4 Feb 13

We had a restful, but short night, and got underway Monday morning by 08:00; planned destination Bayou Choupique, just south of Lake Charles, LA. The trip across the rest of east Texas and into Louisiana was picturesque and otherwise uneventful, until late in the day. We passed under the Ellender Lift Bridge, about 2 miles west of the junction of the Calcasieu River and the ICW, at our appointed time of 16:30 and proceeded 1 more mile to the turn into Bayou Choupique. About 20 yards into the Bayou, following the route detailed in the ICW cruising guide, we ran aground and could not get off. After 2 hours of man-killing labor trying to kedge off, we finally gave up and called TowBoatUS. The cavalry arrived about 20:00 and towed us back into deep water, whereupon we motored about 5 miles up the Calcasieu River to another anchorage. We finally got the hook down about 22:00 and collapsed into bed.

5 Feb 13

Needless to say, we slept in the next morning and then spent the day cleaning up the boat and trying to get the outboard to run better. Also, tried without success to track down the problem with the anchor windlass.