As we headed out the ship channel, we could see a couple oil rigs in the distance, out in the Gulf. With no destination (heck, no plan), we pointed the bow towards the Gulf. With the big winds of the past couple days, I expected the water to be rough; I was pleasantly surprised to find the waves were 2 to 3 feet and widely spaced, making for a nice ride as we headed towards the rigs.
As you can see from this photo, the water was a very pretty turquoise/blue color. It was kinda murky in the Laguna (typical after a lot of wind), but cleared up when we got offshore a ways.
Once we were clear of the jetties, you could see that the oil rigs were further out than it originally appeared. According to the GPS, we ran out about 8 miles to get to the rigs. Once there, we could see that they were just parked, not doing any drilling. I am wondering if they are here for refurbishing at the Port of Brownsville.
It was great being out again. Yes, there were dolphins out in the Gulf; about 8 or 9 of them in this pod, and very active. We pulled the power off and watched them for a while.
We tried out the electronics and cabin amenities while cruising along, to make sure they were functioning. So far, everything we tried out was fine. Back in the Laguna, we pulled into some shallow water and dropped the anchor with the windlass - working fine. Well, as long as the anchor is down, we might as well take a little nap... being rocked to sleep with the small waves lapping at the hull. Nice.
Then, north in the Laguna, west to the ICW, and then through the Long Island Swing Bridge. Almost all of the shrimp boats that have docked in that area are gone... the processing buildings have been torn down, and the lots are being sold for waterfront home sites. Changes.
We motored into the old shrimp basin to see if any of the boats had been moved there. Nope, mostly empty. I assume these boats will have moved to the Port of Brownsville.
Back in our canal, we were followed by a bunch of brown pelicans. “Brown” doesn’t adequately describe these great looking birds - their necks are white with yellow at the top of their heads. Their bodies are a silverish gray, almost iridescent; but, from a distance, they can look kinda brown.
Yeah, this is why we’re here.
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