumping off towards the other dolphins. She was excited to see the dolphin and mad she never has the camera handy when she needs it. 

We sailed on across the upper end of west bay toward pelican island and then at Bolivar Roads we decide to follow the ship channel back since it is the most direct route. The wind is blowing 15 to 20 knots from the starboard quarter and the waves are 3 to 4 feet and rough. If you have read my previous logs you know this is a typical sail for Margie and I on Galveston Bay except today we also have this ominous squall line slowly moving up behind us from the gulf.

We continue on up the ship channel, staying close to the red markers and out of the way of the big ships. Several sailboats that are motor sailing catch up to us since we are only sailing and doing about 5 knots. Three sailboats pass us probably doing 10 knots. We reach about mid bay which is probably the farthest point from any land or protected area and the squall line catches up to us also. It was strange how the squall hit, I was watching the sailboats that were now about a quarter mile in front of me all of a sudden turn hard to starboard cross out of the ship channel and strike all of their sail while pitching and jumping all around. I was still in the same wind as before steady sailing up the ship channel when about 3 minutes later wam! it hit us also. It must have been 30 knots of straight wind out of the east. It was the most heel I have ever done on the boat but probably no more than 30 to 40 degrees. Boy! was I glad I put the reef in or we would have probably got knocked down which means the boat rolls to nearly 90 degrees and the spreaders and sails hit the water. I immediately turn to starboard and head into the wind and release both halyards. The wind is howling and I yell to Margie to go forward and pull down and tie up the sails. I would have preferred to go up there myself since it is dangerous but I know Margie cant steer the boat in rough weather and getting broadside in this wind and 6 foot waves could have rolled us. Margie does a great job and gets the jib and main down and tied and while she was doing that I got the motor started and kept us headed into the wind.

The winds have let up a little but still over 20 knots and I carefully turn the boat to get back in the ship channel and we now motor on towards home. We are both soaked and cold and of course we don't have any rain gear. Margie goes below and gets warm and I stay in the cockpit freezing my butt off in the steady downpour of rain blowing sideways in under the bimini top. The wind and rain finally let up enough that I can hook up the autopilot and go below to warm up some.

We motor on up the ship channel past Redfish Island on up the north end of Galveston Bay and just before we reach marker 89 the last bit of channel before we get to the marina the motor dies. I don't know what's going on with the motor, it has been purring along for 2 hours now and all of a sudden it just dies and will not start. I still don't have the fuel gage hooked up yet so we assume the motor gets terrible mileage and we must be out of gas. Good thing we have sails though, I raise the main and we sail on up the few miles we have left and then down the marina channel but dang it just to get around the end of our dock 25 yards to our slip it is dead up wind and no room to tack so I had to pull in to an empty slip on the end of the dock. Almost there but not quite! Margie and I tie the boat up and make a run to Wal-Mart to get a fuel can and then to the gas station to fill it up. We get back and dump 5 gallons of gas in the tank and the motor cranks right up. I back out of the slip and motor around the dock and finally we are back at home and in our slip. Another 40 miles sailed in about 9 hours for and average speed of about 4.5 knots and we survived the storm at sea to tell the tale.

Anchored in Offats Bayou Bay off Moody Gardens on Galveston Island

Looking East

Looking West

Total of 80 miles sailed this weekend and we survived the storm!