At 6:00 AM our alarm went off. Shortly thereafter, EJ sent me a text about bad weather coming in. Josh and I got up and started looking at the weather for the day on several different weather sites. It did not look good! It looked like a storm was on its way and we did not think we could make it across Matagorda Bay before it would hit. We stay! Better safe than sorry! We will keep our eyes on the weather and move on when we feel that it's safe.
The weather was looking to be pretty clear during the afternoon so Josh talked to a tow on Matagorda Bay about the bay conditions. The tow operator said is was blowing about 13 kts with a little chop. He said our 36 foot boat should have no problem. The Heards and the Wallachs had a meeting and discussed our options - go today with NE wind on our nose or wait until tomorrow with S wind on our stern? NOSE won so we headed out at 1:00 PM, looking at a 6:00 PM arrival. All was good until we entered Matagorda Bay! It was not a little chop, it was more like 2ft/4ft waves coming at us, giving us a nice salt bath. No turning back, not with these waves - we would be rolling all over the place. Two hours to get across, we can do it! Halfway through the bay, someone got on the radio and said "little chop? this is NO little chop". Josh and I said to each other "no... it's not".
M/V Beachcomber coming off Matagorda Bay. I could not get pictures while we were out in the bay because I could not keep the camera steady. We were going up and down too much!
Around 6:00 PM we arrived at Matagorda Harbor Marina. M/V Beachcomber went to the fuel dock first before docking. After they docked and Ross told Josh how much the diesel cost, we decided to get fuel in the moring before leaving. It was $2.06 a gallon! That was the cheapest yet that we have seen!!!!!! When both boats were settled in, we headed to the restaurant for dinner. Tomorrow's destination would be Freeport and we would not have a restaurant on premise.
Sunday was not a long travel day so we decided to head out around 9:00 AM. At 8:30, Josh and I went over to the fuel dock for the cheap fuel. Cheap fuel is always a plus!
Going through the locks was fun (not!). We had to wait for a tow that was having problems because of the current. He was being sweep down river and had to try to get control of his tow and align it with the second lock. When it was our turn, going through the first lock was a little tricky. With the current flowing strongly, we rocked and rolled as we were trying to plow through it. Along with the current, we had to dodge debris! Just as we got through the first lock and while heading into the second lock the rain started. Just our luck!
This boat was going to pass us and beat the rain that was following us until he saw what we were trying to miss. He decided to follow until we got past the log and, YES, he did wake us!
As we were making our turn into the Old Brazos River to head to the Freeport Marina, the rain was coming down really hard, making it difficult to see. For a few minutes we were traveling by electronics. That's why we have them! The rain did stop briefly for us to dock but started back up shortly after we settled in.
Dinner was on M/V Beachcomber. We had the leftovers from our grilling at Costa Grande. Great company, great food, what else can you ask for...until show time (7:00 PM). Time to clean up, pack up and head back to our own boat to watch our weekly TV shows. Ross and EJ turned to their TV also! It's good to know that people you cruise with watch the same shows you do!
....Until tomorrow!
The weather was looking to be pretty clear during the afternoon so Josh talked to a tow on Matagorda Bay about the bay conditions. The tow operator said is was blowing about 13 kts with a little chop. He said our 36 foot boat should have no problem. The Heards and the Wallachs had a meeting and discussed our options - go today with NE wind on our nose or wait until tomorrow with S wind on our stern? NOSE won so we headed out at 1:00 PM, looking at a 6:00 PM arrival. All was good until we entered Matagorda Bay! It was not a little chop, it was more like 2ft/4ft waves coming at us, giving us a nice salt bath. No turning back, not with these waves - we would be rolling all over the place. Two hours to get across, we can do it! Halfway through the bay, someone got on the radio and said "little chop? this is NO little chop". Josh and I said to each other "no... it's not".
Video and picture of M/V Last Trade provided by Ross Heard
M/V Beachcomber coming off Matagorda Bay. I could not get pictures while we were out in the bay because I could not keep the camera steady. We were going up and down too much!
Lost buoy! We saw a lot of beached buoys on this trip.
Logs from all the rain. We had to bump the big one because it kept coming towards us and
we were more concerned about safety passing through the lock chamber.
M/V Beachcomber dodging the debris!
Around 6:00 PM we arrived at Matagorda Harbor Marina. M/V Beachcomber went to the fuel dock first before docking. After they docked and Ross told Josh how much the diesel cost, we decided to get fuel in the moring before leaving. It was $2.06 a gallon! That was the cheapest yet that we have seen!!!!!! When both boats were settled in, we headed to the restaurant for dinner. Tomorrow's destination would be Freeport and we would not have a restaurant on premise.
Sunday was not a long travel day so we decided to head out around 9:00 AM. At 8:30, Josh and I went over to the fuel dock for the cheap fuel. Cheap fuel is always a plus!
Bye bye Matagorda!
This is the first time we ever saw a shrimper towing a fishing boat.
This house in Sargent reminded me of an Easter egg!
What a great idea for drift wood - a fence!
We had some strong current today. We normally do around 8 Knots at 1800 RPM.
We dodged logs throughout the day from all the rain.
Going through the locks was fun (not!). We had to wait for a tow that was having problems because of the current. He was being sweep down river and had to try to get control of his tow and align it with the second lock. When it was our turn, going through the first lock was a little tricky. With the current flowing strongly, we rocked and rolled as we were trying to plow through it. Along with the current, we had to dodge debris! Just as we got through the first lock and while heading into the second lock the rain started. Just our luck!
This boat was going to pass us and beat the rain that was following us until he saw what we were trying to miss. He decided to follow until we got past the log and, YES, he did wake us!
As we were making our turn into the Old Brazos River to head to the Freeport Marina, the rain was coming down really hard, making it difficult to see. For a few minutes we were traveling by electronics. That's why we have them! The rain did stop briefly for us to dock but started back up shortly after we settled in.
Dinner was on M/V Beachcomber. We had the leftovers from our grilling at Costa Grande. Great company, great food, what else can you ask for...until show time (7:00 PM). Time to clean up, pack up and head back to our own boat to watch our weekly TV shows. Ross and EJ turned to their TV also! It's good to know that people you cruise with watch the same shows you do!
....Until tomorrow!
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