Due to a combination of factors... trying to stay on schedule, light or unfavorable winds, fleeing nearby foul weather, etc., we motored the entire trip except for coming home on Monday, when we were blessed with good sailing winds for several hours.
I was pleasantly surprised at how, despite the obvious lack of air conditioning on the boat and the fact that we took this trip during perhaps the hottest part of the year, sleeping at night was quite comfortable. Having a bunch of fans helped, as did having the front hatch open to catch the breeze.
On the two nights that we anchored (both in shallow water with primarily sandy bottoms), the Fortress FX-11 held just fine.
Now, is there anything more boring than looking at other peoples' vacation photos?
Sarah tries to beat the heat, apparently not taking the "always treat every water gun as if it were loaded" rule seriously.
As we were nearing at our first destination, Smugglers Cove at Cat Island (an undeveloped island about 10 miles south of Gulfport, MS and around 60 miles east of our home dock), I spied the occupants of a boat signaling by waving a shirt. Their motor had died, and they had someone who would come and get them, but because it was so late in the evening, it wouldn't be until morning. So, they asked if we could tow them several miles to Smugglers Cove where they could camp for the night on the beach. Despite the "boatload of obnoxious drunks" appearance of this photo, these folks were extraordinarily nice, and very grateful that we actually stopped to help... they said several other boats had passed but not stopped, including one that was a lot closer than we had been when I saw them. I refused their efforts to pay us for the tow, but I did ask if they could siphon a few gallons of fuel from their tank for us, as our reserve had been cut into due to the tow.
Saturday, anchored at Cat Island. The island got its name from the explorers who first landed there (can't remember from which country), and saw what they thought was some sort of odd species of cat, which in reality were raccoons (I guess they didn't have raccoons in their country).
A beach on the exposed side of the island.
Me and my girls at Cat Island (please, no jokes about the physique, or lack thereof).
After fleeing some nasty weather that was approaching Cat Island, we spent our planned day/night dockside in Gulfport, visiting the Marine Life oceanarium, eating at a delicious Mexican restaurant, and taking a much welcomed shower.
Sunday morning, we fueled up, added some ice to the cooler, and headed off to West Ship Island. This island is mostly undeveloped, though a couple of park rangers are stationed here full-time.
West Ship Island is also the site of Fort Massachusetts. This fort was, like some others, obsolete before it was even finished being built, due to improvements in ship artillery. But it is still fascinating to walk through.
Ship Island is an extremely popular destination for area boaters. The large ship at the end of the pier is a passenger ferry that takes other people to the island and back.
"I am the queen of the broken canon!"
On the left is a replica of the wooden lighthouse that withstood several hurricanes, including the category 5 Camille (which cut Ship Island into East Ship Island and West Ship Island), but was accidentally destroyed by a fire set by campers in the early 1970's. This replica lighthouse is just for show, as the metal structure on the right actually serves the navigational aid function.
After casting off from Ship Island's pier, we anchored for the night directly in front of the lighthouse, and took the dinghy ashore to take a closer look and play on the beach.
Sarah and Allison stage a hermit crab race.
There were hundreds of hermit crabs on this beach. The water is very clear here (which we are not used to), so they're easy to find. This piece of concrete or iron was apparently a popular hangout spot for the little creatures, as there were a few dozen of them on and around it.
Settling in for the evening off West Ship Island.
We discovered that when you're camped out on a boat, far away from civilization, food that you normally wouldn't be thrilled about eating suddenly becomes absolutely delicious. Here, Susan enjoys a bowl of yummy beef stew and crackers. After a couple of days of harsh sun exposure, despite the generous use of sunscreeen, she is very sunburned by this point, as are the rest of us.
We awake Monday morning to a beautiful sunrise seen over East Ship Island, and...
A really nasty looking storm approaches, so we decide to forego the planned final trip ashore to the beach, and instead immediately pull up the anchor and head for home.
Aside from some rough seas (which drenched me), we manage to avoid any foul weather while underway, and make it safely home after about 10 hours of sailing and motoring.
We all had a wonderful time, and can't wait to go again.
--Mike
