The fog was dense this morning so we waited until 11 am to leave the marina.  Unfortunately, we now have to go on the Intracoastal again.  We couldn’t make Matagorda today on the Gulf, and there will be fog again tomorrow morning, so even if we pulled close to shore and anchored in the Gulf, it would be too dangerous to be there in the fog.  Also, there are thunderstorms in the forecast for this weekend, so we are better off on the Intracoastal.

While we waited to leave, I was able to do six loads of laundry. The Bridge Harbour Yacht Club was a beautiful marina with all the amenities, but our power cord didn’t reach the electrical outlet, nor did our cable for TV.  Therefore, we paid for things we didn’t use.  However, it was a safe place to stop, which is our main goal.  We were able to fill our water tanks, and they had showers there to use.

The route on the Intracoastal to Matagorda is shorter than on the Gulf.  However, with our late start, we didn’t make it to Matagorda.  The cruising guides suggest that there are no places to anchor on the 35 miles between the river where we stopped and Matagorda.  At the 5.5 kts we are motorsailing today, we are about seven hours from Matagorda.  It gets dark about 5:30 and we don’t want to be on the GIWW in the dark.  Sometimes the cruising guides are wrong, but it’s not worth taking the risk.  Therefore, we motorsailed a measly two hours today on the GIWW and anchored in the San Bernard River, the last good anchorage until Matagorda.  The photo above shows the Intracoastal up by the sign, and we are in the river which intersects it.  We are about 20 feet from the shore, but it’s deep here.

It’s hardly worth taking the dinghy down for Daisy, but Mark did.  We thought there were a lot of mosquitoes in Minnesota, but we have never seen them like they are here - bigger and blankets of them.  In addition, Mark says there might be rattlesnakes here, so he walked on the shore with a stick.  His theory?  Use the stick to let them know you are coming.

  Apparently, he thinks they only attack if you surprise them.

We will be getting thunderstorms tonight but hopefully the fog, if there is any, will clear quickly so we can be on our way to Matagorda early in the morning.