Sunset Cruising aboard SV Hippokampos

October 14, 2015 / SV Gimme Shelter / Leave a comment

Mary spent last Saturday evening in a classroom taking the ASA 201 written test, so our friends Andy and Jayne were kind enough to invite me along on a sunset cruise.

All the usual suspects were aboard.

And I got to a chance to bring along my friends Chris and RJ, who have never done much sailing.

We were making our way down the channel when we noticed several dolphins cruising along with a sailboat not too far from us.

And soon they were on their way over to say hello to Hippokampos as well.

As we made our way towards the ship channel they dropped back. This time of year they seem to spend more time in the upper bay.

Soon the sun was dropping towards the horizon. It never ceases to amaze me how fast it moves once it starts setting.

And just as the sun disappeared somewhere over there behind the Kemah Boardwalk, the wind picked up, so we turned the boat around and made another lap around the bay in the dark.

The Journey Home

September 29, 2015September 30, 2015 / SV Gimme Shelter / Leave a comment

We had no sooner left the dock when the skies opened up and blessed us with a tropical downpour that only living close to the ocean can provide. Luckily we had quite a bit of motoring ahead, but the quickness of the storm really caught us off guard. We had our top companionway board down below, and opening the hatch to get it would have defeated the purpose, so I just threw a towel over the top. Luckily me and Fred both had our foulies on as it was looking a bit grey, but our dogs were not so lucky.

Poor Dixie just sat in the corner looking angry and miserable while water slowly dripped on her head. Tex mostly shivered in my lap, but we quickly found out my jacket was not waterproof anyway, so we both became soaked.

Before we even got back into the channel the rains had let up, and the sun was out again.

As we motored into the channel I raised the main sail and we started our downwind sail home.

We soon found ourselves surrounded by other weekenders who had spent the holiday weekend visiting Galveston and were now headed back for the week. We were immediately overtaken by several Jeaneaus, we guessed either from the dealership or from the charter.

Two of them in particular kept swerving back an forth in front of me while I drove. They seemed to think that I could avoid them by driving into spoil areas, and that being on autopilot gives you the right away.

They did look pretty sailing side by side though.

While I was down below prepping lunch, Fred was trying to get our sails to hold wind. We were going downwind, but our useless main was blocking all the wind for our jib. Eventually we ended up taking down the main and gained a little speed, but had to motor to get home at a reasonable time.

A few times I looked up and Fred was not driving, and was instead looking everywhere but forward taking pictures. This was terrifying for me, but at least he did get a good dolphin picture.

Hippokampos buzzed by us no problem with their cruising chute up in the light winds.

A beautiful end to a beautiful weekend.

Sailing with Dolphins

September 13, 2015September 13, 2015 / SV Gimme Shelter / 2 Comments

Labor day weekend was a long awaited chance for us to take Gimme Shelter to new destinations and have a bit of real adventure. Dixie had been having stomach issues all week, so Friday morning we had her checked by the veterinarian to make sure she was ok to travel. She got some antibiotics and some anti-nausea medicine then we were on our way to Kemah.

I got to work unloading all of our food and supplies onto the boat and carefully stowing them away while Fred made runs back and forth to the gas station for diesel. Our fuel gauge was only showing slightly above 3/4 when our filter funnel backed up and stopped filling the boat. That spot just above 3/4 was where the gauge was stuck when we bought Gimme Shelter. Apparently 3/4 was as high as the gauge was going to show.

Around 1:15 we cast off from our marina and started our slow motor into the wind towards our first stop for the weekend, Laguna Harbor on the Bolivar Peninsula.

We watched patched of rain pass beside and behind us, but thankfully they all missed us.

Our slow motoring turned into quite the adventure after passing Redfish Island. The dolphins were out in full swing surfing the bow wakes of big cargo ships.

We were making better time than expected, and despite our late start we were nearing Bolivar around sunset. Something about sunsets really makes dolphins jump out of the water, and as we crossed the ship channel we saw several small families of dolphins doing all sorts of weird things in the water. I’ve seen them swimming around pretending to do what I can only imagine is “playing shark”. I’ve also seen them sort of “wrestling” around in the water. Every once in awhile we get a chance to see them doing some jumps just for fun.

We entered Laguna Harbor and rendezvoused with our friends Andy and Jayne aboard their Pearson 422, Hippokampos, who were also making the Labor Day trip but had managed to leave Kemah a little earlier.

The dogs are always glad when it’s time to start grilling.

As we sipped a few beers we saw dozens of jellyfish swimming around the marina. They seemed to be popping up everywhere. We decided we wouldn’t be swimming anywhere in the bay that weekend.

We shared a nice meal of chicken fajitas with Hippokampos before taking the dogs for one last walk before bed. That’s when Dixie walked up in the grass to drop a load — except as she was squatting I noticed she was pooping on a huge black snake. The snake had its head up looking at us inquisitively. Dixie finished her business and trotted on ahead. She never even knew it was there.

Port St. Joe: Salinas Park and Broke-A-Toe horseback riding on the beach

May 12, 2015May 13, 2015 / SV Gimme Shelter / Leave a comment

Friday was our first beach day, and the decision was made to try out Salinas Park on Cape San Blas Road.

Salinas Park caught our interest for several reasons:

1. It wasn’t too far from where we were staying in St. Joe.

2. It was free.

3. It’s dog friendly.

4. It’s where we were already scheduled to meet for Broke-A-Toe horseback riding on the beach that evening.

The county park was established in 1991, and it has bathroom and picnic facilities, but we didn’t come across any showers. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any showers, but if there are, we didn’t find them.

When we arrived Friday morning, we basically had the beach to ourselves. The sand was white-ish, but the water stayed shallow for quite a ways out. We spent most of the day lying on the beach, applying and then re-applying sunscreen, but not much time in the water.

We also discovered the hidden dark side of Florida beaches — the biting flies! They came and went throughout the day, but when they bite, it HURTS!

After finishing the sandwiches we’d made for lunch and all of the drinks we packed in the cooler, we decided to call it a day and headed back to the cars. Kelly and the Broke-A-Toe crew had already unloaded the horses for our 4:30 p.m. ride on the beach, so we enjoyed some shade while they finished saddling up.

We had wondered whether or not we needed to pack pants and shoes for the riding, but due to county regulations the horses can’t go faster than a walk on the beach, so it’s a nice slow ride, perfect for beginners or people wearing swimsuits and flip-flops.

One very special thing about the Broke-A-Toe horses is that several of them are rescued horses and older horses, and all of them were extremely sweet, especially compared to some of the ornery horses I’ve known.

After a quick horse-steering demonstration, we headed back down to the beach to discover a pod of dolphins was frolicking less than 100 yards offshore. It was magical. Even the horses were watching the dolphins, and as we rode down the beach, the dolphins swam with us. My only regret was that I had a wide-angle lens on the camera because I had been planning to shoot our horseback riding experience, not offshore marine mammals, so the dolphins just look like specs in the photos. I should have brought a zoom.

Our ride guides not only made sure no horse poop was left on the beach, but they also proved to be great photographers.

The ride back up the beach went a little quicker than the ride down because the horses knew there were hay bags waiting for them at the trailer, but the entire ride was very relaxed and enjoyable.

This really made a great post-beach pre-dinner activity, and it added a little something special to our day. Of course, they can’t guarantee dolphin frolicking every ride.