Hurricane Zeta

We could not proceed.  The Industrial Lock (Inner Harbor) was closed for two or more months for repairs closing off the Gulf ICW inland route.  There was no will to go offshore around the boot of Louisiana with the onset of hurricane season.  Indeed tropical storm Cristobal rolled right over New Orleans only 5 days after we left her docked at the New Orleans Municipal Yacht Harbor.  That was the day after Memorial Day 2020.

We assessed that White Pepper was safer at the NOMYH than in Corpus Christi.  There was 360 protection from waves and sturdy floating docks. We did not know that 4 tropical systems would threaten her and two would make direct hits.

TS Cristobal visited in early June but made only minimal impact with 35 mph winds and high water.

Jan points out the high water mark of Cristobal

Hurricanes Laura and Beta struck Louisiana near Lake Charles causing only gusty winds and some high water in New Orleans.

View of Lake Charles from I-10.  Most of the roofs have blue tarps after hurricanes Laura and Beta.

However, hurricane Zeta was a different matter.  It scored a direct hit on the harbor. There is an official NOAA weather station at New Canal which is about 500 yards from White Pepper. It recorded 65 knots winds from the east gusting to 85 knots. Then there was an eye that lasted about 20 minutes, followed by 50 knots winds from the west.  The water rose 2 feet in 15 minutes and then dropped the same amount in another 15 minutes, according to locals that stayed on their boats during the storm.

Wind data from the New Canal Station

White Pepper suffered damage to two starboard side stanchions and a bent toe rail, but otherwise did very well.  A stern line was nearly severed. Another few hours of west wind would have probably finished it.

She rolled into the dock damaging the stanchions

New high water mark is much higher with Zeta

Stern line is almost severed

Toe rail bent and stanchion base broken

All things considered we were quite fortunate to have survived the 2020 hurricane season as well as we did!

Calm after the storm; West End Park

White Pepper's Worst Day Ever

 

When I first began this blog in 2007 I read several articles about travel literature. One of the first travel writers in America was Mark Twain. Travel was a new possibility for the middle class in the 1880s and Mark Twain wrote several successful accounts of his travels including The Innocents Abroad. One rule that Mark Twain had was that his travel works must be cheerful. He said that, “the difficulties in travel are so great that to record them all would be litany of misery.” I have tried to follow his advice here. However, for this post I will break down and relate the dreadful events of Memorial Day 2020.

Jan and I awoke before dawn at Rabbit Island. The plan for the day had been months in the making because there is no room for error when crossing the Mississippi River. We would proceed 20 miles down the Navigation Canal to New Orleans. The we would transit the Inner Harbor Navigation Lock also known at the Industrial Canal and Lock. This complex includes (from east to west) the Florida Street Railroad Bridge, the huge N. Claiborne Ave. Lift bridge just before the Industrial Lock, the lock itself, and finally just after the lock is the St. Claude Street lift Bridge. About 100 yards further west is the Mississippi River. We would travel upstream 6 miles bucking a 3 knot current and then cross over to the Harvey Lock. After the Harvey Lock is the 4^th Street lift bridge. The final stretch is a 20 mile run to Lake Salvador to anchor. That is if there is any daylight left.

There was a lovely dawn as I weighed the anchor, and we started for New Orleans. There was virtually no traffic as we had hoped on this Memorial Day. We did see many barges docked along the canal or more commonly parked in the mud along side the canal.

Beautiful start to an awful day. Rabbit Island anchorage

My friend, Dr. Richard Davis, had called me the night before. He had made the trip before and advised me to call the lock master and introduce myself before arrival. Good advice. I did call on the cell phone when White Pepper was about 5 miles out. The lock master was very professional and courteous. But then he said, “you’re a sailboat aren’t you? You had better call the N. Claiborne Bridge. I heard that they are not opening.” He gave me the phone number to the bridge. I called the bridge with my heart pounding. The lady operator was less courteous and said curtly that “No, they were not opening for 5 days.” I asked why, and she said, “donno.” End of conversation and beginning of scramble.

My initial response was to return to Rabbit Island. Jan quickly vetoed that plan and said that we should find something nearby. She got on her Navionics app on the iPod and began to call all 20 of nearest by marinas. This being Memorial Day she got almost no answers.

Railroad bridge is up, I-10 bridge is high, Danzinger bridge is low

At this time we were passing by the mouth of the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal. This short canal connects the Inner Harbor with Lake Pontchartrain. I had read and heard from Dr. Davis about a marina in the canal. So we headed into the canal. Guarding the canal is a busy railroad bridge, but it was open as we approached. Beyond the railroad bridge was the massive I-10 Interstate Bridge which we cleared easily. However, a quarter of a mile past the I-10 Bridge is the lift bridge over US-90 also known as the Danzinger Bridge. It was tall but after passing under 1000s of bridges I knew this one was too low. It was a lift bridge. I called the nice operator of the railroad bridge and asked him what to do. He stated that the Danzinger Bridge required a 3 hour notice to open and he gave us the phone number. Jan called and raised a very nice lady from the Louisiana Department of Transportation. She said she would try to get someone out there in 45 minutes. I continued to circle. By this time the railroad bridge was closed and we were trapped in the canal. After about 35 minutes the Danzinger bridge began to lift. The operator never acknowledged our heartfelt Thank-you’s. We passed Pontchartrain Landing which is a marina and an RV park. They had responded that there was no vacancy. As we passed there were numerous open slips. The final obstacle was the Seabrook lift bridge which gave us a quick opening. White Pepper was free upon Lake Pontchartrain.

Danzinger Bridge opens on an emergency basis

By this time Jan had raised someone on the phone—Lake Shore Marina—who agreed to let us dock at his marina. Navionics showed Lake Shore Marina to be several miles to the east next to the famous Southern Yacht Club inside the New Orleans Municipal Yacht Harbor. When we got there Lake Shore Marina was a closed fuel dock and convenience store. We docked on the bulkhead. Jan called the nice man who said that he thought we understood that his marina was in Slidell, a town about 30 miles across Lake Pontchartrain.

Southern Yacht Club

Desperate Jan saw a banner with a phone number across the small canal. She called and, miraculously, our angel, Andrew, answered. He directed us to a marina inside the break works about a half mile away. There were over a hundred empty slips! We grabbed one and hopped off the boat quite overwhelmed. There was no one in sight!

Safe at last!

Andrew came by several hours later and explained that this was the New Orleans Municipal Yacht Harbor Marina. It had been totally destroyed by Hurricane Katrina 15 years ago. FEMA had agreed to replace the marina. So far the only construction had been beautiful, study floating docks. There was no electricity, no water, no showers, and only scant trash pick up. The only residents were a few hardy souls surviving with generators and jerry jugs for water. Thus ended White Pepper’s worst day ever.

The next morning the staff showed up with attitude. However, when we assured the harbor master, Wayne, that we would pay and had insurance things got a bit easier.

Jan wanted to pay for 5 days of transient dockage and then push on when the N. Claiborne Bridge opened. As it turns out tropical storm Cristobal would roll right over New Orleans in 5 days. My nerves were completely shot, and all I wanted to do was fall asleep in my own bed in Beeville, Texas. We negotiated a 3 months lease and reserved a rental car at Hertz. The Municipal Yacht Harbor is well protected and the floating docks should prevent a repeat of the Katrina disaster which was caused by a 20 foot storm surge. The solar panel are more than sufficient to trickle charge the batteries. Our friend, Andrew, agreed to watch the boat while we were gone which made leaving much easier.

Jan points out the high water mark made by TS Cristobal. For comparison the pilings in the back ground are 3 feet taller than the storm surge of hurricane Katrina.

The bad news was not over, however. Jan and I took White Pepper out onto Lake Pontchartrain to charge the batteries before we left. Within a few minutes the alternator began to heat up and smoke. While Jan stood by with fire extinguisher in hand, I limped her back towards the harbor. The alternator finally seized up before we docked. That afternoon I made several phone calls and was able to find a mechanic to replace the alternator.

All packed up for 3 months at least

There was one final aggravation. Just as we were locking up to leave I switched on the bilge pump one last time. It did not come on. I even switched out pumps without success. I just had to leave that chore for later. We Uber-ed to Hertz to pick up the rental car. Nine hours later Jan and I were back in Beeville. I, for one, was never happier to see the old homestead.

Several weeks later we did return to New Orleans. I hard wired (and fused) an automatic bilge pump to the batteries. But that trip is a post for another time.

Mississippi Sound

 From Pensacola to Mobile Bay was only a short run and as the weather was nice we proceeded offshore motoring as usual.

Along the way we saw our first rigs.  These stretch all the way to Tampico, Mexico in a great arc of oil producing formations.

Oil rigs

The passage into Mobile Bay was surprisingly rough as current opposed wind and waves. The wind was only 12 to 15 knots so I wonder what conditions would have been like in a blow.  We were guided into the bay by an historic old lighthouse on Sand Island.  This lighthouse is decommissioned and endangered by erosion. Likely it will be washed away entirely eventually.

Sand Island lighthouse

Our destination was Dauphin Island, Alabama.  We wanted to stop to compare it to our favorite beach town--Port Aransas, Texas.  However, there was no safe way to get into the marina our 5 and 1/2 foot draft.  So we anchored on the north side of the island in 10 feet of water about a half mile offshore.

The next day brought more fair weather and White Pepper was actually able to sail for several hours. Mississippi Sound is delightful in the prevailing winds that we experienced that day.  It does have a long fetch between the mainland and the barrier islands.  I suspect that it would be rough in brisk norther. We saw the first of the commercial barges that clog the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between Mobile and Brownsville.

The next anchorage was Cat Island, a barrier island just south of Gulfport, Mississippi.  We anchored again in 10 feet of water about a half mile offshore.  We did not go ashore and spent a pleasant night at anchor.

Cat Island, MS

Rabbit Island, LA

Our last day on Mississippi Sound was a short trip across Lake Borgne to Rabbit Island.  Rabbit Island is the only practical anchorage in this part of the world.  It is part of the Rigolets (pronounced Rigly by the locals).  The Rigolets are a systems of sand berms and channels that form the entrance to Lake Pontchartrain.  From here our plan was the motor 20 miles into New Orleans and cross the Mississippi River.  The disaster that was the next day will be the subject of our next post.

Pensacola

The earliest Spanish explorers quickly realized the potential for Pensacola.  It has remained the military and cultural center of western Florida since 1559. It is the oldest European settlement in N. America. St. Augustine is actually the oldest continuously occupied European settlement as Pensacola was abandoned for a while after a devastating hurricane.

Old Fort Pickens

Pensacola Pass on a cloudy morning

White Pepper arrived about noon after a rough morning dealing with a late season cold front. The pass is deep and wide.  It soon sweeps behind a barrier island occupied by Fort Pickens.  This short sound opens up into a protected bay.  Historic Pensacola is 5 miles north up the bay.  The marina is at the base of Palafox Ave.  Palafox was an early commander at Pensacola and his avenue anchors the entire district.

The main reason we had bypassed Panama City to come to Pensacola was renew acquaintances with Lt. Beth Hagen.  She and Jan met in Corpus Christi while sailing on the Wed. night races.  Beth was in Basic Flight School at Corpus Christi. Pensacola is her Advanced training.  Her aircraft is a huge SR-60 helicopter and her winging was the next day.  The winging ceremony was to be held under strictest social distancing.   No family was allowed at this momentous occasion.  So we were privileged to spend an entire afternoon with this lovely warrior and celebrate her winging at Jacob's, a fancy restaurant in the marina. Thank you for your service Beth, now and in the future.

Lunch at Jacob's

Lt. Beth Hagens

Later Jan and I were able to explore historic Pensacola walking.  It was almost empty due to the lockdown. There were numerous statues and we wondered how many would survive cancel culture. Readers of a certain age will remember the lunch counter sit ins at Pensacola that were part of the early civil rights movement. The lunch room is closed, but the lunch counters have been preserved along with a plaque.

Good luck to you, Gen. Jackson

Cool Street Mural

Palafox Ave. is empty at 10:30 am.  This is the main drag!

Looking in at the famous lunch counters

Dog Island and Carrabelle

Leaving Clearwater Beach was easy.  Deciding where to go next was hard.  Ordinarily Tarpon Springs 20 miles to the north would be the popular choice, but it was closed due to COVID. The coastal waters north of Tarpon Springs are incredibly shallow and there are no suitable stops until Dog Island about 100 nautical  miles north in the Florida Panhandle.  Also there is no intracoastal waterway between Tarpon Springs and Dog Island. 

                Leaving Clearwater Beach               

One crew member wanted to go straight across to Corpus Christi. However, with all of the gear failures I had lost confidence in the White Pepper.  Panama City looked like a perfect stop and was said to have the best harbor in the Panhandle. The problem was that from Clearwater we would likely arrive late on our second night offshore. So Dog Island it was.

We left Clearwater Beach on a lovey morning.  The wind was predicted to be 10-15 from the east promising lovely beam reach sailing.  However, the wind ended up being 5-10 from the north--another motor ride.  NOAA had forgotten to account for TS Bertha spinning off of the eastern shore of Florida.  Regardless it was a lovely ride.  As the White Pepper got further north into the shallow water (it was 30 feet deep 50 miles off shore) the wave action become much choppier than the mild wind would ordinarily cause.  This action is well known and the waters here should be avoided in any strong blow.

                Lovely sunset in mild conditions                               

Dog Island appeared in the early afternoon.  The entrance into St. George's Sound was straightforward.  Then a mile to the east was the anchorage for Dog Island.  The anchorage is large and protected.  We anchored in 7 feet of water with a sandy bottom.  We did not go ashore and passed a comfortable  night.

 Entrance into St. George's Sound

            

               Dog Island anchorage                   

The next morning brought another decision about where to go next.  I wanted to go to Panama City which was about 70 miles further west.  Jan wanted to push on to Pensacola which was 130 miles west.  Although Dog Island is the eastern terminus of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway there was no passage for the White Pepper because of several low bridges (50 foot clearance).  We would have to go offshore at lease until Pensacola.

In order to make Pensacola we would have to refuel.  The nearest fuel was in Carrabelle which is a fishing village about 3 miles inland on the Carrabelle River.  Carrabelle turned out to be a delight. The town is rural but well kept and very friendly.  If we had not been under time pressure, Jan and I would have gladly taken a slip and stayed for several days.

Carrabelle River

Refueling at C-Quarters Marina

It was about noon when White Pepper cleared the pass and headed west for Pensacola.  Some weather was coming but we hoped to be in before it hit.

Clearwater Beach

Clearwater Beach is the beach town to Clearwater.  It also serves Tampa Bay and is ordinarily quite busy.  However, we arrived just as Florida was emerging from its long COVID19 lockdown.  Jan and I watched as streets and beaches went from empty to mobbed.  Restaurants went from barely open to packed.  The waterfront concessions such as fishing charters, sunset cruises, and (my favorite) the floating tiki bar went from closed to barely open on a reduced schedule.  But at least they were out on the water.

We were shocked to see such crowds on the beach 

The trip from Egmont Key to Clearwater Beach was only 40 miles.  It was a lovely day and sailing would have been nice.  But as I mentioned in the previous post while we were still in the Tampa Bay ship channel when the engines control panel failed.  A big surprise was that the motor kept running.  I need to make a technical point here.  Older diesel motors, such as my old 3GM, do not need electricity to keep running.  I would stop the 3GM by closing the choke.  The newer Yanmar diesel engines such as the  3JH require continuous 12 volt power to maintain fuel flow.  The stop switch on the control panel works by interrupting the circuit to the fuel pump. I knew immediately that this mystery would be a problem to remedy.  Indeed it took 11 days to satisfactorily diagnose and fix the problem.  In the meantime I was afraid to stop the motor fearing that it would not start again.  We made it into the municipal marina without incident.  By the way the motor restarted easily which was another surprise.

Control panel died on the way to Clearwater Beach

I checked the fuse and all of the electrical connections.  Everything was intact. The motor had originally come by way of Mastry Marine of St. Petersburg.  I called them and they recommended Sea Farer Marine. Tom, the owner of Sea Farer, came out.  He worked on the panel and harness for about a week including twice taking the panel and harness to Mastry Marine where diagnostic equipment was available.  Eventually the problem was determined to be a short in the start switch caused by an extra wire that had been added to the original wiring harness when it was installed 5 years ago.  Unanswered questions are why was the extra wire added in the first place and why did it take 5 years to fail?  And why did the switch start the motor when it could not power the control panel?  While I am very grateful to Tom for his diligence, my recommendation to the reader is that if this ever happens to you--please just buy a new panel and wiring harness.

Tom from Sea Farer Marine works on the control panel

Starting switch was the culprit

While waiting for Tom to fix the motor Jan and I spent most of the days exploring Clearwater Beach on foot.  The beaches are broad and sandy,  There are numerous restaurants all reasonably priced.  The expensive restaurants remained closed due to COVID. Walgeen’s sold liquor as well as ice cream bars.  Publix was a long albeit scenic walk away. We were pleased to see how many sea birds frequented the docks. 

Pizza for Mother's Day lunch was a treat after lockdown ended

The beaches reminded us of Padre Island with whiter sand

Herron on a dock line

By now the season was getting quite late.  Already we were into May which is the tropical storm season in the Gulf of Mexico.  Tropical storm Bertha had just formed off of the eastern coast of Florida.  It was time to leave.  So White Pepper cast off lines from Clearwater Beach and headed north towards Dog Island and Caribelle, Florida.

Key West to Clearwater

Leaving Stock Island Marina

Florida Bay must be a lonely place. White Pepper saw only one vessel, a large sailboat coming in as we were exiting the Northwest Channel to enter the Florida Bay.  That was the only sighting for the entire afternoon and night as we crossed from Key West to the Florida mainland.  The Florida Bay is a round shaped body of water about 50 miles across and uniformly 10-15 feet deep. There is not much fishing and sailors avoid it because it gets rough in any kind of breeze.  Fortunately we had ideal conditions.

Sailing conditions were ideal all afternoon with flat water, steady wind and fast speed.  At sunset the wind died so we motored.  I prefer to motor at night when the wind is light anyway.  There was a new moon which set quickly.  The very dark night passed quickly without sighting a single light.

 Flag waves in gentle breeze

Jan starts the dawn watch

 The original plan was to stop at Sanibel Island and Fort Myers Beach.  Both of these resort towns were closed due to COVID and transients were not allowed. The next plan was to anchor behind Estero Island and recover from the overnighter. However, by dawn we had made such good time and the weather was so nice that we decided to continue up the west coast of Florida. By late afternoon Tampa Bay was coming into view.  Friend, Tammy Swart, made a great suggestion via Facebook that we stop at Egmont Key.

Duck flies by with ranger station on Egmont Key

Egmont Key is sort of a barrier island but positioned right in the mouth of Tampa Bay.  Because of its ideal location Egmont Key has a storied history, but currently it is a bird sanctuary. Visiting is discouraged. We passed a quiet night at anchor.

Control panel died

The next morning we set out again passing through the Tampa Bay ship channel  in mild weather.  Again the original plan was to spend some time at the resort town of Tarpon Springs, but the entire town and the marinas were still in lockdown. We had called ahead and learned that Clearwater Beach Marina was accepting transients. As has happened all too frequently this trip another breakdown occurred just offshore.  The engine control panel quit working.  Fortunately the engine kept running.  We made a quick passage to Clearwater Pass and tied up by 2 pm.  Little did we realize that White Pepper would spend 11 days there trying to have the control panel repaired.

Moonrise over Clearwater Beach

Heron inspects boat

Key West in the Time of the Covid

White Pepper's stay at Stock Island Marina and Resort, Key West, FL in March and April of 2020 was greatly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic as it was for everyone. We arrived three days before the lock down with reservations for a month. We had planned to restock, rest, and party. We would fly in guests and make a trip out to the Dry Tortugas. Covid wrecked all of these plans. The marina shut down on March 18, 2020. Anyone with less than a 28 day lease was asked to leave. As we had a 30 day lease we could stay. This was so fortunate as we had nowhere else to go!

All of the amenities were closed including the two pools. The hotel was shut down and were the three restaurants on site. We could walk to the liquor store, a small convenience store, West Marine, Car Quest, CVS and the fish store—that was it. We never got to visit Duval St., Mallory Square, South Point, or Smathers Beach. They were closed. We ate every meal on the boat and never visited a restaurant. However, we were very safe. Monroe County quickly closed the Overseas Highway at Key Largo and would not allow any visitors into the Keys. Covid was stopped cold. Only 3 deaths were recorded in the Keys and one was 101 years old.

There was a time in Florida when walking into a liquor store with a mask on would get you shot.

Where did all of the toilet paper go?  Our first trip to Publix.

Unlike so many stuck at home, we were stuck on the boat. The boat provides endless opportunities for chores. I greased all of the winches. I coated the exterior wood with 3 coats of Cetol. We replaced the parted main halyard. Jan repaired the torn genoa. The oil and all of the filters were replaced. A new friend, Chris, cleaned the bottom. It was so hot the extra insulation had to be added to the freezer/refrigerator. Most of all, extraordinary effort was spent replacing the linear drive component of the autopilot. The project was so over the top that it deserves a blog post of its own some day. Finally on the next to last day of our stay that project was finished.

Jan changes the secondary fuel filter

Serviced the Barient 736 three speed winch

We walked everyday usually after dark because it was so hot. Often to beat the afternoon heat we piled into the dingy for a tour of the marina with cocktails. There was wild life in the marina including several large tarpon, an eagle ray manta, thousands of mullet, and even a manatee.

Two tarpon find shade under the boat

Dingy "tea"

We made good friends with Tom and Jessie Page who are just starting out on the cruising life. They were so helpful giving us rides around the island. Our slip neighbor Larry was great. Our friends, Tim and Cricket on Whodoggie, lent us a fan which was wonderful.

Jessie Page

Tom Page

One of the curious aspects of Stock Island Marina was that numerous super yachts flocked to the place for refuge from the Covid. There were at least 3 yachts over 300 feet and about 5 more in the 100 to 200 foot range. Needless to say we did not interact with these folks. Although one yacht did drop off two N95 masks, gratis—many thanks.

Bella Vita, super yacht

Red Head,  not a super yacht but famous as Billie Joel's old boat

When the super yachts started to leave we thought it was time to go as well. Florida was cautiously opening up and marinas were accepting transients. We set out for Fort Meyers Beach but ended up at Clearwater, Florida. We did an overnight stop at Eggmont Key in Tampa Bay along the way.

Storm looked ominous but turned out to be mild