Gulf of Mexico Adventure

Ralph and his 37 Ft Beneteau Ketch

Before you read this story you should watch the 1992 movie “Captain Ron” with Kurt Russell, Martin Short and Mary Kay Place. The reason is it will make you appreciate this story a little better because there are several similarities. This is going to be a long story but that is necessary to capture the key details of this trip.

At the time this story takes place I had been sailing for a number of years and had owned many different sailboats ending with a 1965 Islander 32 full keel costal cruiser. In my previous sailing story I talked about chartering a 43 foot sailboat and going to the Bahamas. I say this just to validate that I did have some large sailboat experience. One of my many sailboats was a small 23 foot cabin rig that I sold to a friend of mine; Jack and his wife Janet. I taught them to sail and they were very happy with the boat. A few months after this, Jack called me and asked if I would help ferry a 37 foot Ketch sailboat from New Orleans to Baltimore, MD. The Ketch (a twin mast sailboat with tall mast in front, short mast in back and in this case a center cockpit) was just purchased by an old Viet Nam buddy of his and he did not have any large sailboat experience. His buddy, Ralph, bought the boat in Houston and needed to get it back to his home in Baltimore. Ralph had hired a ferry captain in Houston to help get the boat to Baltimore but the ferry captain had quit in New Orleans and now the boat was stranded in a very high priced marina on Lake Pontchartrain on the North side of New Orleans.

I did not know Ralph and so far I wasn’t impressed. I wondered what would cause a professional ferry captain to quit in the middle of a ferry job. I was to find out the hard way. The plan was to fly to New Orleans, meet Ralph, get on the boat, and sail from New Orleans direct to Key West, FL, then up the East Coast to Baltimore. I told Jack that I had a few stipulations before I would agree:

1         The boat must have had a recent survey to ensure it is safe enough to take out onto open water well off from land.
2         It must have a life raft on board
3         It must have an emergency locator beacon (EPIR) on board.

My experience on open water during our Bahamas trip (Sailing story 1) made me leery of sailing on open water without the proper survival gear. Jack said he checked with Ralph and all my stipulations were satisfied so I agreed and we made travel arrangements for New Orleans. As it turned out, Jack’s wife also wanted to go so we three flew from Little Rock to New Orleans and arrived at the marina around midnight.

My first meeting with Ralph should have given me warning signs that something wasn’t right. He came across as a used car salesman and any question I asked he had a way of dodging the bullet. When I asked why the ferry captain left he said that they just didn’t hit it off so both agreed that his contract would end at New Orleans. I then said let’s look the boat over. This was a very nice boat with full cabins below, diesel auxiliary engine and appeared to have been well taken care of. It had an unusual cabin arrangement with the main cabin in the stern behind the center cockpit with the crew cabin in the bow. The center area contained a table, kitchen and the bathroom (head). The first thing we looked at closely was the engine compartment. I checked the oil and general appearance of the engine then with a flashlight I checked the water cooling shutoff valve. This is a hole in the bottom of the boat with a shut off valve then a hose running to the engine for cooling water flow. Any hole in the bottom of a boat is called a through hull and is a potential trouble area. More than one boat has sunk because the hose burst on a through hull and that is why they must have two separate stainless steel clamps on the hose at both ends and a valve that works. I immediately saw that both clamps were extremely corroded, in fact one of them had actually broken and was being held on by the corrosion. I then tried to operate the valve and it was frozen solid.

At this point I looked at Jack and said “this boat has NOT been surveyed as you had stated”. I was pretty mad at this point and said to Ralph “show me your raft”. Ralph took us up to the cockpit and lifted the floor grating and there was a raft, a $39 Wal-Mart kid’s raft!! It was all I could do to say “show me your EPIR!” Ralph said “E-what?” That’s when I told Jack I’m calling a cab and going to the airport. By this time it was around 2 am and Jack convinced me to stay till morning so we could talk about all this. I went to bed on the bench seat in the main dining area and everyone else went to their cabins.

The next morning was a bit strained as you can imagine. My initial plan was to fly back home. Only because Jack and Janet were good friends I agreed on a compromise. I said there is no way I am taking this boat off-shore direct to Key West or up the East coast. I will agree to stay in the inter-coastal waterway (ICW) since if the boat sinks we could at least swim to shore. Ralph of course kept trying to get us to go direct until I told him this was not up for negotiations; if he wanted my help we do it my way. He finally agreed only because the cost of the marina in New Orleans was extravagant.

Here is a bit of information you need for the rest of the story. The Gulf of Mexico is very shallow for many miles from shore. The anchorages are also shallow and anything over 5 foot draft is most likely not able to use them. The Ketch had a 6 foot deep water blade keel! The ICW is hit and miss on the Gulf coast; it sometimes is close to land then disappears making you go out to deep water. Where it is close to land it is a dredged channel with marker buoys on both sides of the channel (red on one side, black on the other). A sailboat the size of this Ketch with tall masts requires most bridges on highways and railroads to lift or rotate so we could get past them.

Reference the enclosed map for the rest of the story. It so happens that after we agreed to go via the ICW a weather front had moved in and Lake Pontchartrain was extremely rough. This happens when strong wind hits shallow water. Our concern was that the deep keel on the Ketch would not clear the bottom at the breakwater to the marina. The marina had calm water but where it opened to the lake a large wave was hitting the wall causing the entrance to rise and fall at least 10 feet. We decided to wait till the next morning to let the weather improve. To kill time Jack, Janet and I walked to a Goodwill store next to the marina and bought some warm (used) clothes. None of us even considered that it could actually be cold down this far and we only brought clothes suitable for the tropics. We clearly were not prepared for this trip and what was to come.

The next morning (Start on the map) we pulled out of the slip and headed to the breakwater exit of the marina. The lake was still rough but the wave at the marina entrance wasn’t as bad so we decided to punch out and get on our way. As we approached the exit the breakwater was on our left (Port) and the shore wall was on our right (Starboard). The boat started surging up and down and just as we came under the full force of the lake waves the boat sunk deep and hit the bottom with the keel. It was a terrific jar to the boat and I totally expected that we had to have caused damage and possibly were taking on water. I went below and pulled up the floor but all look good so we managed to have some good luck after all (at least for this item).

We set a course North East to cross the lake to the exit of Lake Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico. It was rough going with very choppy waves and a quartering tailwind. We decided to motor since I wasn’t sure this crew could handle the sails in the wind we were experiencing. By the time we got to the Interstate-10 Bridge we knew we would not be able to go any further that day. I was not prepared to do any night navigating until we had some hands-on experience with this boat. We checked the charts and found a Sailing Club that was open to transient boats so decided to go there for the night (Day 1 on the map). As we pulled in to the protected little bay we saw the dock towards to back of the bay with a clubhouse overlooking the dock about 50 yards up a hill. We approached the dock with Ralph at the helm and me on the bow with a rope ready to step off onto the dock. This was when I found out that Ralph had no idea how to dock a big sailboat. This is a skill that must be learned and small ski boat operation is of no help. A large sailboat has lots of mass (weight). It has only a single screw (propeller) and a single rudder behind the screw. The boat has a lot of “stuff” catching the wind; i.e. hull, masts, cockpit cover (Bimini), etc. All of this must be considered during docking and if there is any current in the water, that also comes into play. My most white knuckle times while sailing have been docking a large sailboat in the middle of a lot of other very expensive boats.

Ralph managed to get the bow up to the dock but the rest of the boat was 45 degrees out from the dock. I stepped off onto the dock and tried to pull the boat close enough so I could tie off the bow. No luck. The boat was too heavy and by that time Ralph had applied the wrong power and rudder combinations so that the boat was about to slam into the dock. He did get it stopped in time but the wind then blew them away from the dock. I should have walked home at that point but I had to see what happened next. By the way, the sailing clubhouse had an outdoor restaurant overlooking the bay and dock. We managed to arrive at the peak dinner time and the restaurant was full of dinners. After this first aborted docking attempt, they all started watching us.

There wasn’t much I could do but watch with the dinners. Ralph and Jack where in the cockpit and attempted several times to get the boat sideways to the dock but only managed every combination except the right one. They finally got the bow close enough that I could grab the bow line again and I immediately wrapped it around a bollard and tied it off. I then ran to the stern and had Jack throw me a line and I yelled at Ralph to put it in neutral and get his hands off the helm. I managed to slowly pull the stern to the dock and tied it to a bollard. At this point I am extremely agitated and embarrassed. Ralph then jumps off the boat with a big smile and says “Let’s go to the clubhouse for a drink and dinner”. All the dinners were still watching us. I tell Ralph that there was no way I was going into that clubhouse after that demonstration of sailing expertise. It didn’t bother Ralph one bit and off he went. I stayed on the boat and drank a few cold beers to calm down before going up to dinner (by that time it had emptied of dinners).

Later in the evening a smaller 35 foot sailboat docked next to us and on-board were 4 Norwegians; 3 guys and a girl. Their boat was rigged for racing with very limited accommodations below-deck. They were in the USA just sailing around and site-seeing the USA from different ports. The next day they were heading out across the Gulf of Mexico to Key West and offered to stay with us if we wanted to make the crossing. Ralph was all for it but I was hesitant after spending the whole day having to deal with his continual foul ups. We decided to continue together until we got out of the channel and into open water then decide what to do. Up to now we had been in water deep enough for our 6 foot keel and we didn’t have to worry about staying within a defined channel. Tomorrow would be different, the channel was marked with buoys and if you strayed out of the channel you would go “aground” in the mud.

Early the next morning we loaded up and left the dock along with the Norwegian sailboat and entered the channel heading to the Gulf. Because I didn’t trust Ralph with the navigation I decided that I would monitor the charts and all Ralph had to do was go where I told him. This was before GPS was so predominant in the civilian world so all we had were nautical charts and a compass. All navigation buoys have numbers on them so I would check them off as we passed each one. The buoys are black and red. The rule is “Red Right Returning”. This means that if you are in a channel coming from the ocean to in-land that you keep the red buoys on the right side of the boat and the black buoys on the left side. This ensures that your boat is in the channel. This works great as long as you are going in a straight line but most channels twist and turn. This requires checking bearings to the different buoys in front and in back of the boat to ensure you are staying inside the channel during turns and even while going straight. We were in the lead and the Norwegians following about 50 feet behind; both motoring.

All was going well until we got to the last bridge (railroad) before entering the Gulf of Mexico. It was closed and out of service. Each draw bridge has an operator who communicates with the passing boats via radio. Our mast was way too high to get under the bridge and the operator said it could be out for hours or even the rest of the day. We checked the charts and talked with the Norwegian captain on what to do. There was another smaller channel that went through the low-lands and the railroad bridge at its entrance was operating. The problem was that the channels depth was the same depth as our keel so it was questionable if we could get our boat through. The Norwegian boat had a shorter keel and they were going for it. We decided to follow them and if they had problems we definitely would not get through. I told Ralph that this side channel is probably not dredged very often and he had to stay within the buoys. Off we went.

Within 15 minutes Ralph wasn’t paying attention and drifted slightly outside the channel buoys and we immediately buried the keel in the mud and came to a standstill. We tried reverse, no luck with only a lot of mud being stirred up under the boat. The Norwegians circled around and asked if we wanted to try towing but I said let us try a few tricks first. The problem we faced was there is not a lot of tide effect in the Gulf of Mexico so you can’t use a high tide to get off when stuck. We needed to get the keel out of the mud as much as possible while at the same time full reverse on the engine. My concern was that the mud would clog the cooling water line to the engine since its intake was right under the boat. This would overheat the engine and the effort to clean out the mud from the lines was well beyond our capability. We were about to try towing when we attempted one last trick. We swung the main sail boom out as far as it would go and Jack and I started working our way on top of the boom to the end. Our weight out from the boat made it lean a few degrees and that was enough to get the keel free and Ralph reversed back into the channel. This was #1 going aground incident, there were more to come.

We finally made it to the channel exit and under the railroad bridge to the Gulf of Mexico. The Norwegians came up close to our boat and asked what our plans were. Before Ralph could say anything I said we were heading East along the coast and following the ICW. I could actually see relief on their faces. They had seen firsthand our sailing skills and they were not impressed. Off they went South East on a direct line to Key West and we turned East alone. Surprisingly there are not a lot of available ports or anchorages along this stretch of the coast for a boat with a deep keel. Our next destination was the port of Biloxi, MS and we would just make it before sun down if we didn’t go aground again which we did while making our way from the ICW into the port. Luckily it wasn’t as bad since we were barely moving due to the heavy boat traffic in the area. Going into reverse under full power got us out of the mud and we continued into the port entrance. This was #2 going aground incident.

I had spent many months in Biloxi, MS attending different training courses while in the US Air Force. The Biloxi I knew was not the Biloxi I saw as we entered the port. Since my last time in Biloxi the gambling casinos had arrived and the area around the Biloxi Port was populated with tall hotels attached to floating casinos along the coastline. We slowly entered the port looking for a transient dock to stop for the night. We found it but it was in a tight location with not much room to maneuver this large sailboat. My experience with Ralph during his last docking attempt made me decide to be in the cockpit with Ralph so I could give him input on what to do while Jack and Janet took care of the bow and stern lines. After several tense moments we got the boat alongside the dock and tied it up for the night. We then walked to the closest casino hotel and got into their all you can eat buffet line in our smelly sailing clothes. Everyone kind of moved away from us in the line but we didn’t care.

After dinner we were setting on the Ketch enjoying the evening when a Catamaran sailboat pulled up to the refueling dock about 50 feet from our boat. It had two large outboard motors on the back; one on the stern of each of the two hulls. About ten minutes later I saw a couple of guys running around on the boat and the dock and then smoke started coming from the engine on the hull furthest from the dock. They were using hand held fire extinguishers on the engine but it finally burst into flames. They only got it put out after they got the fire hose from the fuel pump dock on the fire. The back end of the one hull was severely burnt and the engine a total loss. We had a ring side seat for the whole thing although we were concerned that the fire would spread to the fuel dock with a big explosion and fire being the result. Just another day on this adventure. End of Day 2 on the Map.

Day 3 started later than I liked. We stayed up late the night before discussing what our next day’s plan would be. Our problem was that because of the narrow channel we had to motor all the time. We could only go about 5 Knots per Hour (maybe 6 mph) so we plotted how far we needed to go to get to the next suitable anchorage or dock. It was well beyond the distance we could make in the available daylight. The only marina on our route was at Dolphin Island just before Mobile Bay. The charts stated that the marina would only support boats of less than 5 feet draft. Once again our 6 foot keel was causing problems. We then considered going all the way to the top of Mobile Bay to a marina that could take deep water boats but that was beyond our daylight range and put many additional miles on our route. Our last option was to go past Mobile Bay and into the ICW on the other side to an anchorage in a small bay. This would still require us to go into the night but we would be in a protected channel (ICW) once we got past Mobile Bay. This is the one we selected. But getting Ralph out of bed and ready to go was agonizing and the several hours of daylight we spent getting under way would be hours of darkness we would have to endure later in the day.

Getting out of the Biloxi marina and back into the ICW should not have been a challenge but Ralph managed to put us in the mud again. We were getting good at getting unstuck so we didn’t lose too much time this time but we did get lots of stares from the other boats. I’m sure they were thinking “what are those bozos doing with such a nice two masted sailboat”. Very good question really. This was #3 going aground incident.

The run from Biloxi to the bridge at Dolphin Island was uneventful. I kept taking bearings to the marker buoys to make sure Ralph was staying in the channel and we were making pretty good time but it was obvious that it would be dark just as we entered the ICW on the other side of Mobile Bay. Once we entered Mobile Bay it was deep water so we put up the sails. This was really the first time I had actually enjoyed the trip up to then. We were clipping along on a direct line to the ICW under full sail. There is actually a very deep channel for ocean going ships that runs from the city of Mobile (North end of the bay) to the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico just East of Dolphin Island (See map). As we approached this deep water channel there was a very big ocean going container ship heading South in the channel. There is a trick you use in sailing to tell if you will pass in front, pass behind or hit a converging boat. From the cockpit you pick out something on your boat that is in line with the other boat such as the wires holding up the mast. You watch the movement of the other boat reference the selected wire. If the other boat moves behind or to the left in this case of the wire, you will pass in front of the other boat. If the other boat moves in front or to the right in this case of the wire, you will pass behind the other boat. If the other boat does not move and is always in line with the wire then you will hit somewhere up ahead. The container ship was rock solid in line with the mast wire and did not change left or right; we would hit.

I told Ralph that we were not going to be able to pass in front of the Container Ship so he needed to turn left so we would pass behind it. Ralph’s reply was that we were to the right of the container ship and the right boat has the right of way. I was about to scream at Ralph that there were also rules that say that the bigger boat and the one that is less maneuverable (container ship in both cases) had the right of way but that’s when the container ship started blowing his horn at us in a continuous blast. I then told Ralph to turn this boat to the left or I was going to throw him overboard. He reluctantly complied and now we are not very far from this very large ocean going ship going in the opposite direction with the intention of turning back on course as he passed. My concern was the waves coming off this ship were extremely large compared to our sailboat and I knew we needed to hit them head on once we were clear of the ship. I explained this to Ralph but was ready to take the helm if he didn’t do exactly as I said. I wish I had a picture of our sailboat crossing the stern wake of the ship because it would have been something to put on the wall at home.

We finally made it across Mobile Bay with about 30 minutes of daylight left. The entrance to the ICW was a little tricky and narrow and of course Ralph cut a corner and went aground again!! We are making circles in the mud when a tow boat seeing our predicament motored over and asked if we needed a tow. Ralph was about to agree until I told him that the tow would not be free so how much money does he have. We turned down to tow offer and finally got the boat unstuck using the tried and true method of making circles until you dig a big hole in the mud with the keel and them power out. This was #4 going aground incident.

The ICW in this section is big enough for two large boats of our size to pass each other but not much more. The anchorage was still a couple of hours ahead at our motoring speed. As we passed a private condominium complex (all with their own private dock) Ralph decided that we should go into the complex and find an empty dock and spend the night. The people living in this complex, I’m sure, were familiar with this scam because they had several large signs at the entrance saying “Keep Out”, Private Marina” and “No boats allowed except for condo owners”. The signs didn’t bother Ralph and in we went. We had not even been in the complex 3 minutes before several folks setting on their balconies yelled at us that this was a private complex and we needed to leave. Ralph decided to go to the other side of the complex out of sight of the folks who yelled but this plan did not work, everyone in the complex that saw us yelled that we needed to leave before they called the cops. We finally got back into the ICW with another totally embarrassing episode in my log book.

One thing I didn’t describe about the Ketch was that the cockpit was completely covered by a canvas sun awning called a Bimini. The Bimini was open on the sides but the front was completely covered with a clear plastic section that could be rolled up if preferred. This gave great protection from sun and rain but limited forward visibility especially in the dark. Ralph did not want to roll up the front although I asked several times. I was at the helm and told Jack and Ralph to set on the side and keep a look-out to the front because my visibility was pretty restricted due to the Bimini. They complied but they began talking about the stock market and I could see they were not paying much attention to what was ahead of the boat. For some unknown reason I walked to the side and looked around the Bimini and there was a docked barge right in front of us and we were on a collision course at 5 knots. I jumped back to the helm and gave a hard turn and I could see the barge miss the side of our boat with inches to spare. I yelled at both Ralph and Jack to get the $@$*#@% Bimini rolled up and don’t say another word about it. They complied.

We finally made it to the anchorage and dropped anchor around 10 p.m. All I could do was set on the back of the boat and drink a couple of beers and think “what did I get myself in to”. Remember we were going all the way to Baltimore. In addition, the ICW basically did not exist past Pensacola until you got to the Tampa area then disappeared again until in the Key West area. This meant that we had to go off-shore for these sections. This was the end of Day 3.

It was at this point I decided I was not going any further with this trip if I could help it. I told Ralph and Jack that our next stop would be at Pensacola where I was leaving the boat and flying home. Ralph of course started giving me all the reasons why I should stay but it was a done deal as far as I was concerned.

Day 4 began late as usual but the ICW to Pensacola was actually to most beautiful section of the trip. We went by some great beaches and inlets with lots of other boats. The channel had turned from black mud to white sand and the water was as clear as glass. We had checked the charts and there was a marina at the Pensacola Navy Base open to military retirees; both Ralph and Jack were USAF retired. We called ahead and they had an open slip where the Ketch could be stored while Ralph found some other unsuspecting morons to help get the boat to Baltimore. We had to work our way through a narrow channel to the marina and guess what happened; Ralph cuts a corner between buoys and once again puts the keel in the sand within sight of all the folks at the Navy marina. This was #5 going aground incident. We actually went aground 7 times but I can’t remember where the other two incidents happened.

We spun a few times until we got it free then motored into the marina and managed to get it to the dock. I had my stuff packed and as soon as we docked I got off and went to the office to call a cab to get to the airport. Jack and Janet had also had their fill of all the incompetence and didn’t want to stay onboard if I was leaving so they left with me. We said our good-bys to Ralph; he still did not understand why we wanted to leave.

The Ketch stayed at the Pensacola marina for several months. Ralph was not a poor guy, he was obviously well off but he would not pay to have a professional captain take the boat to Baltimore. He eventually found two other armature sailors to help him with the remainder of the trip. Jack says it almost turned into a disaster. Rather than follow the ICW, Ralph took the boat and his inexperienced crew out into open water to go around Key West and up the coast to Baltimore. Somewhere on the route they ran into a significant weather event and almost lost the boat and crew. The two deck hands got drunk and he had to lock them down below while he tried to keep the boat from being swamped in the weather. They eventually made it to Baltimore. I got this all second hand from Jack but it sounds like something Ralph would do so I believe it is true.

Note: Most of the pictures came from the trip described above. I did download a couple of pictures of a similar type boat to show what it looks like under full sail.