Baffin Bay

Posted By: Chris (Harpoon 5.2 in San Antonio Tx)
Date: 6/23/08 9:24p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: New owner and the Tx 200 (Chris (Harpoon 5.2 in San Antonio Tx))

Thanks Wayne, and no, Bob, not offshore. The route follows the inter coastal waterway through the bays of Texas. The first leg took us across the Laguna Madre, now were at the N. end of the land cut about to set off across Baffin Bay. This morning the are quite a bit lighter as I venture back into the mud to push off, with a little help, for the channel. We had camped on the windward shore so all I had to do was let her drift out while I got the sails up and the rudder down. For the first couple hundred yards I sailed like a sailor just out of the bars as I discovered I had fastened down my jib sheet along with my gear. I would get her sailing on a suitable course then move forward to unsecure the sheet and resecure my gear. This took a couple of trips forward, as each time I left the tiller she would veer off for the mud banks along the channel. My makeshift tiller minder was a disappointment. As soon as I got this sorted out the EC22, Southern Skimmer, slid by with hardly a ripple and in the light wind seemed to move almost by magic. The whole morning was, literally, smooth sailing. I threw a couple of cushions down on the cockpit floor, leaned back on some gear with my arm over the tiller and coasted down wind at about 6 1/2 mph rarely touching a sheet. Baffin bay opened up to the west and the wind was from the southeast giving me a pretty sheltered run up the channel. The only challenge 'til afternoon was staying awake as wind and wave tried to lull me to sleep. As after noon came on I started hearing, on the vhf, those ahead warning of a barge grounded and blocking the channel and very shallow water astern of him. As I approached a second tug was manuevering into place along side the first so I moved to the side of the channel and dropped anchor to wait for them to do whatever they were going to do. After a few minutes both tugs were sitting at an idle, so I lowered and started the motor just in case, raised the anchor and headed around their stern. (There was land in front). Just as I came up to them, tug #1 idled up and began backing up into the little bit of channel left to me. I turned to starboard into the shallows the rudder kicked up as did the motor, partway. I kicked the motor into gear, twisted the throttle and shot around behind bouncing the rudder and chewing up grass as I went ( I felt bad about this but not enough to stop). Once past I pulled up the motor, pulled in the sheets and set about leaving the following tug slowly astern. I wanted to put as much distance as I could between us because before long I would need to heave to, douse sails and fire up the Honda to motor into Padre Island Yacht club, our camp for the night. This went off without a hitch, though I wasn't very tidy about tying up the sails with the tug still moving up behind. On the way in I picked up a tow in the form of a bright green proa. We beached across from the club tidied up our boats, rounded up a couple other members of the fleet and I ferried everyone across for hot showers, cold drinks and dinner at snoopy's. Many Thanks to the PIYC for their hospitality. Next we set off across Corpus Christi Bay. Chris