On the afternoon of July 13th SV Boto (Ed, Vicky, Mija and Chula) set sail, with our sailing buddies (Bruce, Susan, Shaina and Jib) on SV Indulgence, for a 2 week adventure to Corpus Christi and back to Kemah Texas.
We anchored off Texas City the first night to get an early start in the Gulf of Mexico the next day. We were invited over to Indulgence for dinner. With dogs in tow we launched the dingy (essentially our car!) for good food and wine with friends.
With fair weather and wind we sailed to the Bridgeport Harbor Marina in Freeport Texas (about a 12 hour day). We decided to spend the next day in Freeport so we could go to Surfside beach with Chula and Mija. We took out the Dahon folding bikes and the Croozer doggy 'chariot' that we attach to one of the bikes (essentially the second family car). It's a dog's life! They get to sit in shade with a breeze while Ed peddled an extra 50 pounds of dog up the Freeport bridge!
On July 16th we left Bridgeport Harbor at the crack of dawn for the longest leg of our trip (80 or so miles) to the Matagorda area. With the wind directly on our nose we decided to take the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway). We made good time and in 13 hours we were anchored at a nice little inlet near an abandoned military base in time to watch one of those incredible, large orange sunsets. Shortly after we enjoyed brilliant stars enhanced by the pitch black of being in the middle of nowhere!
The next day we decided a short-leg was in order so we headed off to Rockport, Texas for an easy 30 mile jaunt. We stayed at Key Allegro Marina that we discovered a few years back. It is one of those diamonds in the rough. It is a darling little marina with a ships store, pool and restaurant/bar. It was Friday so they had Jesse James' band on the outdoor patio. After dinner we went back to the boats and enjoyed the music from the cockpit.
We slept in...another short leg ahead of us! At noon we set off for Corpus Christi. It is now Saturday so there were a lot of other sailors out as we headed into the Port Aransas Pass. As we entered Corpus Christi Bay the winds really stepped it up. The marina told us the average winds are around 22 mph. We had up to 28 mile an hour gust so pulled in some sails and got a workout the last hour as auto-pilot couldn't hold a course in the high winds.
More sleeping in (8am VS 5am!) and then off to see the Corpus Christi sights after pancakes, sausage and bacon was had on SV Boto. We started with two art museums and ended at the aquarium. A nice touristy-kind of day.
Tomorrow off to Port Aransas....more to follow
We anchored off Texas City the first night to get an early start in the Gulf of Mexico the next day. We were invited over to Indulgence for dinner. With dogs in tow we launched the dingy (essentially our car!) for good food and wine with friends.
With fair weather and wind we sailed to the Bridgeport Harbor Marina in Freeport Texas (about a 12 hour day). We decided to spend the next day in Freeport so we could go to Surfside beach with Chula and Mija. We took out the Dahon folding bikes and the Croozer doggy 'chariot' that we attach to one of the bikes (essentially the second family car). It's a dog's life! They get to sit in shade with a breeze while Ed peddled an extra 50 pounds of dog up the Freeport bridge!
On July 16th we left Bridgeport Harbor at the crack of dawn for the longest leg of our trip (80 or so miles) to the Matagorda area. With the wind directly on our nose we decided to take the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway). We made good time and in 13 hours we were anchored at a nice little inlet near an abandoned military base in time to watch one of those incredible, large orange sunsets. Shortly after we enjoyed brilliant stars enhanced by the pitch black of being in the middle of nowhere!
The next day we decided a short-leg was in order so we headed off to Rockport, Texas for an easy 30 mile jaunt. We stayed at Key Allegro Marina that we discovered a few years back. It is one of those diamonds in the rough. It is a darling little marina with a ships store, pool and restaurant/bar. It was Friday so they had Jesse James' band on the outdoor patio. After dinner we went back to the boats and enjoyed the music from the cockpit.
We slept in...another short leg ahead of us! At noon we set off for Corpus Christi. It is now Saturday so there were a lot of other sailors out as we headed into the Port Aransas Pass. As we entered Corpus Christi Bay the winds really stepped it up. The marina told us the average winds are around 22 mph. We had up to 28 mile an hour gust so pulled in some sails and got a workout the last hour as auto-pilot couldn't hold a course in the high winds.
More sleeping in (8am VS 5am!) and then off to see the Corpus Christi sights after pancakes, sausage and bacon was had on SV Boto. We started with two art museums and ended at the aquarium. A nice touristy-kind of day.
Tomorrow off to Port Aransas....more to follow
What does SV Boto mean?
ReplyDeleteS/V stands for Sailing Vessel. Boto is the name of our boat. A Boto is an Amazon River dolphin; In a traditional Amazon River myth, at night an Amazon River Dolphin becomes a handsome young man who seduces girls. Legend also states that if a person makes eye contact with an Amazon River Dolphin, that person will have nightmares for the rest of his or her life.
ReplyDelete