[Rhodes22-list] The GIWW and Menageries humbling

[Jim White]

Well
We set sail Monday  via the GIWW from Port Isabel towards Corpus Christi. 
The trip was well planned, sufficient food and gear. Weather forecast was 
small craft advisory with winds 15-25 SSE. Our plans were to run up the 
ditch with the wind, and turn around and run back with a cold front pushing 
us south with moderate NNW. On leaving the channel, we turned downwind, and 
I was flying about 50-60% of the Genny (175) and a reefed main. We were 
clocking up to 8.2 mph, with a wind measured at 22 mph, at about 10am. 
After about two hours the wind had increased to 28 mph, with some 
hellacious gusts, I dropped the main and took in the genny to probably <25% 
and we were still rocketing along. Around 1300 the wind was up to 30 mph 
with bigger gusts when we hit a spot in the ditch that I affectionately 
call the "mixmaster", where it's always sort of rough in any kind of wind. 
It's only about 125 feet wide, maybe less, and that day the chop was simply 
outrageous, must've been about 4 or 5 feet, every now and then the stern 
would go completely in the air, and even with the rudder all the way down, 
during these wild pitches I had no control. Now, either side of the 
mixmaster, the water is only about a foot and a half deep, much less in 
spots because of spoil dumping, and I was getting kinda worried that we'd 
end up on the shoals. I decided at this point to put the sail away, and to 
turn back with the engine, but even that was a challenge, and several large 
swells broke over the bow washing across the house.... a regular washing 
machine! Finally managed to line her up into the wind, and we plowed along 
at three quarters throttle (never more than 3 or 4 mph) for about an hour 
and a half before getting to a wider, deeper area. The rest of the return 
was anti-climactic, dead into the wind, by this time the bay was rolling, 
and Langmuir currents had formed at right angles to the chop, making long 
white lines in the chocolate water . Nothing to do but mix a couple of 
drinks and lick the proverbial wounds...We tied off around 4pm, both too 
tired to even drive home, we ended up sleeping aboard.

Last night, the cold front showed up, and winds were clocked to 46 mph as 
big thunderstorms passed through the area. Guess I made an OK call.....but 
it was a humbling experience. Especially considering that this was the bay 
and not the open gulf...

The GIWW is shallow and narrow here too. Not much maintenance. A lot of 
that is due to the fact that there are some very big concerns about 
dredging and it's impact on the seagrass communities in the extremely 
shallow Laguna Madre, and also where to dump the dredgespoil.

jw
Jim White
Le Menagerie