Pilot slang for: clear sky and unlimited visibility. Not what we had most of the morning. Around noon, Joan made that declaration from the title... the weather weasels were still calling for "fog and limited visibility at the coast."
It looked pretty clear as we headed out...
There was an unencumbered pusher tug as we came out our canal...
We tucked in behind him, heading east through our swingbridge...
Coming into the Laguna Madre, we could see spotty fog - definitely coming and going...
I had a cruise plan for today: go east to South Padre Island, then run up the small boat channel on the bay side of the island. It is fun to check out the houses and condos on the waterfront - something we haven't done for a couple years. Still going east...
The fog was getting thicker east and south; looking northwest, the sky and water were looking pretty...
Coming into the small boat channel...
Yep, the fog is getting thicker, the visibility dropping. We watched dozens of pelicans diving into the water...
The barge that fireworks are launched from...
Fireworks are a big deal around here - part of the culture to set off fireworks for New Years Eve. The 4th of July. Cinco de Mayo. Flag Day. Arbor Day. Take Your Daughter To Work Day. Summer Solstice. The Day After the Summer Solstice. Yeah, fireworks are a big deal.
Louie's Back Yard...
Yeah, hardly any fog. Pelicans on the docks where Jim's Pier used to be...
Look at the upper right - high-rise condos in the fog. Some houses along the channel...
The bay is mostly shallow; the water temp in the bay is back to the mid-70s; people out playing in the water...
There are some canals on SPI; heading into one...
Parrot Eyes...
Sounds like "paradise"... get it? It's a bar, restaurant, and summertime water-stuff rentals and party-boats. The houses across the canal from that property used to have peace and quiet... used to.
That was our turn-around point. Heading back south, the fog had rolled in heavier...
There is a causeway south of there. Somewhere. It is a very distinct land-mark... when you can see it. Or, if you have radar. We don't. Neither do these birds...
A clear spot...
Didn't last long...
Joan took this cool shot with a "fog-bow" (kinda like a rainbow) in that short-lived clear area behind us...
We ran under the causeway - time for picking the fork in the road... well, deciding which way to go via the water: we could go east and just miss the 3:00 bridge opening, or go south - into the heavier fog - and head home via the ship channel. Joan said, "Maybe we'll see some dolphins in the ship channel?" South, into the fog, it is.
We could hear some of the excursion boats on the radio, "Man, I can't see a thing!" The visibility was down to about 100 feet; I had Joan pull up the AIS app on my phone. Odds are pretty good the local excursion boats aren't running AIS, but any big ship or barge traffic will be. We are very familiar with the local waters, and our small chartplotter has proven itself to be very accurate. We sounded our horn and kept an eye out for other small boats (none of which were using their horns).
In the fog, I saw a HUGE dorsal fin! I'm talking Orca Killer Whale huge! OK, probably enhanced by the erie fog, and a close passing dolphin...
Quite a bonus! I didn't count on seeing any dolphins along SPI, and it was just fortunate timing that we saw them in the thick fog. Probably the fact I'm am living right, huh?
As we ran slowly east in the ship channel, the fog began to lift: it went from 100 feet to 100 yards to a half mile in just a couple minutes. We did have "clear and a million"... if you were looking up into the blue sky above us. Looking north towards the turning basin, the visibility opened up to where we could see the drilling ships...
Well, parts of the drilling ships. By the time we got into the turning basin, it was beautifully sunny and locally clear...
Clear and sunny all the way to our dock. I cleaned up the boat while Joan took our stuff into the house. I topped off the fuel tank; we ran at speeds from 4 knots to 15 knots (visibility permitting) and used less than a gallon per hour. This little boat continues to impress me.
By 5:30, the fog was rolling back in. The TV weather weasels are calling for a "dense fog advisory" through the night, until 9:00 am tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment