Hanging Out in Offats Bayou

OK so I know that this is side ways. A big wave knocked us down. I am experimenting with using the Android phone for small videos.

Apparently not very sucessful. So just turn your computer sideways to view.

Sailing Through Tropical Storm Don

Ok so we are not really sailing through it. We were headed out for a seven day cruise down the coast and was headed towards Corpus Christi. But since Tropical Storm Don is going there to, we are changing our heading. Not sure where we will end up this seven days. Only the tides and wind do.

Remember you can always keep up with where we are by clicking on the Spot Tracking Icon upper right corner of the blog or you can follow the following URL and keep it in your favorites them check back on us without going to the blog.

 http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0GdPevUzg8CkG0iT053sszA9T9GLAsaI5

Location: Kemah, Tx

Marriage at Sea (well almost)

Well I haven't updated this in a while so I will let everyone know about a few things. First we have been doing a lot of sailing around Galveston Bay. Trying some new navigation software programs for backup. Both Polar Navy and Open CPN (open captain) work great. Polar Navy has a small cost but well worth it. Then Open CPN is free so you know that is worth it when you are are on a cruising budget. Both work well with all the free raster and enc charts you can download from NOAA.

In March I became an ordained Minister through the Universal Life Monastery so I can legally marry couples on Barefoot Babe. I performed my first wedding April 30th 2011 on the bow of Barefoot Babe. The couple requested "Nautical Vows" which I wrote and they approved. Elaine decorated the boat for the wedding. The wedding was performed at the dock so the couples friends and family could be there. A small reception was held on the pier and then we sailed off for an overnight sail.

Location: Kemah, Texas

Galveston Sailing Adventure 3-15 to 3-17 2011

DAY 1     3-15-11
Elaine and I finally got away for a little sailing adventure. Since we didn't have much time we choose to just sail down to Galveston Island. Going down the Houston Ship Channel was like being on the I-10 freeway on a Friday evening and everyone was trying to get out of town. There were ships everywhere comming into and headed out of port.  Of course the East wind we started out with switched around to the South so it was right on the nose. So much for sailing. We did keep up the main to give a little stability in the ride over the ships wakes.

We were greeted at galveston Island with a beautiful sunset and dolphins playing all around our boat in the Galveston Harbor. It was funny, the Galveston dolphin watch boat was full of people and they could not find any dolphins at all to see. We had them all with us.

We ended pulling intgo the Harbor House Marina for the night. This marina is located a block from the Galveston Strand and has alot of waterfront shops, resturants and bars there. If anybody is interested the rate was $1.75 ft now. Not bad for being in the Strand area. After we tied up, we made us a sundowner (rum barefoot babe drink) and took a stroll around the strand. We stopped at Fishermans Wharf for dinner and then back to the boat for a movie then bed.

DAY 2   3-16-11

We woke up to a foggy morning. So we just lazed around the boat till the fog burned off. After the sun tried to shine through the clouds we decided to take a run to Offats Bayou and Moody Gardens. We left the Galveston Harbor through the Pelican Island Bridge. The bridge tender was nice and talkative on the radio. Guess he gets a little boared in his small control room. We the passed through the Galveston Island railroad bridge and under I-45 bridge. The channel into Offats bayou can be tricky sometimes but it was uneventful.

We anchored off Moody Gardens in the shadow of the pyramids and not to far from the Colonel Paddle Wheeler. The anchor set good and time for a sundowner and watch a beautiful sunset. Grilled some pork chops that looked like t-bone steaks. They were tender and juicy.

Enjoyed the stars, moon and watching the Colonel paddel around allnight with a spring break party onboard. Even with the party and music it was a really quite night. Another movie and then bed.

Location: Galveston, Texas

Sunsets on Galveston Bay

There has been a little time that has passed since the last blog. have done some repair on the teak after the Harvest Moon and have just refinished the varnish. So the exterior of Barefoot Babe look all new again. have made a couple of interior changes that really open up the main saloon and give the boat a larger almost living room type feeling.

Christmas has come and gone and I hope that Santa was good to everybody. Now New Years will be here in a couple of days. We might go and anchor out with a few other boats to bring in 2011. There is a little anchorage in the Seabrook area that is called Hanky Panky Hole. (wonder how it got that name).  There is a planned raft up to share drinks and good times.

There is a few boats that headed out to go cruising this month, Storyville, Anchor  Management, and Annie M. They are all headed to the Carribean and we wish them a fun, fast and safe trip. You can track Storyville across the Gulf or Carribean by clicking on their name. We are still planning on going cruising (hopefully) end of 2011 or first part of 2012.

Elaine really enjoys the sunsets around Galveston Bay and has taken a hell of a lot of sunset photos. I have put together a few of them into a small movie. Hope you enjoy them and the music from Jerry Diaz and Hannas Reef.

Location: Kemah, Texas

Back From The Harvest Moon Regatta

Heading to Start Line



Starting Line



Leaving Boats Behind




 

Overall the Harvest Moon Regatta was a great experience. Everyone on board learned alot about sailing in heavy weather. The start was looking like we were not going to have any wind at all for the race. The gulf was smooth and it was a slow start. But within a few hours it started to blow and the the seas came up to about 3 to 4 feet. As we passed Freeport the winds were blowing about 28 knots and we were in about 6 foot seas. We were cruising along really well on a close reach.  As we were approaching Matagorda the wind was blowing 32 to 35 knots and the seas had grown to 8 to 10 feet and now we were more on a close haul and pounding through the waves. The waves were not swells but more like a washing machine on turbo wash. We were running full canvas so when the wind went to 38 knots we reefed the jib down about 40%. Glad we did because the wind then went to 40 knots steady with gusts to 49 knots. We were close hauled with the wind on the nose and beating into 12 to 15 foot seas with 20 foots breaking waves. This was making for a very wet ride. We also had the cap rail buried in the water. So if you looked out the forward portholes all you saw was water and fish swimming by. When we crossed the finish line we were doing 9.2 knots.


Everything inside had got soaked. Elaine & Jodie drove up to Port Aransas to meet us at the dock. We had reserved a slip at Island Moorings Marina. It was nice to see them on the dock waiting for us. Once we got the boat secured, another boat pulling in the slip beside us was blown over by the wind and hit the back of my boat. There was no damage except a gps mount. We then all went to the Club house at Island Moorings, which the service and food there was not all that good. But we were all glad just to be on stable land having a meal that didn't include salty sea water. Most of Saturday was spent cleaning up the boat. We found water being held in lockers and storage areas. We fresh water washed all the cushions and dried out all the cabins. Once we all got cleaned up off to the City Marina for the BBQ dinner, free rum and the awards...then the live band Hanna's Reef and Troy Allen.



On a Run Before the Big Seas

We took 4th place in our division. Not to bad since I lost two of my crew to severe sea sickness that incapacitated them. And I had one rookie helmsman that took the boat over five miles off course north of the rhumb line.

We came back the ICW from Port Aransas and had a great trip. The first night we found a place to pull in and tie up in Port O'Connor. There were several other sail boats tied up in the same area. The next night we were experiencing a minor boat problem and pulled into Bridge Harbor in Freeport for the night. It was like another party there with all the sailors from the Harvest Moon there. 



Sunset on the Gulf.



We left there and motor sailed back to Kemah the next day and averaged over 8+ knots.  

Jim

It was a great experience that will never be forgotten.



Oil Platform in Gulf

 


Dave & Mark

 









 Location : Kemah, Texas

Getting Ready for the Harvest Moon Regatta 2010

2008 Finish Line Port Aransas

The Harvest Moon Regatta time is here again. The race will start Thursday October 21st at 2:00pm. The race starts in the Gulf of Mexico off the old Flagship Hotel galveston Island. The finish line is in Port Aransas in the ship channel between the jetties. The race is offshore and about 156 miles. We didn't race the Harvest Moon last year but we are excited to do it again this year. The crew is together and ready to go and see what happens. We do this for the fun of the race and parties that are held in Port Aransas. To many of the boats that do this race are so anal retentive that they miss the fun of sailing. If there was a Bar-B-Que class we would be entered into it.

This year we are entered into the class called "Cruising Non-Spinaker Classic Canvas" I guess that this means we have old sails a flying. Or maybe this is a medafor for the old codgers running the boat. Who knows?

This year anybody can track all the boats that are running a spot tracker. We will be running our Spot Tracker so anybody interested can see how we are doing.

To see all the race boats click here http://www.trackleaders.com/harvest

To track just our Spot click on the top right of the blog to find s/v Barefoot Babe.

We have a Captain's meeting tonight and will get our sailing packets. This will give us our start time.

We will be staying at Island Moorings Marina in Port Aransas

Location: Kemah, Texas