Day 2 Galveston to anchorage near Port Arthur, TX

      We departed the Galveston Yacht Basin at 9:50 am after filling all 4 of our (diesel) fuel tanks, which took the better part of an hour (and nearly 400 gallons of diesel fuel). Due to the lower fuel prices compared to our first Loop in 2013-14, this is the first time that we have filled up for less than 1 BOAT buck. In this case BOAT means "Bring Out Another Thousand". A rather small consolation given the economic problems in Texas at the moment due to the low energy prices... As we left the marina we got a good view of the vehicle carrier from yesterday and a somewhat distant view of the harbor area at downtown Galveston. In the center area two cruise ships that arrived very early this morning and the "burned out forest" looking area on the right is a number of jack-up drilling rigs in port for service (painting, updates, etc.) at local shipyards.

     As we headed East toward the Gulf IntraCoastal Waterway (or GICW), we passed one of the 5 ferries that connect a state highway in Galveston with its extension on the Bolivar Peninsula. The ferry route also crosses the Houston Ship Channel and gets close to the GICW so the ship watching can be very good as well as watching dolphin playing in the wakes. Stay away from the stern where kids feed pop corn and bread to sea gulls. The very excited sea gulls flying over head tend to "poop" a lot... However, it is fun to watch from a safe distance.

     For the first few miles along the GICW we passed 22 tows that had been "parked" by pushing the lead barge into the mud bottom along the shore. Most likely, they are waiting for cargo to become available.



   We also passed another 25 tows underway today. In all honesty, we only "passed" 4 tows while the others were all going in the opposite direction. When passing a tow, it is proper procedure to call them and ask for permission to pass and to have them tell you on which side to pass them. Sometimes they will request that you wait until they round a bend or an oncoming boat or tow passes. We generally speed up a bit to pass, but it is usually a very slow process as we are at most going 3 feet per second (or about 2 mph) faster than a tow that can easily be 700 feet long.

     I have neglected to mention that we have an additional crew member along for the Loop...

 Meet "Lucky" (or Lucky Girl) who joined our family last December. She is a Schnauzer mix who, although she has been on the boat many times, has only been on two 45 minute boat trips before yesterday. When we started the Loop yesterday, we neglected to tell her that she was going to have a "new" home for the next 7 months. In the picture she is sitting on her bed on top of the control console on the flybridge. She has a great view from there, except when she looks down 13 feet to the water below...  Maybe that's why she has a slightly forlorn look? She also likes hanging her head out the window so the wind blows in her face and her ears fly in the wind!  Because of our slower speed, this is not harmful like it would be in the car. 

     Tomorrow we are off on a 7+ hour trip to the Golden Nugget Casino, Hotel and Marina in Lake Charles, Louisiana. I don't like to gamble. but I will accompany the Admiral who likes several of the slot machines. Last time she even quit when she was ahead...