We're in Long Beach, Mississippi.We had a great time in New Orleans, lots of fun stuff to do.We finally got a nice day to be able to cross Lake Pontchartrain and the Rigolets.We anchored at Rabbit Island.We didn't like it there.It had really strange currents.It was very stressful and hard to find a proper spot that we could swing a full circle.While she was anchored, Zephia was pointing away from the wind with the anchor rode extending underneath her.How are you supposed to set the anchor with it doing that???The winds were supposed to swing 180 degrees that night.We made it through the night just fine, but didn't sleep very well while worrying about dragging.

The next morning, instead of having the predicted North 5-10 knot winds, we got East winds at 15-25 knots.So we had to motor across the Mississippi Sound directly into the winds.We had 3-5 foot waves and Zephia was hobby horsing like mad.The winds finally calmed down in the afternoon and we decided to stop at the Long Beach, Miss. marina.It's a bizarre place to go into.The chart showed a nice simple channel to enter the marina.We see the first markers and start up the channel, but its nothing like what the charts show!Looking ahead, it looks like the entrance has been closed off with pilings in the center of the channel.So we turn around and head back out to open water.We call the marina and the harbor master's phone isn't working - all I could hear was distortion.After calling back a bunch of times, I'm finally able to get him to call us back from a different phone.

He explains that it just looks like the channel is closed and there is a hard left turn at the end of it.We make it in OK and dock on a T-head.The next two days the wind howled at 25-35 knots!We were bouncing all over the place.Poor Pam even got a little sea sick from all the bouncing.

Long Beach is a decent little town, has a fantastic laundry mat, hardware stores and a Winn Dixie grocery store.

We had a couple of problems to figure out with Zephia.I had added a primer bulb pump on the fuel line to prime the fuel filters.When we got to Long Beach we saw that the bulb was fully compressed, like the fuel tank was plugged.It turned out that the primer bulb had died.But it made us wonder if the engine might have died while out in the big waves, that wouldn't have been any fun!

A few times now, we've found about two gallons of water in the stern locker.It did it again this trip.We're still hunting down that one, maybe its leaking in from the deck fittings for the rear dorade vents…

They are predicting 5-10 West winds tomorrow and the next day.So we'll probably be taking off.Either go to Pascagoula or anchor at one of the islands.We should only have two or thee traveling days to make it to Florida.