Homeward bound

Oct 18th - Horn Island to Hollywood Casino Marina

When we woke this morning, the wind was still blowing 20+ mph out of the NW. This was supposed to have subsided overnight. It would end up blowing like this all day, even though the forecast was still 5-10 knots out of the west. There was a pretty good 2' chop running. The good thing is we would be heading directly into it, which is the best direction for Microship. With her high, flared bow and weight of all the anchor chain forward, she slices through the waves nicely.

As usual, we decided to get underway early and then have breakfast along the way. So it was anchor up and heading west by 0745. The ride was not bad at all, and breakfast of homemade Egg McMuffins was easily accomplished. A full tummy keeps the Admiral happy, and if she is happy, we are all happy!  ;)

About an hour after we got underway, there was a bit of excitement on the radio. Apparently a small 15' boat (Miller Time) was a few miles offshore and was taking on water. I was doing an engine room check and Paula heard a panicked voice come on the radio shouting "HELLO, HELLO, can anyone hear me?".  She just thought it was one of the goofballs constantly asking for a radio check, so she responded to him that she could hear him just fine. He then went on to shout "WE'RE SINKING!" to which Paula replied "Well, then, you need to call the Coast Guard!". She is so helpful. ;)

At that point the Coast Guard replied to the boater and started a conversation about where they were located, number of people on board, etc. They were in an area where the tankers wait for pilots to bring them in to the refinery in Pascagoula, MS. There were two pilot boats in the area, so one of them told the Coast Guard they would head over to Miller Time as soon as they finished getting the pilot on a tanker. They estimated an arrival of 5-10 minutes. Miller Time stated the water was almost over their battery so they may not have radio comms much longer. The CG said they were dispatching a boat, but it would be 30 minutes before it was on scene.

A few minutes later the pilot boat (Round Island) called the CG to say they had to boat in sight, and he was down at the stern quite a bit. Shortly after that they reported they had the boat in tow and would take them to shallower water on the lee side of Sand Island. Just in case they sank. The CG rescue boat agreed to meet them there and take over the tow. In the end, two CG boats arrived. One took the boat under tow, the other brought out a gas powered pump to keep the water at bay. Last we heard they were heading into Pascagoula.

I will never understand why someone would go offshore in a 15' boat. Especially on a very windy day, with 3-5' seas offshore.

So we continued west, and settled into our cruising routine. Hourly engine room checks, periodic transfer of fuel from main tanks to day tank, monitoring all the boat traffic on the radar, etc.

Yesterday, we had heard a houseboat call a Biloxi marina about getting a slip there. Now, as we neared the Biloxi Bay channel, we saw a 40' houseboat heading out. Now this houseboat is the type that is designed for the smooth water of lakes and rivers. Not the 2-3' chop we had in Mississippi Sound today. He was heading west, directly into the waves, and having a mighty struggle of it, too. The waves were breaking over that flat bow and spray was shooting all the way over the boat. I was thinking this guy was going to have a very miserable day of it.

After about 15-20 minutes, he started angling over in our direction. I thought he might be heading over to Ship Island to anchor and wait it out. But as he passed 1/4 mile behind us he altered course and fell in behind us. I watched over the next 30 minutes as he slowly closed the gap. I kept waiting for him to come around as he got closer. But once he got about 200' behind us he slowed and matched our speed. It was then I realized what he was doing. He was letting us break the waves and he was riding in the relatively smoother water behind us. He stayed there for the next three hours, until we neared Bay St Louis. He then called me on the radio and said thanks for the smoother ride, but he had to veer to the left to continue to follow the ICW to Slidell. He asked if there was any way to continue straight ahead, behind me, and get to Slidell. I responded no, he needed to stay on the ICW. I have to guess that he had no chart plotter on board. Or charts, for that matter. He said he had purchased the boat in Chattanooga three weeks ago, and had spent the last 19 days bringing her down the rivers to Mobile Bay, and now on to Oak Harbor Marina in Slidell. Sounds like a fun trip, except for days like today.

We said goodbye as he turned SW, and we turned NW to head towards Bay St. Louis. As we got closer I noticed the RR bridge was already open, and got my hopes up that we would be lucky today. I called the bridge tender to see if it would still be open when we arrived in 20 minutes and, of course, he was just closing it for a train. So I slowed down to idle and took my time getting there. 30 minutes later he swing the bridge open for us and we were in home waters.

We pulled into the marina right on time at 1400, and had the boat tied up and hooked to shore power by 1415. Now comes the laborious task of rinsing the salt water off the boat and dink, flushing outboard motor, and cleaning up everything. After a few hours of that, we were well aware that vacation was definitely over!  But also definitely worth it.

Early dinner, and off to bed by 2000. Then we'll be ready to get up and do it all over again! :D