I drove down the day before, put in at Rockport with the help of Ron and Darlene (fellow Tramp owners), left my car/trailer at my friend Bill's place, and sailed from Rockport to Port Aransas. I had pre-paid for a slip at the Port Aransas marina which turned out to be perfect. I got in just before dark, and I put in a call to another race participant, Charlie, who invited me over for a night cap with him and his wife Carol. After a few drinks and some great conversation, I headed back to Ama Mama to get some well needed rest.
The next morning, I got up before sunrise and got underway. As I was pulling out of the marina and heading out the causeway through the jetties to the Gulf, I looked back and saw Charlie and Carol coming out not too far behind me. Looking the other direction, I saw a beautiful sunrise!
I was then hailed by a tanker coming down from behind and asked to move to port which I promptly did! After clearing the jetties and rounding the starting buoy, I set off on an great all day starboard tack! Mid-day, I looked over the port side at the sky and saw a roadrunner (the Austin Yacht Club mascot) joining me for the day!
During the course of the day, I had been taking on water through my newly repaired centerboard case where the lines for raising and lowering the centerboard come through the cockpit floor. I surmised that the baffle for blocking incoming water had torn during the repair /re-installation and needed to be reworked. Of course, when you are on a long sail, you have plenty of time to solve problems. So, I figured a few torn pieces of sponge stuffed into the gaps would stem the flow, and I was right!
I left Port Aransas at 6am, and I crossed the finish line around 10pm. However, I still needed to get inshore and get up the Colorado river to the Matagorda, TX marina 10 miles away. The jetty entrance lights were clear, but past the entrance, it got very dark. It was a little sketchy trying to navigate down the narrow river channel, but once I reached the first river side house with lights, navigation became A LOT easier!
About halfway up the river, I received a call on my mobile from my friend, Bill, asking me if I wanted to dock at the house he had rented. I was a bit confused by his call because I thought he was still on the water coming up behind me, but he proceeded to tell me that he bailed on the race because he had an issue with his F-31 mast. I was grateful for the offer, and it was even better when I arrived at 12am, and Bill handed me a shot of tequila!
After a restful night, I moved over to the Matagorda Marina in an attempt to get away from the swarm of mosquitoes at Bill's place as well as the powerboat wakes that were slamming Ama Mama into the dock pilings. I was only at the marina a few hours, when I met Adam who raced up the river in his F-27, Melia. Adam kindly offered me a bed at his condo around the corner from the marina, and I gladly accepted. Let's see - a night in hot, mosquito infested air or a cool, air conditioned evening in a real bed? Not a hard choice! Thanks, Adam!
The evening after the race ended, Bill hosted a dinner / awards party at his rented house on the river. During the day he discovered that a leaking AC unit on the north side of the house had created the ideal breading ground for mosquitoes. So, he thoroughly fogged the place before the party - much better than the night before.
Since Bill did not race, there ended up being only three boats in the multihull division. Guess what place I got? That's right, third! Honestly, I was just sailing for shakedown purposes and had the boat fairly loaded to simulate Gulf Stream crossing conditions. Even without the weight, I think my PHRF rating is seriously flawed! Doesn't every racer think that? :-) Anyway, here's the awesome third place award I received:
One of the points of a shakedown sail is to determine what else needs to be addressed to make your boat as prepared as possible for the next big sail. In addition to the water intrusion issues outlined above, I also realized that I would need about 100W of solar charging power to keep my batteries topped up on a long sail away from shore power. I was in need of battery charging for the next day. So, I'm glad I brought my extension cord and charger along. It was a bit of a stretch from the condo down to the dock, but I was able to make it work.
I rose before sunrise and got underway, glad to be back on the water again. The plan for the day was to head Southwest on the intracoastal waterway and make it to The Sanctuary Marina just Southwest of Port O'Conner, TX to meet up with the other boats on their way back to Rockport / Port Aransas. Along the way, I stopped at The Fishing Center in Port O'Conner to fill up my outboard gas tank. After looking at how far I motored and how much gas I used, I confirmed my assumed fuel efficiency at about 10nm per gallon.
Because I was up and underway before all of the other boats, I was first in to The Sanctuary. I later discovered that one of the benefits of being an early riser is that I dodged the thunderstorm below, but everyone else got hammered by it!
After a fun evening of drinks, conversation, and boat tours, I went to sleep for the first time of the trip in my boat tent. Again, I was up and underway before the rest of the boats, and I was rewarded by a beautiful sunrise on the intracoastal!
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