It's almost a tradition for us - ringing in the new year at anchor. It started out 7 years ago when I had made arrangements for a great meal, some music and dancing, and then watching the fireworks at midnight, and Y2K. The plan went into the crapper when early into the evening, a waitress dropped a tray of drinks on me. Wet and sticky, we went home so I could shower and change... on the way, I offered Joan a departure from the crazies and "amateurs" in the bars, restaurants, and on the roads: "Let's just go out in the boat and watch the fireworks at anchor." We've brought in the New Year that way since (well, leaving out the dumping drinks).
This year, Wild Blue did the anchor duty. Only 4 miles from home, in the Laguna Madre, away from the crowds, it feels like it's worlds away. We watched the sun go down for the last time in 2006...
Joan made prime rib and fried potatoes for supper; we listened to some Jimmy Buffett on the satellite radio. The lights of South Padre Island gave us a great reference bearing, and we enjoyed the view out the cabin windows of people setting off their own fireworks. It was a quiet, pleasant night. I picked a spot for anchoring based on getting a view of the fireworks... willing to give up some protection, since the weather weasels were predicting winds of 5-10 for the night.
As midnight approached, we turned on the TV to see the ball drop in Times Square, then stepped into the cockpit to enjoy the firewords display...
We properly toasted in the New Year and turned in. Of course, the wind came up to 18-20 during the night, but the Delta anchor held fine. I slept through sunrise (my favorite time); when Joan got up, it wasn't long before the cabin was filled with the smell of fresh baking muffins.
I intentionally anchored in shallow water, putting out 50' of chain in about 5' of water (just past high tide). With the nearly full moon and the time of the year, we anticipated some skinny water on New Year's Day morning. Yep. I had figured on 2 1/2 feet; we had a bit less than that. We took our time getting ready to give the tide a chance to come up, but still had to motor slowly with the Honda pulled up a bit. Fortunately, it's all soft... although I'm pretty sure we did some trimming of the sea grass.
We made our way south, under the causeway, and to the jetties to look for a dolphin show. Not much happening there, so we turned west in the ship channel and headed towards home. A mile from home, we could see pelicans diving ahead - usually a good indication that the feeding is good and there'll be some dolphins. We weren't disappointed.
Coming in for a soft landing...
And the dolphins...
Both sides of the boat...
And this pretty girl so close to the boat we could feel the dolphin spit...
Not everyone had the day off; we passed by several bay shrimpers, a few excursion boats, and this big fellow turning around near the entrance to our canal.
A nice way to wrap up our New Year's celebration. We hope 2007 brings you much happiness and plenty of time on the water.
Best wishes,<br>
Jim & Joan B.
