Monday, December 22, 2008

New Neighbor


New neighbors have taken up residence in the up to now unoccupied lot across the street. Take a look!
This December we watched Joanne's niece compete in the Southern Regional Irish Step Dancing in Orlando. This step dancing is a whole subculture many of us I suspect don't know exists but I hazard to say there may be more Irish Step Dancers around, espically young girls, than there are leprecons in Ireland. The next weekend we flew back to Houston to pick up Joanne's car and drive over to Austin to meet Michele's new boyfriend before driving fully loaded back to Florida. We now have one sailboat, one dinghy, one kyak, two cars , numerous beach chairs, three computers and a bunch or others stuff over here. We are going to need a storage locker, condo or house come this spring.!
When we haven't been traveling, we have been getting ready for Christmas with lights, tree, decorations, food and plans for relatives and friends who will be arriving this week, so we haven't been sailing much. Yesterday, we did take the kyak through the mangroves for a short paddle. We also viewed the forty-two strong Rim Canal BoatParade, one of two boat parades in Punta Gorda. We missed the Peace River Parade as we were retrieving Joanne's car at the time of the parade.
The famous, much photographed Punta Gorda eagles are rebuilding their nest. Last year, my cousin had me up before dawn waitng for the eagle's sunrise return to their nest. The three year old nest located along West Olympia blew down in a storm last month. Would they opt to retain their Punta Gorda citzenship or relocate far away? Nobody knew. The eagles did move but not far. The new nest in the making is located on land that was to become the new home of the Hounds on Henry Street dog park. The dog park was slated to move to make way for development but the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act will require the developers to redevelop their plans. Stay tuned for further developments.
By the way the dog park is not a race track; it is a park for dogs!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Friday, December 5, 2008

Punta Gorda Delivery - The Plan

To my wife, Joanne, a diesel purrs. Our kitty cat’s motor she finds soothing, bringing a sense of peace to an evening. Out on the Gulf ,Eagle’s Wings’ diesel’s steady purr sounding more to me like a putt-putt wound up to 2300 rpm stuttered then stopped. Silence under a moonless night on a rig studded sea followed. Rigs like stars on the water surrounded us.

For years, on our evening walks at Waterford Marina where Eagle’s Wings, our Catalina 350 sailboat, and before her, her predecessors were berthed, we often stopped to share stories and dreams of cruising faraway places with our boat neighbors. For some, the dreams never passed Redfish; for others, dreams carried them far across the sea.

One such dreamer was Sharon Kratz, a regular contributor to Telltales. I crewed with Sharon and her husband Joe on their very first offshore trip to Port Aransas. From the Freeport jetties to the Port Aransas channel markers, Sharon barfed as she lay face down in the cockpit of Rose of Sharon, her carefully prepared watch schedule forgotten. Fruit hanging in mesh bags turned to mush as the bags repeatedly mashed into the sides of the salon. Everything stowed in the aft cabin lockers moved forward and everything stowed in the salon lockers moved aft to mix into one unruly heap of stuff. As for myself, I was thrown out of the head three times, once through the door breaking the door lock off in the process. I avoided seasickness, just barely, by either spending my time sleeping on the settee below or gulping fresh air in the cockpit. I did not fall asleep at the wheel as reported by Sharon; how would she know, her head was stuck in the barf bucket!

Perhaps you, dear reader, think that such an experience would mash anyone’s sea going dream to a gooey mess but Sharon’s dream matured into a voyage across blue waters to the Rio Dulce. I suppose that her insistence that we toast our good fortune upon her sea sickened arrival in Port Aransas with a straight shot of rum testified to an indomitable and determined spirit sure to follow her dream.

What about me? For years I continued to walk the docks. I enjoyed the good fortune to know so many good sailors and motor boaters through the Texas Mariner’s Cruising Association, Waterford Harbor Yacht Club and the Galveston Bay Power Squadron. I enjoyed taking the Power Squadron’s course’s from knowledgeable and personable instructors. We participated in the Blessing of the Fleet and the Christmas Boat Parade. We sailed just about everywhere one can in the Galveston Bay area from Anahuac to Offats Bayou. A Telltales’ tee shirt once proclaimed, “Life Beyond Redfish.” Would there be?

If you read sailing magazines, you surely haven’t missed the ads for Punta Gorda real-estate. My cousin Constance and husband Bill didn’t. They had moved from Houston to Punta Gorda, Florida, bought a house on a canal, bought a sailboat, joined a yacht club thereby entering the good life. We visited several times and cruised down the coast with them once. Following our retirement, she notified us of a opportunity we couldn’t turn down, a chance to babysit a house for six months in Punta Gorda, a house with a boat dock on a canal with ready access to Charlotte Harbor! At residence in our Punta Gorda house to be were two strange cats, Misty and Peek a Boo, and a friendly whistling Cockatiel named Benny. We agreed with the owners who would be traveling in Europe for six months that we would begin house-cat-bird sitting the third week of September. Timing precluded a leisurely trip along the ICW to Florida as we were committed to cruise France’s Midi Canal the first week of September.

I planned to recuit a crew to bring Eagle’s Wings across the Gulf at the end of October when the likelihood of a hurricane in the Gulf diminishes yet before the biweekly arrival of cold fronts brings rough weather. I envisioned sailing 300 nm from Galveston directly to Venice, La on the Mississippi River. From Venice one exits the Mississippi via the Baptiste Collette Bayou to Breton Sound for a 200 nm run up to the Florida Panhandle. To Clearwater across Florida’s big bend it’s another 200 nm offshore run. Punta Gorda lies to the south via either the Intercoastal Waterway or an overnight offshore passage. This plan breaks the trip into two or three day segments and keeps one relatively close to the coast should a popup hurricane force a bailout. The plan also allows the waiting out of a frontal passage in Venice or the Florida Panhandle; I still remembered my offshore experience on Rose of Sharon. This route does, however, require threading one’s way through the many rigs off the Louisiana coast.

My call for volunteers went almost unanswered; my friend Barry who also sails a Catalina 350 responded. With only one confirmed crew, I considered the possibility of hiring a delivery skipper. Other concerns were my hearing loss and eyesight; I can’t hear high frequency sounds like engine alarms, for instance. Although I have 20/20 vision, my wife reads road signs along the interstate well before I can. Although I have never been seasick, my offshore trip on the rose of Sharon warned that seasickness was a very real possibility if the weather turned really rough. Having a seasoned professional aboard seemed like a good idea for someone who can’t hear, can’t see and who might get seasick to boot. Barry strongly recommended Captain Bill as did Josh at SeaLake Yacht Sales from whom we had purchased Eagle’s Wings in 2003.
Joanne & I met Captain Bill before we left for France. Captain Bill agreed that my plan was a good one. He had made the trip many times. He promised to check on possible shoaling of Tiger Pass that connects the western Gulf to Venice; if the pass were impassable, Port Fourchon would serve as a refueling stop. We agreed to a flat rate for an expected six day crossing to Clearwater. He mentioned that he had a friend, an awesome cook, who loved to accompany him on deliveries for free. By this time my cousin’s husband, Bill, had volunteered so that made a crew of five.

I inquired of Captain Bill of the need for lee cloths for the settees. Won’t need them; if it’s that rough, we won’t be there. A galley strap? Won’t need it; if it’s that rough, we won’t be there. Padeyes in the cockpit to secure our tethers? Won’t need them; if it’s that rough, we won’t be there. OK, Captain Bill. We set a target date of on or about the 26th of October for our departure. I ordered a life raft and an EPIRB at West Marine; stripped and secured Eagle’s Wings for the remote possibility of a hurricane; and left for France.

Enter Ike.

Around Town This Week

This Wednesday afternoon we walked two and half miles across the Gilchrist Bridge and back. The bridge, spanning the Peace River, is a popular walker and jogger hangout. Joanne has wanted to walk across the bridge for some time now. Wednesday was a beautiful day for a walk.













The Basix at the Bag Lady lies just beyond the Punta Gorda end of the bridge. Discourse with the proprietor's husband could fill a feature column in a local newspaper especially if the shop visitor is a classical music aficionado! The Basix Greeter is as relaxed, easy going and friendly as his master.









This guy doesn't talk anymore. If he could, perhaps he could tell our future. He sits in front of historic 1903 house. It's always the right time for ice cream.















.

Thanksgiving Dinner on Rio Largo





Casey Key Bike Ride with IYC - November 24


We rode a leisurely nine miles along Casey Key with the Isles Yacht Club bike group. Casey Key is a fully developed but picturesque barrier island north of Venice. The Gulf of Mexico lies too the west and the ICW to the east of this narrow, sometimes only a hundred yards or so, island. Double click on an image to view full screen.
Pelicans dive, but the image is too small to see them so just click on the video to hear the waves.













Mike & Gretchen Visit Wildlfe Center Nov 21 - 24, 2008

Mike & Gretchen, former dock mates at Waterford Harbor visited us in November. Gretchen is avid birder so I took them to the Peace River Wildlife Center to see the injured and orphaned birds that make their home there. The center is adjacent the Ponce de Leon Park about two miles by road from "our" house. http://www.peaceriverwildlifecenter.com/




Before all of went to the dedication of Sacred Heart, we feasted on stone crabs as we tacked our way up Charlotte Harbor to the Peace River on Eagle's Wings.






Richard & Joanne pose with
Ponce de Leon

An owl at the Wildlife Center




Pelican Bay

Pelican Bay Post – Nov 17 -18
Cayo Costa Island, a state park, lies along the western side of Pelican Bay. We sailed down Charlotte Harbor in company of Discovery, an Island Packet42, and anchored in five feet of water off the park dock. Our dinghy took us ashore. A mile walk across the island brought us to the beach where we picked up some nice shells. We walked a long way along the beach listening to the waves and then returned to share dinner on Discovery.







We planned to stay two nights but predicted strong north winds reminded me of water blowing out of Galveston Bay with a north wind. The water blows out of Charlotte Harbor just the same. So we left after one night. Of course, the really strong winds did not materialize. We will return some day.













See our track in yellow on the chart and in purple on Goggle Earth into Pelican Bay. The blue green on the chart just connects waypoints:






Monday, December 1, 2008

Where is Punta Gorda?


Frequently Asked Question - Where is Punta Gorda?

Many people have asked us, “Where is Punta Gorda?” From the end of the Galveston Jetties, pretend you are flying over the Gulf of Mexico 667 nm, somewhat south of east (104 T) to Boca Grande Pass, about 62 nm SSE of the entrance to Tampa Bay. Enter Charlotte Harbor via the pass. Punta Gorda lies on the east side of harbor bordered by the Peace River on the north. The images are screen shots taken from http://demo.geogarage.com/noaa/.





The Goggle Earth images below show Eagle’s Wings track through the Ponce de Leon Inlet to her berth in Punta Gorda Isles. The track even shows Eagle's Wings turning around to dock!





Sacred Heart Catholic Church



We attended the dedication of the new church building November 23, 2008. In the photo on the right the Knights of Columbus form an honor guard for the bishop. An artist from Orlando created the mosaic above the altar portraying Christ with the sacred heart. During Hurricane Charley four years ago the church imploded for a total loss. “… And inside the church, he found a candle still burning. It was inside the tabernacle, protected from the wind1.” The church motto is “It’s not the building…it’s the people.” Everyone wears name tags.

Sacred Heart’s pastor, Father Jerry, given three months to live ten years ago, leads the church in a positive and loving relationship with Christ and each other. He is forceful, dynamic and personable. He speaks his mind as he relates the gospel to our modern life. Little children come to the altar to participate in the benediction. We like attending this church.2

1
http://www.kpchapman.com/2004/08/16/faith-guides-punta-gorda-worshipen thers-through-storms-aftermath/
2 http://sacredheartfl.org/