Whooping Crane Cruise February 13th - 19th

Travel,  new experiences,  making new friends, dining out, and sharing a meal on board made this a fun trip!  Our group included Rex Whitworth,  Michael and Karen Powell, Charles and MaryAnn Crossno and cruise leaders Jim and Connie Ferguson.

On February 13, we all gathered on Mischief Managed to visit, get to know each other, discuss the trip and have chips and salsa.

Three boats made the trip leaving on Valentine’s Day.   

We had great weather for the trip to Surfside.  That evening we gathered for dinner at the Dorado Dive Club, an easy walk from Surfside marina.   Concerns over the planned weather delay and time constraints had Michael and Karen decide to go offshore back home the next day.  

Air2Sea and Mischief Managed planned to head to Matagorda.  Jim and Connie left early and discovered the flood gates were closed, opening only at 5:00 pm - 8:00 am. We returned to Surfside Marina and the four of us decided it was an out to eat and beach walk day.

We had some great snapper at the Red Snapper Inn.  Plus we had a lot of entertainment from the Pelicans on our dock at the marina.

It is an easy walk to the restaurant and beach.  The beach and blue sky was beautiful!  We enjoyed our walk back watching the surf.

The next day, Mischief Managed left before dawn for the flood gates.  The motor vessel folks got to sleep in.  This was a new experience for Chuck and MaryAnn. 

The transit was extremely busy with barges. In Mischief Managed, we had 6 barges next to us or crossing in front.  It got a bit tense for a while until we passed through.  Jim’s comment after was “well…. that was fun!” (lol)

It was raining off and on and chilly.  We were warm in our enclosure and Chuck and MaryAnn manned the helm from inside the cabin.  We arrived at Matagorda with the plan to stay two nights due to wind conditions the following day.   More fun… talking and eating!  Air2Sea had developed a problem with the depth finder.  Chuck decided to return home for repairs.  Jim decided due to later wind conditions, that we would cut the trip short and return with them.

Leaving for the return trip, there was a lot of scenery, passing barges and small communities to see.

Air2Sea got back to Surfside early. Our boat developed a low oil pressure problem.  Sea Tow gave us a tow back through the flood gates and to Surfside Marina.  Chuck and MaryAnn were waiting with a dockhand for our arrival to help us in our slip.  

The Crossnos returned the next morning and Jim and Connie stayed in Surfside to make repairs (and get in another beach walk and restaurant meal).

We might not have gone all the way to Rockport past the whooping cranes, but we certainly had some adventures, learning experiences and lots of fun making new friends.

It was a fun cruise with interesting sights, good food and nice people.

Connie Ferguson

s/v Mischief Managed

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