10/16/2012 – Tuesday - Taylor Outfall Canal to Lake Charles

YES!  At 6:45 AM, Teak finally peed on the boat pad!!!!!!  After holding it for 24 hours she is now an official boat dog!  We all pulled up our anchors and by 7:15 we were on our way to Lake Charles (the sailboats started out at 7:00).  After reaching  Lake Charles, those of us who needed fuel went to BowTie Marina and then over to the Bord Du Lac Marina at downtown Lake Charles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



10/15/2012 – Monday - Clear Lake to Taylor Outfall Canal, mile 290

Last Trade and Awesome 1 left Portofino at 6:00 AM Monday and (just our luck) the wind was blowing strong from the north.  As we headed out the channel, I knew we were going to have a bad trip to Galveston.  We did!  Winds were blowing 20+ as we headed to the ship channel. We rocked and rolled all the way down the channel, things were flying around below, Teak was freaking out and got sick all over me (four different times!)  Not a good way to start a trip!   BUT…. When we got into the ICW at Galveston around 9:00 AM things got a lot better.  I cleaned up the mess below, washed out my “Teak messed” pants and then we had a nice trip to our first anchorage, the Taylor Outfall Canal.  No land for Teak!  Let’s see if she will use her new potty pad on the boat!  Taylor Outfall Canal is a nice place to anchor and has lots of room for several boats.  We all had a good night’s sleep after the windy, rock and roll start.

 

10/14/2012 – Sunday - Goin’ East Trip

Two trawlers (Last Trade and Awesome 1) and four sailboats (Morning Star, Faith, Cambria & Agoode Ketch) decided to take a trip east.  All of the sailboats left a day early to anchor in Galveston so their trip to our first group stop would not bring them in after dark.  Sunday was a nice sail to Galveston for them but the wind did not die down, they had a bad night at anchorage.

May 16 - 20, 2012 - Spring Fling

http://www.tmcaspringfling.com/

August 14, 2011 - Double Bayou

This was the first TMCA boat trip for my sister Patty and her boyfriend Frank. It began with Frank running aground on the approach and clogging up and burning out his AC pump. Try an August trip to Double bayou without air conditioning! Fortunately we had a spare on board and saved the weekend for Patty and Frank. As usual we filled the Job Beason marina with 20 +/- boats and had a great potluck dinner under the shelter and an evening of frivolity and liquid refreshment.

May 28, 2011 - Memorial Weekend at Moody Gardens

TMCA Memorial Day Weekend at the Moody Gardens marina. We filled the marina with boats and had dock parties, dinghy trips, and a weekend full of fun! We had 17 boats at the docks and many more were anchored out.

May 13 - 15, 2011 - Spring Fling

Josh and I were both really busy with the first Spring Fling event.  Beware - when you retire, limit the volunteer work so you don't end up busier and more committed than when you were working!   Agreeing to help out can become overwhelming if you volunteer for too much!!!!!!!  To get an overview of the magnitude of this event, please go to www.tmcaspringfling.com .



Planning had to start six months before the event and was nonstop until weeks after the event date.  A team was put together to take on this task to accomplish the largest event ever for TMCA and we pulled it off without a hitch!  Barb was in charge of the event website/registration information along with merchandise sales (crew of XX) and Josh was in charge of docking the 110+ boats and arranging transportation (crew of 15). Our lives became nothing except Spring Fling for many months.Putting on this event was a real eye opener! This was the first event of this type for our boating club.  We hosted 110+ boats and over 1000 people. 
 
The Texas Mariners Cruising Association (TMCA) is a club for boaters that like to travel the Texas coast, having fun and helping other boaters.   http://tmcaspringfling.blogspot.com

All proceeds from this event went to charity, and we're very proud to say that we raised $5,000.00 for the 100 Club and $5,000.00 for the sailing Angels Foundation.