Departure time was 6:00 AM! Because both boats traveling today are trawlers we didn't have to worry about blackout times on highway bridges, we can just go under them. The only thing that we needed an opening was a railroad bridge. They have no blackout times, just call them as we get close and they will open. By 6:30 we were through the railroad bridge and on our way.
Our first interesting encounter was at 8:30 AM when we saw a tow with barges completely turning around in the ICW. I guess he made the wrong turn and was suppose to head out towards the Mississippi Sound, not towards New Orleans. As we got closer he started picking up speed so we slowed down to stay behind him. This did not last long because he would slow down and speed up constantly. We tried to call him on the radio but he would not answer. We continued to call him ("James Golding" with a big G on the tow) as we were starting to pass him on the two. He would not communicate and continued to speed up and slow down making it very difficult for us. We had no idea what he was doing or why he would not answer. Tow captains usually communicate with us. It's all about safety on both of our parts. We work with them and they work with us! There are a few that do not communicate and, in my opinion, should not be tow captains. I remember one tow that we encountered was too busy talking on his cell phone to communicate with us. When they are too busy doing personal things and not doing their job it's an accident waiting to happen. We're glad it's limited to just a few bad apples.
The Mississippi Sound is all open water and we watch the weather closely before heading out. They were calling for 5 to 10 knot winds with waves of 1 foot or less. When we left this morning Josh and I commented on the stiff breeze. Weather people are not always correct! We did not know what to expect. As we entered the Mississippi Sound we were greeted by dolphins. The last time we came through this area they greeted us also. I got a few pictures but it was a little too bouncy for me to stay up at the bow. They were not 1 foot (or less) waves but thank goodness they were on the nose! I was planning on a nice calm day and reading my book. NOT!
Do these waves look like 1 or less to you???????
About six hours of bouncing and Teak didn't even get sick! We knew that when we make the turn into the Biloxi channel it was not going to be fun. Waves hitting us anywhere on our transom throws us around. Josh looked at the chart and decided to cut towards the Gulfport channel then over to the Biloxi channel, cutting off some of the "not so fun" traveling. Thank you Josh!!!!
We were assigned slips and the harbormaster met us and helped us in. They put us right next to the Boardwalk making us look so little! The Boardwalk crew were out scrubbing their bumpers. They told us that they have to clean the boat every day!
No comments:
Post a Comment