Willie’s Tug2

Construction has started on the new "Willie’s Tug² ".

The new boat is a Ranger Tug R27 powered by a Yanmar 180hp marine engine.  This boat is trailer-able and will be our boater-home from late May through September.  A photo album of the construction progress is located here and will be updated from time to time.

Our plans are to take delivery in Seattle, cruise Pugent Sound, San Juan Islands and the Gulf Islands of British Columbia ending with the 2011 TugNuts Rendezvous in Bremerton, Washington in September.

After the Rendezvous, we plan to trailer to Lake Powell for a couple of weeks as we return to the Tropical Tip of Texas.

LMYC Mexico Triangle Race Feb. 13, 2011

My friend Jim and I were given the opportunity to run the "Committee Boat" during the LMYC Mexico Triangle Race.  Rick of TowBoatUS provided his "Rede 1" for the committee boat.  After a checkout, he turned us loose with his boat.

The race was scheduled to run from the Jetties at South Padre Island
South east to an artificial fishing reef just off the Mexico US border.  There is a yellow buoy marking the reef.

From the reef to a gas well about 9 miles Northeast, then about 9 miles back to the Jetties.

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men.  At the start of the race, there was NO and I do mean NO wind.  As the first leg worn on, the wind picked up to about 3 to 5 knots directly on the nose of sailboats trying to make the yellow buoy.  The "Lucky Strike" was the first boat to make the turn around the yellow buoy.

The next was Abel and Frank in the O'Day 25, and third was Mike and Marylin in Sweet Pea.  Since by this time it was well past noon, it was decided to omit the second point and head straight back to the Jetties.

Sweet Pea had a little competition for the buoy as they made the turn.

This Montgomery 17 "Tynee" piloted by Andres Garcia was the 4th boat in the race.  Really looked good, but had a terrible time as did everyone else making headway.

Even though it was poor sailing conditions, it was a fine day to be out on the water.

Random Thoughts from our childhood

My sister asked me about the Radio and TV repair shop that our father opened up in Alexandria, Louisiana in 1953 or 1954.

Daddy opened the TV shop up in 1954, I was 11 years old and for the rest of my childhood, I was there every day after school and on Saturdays.  I finally got time off to play Little League and Little Boys Baseball.  But most of my practice was at the shop next to Mack Weldmon's junk pile.  Boy there were some big rats that lived in that pile of junk.  KALB TV came on the air in 1954.  Most of the day all that was on was a test pattern.  Programming did not start until afternoon and early evening.  Before Channel 5 came to town, the closest station was WDSU in New Orleans.  We had a black and white TV.  It was placed in the corner by the front door of our living/dining room on Baldwin Ave.  If you got as far away from it as possible, you could just make out the images in the "snow".  But we thought it was fantastic.

Daddy worked with Francis Trotter for a few years before he opened up 1401 Lee Street.  Francis had a shop at the corner of 10th and Lee Streets.  Daddy was a 35% partner with Francis in the shop.  At first there was just radio.  One of the things I remember is that the chicken processing plant had an electric grid that killed the chickens.  Daddy would have go out and repair it quite often.  Occasionally they would have to bring it into the shop because repairs could not be completed at the plant.  Daddy and Francis had a lot fun telling stories to the local neighborhood residents about the "electric chair".  It was here and later at our shop that Daddy taught me to get under the dash and check the vibrator on the car radios.  If the vibrator was not buzzing, we checked the fuse, if the fuse was good, we replaced the vibrator.  The vibrator was a metal can with 4 prongs to plug into a socket.  All systems were 6 volts.  Later when 12 volts became the norm, the vibrators had 4 prongs and 3 prongs.  So we had to stock several types.  If the vibrator was buzzing, then we tried the OZ4 rectifier tube that was next to the vibrator.  Most of the early radios were in two sections.  The power supply with the vibrator and OZ4 was hung under the dash on the passenger side or bolted to the firewall.  The RF section or controls was mounted in the dash or under the dash in the center of the front seat area.  If the power supply checked out ok, we then took the cover off the RF section and put our hands on the tubes checking to see if they were warm, usually at this time we would find a cold tube.  Replacing the cold tube usually fixed the problem.  I used to laugh at guys that would bring their car in to have the radio fixed and would say to us that they would fix it themselves if they had the proper tools.  Most radios were Motorola.

LMYC Super Bowl Party

An Impromptu Super Bowl party was held at the club house.  A good time and fellowship was had by all.  Plans were made for the Mexico Triangle race on Saturday the 12th.  A few Pictures are below.

Day on the Bay

Yes, we did get out on the boat today.  Jake and I cruised the Laguna Madre and ship channel for a few hours.  We passed and visited with Jim and Joan of Wild Blue for a bit.

Sadly we saw many dead fish as the cold temperatures affected the marine life used to the warm waters.  We had water temperatures drop into the 40s and are still now just below 50dF.

Quite a bit of activity as the dredges and tugs pushing barges are out in force.

A good day temps up near 70....What a difference a day makes.

What a difference a day makes

What a difference a day makes.  Beautiful sunshine!!  We spent most of the day yesterday in our motor home in our garage.  I propped the huge door open about 6 foot and opened the back passage door.  That with the 3x3 vent at the rear of the garage and the North wind gave us enough ventilation to run the aquahot diesel heater.  We ran the inverter for computers and routers.  We moved most of our frozen food down the reefer in the motor home.  We expected the generator to come on, but the new batteries have great reserve so we never used it.  With the temperature around 50 in the house, we were comfortable in the motor home.  Seems like there are a lot of leaks around town with broken pipes and valves.  We lost water pressure this morning and now it is off completely.  I guess I will just have go play in the tug.

Winter Texan

Winter Texan: "Mama, it is time for our annual migration to South Padre Island.  Do you think we should upgrade our tow vehicle?

Mama: No.
Winter Texan:  Well Mama, how about us getting a new RV?

Mama: No absolutely NOT.  We have many more years of use from this perfectly good Travel trailer and Suzuki SUV.  Besides that we can spend the night anywhere.  We do not even have to go to a Wal-mart to camp.

The Winter Texans have descended upon South Texas en mass.  They fill our restaurants, stores, campgrounds, beaches, hotels, motels, and churches.  WE LOVE THEM!!  Because of the Winter Texans, we have some of the finest restaurants and other facilities that would not be profitable otherwise.  How ever you get here, just keep on coming down.
Thanks

The Rescue of an Osprey

This morning we planned to attend a seminar on boat maintenance at the Laguna Madre Yacht Club here in Port Isabel.  We arrived just before 10AM and took a seat next to Skip and Nancy Maggard.  Skip tells us that there is an Osprey caught on a sailboat mast just outside the club.  This is what I found when I went outside to see.

I snapped a picture with my Droid cellphone and posted it to Facebook trying to get it to Scarlet Colley.  Luckily I had her phone number and called her to see if she knew anyone who could try to rescue the bird.  She immediately sent out a request for someone to help.  In a short time, George Colley arrived and we started trying to figure a way to help the poor bird.  We could not tell from the ground, but as I zoomed in on the pictures later, I could see that he had one talon caught in a drilled hole in a  plate on top of the mast.

George located a ladder and a another good Samaritan named Ryan arrived.  The rescue begins.  The ladder is not long enough to reach from the deck of the boat to the top of the mast.

 So they moved it to the top of the cabin

Still not tall enough so upon suggestion from Jana Craft, they precariously put the bottom rung on the sailboat boom.  Ryan got about halfway up and I heard him say "I do not think I can do this.".

But with encouragement and urging from the gallery, he climbed up high enough to reach the Osprey.  Of course the Osprey was not really sure he wanted Ryan on that mast with him.

It took several minutes, but Ryan finally freed the bird, minus one talon.

The Osprey was so tired from his ordeal, that he just lay on the ground at first.  When Ryan was safely down from the mast, he gathered the bird up in his arms.  What a wonderful sight to see him down from the mast.  Ryan and George left with him, taking him to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville.  There is a Veterinarian there that has lots of experience with hurt animals.

 A smiling hero and grateful Osprey

The Picassa Web album of the rescue to located here.

Port of Brownsville, Texas

Walldog and Jake took a little boat ride yesterday before the front came through.  Actually we were still out before the front arrived, but that is another story.  First we went out to the jetties, as we heard on the marine vhf radio that a tug was bringing in a "dead ship".  That is a term used to signify a decommissioned ship that is headed into the Port of Brownsville to be scrapped out.  The salvage of no longer useful ships is a big business here.

Below is a picture of a neat little tug boat.  The "Free State" evidently does not have AIS.  (The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is an automated tracking system used on ships and by Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) for identifying and locating Vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships and VTS stations. AIS information supplements marine radar, which continues to be the primary method of collision avoidance for water transport.)  So I do not know anymore information about it.  Note the Dual exhaust pipes that go up behind the pilot house.  Similar to 18 wheeler trucks.  During our boat trips, we like to take pictures of commercial vessels  MarineTraffic.com is a site that tracks ships with AIS and accepts our pictures of these vessels for their web site.

After turning around at the end of the Intercoastal....or beginning, we started back toward Port Isabel.  We made a detour into the shrimp basin where many of our shrimpers dock their boats.  Sitting prominently near the entrance is Seahunters Pride.

 
In need of some TLC.  Even so I am sure she is still someones pride.

Because we spent so much time puttering around sight seeing, we did not get back to Port Isabel before the front came through.  It was a fierce one, mostly dry, but with North winds near 40.  Our little tug just kept us dry and warm even though the waves were splashing over the pilot house.  Jake came inside and took refuge in the vee berth.  We turned into the channel that follows the ICW through Port Isabel and separates Long Island Village from Port Isabel.  The water was much rougher in that channel since the fetch was greater.  Fetch is the distance that the wind has to work on the surface of the water to create waves.  The greater the distance, the greater the wave.  Since we missed the opening of the swing bridge across the ICW and it would be another hour before we could get through to get to our house, we decided to duck into the dock at our friend Jim's house in Long Island Village.  Jim wrote a note about our visit on his blog, you can find it here: Any Port in a Storm.

Walldog, Willie and Jake.

LMYC Commodore's Ball 2011

The Commodore's Ball for the Laguna Madre Yacht Club was held last night at the Isle Grande on South Padre Island.  Everyone dressed in their finery and enjoyed a great dinner, dancing and fellowship.

Our regular camera lens is broken, but we took a few pictures from our cell phones.


The Hon. Carlos Cascos, Cameron County Judge, was our honored guest and installed the new Flag Officers.

This is probably the only time of the year that you will see most of us dressed in anything but shorts and sandals.

New Dinghy

We acquired a new dinghy for the Ranger 27 Tug.  It is the West Marine RU260 made by Zodiac.  We powered it with a 4 stroke 2.5 hp Suzuki.

We named it "Jake's Ferry"

Walldog, Willie and Jake

Pictures of Jake with Santa

Jake had his picture taken with Santa at the Island Dog Wash on South Padre Island.

Our friend Jerry aka Jw Wilson and his company donated the photo sessions to raise money for the Laguna Madre Humane Society which operates a no kill shelter here in Port Isabel.
Walldog, Willie and Jake

WilliesTug For Sale

Price Reduced to $19,995 firm.  This is a bargain for a great boat.
For Sale Details   SOLD

WilliesTug For Sale

Willie’s Tug 1997 Ranger R21 For Sale

$24,995.00 $19,995.00

We have bought a new Ranger R27 Tug.  We will take delivery in Seattle in May or June of 2011.  So it is with some regret that we offer for sale Willie’s Tug.  She is a 21 foot 1997 model in excellent shape.  There is nothing that we know of that does not work.  We made a modification to the original mast by shortening it 32 inches so that the Tug will fit in our boat house.  Now it has about 10 foot clearance from the gunnels.  At that time we changed out the mast head light and the anchor light to new LED fixtures.  We replaced the non-original cushions with new ones from the original factory patterns.  They were made by Kathy’s Upholstery of Arlington Washington.  She was recommended by the factory and did an excellent job.  We rewired the trailer and installed new LED lights all around.  We added an spare tire and bracket.  It is ready to travel anywhere.  Here is a list of the equipment and options that convey with the sale:

v  Hin Number:  RFB02772E797

v  JRC Color Radar 1800/Chart Plotter GPS with current Gulf of Mexico CMap chip

v  Autopilot Raymarine Sport Pilot ST600R with wired remote

v  Ritchie Compass

v  Lowrance X-25B Depth Fish Finder

v  VHF Marine Radio ICOM IC-M502

v  2 Shakespeare VHF Marine Antennas, one top of mast, one on Pilot House roof

v  Yanmar 18hp Diesel, you will not believe how little fuel this uses.

v  6 Blue Fenders and lines

v  Extra one gallon Diesel container

v  3 Standard Life Jackets

v  Spare Parts, First Aid Kit, Flares and other emergency items

v  All manuals

v  Shortened mast and boom with guys and lines

v  Cockpit shade cover

v  Bruce Anchor

v  EZ Loader Trailer with new spare tire and bracket

v  Red Cockpit Lights

v  Red and White Pilot House lnterior Lights

v  Red Vee Berth Lights

v  Basic Porta-potty

v  Small 350 Inverter

v  30 Amp Shore Power Receptacle, No power cord available

v  Factory Folding Seat for Skipper and First Mate

Contact Herb Stark at 903-736-7591.  Pictures are located here: WilliesTug Pictures

Yup, We are Back in Texas

Walldog, Willie and Jake

Poulsbo Yacht Club

Shortly after arriving in Bremerton for the 2010 Ranger Tug Rendezvous, we had a visit from Dennis and Julie Sheehan.  Members of the Laguna Madre Yacht club will remember Dennis and Julie as they formerly lived in South Padre Island and Port Isabel.  They were and still are members of the LMYC.  Dennis is currently Commodore of the Poulsbo Yacht Club in Poulsbo, Washington.  Dennis and Julie presented Willie and me with a burgee from the PYC.  This burgee has a Viking ship on it depicting the Norwegian heritage of the town of Poulsbo.  I promised Dennis and Julie that the burgee would be displayed at the LYMC in a place of honor.  Thank you Dennis and Julie Sheehan.

Addendum MV Cade Candies

During lunch at Randy's Pier 61 today, we noticed that the MV Cade Candies was in the water at the Dakota Industries dock.  We could not get close enough for a good picture.

Deception Pass September 3, 2010

The Town of Anacortes is located on Fidalgo Island.  Just South of Fidalgo Island is the Island of Whidbey.  A narrow pass separates the two islands.  This pass is named Deception Pass.

A "local historian" gave me the lowdown on how Deception Pass got its name.  He said that a greek by the name of Fuca wanted to go exploring in the new world and he asked the Queen to sponsor him.  She said we only send Spaniards.  He said then call me Juan....thus Juan de Fuca went exploring.  He mapped the area along the Washington coast and when he mapped the pass, he saw the tidal flow ebbing at 7 to 8 knots and called it a river.  Later the British explored the same area and came by the "river" mapped by Juan de Fuca.  They passed at flood tide and found the pass.  Since they were deceived, they named the pass Deception.  I have not been able to verify all of this story, but some of it seems true, the rest may just be a good story.

The currents in Deception Pass can be very interesting to boaters.  A fast power boat can over come the tidal flows, but a small trawler such as Willie's Tug needs to excercise extreme caution when traversing the pass. Our top speed is only about 8 knots and with flows up to 8 knots we could be in trouble trying to go the wrong way at the wrong time.  Our best time to go would be at slack tide.  The period when the tidal flow starts to reverse.

A bridge built in the 1930s spans from Fidalgo to Pass Island and from Pass Island to Whidbey Island.  Willie and I walked this bridge and took some pictures.  I have to tell you that after walking this bridge so far above the water with large trucks shaking it, I feel safer in the boat in the water below.







It was a clear day, and we could see Mount Baker, the third highest mountain in Washington.




Walldog, Willie and Jake

MV Cade Candies Tour August 27, 2010

Upon our arrival in Anacortes several weeks ago, we naturally drove around town to get our bearings.  As we drove through the commercial area and neared the coast (Guemes Channel) we saw a ship being built that towered over the downtown area.  We took a couple of pictures and marveled at the size, and wondered what it's purpose would be.

Sometime later, we hitched a ride with David from the 25 C-Dory "Anna Leigh".  David pointed out the ship from the Guemes Channel as we returned from a tour of the San Juan Islands.  He said that he understood that the builder was planning an open house on the ship sometime in August.  We immediately went to the builder's office as soon as practical to find out when the open house would occur.  Willie asked the receptionist about the open house.  The receptionist informed Willie that the open house would not be until October.  Willie must have seemed so disappointed that the President of Dakota Creek Industries, Richard Nelson, who happened to be in the front office noticed.  Mr. Nelson or Dick as he prefers to be called asked Willie about her interest in the ship he was building.  She must have convinced him of her sincerity as he offered to let us join a private tour he had planned for the Director of the Skagit County Port.

So that is how on Friday the 27th of August, Walldog and Willie took a two hour or so tour of this tremendous ship being built here in Anacortes, Washington.  We found out that this is not the first ship that Dakota Creek Industries has built for Otto Candies, LLC., an oil field services company based in Des Allemands, Louisiana.  A sister ship to this one and an only slightly smaller version are already at work for Otto Candies in the Gulf of Mexico.  This ship will join them in 2011 after being fitted in Norway with a 150 ton crane.  This link to the Ross Candies will give you the specifications of this ship.  I will not recite all of them here except to say that this vessel is over 300 feet long, or over the length of a football field and the beam is 66 feet.  It is anchored in place by a "DP2" system that will keep it at a spot in the ocean without moving more than 1 meter in up to 45 mph winds.  It is designed to carry and service ROVs or Remote Operated Vessels that perform maintenance on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico up to 8,000 feet deep.  The claws, pinchers, grabbers and other tools of the ROV are serviced in a workshop that is accessed by an opening in the deck of the ship.  The Cade Candies has quarters for 75 personnel.  I found it interesting that the ship has lifeboat capacity for 80 people on each side of the ship.

Dakota Creek Industries plans to float the MV Cade Candies this week.  The shipyard has an elevator platform that the ship will be pulled onto.  The cables are already in place.  Then the platform will be lowered into the water and the ship will be launched.  We hope to be there when it happens and document the event.  We have an album set up here with the pictures taken of the Cade Candies so far.  We will add others there as we take them.

Willie asked me to pass along her thoughts on the tour:

I am overwhelmed with the size of the vessel and the completeness of this self-contained ‘city.’  The purpose is to transport ROVs (remote operating vessels) to the ocean floor, such as those at Deep Water Horizon off the coast of Venice, Louisiana.

The sophistication is such that when the boat is in place for work (DP2 it is called), it will not move more than one meter (~ three feet) in a 45 mph wind.

All systems on the boat are in duplicate, so that if something is not working, the other system will, while the down system is being repaired.  If a navigation light goes out, an alarm sounds so the replacement can be turned on, and the crew will know to do the maintenance.

The staterooms are built for four-man, three-man and a few for two.  One stateroom is private, and is reserved for the charter of the boat or his representative.  There is a media room for orientation; there are many conference rooms for the ongoing decisions to be made while the boat is in operation.  Work goes on 24/7 and there are several crews.   In the galley there are dinner tables, as well as a counter and stools and a Captain’s Table.  As we pass through the galley, we see notes taped on the wall informing the construction crew that the appliances are stainless steel and they should not touch!

A seawater reclamation system provides fresh water.

The heliport is built with a crash in mind.  There are escape routes on the front and back of the pad, leading to the area below.

There are six levels on the boat – four decks – and the ladders of steel are steep and compact.

Joining us on the tour are Patsy, director of the Port of Skagit County in Burlington WA, and her sons who used to work for Dakota Creek.  At the end of the tour Dick invites us to his office, where he has windows with a great view of Cade Candies and we get to meet his wife Linda.  He gives us a calendar with pictures of the boat, and a souvenir pen.

If I say “Amazing!” or “Awesome” once, I say it a thousand times on this tour.  We feel very fortunate to have this experience.

You will notice some pictures of an articulated ocean going tug in the photos.  This tug, the "Legacy" and a sister ship the "Legend"  are being built by Dakota Creek Industries for Crowley Maritime to match up with two 330,000 barrel capacity ATB barges that will also operate in the Gulf of Mexico.  These rigs will carry product from Texas refineries to the East coast of the US.

Walldog, Willie and Jake

A Day in the San Juan Islands

Willie and I just finished a great dinner of Dungeness Crab. Yesterday David of Anna Leigh picked us up at Cap Sante and gave us a grand tour of the San Juans. We put a couple of pots down on the East side of Guemes and went as far as Jones Island where he showed us his grandchildren's favorite mooring. On the way back we checked the pots and divided up the spoils. We both had enough for dinner for our families. We cooked them according to David's instructions and they were fantastic. Willie and I were fighting over the last leg. 

Willie will give a more detailed post of our day later and I will copy it here for you to read if you choose. 









Many thanks to David for a great day in the San Juans.