Ok, Saturday morning arrives, and we're ready to cast off.

Here's the marina in our wake...

We decided we would cruise along the ICW for a little ways, then head out into the Gulf, and try for our original plan, just a day late.

Lots of construction all along the IntraCoastal. Condos, beach houses, hotels. The economy is good along the Gulf Coast, and this is one month before 9.11

As we head out into the Gulf, we pass rig after rig. They're probably half the reason for so much construction. Oil is still big bizness in the Gulf.

We were about an hour or two offshore when the weather started turning on us (think Gilligan's Island). Squall after squall kept blowing by, and the seas went from 2 feet, to 4 feet, to 8 to 10 to 12 foot swells. Visibility dropped to...this:

I decided I could best help by staying very close to the back of the boat, where in an emergency I could throw open the patio door, tie an anchor to myself and jump overboard. I never did get sick, but I was definitely green. After another hour or so, I noticed we were heading back to the coast. I told Hal I hoped he wasn't turning back because of me (like I really cared at this point). He said no, it wasn't because of me. He wasn't sure the boat could take 6 more hours of pounding over the waves like we had been. Plus visibility was nill, we were navigating by GPS, we had to reduce our speed so as to not outrace our ability to see obstacles (like offshore rigs; they were all over the place). At the rate we were moving, we might not even make Venice by sundown, and we really didn't want to be offshore in this at night.

Oh, did I mention that during all of this, the generator conks out. The engines power the GPS and other steering devices, so we're ok there, but the radio-telephone, the fridge, the lights, everything else goes out. Bruce fiddles around with it, and gets them working again...for now.

The closest place to make landfall was Mobile, so we started heading for Mobile Bay, and the channel that leads into it. As we approach the channel, we're making about 6-8 knots (the boat was capable of 28-30) due to the lack of visibility and the incredible number of rigs. Finally we came across the ICW where it crosses through Mobile Bay. It was still early enough in the day, so we decided to continue chuggin' through the ICW and go on to Biloxi. It was only 30 miles down the IntraCoastal, and it's a much nicer place to stay for the night than Mobile. It was still raining cats & dogs, but since we were in the ICW, the water was much calmer.

Well, on the way to Biloxi, one of the engines (we had twin diesels) decides to call it a day. We can still make steerage with one engine, so we just cursed at it and kept motoring.

Finally we make Biloxi. We pulled into the marina at the Isle of Capri Casino. Biloxi has 13 casinos, more than any place in the US next to Vegas. My kind of place!

Pulling into Biloxi in the rain

Once we had docked, Hal & Bruce proceeded to tear the engines apart, trying to figure out what was wrong. After two hours of that fun, we showered and walked around the casinos a little, then ate a great meal in a local seafood restaurant Hal knew. Then we went to bed early, and slept like logs. 

Up again bright & early the next morning (Sunday). The sun was finally coming out. I had a chance to take a few pictures of the boat in the marina...

Here you can see how close we were to the casino

Good view of the boat, taken from the marina tower

You can see the casino & hotel are directly behind the marina

It appeared the engines were going to need some help from the marina. In addition to that, we were now at least 2 days behind schedule. I had a meeting Monday I could not miss (it was part of the Mas Tech purchase), so I decided to see if I could get back to Houston. I called the airport in Gulfport, which is the closest one to Biloxi. There was one seat left (really!) on an AirTran non-stop to Houston leaving shortly. I grabbed my duffel, wished Bruce and Hal good luck, and headed home.

While my part of the story ends, it was just beginning for my compadres. Here's an abbreviated version of their travails. They spent all day Sunday fixing the boat. Monday they left and headed for Venice. No problems. Tuesday they crossed the delta, and headed up the other side of Louisiana. On the way towards Texas, the boat conks out again. Both motors! And the generator. They have no way to call for help, and they're adrift. After being adrift for several hours, and as night approaches, they finally get one motor barely working, enough to head for shore. Again, they have to pick their way through oil rigs. And they have no lights (remember, no generator). They're not even sure where they are, or if there is a place to dock. Finally late Tuesday night, they get close enough to shore for Bruce's cell phone to start working. They call the Coast Guard, and get help to get ashore. Wednesday morning, they get towed into a marina in IntraCoastal City. If you recall, that was our original destination for Saturday night; it's now Wednesday morning. While Cap'n Hal had to stay & get the boat fixed (after all, he was being paid to do all of this; we were just along for the ride), there was no way Bruce was getting back on that boat. However, he was 150 miles east of Houston, in a city with no airport, no rental car agencies, and no way to get home. He finally paid a local to drive him to Houston!

Thus ends this story. As much as we went through, I still enjoyed it; what a unique experience! Can't wait 'till I get invited back to crew again!