BEER 2010 Report

Jimmy Harrell

The Backwater Environmental Escape Rendezvous for 2010 started June 4 and ended June 8, five days of sailing between Pensacola and Navarre, Florida. This was the 9^th annual BEER Cruise and it was hard to determine the exact number of boats because some came late and others dropped out early, but it was 40 more or less. The event is coordinated by a group of sailors who regularly sail the Pensacola area. They call themselves the GRITS gang, the Gulf States Interstate Trailer Sailors. In the past OSYC has had as many as 8 boats attend. This year only two made it, Bob Horan and me.

Thursday, June 3

I arrived at Pensacola Shipyard Marina a day early. Bob was already there with his boat in a slip. Jerry Hardin, from Tennessee, who crewed for me, arrived about the same time as I did. Jerry and I had sailed together on two other extended cruises, one from Long Key to Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys and one on the North Channel of Lake Huron. We set up the boat, launched, and spent the night at the docks.

Pi Cloud at dock, Pensacola Shipyard Marina before Cruise

Friday June 4

We took it easy on Friday, meeting old friends and helping others launch their boats. Most of the boats were set up and in the water in time for the traditional evening meal prepared by Cajun John and friends. As they were finishing meal preparation, we had a skippers meeting. We had to rush the meeting because of a threatening storm. Before we could eat the storm hit. Jerry and I waited it out in the car before returning to the pavilion for a meal of red beans and rice.

Pensacola Shipyard Marina Skippers Meeting

Open this link to Google Maps to see where we were sailing and the markers where we spent each night: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=116651256621430826857.00048787060c47c401ac9&t=h&z=10

Saturday June 5

On Saturday, we left the marina at about 9 AM behind about 6 other boats and headed for the 1^st night’s anchorage about 17 miles from PSM. We had a very pleasant sail with working jib and reefed main across Pensacola Bay. Just before the Pensacola Beach bridge we shook the reef out and proceeded east on Santa Rosa Sound to the anchorage which was on the sound side of Santa Rosa Island near some covered picnic tables. This was a park service area with no stores or restaurants. It did have flush toilets and trash dumpster.

First Night's Anchorage (Picture taken in 2008)

We set bow and stern anchors so that the stern was near the beach and we were able to step off the boat into knee deep water. A camp fire was planned but a storm kicked up. We waited under the shelter for a while thinking that it would be over in half an hour or so. Rain was horizontal and the shelter did no good for keeping us dry but it was warm and we just sat in the rain and swapped stories.

After about 30 minutes, I noticed that the boat next to mine had drug its beach anchor and the stern was about to beat on my boat. Sprinted down to the beach where the owner of the other boat was keeping the boats apart with a boat hook. Several people were in the water helping him reset his anchor. Then another boat with a mushroom anchor on the beach started dragging. Finally got his stern tied to a stake on the beach and he was secure for the night. The waves lifted a Corsair trimaran and deposited it solidly on the beach. It took several people to get it floating again. All this boat repositioning was taking place while it was raining hard and there was lightening in the distance.

About dusk, after listening to the weather radio, we realized that we were in the path of a series of thunder storms that were firing up in the Gulf and marching through the anchorage one after the other. Since the planned evening social activities were no longer possible, Jerry and I climbed on board, dried off and ate something we did not have to cook and got out our reading material. Shortly I was sound asleep as the storms raged outside. According to others, they lasted to the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday, June 5

It was only a 5 mile sail to Narvarre so some stayed put and played on the beach and left later. My experience at previous BEER cruises has been that the wind is usually good in the morning and declines as the day progresses until the storms come up in late afternoon. So, we left earlier than most and had a pleasant reach under jib and reefed main and arrived at Navarre at about 11 AM. Again we anchored near the beach and tied the stern to a beach anchor so we could step off the boat into shallow water. We spent a leisurely afternoon resting old bones, walking on the beach, watching the young folks play beach volleyball, eating ice cream and a shrimp dinner at Juana’s. It was a short walk to the gulf beach and it was full of people and convenience store.

Pi Cloud anchored at Navarre Beach

Monday, June 6

We left Navarre about 8 o’clock local time. It was about a 20 mile reach to the Quietwater boardwalk under full main and working jib. Most of the trip was 5/6 mph but dropped to about 3 mph for a while. We passed a few boats and were the first to arrive. The beach area were we had anchored before was boomed off because of the oil spill. It looked like we were going to have to anchor out from the shore. We noticed that there was a long pier with about 12 empty slips. Jerry hates to start the motor so we sailed into a slip about 1 PM and tied up. Jerry went to the restaurant to see if we could stay. They were glad to have us and the slips were free. We radioed the following boats and before long all slips were full. Most of the rest of the boats anchored around the pier in about chest deep water.

Free Slips at Quietwater

Pi Cloud tied up at Quietwater

Quietwater has several restaurants within walking distance as well as a convenience store and souvenir shop. We had lunch at the restaurant, Flounders, which owned the pier. I had a huge fish sandwich. Half the sandwich would have been plenty, but it tasted so good, I ate the whole thing.

Later we all stood around in the water socializing and drinking and some of us, including me, tried our skills at wind surfing. I need to get one of those.

Jimmy Trying to Wind Surf

Jerry and I were stuffed from the mid afternoon sandwiches so we decided to have ice cream for supper.

About bed time it happened. The wind picked up and by about 1 AM it was blowing about 30 or at least felt like it. The waves were hitting us broadside. The boat reminded me of one of those mechanical bulls. It bounced up and down and sideways and at the end of every bounce the dock lines would go taunt and it would just about jerk you out of the bunk. I crawled out about 2 AM to check the dock lines and found many of the others doing the same thing. It wasn’t raining so some put their bed rolls on the dock and slept there. It was a long night and by morning things had calmed down and all the boats looked no worse for the wear. I think the boats at anchor had a slightly better time of it.

Tuesday, June 8

At about 8 AM we were ready to leave. The motor was idling and just as we were about cast off the lines, it quit. It had been running fine. We tried to restart if, even spraying ether in the carb. As soon as the ether burned up, it would quit again. After several tries with the ether, we decided to take the carburetor off and apart. After taking it apart, fiddling with this and that and blowing through the jets, we put it back together and back on the boat without loosing any parts overboard. We did not find anything we could attributer the malfunction to but it started right up and ran fine the rest of the day.

It was a short sail of about 5 miles back to the marina. We were one of the first boats back and since the ramp was not in use, we hurried and put the boat on the trailer. Our plans were to wait until after the sun went down to de-rig the boat and spend another night at the marina before heading back home the next day. It was a good call since it was extremely hot and not much breeze. We watched the other boats being pulled out and made ready for trailering. Sure was nice to be retired and not have to rush our return home.

Wednesday, June 9

We got an early start. Had no trailer trouble and arrived back at home with a lot of good memories.

For more pictures of the cruise, click on this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jimmy.harrell.photos/BEERCRUISE2010#