Redfish Island, TX


Map of Redfish Island

Once a popular boater anchorage, Galveston Bay’s Redfish
Island has been submerged in recent years due to erosion and subsidence.

The Port of Houston Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers have restored part of the island. Using suggestions of the BUG, and
after consultation with boating groups, oystermen and the Texas Department of Health,
the restoration employed limestone to form a rock and breakwater in the shape
of a hook to shelter boats. The island, featuring an oyster reef, functions as
a bird and oyster habitat while maintaining calm water for a safe boater
anchorage.

Construction began in June of 2002 and was completed in
October 2002.

Redfish Island once again provides boaters an anchorage safe
from ship wakes and prevailing winds and away from much of the commercial boat
activity in the bay. Also, recreational boaters on the east side of the
channel, who are not comfortable with converging into commercial traffic in
Galveston Bay, are able to anchor at Redfish Island, avoid crossing the ship
channel, and enjoy the bay more than they have for the past decade.

Restoring Redfish Island October 2002

Redfish Island Raftup 2005

April 20, 2007 – I’m in the air over I-have-no-clue-where, en route to Newport Beach, California to fetch Flight of Years.  My “casting off of land lines” has had more than its requisite number of snafus; details and aggravations too minute to mention but which are intrinsic to everyday life — let alone the considerable undertaking of concluding one life for the commencement of another.

On the way to the airport this morning I was listening to an old Jimmy Buffett album (use of the word “album” dates me, doesn’t it?).  Ballads of sailors and pirates, heroes and children, love and loss, the sea, the passing of years and making sense of it all.  And I was contemplating the question everyone keeps asking: “Why?”  “Give me something that will make sense,” someone said.  “Something I can understand.”

I’m not sure someone who has to ask that question will fully comprehend the answer.  Particularly since I can scarce put to words what can only be truly understood with the heart. Why?  Because for years I have dreamed of what life could be, rather than what it was, and wondered what else might be out there.  Because selling trailers to illegal immigrants and cranky New Yorkers doesn’t fulfill me. . . .

Flight of Years Ship’s Log continues at http://www.solo-sailor.com/ShipLog.htm.

Toys
Small cars/dolls/stuffed animals
Small balls/yo-yos
Jump ropes/jacks
Kazoos/harmonicas
Small Etch-a-Sketch/slinky, etc.
Toys that light up with extra batteries

Other
Hard candy/lollipops/mints/gum
T-shirts/socks/ball caps
Winter caps/gloves
Sunglasses/hair clips
Watches/toy jewelry
Flashlights with extra batteries

If it weren’t for that pesky regulator, you could do your descent with
one of these blades clenched in your teeth, scaring everything in your
path. Ok. This is the blade that you want for undersea game as it has a
pointed tip. The straight edge becomes a curve which actually lengthens
the knife’s cutting surface. The longer cutting edge is made for
cutting chum, bait, and general sport fishing applications. Again, this
blade has the serrated safety edge on the back side. Look for a metal
that holds a keen edge over prolonged use.

A blunt tip blade is ideal for the diver who is more interested in
using the knife as a tool. The abbreviated tip reduces the likelihood
of break-offs during prying situations. Note that no matter how strong
your knife is, it really shouldn’t be used as a full-fledged pry bar.
(That’s what full-fledged pry bars are for). There are two types of
cutting surfaces on this type of blade: one edge is serrated for
cutting your way out of entanglements and the other is straight for
general cutting. When considering a blunt tip, look for the strongest
metal as the foremost characteristic.

No matter what type of diver you are, this type of blade should be
carried if not as your only knife, but as the name implies, an
emergency knife. The emergency blade has only once cutting surface and
it is serrated. Serrated edges are proven to be the quickest and
easiest way to free yourself from unforeseen entanglements such as
netting, rope, monofilament, and kelp. They are also the shortest of
the dive knifes in order to remain unobtrusive and out of the way until
they are needed. The rounded back and tip of the blade greatly reduces
the potential of puncturing your BC upon returning the knife back to
its sheath after use. Since this blade is not frequently used and may
get overlooked during your post-dive clean up, we recommend a metal
that is geared toward corrosion resistance.

An arc or circle that exhibits in concentric bands the colors of the
spectrum and that form the opposite the moon by refraction and
reflection of the moon’s rays in raindrops, spray or mist.

(Excerpt from http://victoriamccormick.com/index.php?action=category&id=5&subid=510)