So, we've lost the clutch in the boat and are being towed in by Reynold's brother, Don.
You generally don't want to see this when you have the whole weekend planned around boating. Oh well, we decided to relax and enjoy the ride back to the docks.
The fishing trip became the Booze Cruise. LOL. Not really, but we did enjoy ourselves on the way back.
Pat explained how it was MY fault that he only had one pair of underwear for the entire weekend. I NEVER pack for him and told him that all those clothes weren't gonna fit in the bag he had. He said he'd take some out but instead he just zipped up what I had already thrown in, which didn't include clean drawers, and threw it in the car.
Don did a great job of getting us back to the dock. It's so amazing to me to watch someone parallel park a 54' boat with only a few feet to spare between two other shrimp trawlers at the unloading docks...while talking on his cell!! Of course, he's been doing it his whole life. Don is also a top notch diesel mechanic. He towed both the boats we were on into dock then went to unload his catch.
We got to watch.
We were docked across the road from Coco Marina. Their restaurant is where blackened redfish originated.
Pat and Reynold took the little boat and went out fishing but it was too hot for me so Christy and I stayed behind on the yacht (technically called a trawler by the company who makes it). Pat caught this 3' black tip shark but they didn't manage to get it in the boat. Too bad...I LOVE shark steaks!
It was getting too hot on the boat so Christy and I walked down the road to the bar to get a drink..water for me. Pat and Reynold were headed back to the boat and decided to meet us there for dinner since it was really too hot to cook:-)
We enjoyed a nice sunset, showered and watched a movie. I went to bed early and everyone else retired around 10 so we could get up and go fishing the next morning.
I had never slept aboard a boat for more than just a nap so I was anxious to see if I could. Seasickness generally plagues me whenever I'm on a boat that isn't underway but I wore a patch all weekend and felt just fine. Pat and I both slept very well. Twice we were rocked pretty hard by boats passing that weren't obeying the no wake zone but still a nice night.
The next morning we set out after our morning coffee to do a little fishing. We stopped when we spotted a flock of seagulls diving at the water and got ready to fish. As we were motoring to the spot, a dolphin surfaced next to the boat close enough to spray Christy when he took a breath. Fun but it startled her a bit..lol. I told her she screamed like a girl. The shrimp were just jumping everywhere in the water. We were catching speckled and white trout as fast as we could bait up and pull them in. We didn't even have time to get out any of the 3 cameras aboard to take a picture. When we did hit a lull, we had to put the fish in the cooler from off the floor of the boat and grab a drink of water because the fishing didn't slow down much. We had plenty of fish to clean by lunch time and Pat and I needed to head home. Reynold promised to take a picture of the fish but was so worn out by the time he was ready to clean them all that he forgot. So, big, successful fishing trip and no pictures!
The good news is that he found a guy to fix the boat for $650! Whoohoo! I hope we can go again...it was a blast!!
Pat's sister and her hubby have a new-to-them yacht. She's a great boat with nice bones that just needs a little TLC. They invited us down there (Chauvin) to spend the weekend with them in the Gulf boating and fishing. We arrived in time on Friday night to load most of our stuff on the boat, eat a sandwich, shower and sleep. First thing Saturday morning were here on our way!
We had to pass the drawbridge..swingbridge so Reynold radioed in to have it opened for us. On the way we passed this cool old boat.
It reminds me of our camping neighbors at Black Lake....one of them is named Skeeter. The bridge swung open to let us pass.
There are lots of cool things to look at along the bayou. The guys spotted a 7 foot alligator while we girls were unloading and putting away the groceries and making more coffee.
We were worried about the weather holding out but it turned out to be of no concern. We never even saw a threatening cloud.
Reynold let Pat drive.
We passed this rig they call the spider.
We also met a couple of boats being escorted in by the water patrol and game wardens...wonder what they did?
They yelled and waved to us as we passed...told us to have a great day...didn't look like they were having such a good day.
Reynold radioed his brother, Don, who is the captain of Capt. Wayne, a 54 foot shrimp trawler, to meet us so we could get some bait shrimp from him on our way to the island. We spotted him about the same time that Reynold realized that there was a problem with the yacht.
We had burned up the clutch in the yacht...bummer. Luckily Don was on his way back in with his catch when we met him so he was able to give us a tow into Cocodrie.
So, while we were being towed, the guys continued to assess the situation and make the necessary adjustments to prevent further damage to the yacht.
enough for today....tomorrow...the rest of the story!
