Departure 0600 6/21/2023
Harborwalk Marina and Yatch Club 29°17’42″N 94°58’10″W
Destination Seabrook Shipyard Club 29°32’59″N 95°01’33″W
Approx. 30 nm
Our night at Harbor Walk was spent on the boat. That evening a squall moved through, it cooled the evening with the rain and wind. We woke and had the usual breakfast of scrambled eggs and tortillas as well as whatever else was in the fridge that needed to be consumed. Our last leg was a short run of around 6 hrs to Seabrook. Wind was brisk and we would go through plenty of twists and turns navigating into the Galveston Ship Channel. Then that would be a fast run past San Leon and Red Fish Island and into view of Seabrook.
We maneuvered out of the marina and into the ICW which would take us past various small islands one which was North Deer Island. On the north side of North Deer Is. a large tug-boat had pushed a barge against it’s shore leaving limited space behind to pass comfortably. The prop wash on the tug was immense and, on the north side of the channel, a spoil island with large cement pilings was constricting the passage. With jib unfurled, I turned on the engine well before we entered the constriction and called ahead to receive instructions to pass. Once cleared we moved forward at maximum speed and then Zephyr’s engine died as we passed behind the barge with it’s prop wash pushing us away. With large pilings to port and a tug to starboard, we watched the wind, tightened the jib and sailed through. After passing I attempted to fire up the engine; it started right away with no issues. I left the engine on in neutral and used it to navigate through the Clear Lake channel to the dock. I’ve tried to replicate the problem with no success.
Entering the Galveston ship channel was uneventful. Well marked and wide enough for two supertankers, there is plenty of depth and width to navigate. With engine idling in neutral, we sailed north past Red Fish Island and turned towards our destination. We passed under the Kemah Bridge and slipped safely into our dock.