Maiden Voyage

The Builder Chapter 7


The big boat that dad built was in the water but it was 70 miles away in Galveston and dad was itching to get it home to the creek so he could continue working on it. He had already begun to prepare wood to make the mast. It would be made from many pieces of wood and carefully glued together to form a very strong spar. Dad called me in December of that year and asked if I was interested in the maiden voyage. We would use the outboard to travel from Galveston to the house, a distance of about 65 miles by water. Thus I found myself in dad’s VW headed for Galveston way before dawn on a Sunday morning in December. We were to meet my brother there at the boat and be on our way by first light. We had snacks and drinks with us as well as charts of the Intracoastal Waterway which would serve as our highway home. My brother was coming straight from work and ran a bit late but by full light we were under way. We had traveled less than a mile when heavy fog set in and we were forced to put down the anchor and wait for it to lift. An hour later it did and we were once again on our way, but slowly. There was still some fog and we were headed against the tide. The remainder of the day was like that, patchy fog and contrary currents and what wind there was blew against us as well. There was a distinct chill in the air but after all, it was December.

Now the thing was, mother was expecting us about 7:30 or 8 PM and she was preparing a feast for our arrival. You might remember also that in 1972 there were no cell phones and there were few if any places where we might have stopped and called, but in fact I don’t remember that we even thought of it. We were on an adventure and even though we realized that we were hours behind schedule we still didn’t think of trying to let mom know. By dark we were crossing the Brazos River and had about 20 miles to go. At the speed we had maintained all day that was about 4-5 hours. We cleared the locks on the Brazos and continued through the night towards home. In the dark it was hard to gauge progress and we didn’t realize that we were now traveling with the tidal current and were going much faster. The fog was setting in again and it was cold and misty. At times we could not see the bank at all and we were running along very close to it. This part of the waterway has many small lakes on both sides and we were watching the shoreline as it disappeared and reappeared each time we passed the entrance to one of these small lakes. We had crossed the San Bernard River and thought we were crossing the entrance to one of the lakes since the bank had disappeared. We had gone quite a ways in the fog without seeing anything when the boat ran up on the bank and lodged there, firmly stuck in the mud. It was nearly 10 PM and we didn’t have a clue where we really were. At the house, mother was wondering if she should call the Coast Guard or the Sherriff. Supper was done 2 hours ago and now was getting cold. Back aboard the boat we studied the charts and finally figured out that we had been going faster and were about 4 or 5 miles further than we thought we were. The canal makes a left turn at that point and we had crossed the canal and run up on the bank on the far side. The boat was light and we were able to get off the bank and back into the canal. Once we realized where we were, we were able to head on toward home. We finally arrived around 11:30 and after all the apologies and excuses, mom insisted that we eat. So supper was warmed and we ate at midnight. I had to be at work the next day in San Antonio so I left and headed home. Needless to say I was pretty tired by the time I got there but the boat was delivered safe and sound and we had an adventure that I have never forgotten. I don’t think my brother has ever forgotten either and if mom were alive she would remember as well and probably still be upset with us.