Leave a comment about this day
On this Sunday March 12, the day started as the last one ended. As soon as I turned the corner to head back to the ICW, the wind was blowing, so hard I had trouble keeping course. My autopilot kept disengaging, so I had to man handle the boat all the way to the ICW and beyond. Again, the water was rough and the white caps were bigger than yesterday. The Mermentau is just a straight through from the Gulf and the wind out the of south made the waves and wind very difficult. I have not had such a rough go of it in this boat since Cuba. Fortunately my rebuild held up well and the boat was strong.
As I pulled past the Mermentau River, I started to get much needed protection in the ICW from the land to the south. It was marsh, but tall grass and water cypress trees. The wind was finally calming and the rest of the trip was perfect.
I saw some very interesting sites along the way. There was a very well kept cabin on the Marchland to the south. No roads. I posted a picture. A few miles up the ICW I spotted what had to be the family heading back to their house with supplies in a small aluminum boat. There was a man, woman, and child, along with bags of stuff. There was not other place they could have been going. Certainly not to the Mermentau. There is a life style for everyone, and for some, the cypress is always greener on the other side.
I approached my next challenge. A really big lock called the Leland Bowman. There were a line of barges 6 deep to go through. As I approached each barge, I asked if I could go around them. None answered, so I went around. I suspect they were sleeping waiting for their turn. When I approached the lock I called to ask for permission to come through. The lock tender said he was surprised to see me in front of all those barges, but it was a good time for me to come on in. It was calm in the lock. He instructed me just to float in the middle, which I did. The back door closed and after about 5 minutes of water adjustment, the front door opened and a horn sounded. I radioed and asked to verify if the horn meant I was to go on through. He simple said, “move on out of there”. It was kind of fun. I think my nervousness about locks is over, but we will see. Its kind of like meeting a woman. You think you would stop being nervous after a while, but they are never the same thing.
Shortly after the lock, I started looking for my next nightly stop. Shell Morgan Marina. It is a commercial marina, but they have two spots for pleasure boats (as I found out I am called). One was open so I took it. The marina is closed on Sunday, but two guys sitting on their tug boat told me that they open at 7 and where I was docked was perfect. Good to go. Gnarly and I went to the very interesting outdoor shower and got a much needed clean off. Gnarly watched. She did not smell bad enough to bath, but she told me I needed to. I agreed.
I cooked my first official hot meal. Paula told me I needed to eat vegetables, so I opened a can of green beans that Jenny Dean gave me, and a can of soup. It is amazing how that crap tastes when you are really hungry.
After firing up the Starlink, I caught up on yesterdays blog, today’s, and now I will grade some school papers and call it a night. I won’t take off so early tomorrow because I need to get gas and pay my slip fee….$25, What a deal, and that included the outdoor shower.
