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CHAPTER 1
Houston, Texas
CHAPTER 2
Kemah, Texas
CHAPTER 3
Kemah, Texas
CHAPTER 4
Galveston, Texas
CHAPTER 5
Seabrook, Texas
CHAPTER 6
Seabrook, Texas
CHAPTER 7
At Sea - Gulf of Mexico
CHAPTER 8
At Sea - Gulf of Mexico
CHAPTER 9
At Sea - Gulf of Mexico
CHAPTER 10
At Sea - Gulf of Mexico
CHAPTER 11
Port Fourchon, Louisiana
CHAPTER 12
Cut Off, Louisiana
CHAPTER 13
Cut Off, Louisiana
CHAPTER 14
Cut Off, Louisiana
CHAPTER 15
Houma, Louisiana
CHAPTER 16
Houma, Louisiana
CHAPTER 17
Houma, Louisiana
SPINDRIFT - CHAPTER 10
At Sea - Gulf of Mexico
March 28, 2003
After all that effort, all that work, here we are with our fuel tank full but no engine. Dad even commented that IF you did a movie on what we had gone through these last few days with one thing after another going wrong, people wouldn't even believe it as it would just seem to ridiculously improbable!
As we sat there contemplating our situation, it turned out that the people aboard the C-Commander and those on the Ocean Confidence had been talking via satellite phone with as they described it "the powers that be" about the situation. This lasted an hour or so and then, all of a sudden we found ourselves talking by radio through the satellite phone to the vice president of PB in Houston, who very graciously gave his approval for the C-Commander to tow us to dry land!
The C-Commander was leased to BP at the time and took supplies to their oil rigs there in the Gulf. So we prepared a bridle in preparation to being towed. This was very nice of them to allow us to use our own bridle as towing a boat as ours can be pretty tricky at sea, and for so long a time as we were talking about. They had only manila lines (ropes) on the C-Commander. We made our bridle out of our remaining 3 strand nylon. The danger is when you use rope that doesn't stretch (manila) you very easily can lose your cleats, or windless, as they just get ripped out of your deck. Whereas nylon stretches and literally acts like a gigantic rubber band so you have this big shock absorber there. There is a danger of this breaking though, snapping back and killing someone which has happened in many many instances believe it or not.
Another hour later we are ready to go. We tie up our bridle to theirs and off we go. The captain and crew of the C-Commander were very nice, considerate and thoughtful the whole way. We asked them to go slower on two occasions to which they complied so as to assure the safest and most comfortable ride for us.
We went all day, and all through the night, taking turns at the wheel. We were slowly heading back towards the comforts of land as we winded through the countless rigs that are out there in the Gulf of Mexico.
The following morning we were informed that our ETA (estimated time of arrival) would be 1 p.m. and that the Coast Guard would be meeting us some 30 miles out and take over from there. This came to pass as planned, they did take over and towed us with a little 25 foot maybe skiff into Port Fourchon. They took us to the fishing docks where they were considerate as to our preferences regarding tying up, fender positioning etc. so as to insure safe securring of Spindrift.
At first the Coast Guard was kind of eyeing us rather suspiciously, trying to just figure out who we were, and what we were up to. They boarded, and quite frankly we were just SO HAPPY to see them, to have anyone on board after what we had been through. They asked for boat papers and IDs, checked out our safety items (flares, extinguishers etc.) required by law, asked us what had happened, and soon afterwards we were all just having a very amiable visit, them having fulfilled their law enforcement responsibilities and we asking all about this new place we had so unexpectedly been towed into.
Meanwhile, on the dock we see that there are what appears to be the local PD waiting in line to check us out once the Coast Guard is finished. They come on board, do pretty much the same things, and finally we all find ourselves just chatting away and really enjoying each other's company.The Harbour Police were so kind and helpful to us. They ran a water hose from their own locked up boat slip, the one where they kept their boat. They later brought us a packet of local maps, brochures and info about the region. And they assured us they would be passing by frequently just to watch out for us. We appreciated this as it sure made us feel safe.
"Wouldst thou", so the helmsman answered, "learn the secret of the sea? Only those who brave its dangers com- prehend its mystery!"
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(1807-1882)
(1807-1882)