Day 5: Army Hole to the End at Magnolia Beach
In which we are becalmed and drag our boats through the town of Port O'Connor

Army Hole in the morning.

Another 7:30 launch, right on our 6am schedule. I didn't even care anymore.

It was a fine day - the breeze at 8-10, right behind us. We were going to do an easy run up to the Intercoastal Waterway, turn right so we were on a beam reach, and slide out into Matagorda Bay for an easy downhill run to Magnolia Beach.

Hey, hey! Just inside the ICW was Dirk in his green Windrider, Shrek. He'd been having some difficulties on the trip and spent most of his time in the ICW. His best story was spending the night in a bait shop where the owner charged him (and 4 others) $5 to sleep on the concrete floor. "I have great respect for homeless people now."

A fine run down the channel - everything was going perfectly, until the wind stopped, shifted, and started blowing right in our faces. There was a current against us as well, so our best tacking gained us about 30 feet each time, and if you flubbed your tack, you lost 60.

Screw it, we were walking. It was only 2 miles to the end of the jetty, we can do this.

Everyone was as screwed as we were - boats with motors started giving tows to those without. Tropic of Texas took Breaux while Gene watched from his Mayfly.

Peter and Ryan took Dirk in Shrek.

and we just kept slogging along. Pilgrim came by and offered a tow to Bill, but Bill refused "I started this in a 'Duck. My boat's not broken, I'm not broken, I'm finishing it in a 'Duck."

Great - now NONE of us could get a tow.

Things were comparatively easy before we hit the jetty, then it got tricky. The huge, slick, granite blocks had gaps wide enough to swallow a leg and were sharp enough to cut - Rick scraped his painter so badly it snapped and his boat sailed across the jetty all by itself. Rick flagged down a fisherman and started trying to sail out - we continued walking.

The end of the jetty was the hardest part, wind, waves, and depth all conspired against us. Finally, we were able to load up and . . .

. . . FREEDOM! We were under sail again. Rick was still trying to sail out of the jetty when we broke free. I asked if we should wait for him, the response was "Rick's the fastest sailor, he'll catch up in no time." Chuck P was also still in the ICW - he'd refused to walk and was still tacking all the way out.

We left them to their fate and sailed on.

It was a long, long day of sailing, and Maggy Beach never looked so nice. Rick actually did catch up with us while we waited off shore, sails all ahoo, so we could make a grand entrance. When asked if we should wait for Chuck P and all sail in together, the response was "We'll all land, then give Chuck a standing ovation when he gets in."

And we did. All the 'Duckers made it for the entire Texas 200 - we hit every camp and made every milestone.

This is a little misleading as my GPS was turned off during the slog up the ICW. The datestamps on my pictures show we were underway at 7am and landed at 4:45pm, The distance is correct, but the Moving Average ought to be closer to 2.25mph.

The arrival at Magnolia Beach is capped by a festive Shrimp Boil, with beer provided by Shiner Bock. An excellent wrap-up to an adventure like this.

But wait, there's more

Day 6: PDR World Championship Races