Bottlenose Dolphins of Texas

Enjoy watching Delphinidae Tursiops truncatus (bottlenose dolphin) pods in Galveston Bay, Texas every year.  

Last summer every evening a female and her baby would swim up Clear Creek Channel by the Seabrook Marina pool to feed and play.  We would sit by the pool and watch the dolphins jump and play with each other or the kayaks and SUP, stand up paddle boarders.  Unfortunately we have not seen them this year maybe because of the high level of fresh water and hyacinth this year kept them away.

My first dolphin sighting was right when I visited the Texas coast in the summer of 1999 crossing on the Galveston ferry to Port Bolivar.  Majority of the passengers walked to the front of the ferry to watch the dolphins jump the waves.  It was fun and free for my first time dolphin watch.  But what got even more exhilarating was when the dolphins seeked us out on the sailboat.

Love in a Squall

Since the recent squall that hit Mobile Bay, Alabama, JT and I are reminiscing about our first squall (only squall since). We were dating for a few months and just returned from a cross country drive to meet my parents and explore the Texas Hill country with Whitley.  We were blissfully happy.  

Whitley, the puppy, enjoyed looking out the window and could not believe what she saw.  As I was napping in the back, Whitley, puppy, was sitting up for the first time in the front passenger seat (riding shot gun) staring across the wide open country of west Texas.  West Texas had no green that summer, and she only pees on green.  Once we left Tyler, TX, she refused every rest area until JT found a potted plant in front of the CVS with a green spike grass in it.  She finally made water.  On the return drive we left the interstate to confirm why we both love Texas and the citizens so much.  Driving behind a vehicle where they have the courtesy to pull over into the driveable shoulder to let you pass while using their turn signals, this is where I want to always live.

Gaze Upon That Fire Show

Enjoying a quiet, cool Friday (11-7-14) night on the cockpit of the boat, JT saw a meteor shooting across the sky at 8:14pm central time zone at 233.5 degrees (over Clear Lake Shores-Kemah area) from the boat about 1000 feet (30 degrees) in the air.  He yelled down at me in the cabin to come see.  

As I threw open the cover, I saw two yellowish white lights hovering high in the sky.  Are they helicopters? No.  

Leading New Cruisers to Moody Gardens

Turning into Offatts Bayou channel

Marina at Moody Gardens from the beach

We organized and lead our first cruise to Moody Gardens Marina in Offatts Bayou.  Our other sailboat cruisers had never been to Offatts.  We slowed down and stayed behind another tug to insure that everyone made it under the Galveston Causeway RR bridge together.  We radioed the bridge using their call sign to make sure that all the sailboats will be able to go under before they dropped the bridge for the train.  We all made it with no problems from the courteous bridge tender.  Dolphins greeted us along the way.

The cruise was made so much easier with A Quickie Guide for Sailing Destinations in Texas.

HYC Commodore's Cruise to Rockport

Whitley greets the locks on the Texas GIWW

TWIA: Blow Me Away

After a quick education about WPI-8, now repealed WPI-12, and the waiver, I have received a real lesson on the latest nonsense that is TX windstorm insurance compliance. 

Galveston Bay and Texas Oyster Appellations

Christmas and Thanksgiving with my family always includes Scalloped Oysters: baked oysters with milk, butter, crackers like Beaumont Inn's recipe. My mother absolutely loves oysters: fried, grilled, scalloped, raw-not so much, but never had Galveston Bay oysters until she moved to Texas. 

Quickie Guides Ready for Racing and Cruising

Buy A Quickie Guide for Sailing Destinations in TX Kindle version (best with Fire HD 8.9 or Kindle for Ipad) with live web links. 

Louisiana Kindle version, (best with Fire HD 8.9 or Kindle app for Ipad) with live web links.

Mississippi Kindle version, (best with Fire HD 8.9 or Kindle app for Ipad) with live web links.

UPDATED QUICKIE GUIDES READY TO GO

2013, Louisiana, Quickie Guide for Sailing

Second Edition, Texas, A Quickie Guide for Sailing Destinations

A Quickie Guide for Sailing Destinations in Mississippi

Sunny Denial is a Busy Place

Just another sunny day on the beach in Nice

My latest dangers feel like the newest drivers in the Houston area; all trying to hit me and never using turn signals. But if I avoid the rush hours and keep a far distance from them, I can make it safe and sound to the boat to relax. 

This spring has been nice and cool so much so that I have not thought about sunscreen much. I got my first redness-burn at the HYC opening ceremony forgetting how bright the sun was. Finally now I am pouring on the sunscreen again. 

 

I had always been good about applying sunscreen since high school. After returning from the pebble beaches of Nice and seeing all the old ladies that looked like the witches from Clash of the Titans, I used sunscreen, big floppy hat, sunglasses, & long flowing hippy skirts with a healthy glow to my skin, not a tan. I tried the numerous chemical tanning creams but they all made my skin smell like meat tenderizer, not a good smell for a vegetarian.

My work put me out in the heat of the Texas Sun 5-6 days a week, but I was always fully covered with the wide-brimmed hard hat and eye protection, knocking back catbriar and saplings. 

So I guess my lapse in judgment for lacking sunscreen is a recent problem and the lack of proper clothing protection since we got the boat. 

I would prefer to stay in a bikini all day long than my old armor of jeans, flannel shirt, steeltoe boots, leather gloves, and hardhat.  Realizing again that the sunscreen is not enough (I was in denial-Egypt I will miss you). This sun and my new age is changing my skin, so back to the proven treatments of hydrate, lotion, sunscreen, hat, glasses, flowing tight dresses, & exercise... 

 

Apparently denial is a busy place:

Quick Go Sailing

As my first order of business, I decree that all sailboats must leave the slip at least once a season and go for a quick sailing trip.  

Fussy and frustrated with present Sailing Guides, I created my own: a fast, to the point, and up-to-date guide, for TX, LA, MS, and AL. 

A Quickie Guide for Sailing Destinations on the Gulf Coast

Go for a Quickie.

There Will Be Wine

On Autumnal Equinox, there was a fierce battle of the wines from California and Texas.  No one knew what they were tasting.  Glasses are knocked about, clothes were stained, and mouths were filled with tasty gourmet delights.  Dump buckets were filled at each station with water and wine.  The water pitchers were there for cleaning the cups or palates.  Water crackers were snatched up at each table which kept me busy filling them up.  People wandered from wine rooms and stations.

Clearly some people just preferred whites over reds or reds over whites.  Those white wine loves stayed at the white wine tables for a hour before moving on. 

Rosle Vegetable Chopper (Google Affiliate Ad)

Does Adversity Make You Stronger...

Solo circumnavigating the globe is an amazing accomplishment, but imagine being deaf.

Charl De Villiers, first deaf man to do this returned to Palacios, Texas in December 2004.

The heroic and record-setting journey of Charl de Villiers came to an end on Sunday (Dec. 19, 2004) with nearly 300 people lining the shoreline as he sailed back into Palacios following his 9-month solo around the world odyssey. 

The triumphant 44-year old de Villiers, sailed his 37-foot Tartan 1977 sailboat Island Time into a slip at the Serendipity Resort RV Park & Marina around 1:30 p.m. to become the first deaf person to have sailed around the globe completely alone.

Sailing to Double Bayou for Halloween

Double Bayou pasture 2010

Boat Camping in style, generator for TV and coffee pot

Heading out late Saturday morning, we sailed along with a fellow sailor across Galveston Bay to Double Bayou for Halloween party in a pasture. The day was beautiful, and winds were very cool (so we bundled up). The ship channel was incredibly heavy, and had to move fast to get across to the Trinity Bay side. We had heard on the radio of a collision in the Houston Ship Channel, which may have caused some of the backup. Collision in Houston Ship Channel.

Spring 2011 Texas trip

While I do prefer to remain in the shadows on the Internet, I now feel thrust into this other realm. Our one month sail down the ICW (aka GIWW) last spring with our clan of four was far more than I imagined, and staying connected to TMCA made it bigger than us.