Capt.
Craig's
World - Towing and Freighters.
I
went back to work on tugs. A company in South Carolina hired be to be
relief captain on the "Sea Crescent" a beautiful 90 footer that was employed
towing barges from Guantanamo. I towed two barges in tandem to New Orleans
with a tropical wave bearing down on me. Everything was fine until I
turned the corner in the Yucatan Channel and the weather came up. One of
the barges broke off . I spent two days chasing it till the weather
moderated enough to get alongside and re-rig the barge that was loose will still
towing the other. It was a good trick. We were fortunate in that the
current was taking us the right direction and we made 60 miles while putting
things back together. But, I missed my nephew's wedding by one day.
The next tow was a heavy lift
barge we loaded in Beaumont Texas. The largest piece was 750 tons and
there were a bunch more heavy pieces. We towed the barge to Panama and
then got relieved. The return tow was from Long Beach California and I
brought my son, Fred, with me. We had a great trip, 29 days, with good
weather. We caught fish, even a sailfish, trained porpoise, and had a really great time.
My son Fred, who was working as a deck hand, kept a journal and we have compiled
it on a CD. If you are interested in reading it,
go here!
Then I became interested in freighters. Mainly because the ones around here operate in warm seas and don't tow anything. Below is the "M/V Caicos Passage" which sails out of Provo, or Provedencialis , Caicos Islands. I was to be relief Captain but the ship became lost for a week and I had to spend it at a resort hotel on Provo. The beaches on Provo are almost as good as Harbor Island, in the Bahamas. It was a wonderful paid vacation. I finally found the ship in Nassau and spent a great month sailing her.
From 99 to 03 I was Company Relief Captain for G&G Shipping in Dania Florida. It's close to home, and sailing to the Bahamas with new ships! What more could you ask for? Sailing in the Bahamas is not easy, lots of shallow water, really tight ports, but a challenge to be met. I have been sailing the Bahamas for 30 years and I know a few things about shallow water sailing; but thanks to President Clinton, we now have GPS accurate enough to navigate the really shallow banks at night and can finally provide regular service to some of the more inaccessible islands. Below is the "Island Express", brand new in May of 1999. She is a very nice boat for the Bahamas, shallow draft and front end ramp. There are very few island ports she can't get into.
