Visiting Waltzing Matilda

January 17, 2010

Barbra and I were in south Mississippi for the funeral of a friend late last week, so Saturday we drove west about four hours and met up with Nathan in southern Louisiana. Weather and rudder problems docked Waltzing Matilda for several days at a yacht club at Cypremort Port in Vermilion Bay of the Gulf of Mexico. Nathan is in territory where there are not a lot of roads, at least on the map. Google Maps and cell phones sure made it easy to find him in Louisiana swamp country. In the fog, mist and rain we arrived at where Waltzing Matilda was docked to find Nathan and Mattie the dog waiting for us. Mattie is skittish with strangers and even though she met Barbra and me once before, she did not warm up to us, preferring to be held in Nathan’s arms.

It was good to see Nathan. He indicated that instead of attempting to sail in the Gulf of Mexico, he’s going to take the Intracoastal Waterway toward Florida. He’d have to go out fifty miles to find deep enough water in the Gulf and he doesn’t want to deal with the oil rigs and their traffic.

We drove to New Iberia and met Glenn and Doris Holcomb, parents of Nathan’s college friend Ragan. Waltzing Matilda earlier had spent two weeks docked in the river behind their beautiful home. In the backyard and pictured above with Nathan is the biggest oak tree I think I’ve ever seen: it’s believed to be more than 300 years old. Glenn said “We didn’t buy the house, we bought the tree.” Indeed, it is beautiful. Doris, Barbra, Nathan, and I then went to lunch at a down-home local place featuring Cajun food. Glenn stayed home to rest following a business trip. Working internationally in the oil business, Glenn said he’s found that roads in China are mapped better than those in the swamps of Louisiana. Glad Nathan docked near a major road so we could find him! I came through this country forty years ago and was struck by the isolation and poverty here at that time. On this trip I noted people in hardscrabble conditions in the back country, but was amazed at the development of local communities and highways since I was here last. Everything seems geared to the oil business and there are billboards advertising jobs on oil rigs and in support services. No recession here for people with the right skills (machinists, marine licensees, welders). After lunch, Doris took Nathan back to Waltzing Matilda and Barbra and I headed back for Arkansas. At home the next night we found a cell phone message from Nathan saying he had set sail and that he had a story to tell us the next time we talked. Something regarding a bullet hole in the side of Waltzing Matilda. A bullet hole? Stay tuned…

--Official Correspondent Dad Landry