We were all at Harborwalk except Ocean Star. Steve and Alice went to Laguna Harbor in preparation for an Offshore sail to Freeport the Next Day

All enjoyed the pool at Harborwalk. This was followed by Happy Hour on £ Sterling. Later in the evening the Reh's and Herndon's sampled the fare at the Restaraunt while the others shared their suppers aboard Morning Glory.

It's just 27 nm to Bridge Harbor. We decided to swim in the Pool and do boat chores before we left Harborwalk. The cruise would be under five Hours. I filled the tank at $4.48 at Harborwalk, I planned to stretch the fuel all the way down and back. The winds were light in the morning but around 1100 they picked up to around 10 Kts.

About 2 miles from the Harborwalk channel I ran aground at the wide entry to Greens Lake. Its the exact same place I had run aground a year before. Luke passed by while I was aground. "I will be here a few minutes," I called to him, "Just Go On."

This was a Familiar Drill. Ease the Sails that were driving me further aground, turn Engine on, Reverse under Moderate power, and steer left and right to free the rudder, Center the rudder when free, Increase Power and set rudder to steer back toward deep water. This usually works in about three or four minutes. Watch the Depth and when it Shows 5.5 Feet head forward toward the Deep water.

This was the only recorded Coping Event on Day Two. As Expected we were the Last to Arrive at Bridge Harbor. There were plenty folks to catch our Lines. Rick Kortegast (travelling with Sophie, a standard Black Poodle) on Island Breeze and Steve and Alice from Ocean Star had (re)joined the fleet. We now had Seven TMCA Boats in Bridge Harbor.

Clockwise from the Bottom: Barry & Barbara DuPuy, Steve Obrien, Alice Kilgo, Ed & Hope Reh, Rick Kortegast.

Visitor, Luke & Linda Sterling, Ed & Marion Herndon, Tom & Patricia Butkus

Did You Notice That All of the Males Have at least a Moustache and three are sporting Full beards?

The Sail to Matagorda in the ICW was just what a sail should be... Full Main set at departues. Jib set 90% so its easy to see forward under it. Enough wind to Keep your moving at all times.. a range of sailing conditions to keep from getting Bored. Tows to overtake.. Flood gates to negotiate. Winds were 8 kts in the Morning,and built to 15 -20 kts in the Afternoon. We sailed with Engine Off except for special Occasions.

There is a two mile section of the ICW near Cedar Lakes where the ICW runs almost true North South. We dopped the Jib for that section and added Engine to maintain 6 kts SOG.

Our fleet to Matagorda was the seven boats from the Night before Minus Ocean Star which took off for an Offshore Adventure.

After we passed the Caney Creek bridge we heard from Morning Star that their engine was running hot. Barry DuPuy had been using it to keep up with the pace of the Fleet. Now his coping event was starting. He shut the engine down and went on full sail only. This cost about a knot, but he remained in sight of the fleet all the way to Matagorda. Luke Sterling pitched in to help check out the Overheat problem.

At Matagorda we were met by Stoney and Hanna McGerold. You may remember them from last year they Hosted our group at Matagorda and later joined us at Steve's Landing and came to Seabrook for a week.

We had Happy Hour under the Pavillion and dinner at the Harborside restaraunt. Again, at Luke's insistance, the dinner party became a Celebration of our Wedding Anniversary. This time Luke out did his usual generosity by magnanimously picking up the tab for the whole table (13). We Thank you very much.

After Dinner Rick Kortegast, Island Breeze, announced that Sophie was unhappy with the cruising experience; it would be better if he turned back. Besides that, Mary would be returning in a few days from her trip and his early return would give time to clean up the house. Thus it was that Sophie's undeveloped coping skills led to our first Unplanned Return Home.

June 10 Port O'Conner

Thank the Lord for a short 29 mile cruise to our destination as this would be a short day of Major Coping.

No one was in a hurry to leave Matagorda except Island Breeze who needed to go to Tiki Island (76 miles). Winds were light but they were pressing the fleet against the bulkhead. As I remember the order on the dock from West to East, for the Single Screw , No Bow Thruster, Sailboats it was: £ Sterling, Summer Wind, Remedy, and Morning Star. Salty Dawg was in front of this pack but being a thirsty power boat she went to the Fuel dock for a $4.50 a gallon drink. This left the four Sailboats lined up with a space ahead for departure off the dock.

I said. "I think the conditions are right for us to use the: Power Forward against Spring Line, then Reverse and Pull Away, Undocking Maneuver".

Marion and I had learned this technique from a Seasoned Seaman at this very dock in 1998 or was it 2003?

Any way, we convinced all to try the undocking tehcnique and we all did it quite successfully. The only casualty was a Navigation light lens on Morning Star, it was knocked off into the water as the bow touched the pivot piling.

At 10:30 all were under way. There was a scheduled Shutdown of all traffic at the Matagorda Swing Bridge to allow construction equipment to be moved across to the South side. Tows and recreational vessels were lined up to make the passage across the Colorado River. We four sailboats all fell in line behind a light boat and crossed together.

Barry Dupuy called in "Remedy. Remedy, this is Morning Star, we have the Overheating Problem again and need to turn back." He made the decision just in time to get back across the Colorado River and through the swing bridge before it closed for several hours. Barry spent the next several hours clearing the blockage in the Heat Exchanger. He decided to use Matagorda for an extra layover day and sacrifice going to Port Aransas. This was Morning Star's great Coping Event and his repair resulted in trouble free performance for the rest of the cruise.

Meanwhile the rest of the fleet moved on to Matagorda Bay. The noon wind was SE at 8-12 Kts in the ICW, a nice easy sail, enough to make 4 - 5 Kts SOG. At the Moorings at mile 454 the ICW turns more to the South and the head sail is not doing much good, engine is added for the next few miles to get to the turn SW near Marker 31. Shortly after the turn we heard on 16 "Remedy, Remedy, this is £ Sterling, I have shut down my engine, something Bad happened. I think I may have hit something."

"Can you sail across Matagorda Bay?" I asked. Luke reported he was sailing fine and was not taking on water. We were sailing the new ICW North channel across the Bay. The winds were building to 16 Kts. and we were making almost 7 Kts. We made plans to give £ Sterling a tow from Marker 10 the last couple of miles into St Christophers Haven in Port O'Conner. Summer Wind would sail on in before us to assist in the Docking.

Its 60 miles to Port Aransas so we are all up early. Ocean Star is doing the Offshore route, £ Sterling will be going only as far as Rockport. Their transmission works long enough to get them into the ICW where Luke sets sail and shuts off the engine.

The winds are SE 15 -25 when we get under way and none of us need to motor. There are a few short streches in the ICW before Aransas Bay where the winds get almost on the nose. I was worried that Luke might need a towand solicited a passing shrimp boat Avenger to offer assistance if £ Sterling needed it. It was not necessary and Luke was able to sail all the way to the Rockport Yacht Club dock with no engine.

The last 11 miles into Port Aransas the wind was on the nose so we had to use engine. We had four boats: Remedy, Ocean Star, Summer Wind and Salty Dawg in Port Aransas for two nights. The party started on Ocean Star as soon as we all arrived.

Bicycles are real handy in Port A especially when your slip is on Pier E, the new floating dock at the far West end of the harbor. We were docked next to Summer Wind and the other two boats were docked on the Long bulkhead by the Pavillion/Office.

Our party of 12 went to Dinner at Virginia's on Trout Street. The Place was Packed and we made the mistake of requesting a table for 12. The wait was over and Hour when we finally broke the party into three tables for four; we were seated immediately. The food was great. Rating ****$$$$

Next Morning while biking to the Pelicans Roost Restaraunt with the Tom and Particia, the pedal in Tom's bicycle pedal broke creating their first Coping event. The pedal threads were stripped. What to do? Rent a Bike? Take the bike to the Only Repair shop in town? After Lunch Tom took the measurements of the crank hole and went to the Local Hardware store. He found a 6 inch long Bolt and a Pair of nuts to secure it to the Crank, He also bought a piece of plastic Pipe insulation which covered the Bolt. It was quite a neat bit of gerry rigging and for less than a few bucks he was Biking again. For this achievement he is awarded the "Day 6 Port Aransas Coping on the Cheap Award."

My bill at the Hardware store was $12 for a quart of Generic brand fabric waterproofing, about a third the price at West Marine for their product. Back at our boats I got busy Waterproofing and saw Tom putting some grommets in his Bimini to secure his home made Sun Screens. They are just the right size for lines I have been using on my moveable sun screen. He Gave me Six Grommets and showed me how to use the Punch and Grommet Press.

I don't remember what we did that evening... I think we shared dinner with Tom and Particia... These days are just running together.

The Six arrivals at Rockport were £ Sterling on June 11, Morning Star on June 12, Ocean Star, Remedy, Summer Wind and Salty Dawg on June 13.

Let the Party Begin.

Flower sell us the Shrimp

ShrimpFest Organizers:

RYC Commodore: Valerie Nowell,

Luke Sterling,

Felix Keeley,

Wayne(Doc) Mulloy

And So it was that the Rockport Shrimp Feast was a Great sucess: Great Food : Cold boiled Shrimp, Shrimp Etofee, Spicy Hot Potatos, Corn and Onions. Great Salads and Appetizers.

On Saturday some Land Yachters depart. All who stayed to the end helped clean up the facility. We Believe that the partying just moved to the Hotels.

Remedy, Summer Wind, Rowdy and Morning Star decide to stay an Extra day in Rockport.

Ocean Star, Salty Dawg and the Land Yachters depart for Home. Luke and Linda catch a ride and leave his crippled boat behind.

At $0.25 for Seniors, the Port Aransas Shuttle is a Great Bargin.. The complete circuit takes 1 Hour. It's Air Conditioned and it's Fun too!

Meanwhile Back in Rockport Barbara and Barry took a Dip in the Bay.

Tom and Patricia Butkus did Rockport with their Visiting friends, and toured on their Bikes.

June 16 Port O'Conner

The Winds were 10 to 15 from the south. Perfect sailing conditions for our 50 mile trip. Remedy , Summer Wind and Morning Star are traveling together. We are a day behind Ocean Star and Salty Dawg. Our once Nine Boat Fleet is reduced to Three.

There is a mile and a half wide new Development going in along the North bank of the ICW centered about the Channel leading south to Army Hole.. The Sancruary at Costa Grande Website shows considerable Planning Detail.. There will two Basins surrounded by Homesites. There are three Nature walkways extending over the wetlands to the ICW. There appears to be no plan to accomodate transient yachts.

As we headed to the North exiting Maragorda Bay the wind dropped to about 6 and our speed under sail fell to about 3. It was time to add engine.

There was chatter among the Towboats about the closing of the Matagorda Swing Bridge. Due to the need to transport materials from the mainland to the new bridge construction site on the South side of the ICW the swing bridge would be closed around Noon. We needed to get there in a 6 knot hurry.

An Hour out from arrival we contacted the locks and they confirmed the planned closure. Our small fleet closed ranks and caught up with the Last tow headed East. They closed the Swing bridge just after out last boat passed. We would make Caney Creek after all. The wind freshened to around 18 Knots in the afternoon making our 19 nm passage to Caney Creek a thrilling 7 knot romp under sail only. We arrived Mid Afternoon and Remedy moved into the long Docking area first. Tide was down and Remedy with the deepest draft went first. We made it to about 10 feet from the dock and were stuck.

Shifting to Plan B, Remedy backed out and Tom and Patricia Butkus on Summer Wind moved in for the spot next to the Bulkhead. Their boat is a shallow draft Catalina 36' and the other two boats would raft off of them.

Summer Wind, Remedy and Morning Star at the USACE docks

Great Blue Heron at Caney Creek

Took off below

We were all awake at first light and shortly after sunrise we were under way. the trip to Harborwalk is only 50 miles and Home beckoned just 30 miles further. It could be done in 14 hours. We discussed options as we went.. We were making good time on sail only.. We made the Brazos river before noon.

"Aw shucks, why kill ourselves, lets swim and party at Harborwalk tonite" said someone.

"I will just call work and tell them we got stranded." said another (un-named).

"OK, No More Engines." said You Know Who.

It was Just as well we decided for Harborwalk because we later heard that the Railroad Bridge was down for repairs and would be closed until 10:30 AM the following day. The Tow Boats would get an exrta day of paid relaxation on the ICW so they weren't fussin.

We had a cool dip in the pool and the Bartender made us some special frozen drinks. The Hot tub relaxed our sore muscles and we somehow found enough food on the three boats to make a grand feast.

There was No Big hurry to leave Harborwalk because the Galveston Causeway Railroad Bridge was shut down in the Down Position . We did the Hot tub, Boat chores, Breakfast, Marion got to see some Tennis on the big screen TV at the marina convenience store, and then we moved to the fuel dock and filled up.

We listened to the tows talking with the bridge. They were deciding whether to open Eastbound or Westbound first. Turned out we Eastbound boats got the Nod. As we joined the traffic the tows were already moving. Then one went aground at Red Can bend. The other tows could not pass him but our three sailboats were small and agile enough to safely pass.

The rest of the way home was full sail and ocassional engine.

There were no Coping events to report from Rockport to Home. It was a Wonderful Cruise. Thanks to all who Joined us along the way.