Rabbit to Biloxi

Rabbit Island Sunrise

3/29/10
It is 0630 and thanks to a design feature of Why Knot, I am able to sit at the dining table and watch the pink eastern sky across the marsh land separating us from Mississippi Sound. As is usually the case we slept well and I am up early. Bear is still snoozing and making the hull rattle at times. The generator is restoring batteries and the coffee is on. She will sleep an hour or so more in keeping with our new determination to minimize early morning departures. That is a tough thing for this old grunt to reprogram but we will do it since it gives her more time to relax before setting sail.
The two anchors we deployed yesterday did the trick and we have not moved since doing that. Anchor dragging is always a possibility and in crowded anchorages, it is not appreciated by those who do not drag. These “drag races” usually start because of high winds surprising the boats at anchor when one boat gets loose and collides with a second boat that joins the moving party. Stories abound about what happens next but at 0300 on a dark and rainy night there is no good will. So, boat captains are always looking for or designing what they think are better anchors. You can see all types of combinations. We have two Danforth type anchors and one plow. The former is more traditional and the latter looks like something pulled behind a mule. After all, one does not want to start an artificial reef by dragging into the rocks.
Before today’s voyage, standard practice is to determine the course(s) and put the way points into the chart plotter. Check the weather a couple of times and stow stuff for more lively boat movement. That means finding places for all the stuff scattered about the boat. The time it takes to do that for this crew is directly proportional to the time spent at anchor. Longer on the hook, more stuff to stow. More seasoned crews, stow as they go, but not us. We are pigs. Where did all that stuff come from?

The Old Rig at Rabbit and the Rigolets CSX RR Bridge

1300 hrs.
After leaving the Rigolets at 0815, we sailed into Mississippi Sound with a strong northwest wind on our port quarter. We motor sailed under only the headsail since I found one of the Dutchman sail enforcement fittings for the main sail on deck yesterday. That means that I will need to re-attach it before using the sail. Nevertheless, we were making way at 7.5 to 8 knots. It was very good to put Louisiana behind us. It was also good to get Why Knot in to more lively water, open sea. The waves were two to three feet and they increased in the sound as we got away from land. There was no commercial traffic east of the Rigolets. How nice was that? Warm sun, nice waves and good speed helped crew morale.

Underway in Mississippi Sound Looking West

Biloxi’s Small Craft Harbor is up and running after Katrina but there are no shore facilities for boaters. The Harbor Master offered his personal vehicle if we needed to find a laundry. That is an unusual surprise. This is a nice harbor and we just might stay a few days to take a tour and see the area. While we do not gamble (in casinos that is) , the casinos close by offer some fine restaurant facilities for people watching.

3/30/10
We have met several boats since New Orleans that are heading east. The crews are diverse just as the boats they are using. Of those we have encountered so far, the oldest boat is 40 years old. Why Knot at 12 years is the newest. All have dings of some sort which is a normal part of sailing.
Where from here? We might backtrack to Ship Island if the wind shifts to the south. North winds are not a good thing for that place since it would put the anchorage on the windward shore. We sailed past Ship Island and Fort Massachusetts for that reason yesterday. If we are to visit there, we will have to backtrack several miles.
Today is shore liberty. We know very little about this area except that it was the home of Jefferson Davis, CSA President. There are many examples of the “old south” homes that survived hurricanes such as Katrina within walking distance of the marina. The beaches in this area are sugar white and in very good shape and there are no seaweed contamination of the sort that washes ashore in Port Aransas. So for the next day or so Why Knot will be on shore power and tugging at the dock lines.