Month: December 2019

This morning we woke up pretty early due to the fact we went to bed pretty early, and I also wanted to be awake when the dock master shows up in case they wanted to move us or needed the space at the fuel dock. I took Frank for his morning walk and when I returned, I saw some people showing up to work. I hung out on the boat drinking my coffee waiting for someone to come to the fuel dock. I noticed a smaller boat coming at us, and I asked if he needed fuel? He replied he did, and I told him there was room in front of us. I assisted with the lines and he told me how much he needed. “I don’t work here.” was my reply. He apologized and soon a woman was coming to the dock to assist his needs. As he was filling up, I asked about where I should be moving to. The woman had no idea, and said she’d get back to me. Since we were here, I told her I would top off our tanks too. I topped off our fuel and consulted with Lauren. We had decided we would just leave here today and anchor out tonight, but Lauren wanted to dinghy over to Shell Beach to explore and hang out for awhile. I agreed and we told the dock master we were going to depart shortly. We topped off our water tanks after the fuel and were casting our lines. We motored over to the entrance of the harbor and dropped anchor just outside of the channel. We had been in contact with our friends on Trinity and they were making their way to the marina. I told them our plans, and knew we would see them when they entered. While we were in the dinghy, Trinity text us and said they had changed their minds and were not going to stay at the marina after all. I had told them aside from the power, there were no facilities such as a shower or laundry available, so they decided they would just anchor out too. Panama City Beach is still rebuilding from Hurricane Michael so a lot of places have very minimal amenities still. We all have showers aboard so it is not too bad, but it is nice to take a shower on shore where we don’t have to conserve the water usage and there is more space!

We took Frank with us over to the island and walked around for a bit. We then made ourselves comfortable on the Gulf coast, relaxing on the beach. Lauren and I both went swimming in the Gulf as the weather was warm and the water was cool. We recieved a text from Trinity that they and Sirius were going to an anchorage about ten miles past Panama City Beach. We told them we would join them after we returned to Klondike and pulled anchor. We made it back around 230pm and headed to where our friends were at Pearl Bayou.

The bayou is tucked back and pretty well protected, with plenty of room for several boats. There were a few boats already anchored there which look like they stay there all of the time. It is very noticeable in Florida already that people seem to abandon their boats at anchor. I’m not sure of the circumstances, but we have seen many of them and it is an issue all over Florida. This is a reason why many municipalities are banning anchoring in their cities, which is a shame for those that care and are passing through. We pulled in and anchored close to our friends and settled in for the night. The winds were light and I took Frank to shore before the sun set. We were careful to look for alligators, I have yet to see one, but we know they are here. As the sun went down, we were treated to a spectacular array of colors in the sky. It was breathtaking. Once the sun was gone and it got dark, Frank started to bark at things that were breathing in the water; you could hear them but not see them, and I think it may have been gators, or dolphins, but more than likely gators. I retrieved a flashlight and was trying to spot what was making the sounds, but couldn’t locate the perpetrators. It was a little spooky hearing this, but knew they could not climb on board!

We started the generator and prepared dinner, then called it a night. Our friends on Sirius were planning on leaving at first light- they only travel around five knots, so they need to get a head start. We plan on leaving around 7am, as it will be another long trip tomorrow to get to Apalachicola, Florida. Trinity made reservations for the three of us at a marina that is not too expensive, and we will all stage there for a few day before we make the ‘big’ trip across the Gulf. We are almost to the point we have to cross across the Gulf of Mexico where the Intracoastal Waterway ends to get to Tarpon Springs, where the Intracoastal will resume in protected waters. Getting to this point is a big deal, and some make the jump 160 miles straight across in a 24 hour jump. Due to our speeds, we will be doing it in shorter hops of fifty to seventy miles a day about twenty five miles off shore, coming into harbors for the nights.

Happy Thanksgiving! We pulled out of Destin Harbor by 8am. We had to make about sixty miles today to get to our next destination of Panama City Beach. We had made reservations as we knew no one would be around today since it is a holiday. They had told us to tie up to the fuel dock when we arrive, which had power and water available, and they would see where to move us to on Friday if we stayed another night. Our friends on Trinity had reached out and really wanted us to anchor with them and Sirius for Thanksgiving, but we were already a day ahead of them, so we had to decline.

We left the harbor following the same track we brought in. We made it out with no issues and followed the Intracoastal waterway. In the open waters across the Choctawhatchee Bay we were fighting a current. The bay is about twenty five miles across from where we started. This had me a little worried as we were down to 6.5 knots and lower. At this rate we wouldn’t make our destination until after dark. As soon as we left the bay though, we started to pick up speed in a narrow part of the waterway. Alright! maybe we will make it by dark! We continued on and soon came to more open water on the West Bay which connects to St. Andrew Bay. This open water didn’t have as much current, so we kept our speed pretty good, but it was a lot of twisting and winding to follow the marked channel. It is something to look out and see nothing but water, but you can only stay afloat in the channel as everything else around you is really shallow- two and three feet shallow! Since we’ve already run aground once, I am doing everything I can not to do that again.

After an eight and a half hour trip, we arrived to the harbor where we reserved the dock. We slowly made our way in, being careful to follow the buoys. It is counter-intuitive to go as close to shore as the buoys are, but that is where it is deepest. We passed by about twenty feet from shore, but the depth stayed around nine to ten feet. We found the marina and saw the fuel dock where we were told to tie up. We docked with no issues and left room for another boat if required in front of us. Now that were were tied up and secure, it was time to make Thanksgiving dinner.

Dinner consisted of Tofurkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, brussels sprouts and stuffing. Lauren can work magic with our small kitchen and she really outdid herself! She had to prepare one item at a time, except for letting the Tofurkey roast in the oven. Mashed potatoes first, then the vegetables and stuffing. We put the table together in the salon and even had candlelight. We enjoyed our dinner and gave thanks for being able to enjoy this meal, our supportive family and friends, and will remember this Thanksgiving for years to come!

We retired soon after with full bellies and a possible plan for tomorrow. We were expecting to stay here two nights, but we think we will anchor out tomorrow instead and save some money. Our friends on Trinity and Sirius will be catching up with us tomorrow as they plan on staying here at this marina, but we will be close by…

We got up and took Frank for his morning walk. Just as I was returning, I noticed the boat in front of us preparing to leave. I helped them depart and sat down for my morning coffee. I saw our sailboat neighbors and was chatting with them before we left. They still weren’t sure what to do about the mast and bridge height, so they decided to leave the boat here for a couple of days with permission from the city manager which runs the docks. We relaxed a bit then prepared to depart and pulled away, heading toward Destin.

Destin is located on Florida’s Emerald Coast, which gets its name from its beautiful, clear green water. Beaches here have extremely fine, soft sand and they have a boardwalk lined with food and entertainment venues. The trip didn’t take long, a little over an hour. The entrance into Destin harbor was a little tricky. There are buoys, but they were almost on top of one another but different colors, so I was confused. Just as we were about to pass a buoy, someone called out to me on the radio: “Klondike, you’d better get on the other side of that buoy!”. WTF!? I was about to pass on the left of the green, but they told me to go right of it. As I said, I was confused, but I followed their direction and we made our way further into the harbor, passing through five foot depths and less, until it started to get a bit deeper around ten feet. “Thank You!” I replied to the anonymous helper. We could see a few other boats anchored out where our charts showed as an anchorage. We made our way close, but not too close to the other boats and dropped anchor. We let out plenty of rode, as winds were expected to increase overnight, but not be overly raucous.

Once we secured and comfortable with our anchor being firmly set, we got on the dinghy and went to the beach on one side of the harbor next to a large hotel. The beach was indeed fine, soft sand. It was great to be on a beach again, and it was hot! It was almost eighty degrees and the beach was perfect. We hung out and tried to keep Frank discreet as we found out once on the beach that dogs are not allowed. We stayed off to the side and Frank laid down next to us, and nobody bothered us. We hung out there for a couple of hours, then made our way back to Klondike. Showers were taken and we prepared to go to the other side of the harbor where all of the bars and restaurants are. It was now happy hour time and we were ready to eat. Our first stop was Jackacudas Seafood. We shared some appetizers and chatted with the bartender for a bit. Apparently this is off-season for them, and the place was not busy. We then continued on to AJ’s, which had some live music and was a bit more lively, and we shared some sushi rolls. Afterward we walked along the boardwalk a bit, then went back to our boat. I took Frank for his nightly walk and returned, ready to retire for the evening.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we made a reservation at a dock in Panama City Beach. We hope to get there by 3pm, and were told to dock at their gas dock for the night and they will move us on Friday when they return to work. The weather looks good, so there should be no issues traveling tomorrow.

We got going in the morning by 830am. Today we were going to travel about 45 miles via the Intracoastal and stop at the free dock in Fort Walton Beach. The trip there was again how we like it- uneventful, though the wind was definitely increasing throughout the day. We were moving with the current, so we got there around 230pm. We had read about the dock and some people had questioned the safety of it due to the homeless living in the park and on boats there. When we approached, we could see a few boats anchored in front of the docks, and one boat which looked kind of neglected, at a slip. Due to the wind and not knowing the depth or any underwater obstructions, we chose to dock on the end of the ‘T’ and not risk pulling into a slip. This turned out to be the right choice, as after we had docked and tied up, we saw a sunken boat in one slip and the guys on the ‘questionable’ boat said the depths were shallow in all of the slips except one.

Once we were tied up, we went about walking Frank and making sure our bumpers were set properly as we were expecting the wind to keep increasing. The guys next to us had told me one of the boats that was anchored in front of the dock was dragging, and I was watching the other two boats anchored closely to see if they were too. There was about seventy five feet between them and us. We eventually decided to walk up to a grocery store, Publix, which was around the corner from the park/dock we were at. Just as we were getting ready to leave, I noticed a trawler headed toward the dock at a slow speed. I ran up to the flybridge, turned on our VHF, and called out to them: “Trawler approaching Ft. Walton Beach dock…are you looking to come in here?” We had tied up at the far end of the dock leaving room for another boat, just in case. “Yes- can you move?” was his reply. “Nope…I’m all tied up, but there is room behind us. I’ll catch a line for you- there is plenty of room” was my reply. We were all tied up and not going to be moving. I went down and helped them dock. We all met and they were a nice family that has recently bought the boat and are traveling with their family of four as their two children were along with them. They were not ‘looping’ per se, but were just traveling, living on their boat. We were on our way to the store, so we departed and walked up to town to get our groceries for Thanksgiving dinner which is coming up in two day. Shopping done, we now had to walk back a couple of blocks to the boat. I looked at Uber to get a ride, since we had stocked up. The charge would have been almost $8 for two blocks…plus tip. We decided we could make it walking, so walk we did with our arms full of grocery bags. We made it back to the dock and prepared dinner. While making dinner, I was still watching the boats anchored not far from us and noticed one of them was making its way closer to us. We ate dinner and researched our next stop, Destin, then Lauren called it a night. I stayed up a little while longer watching the boats. While keeping an eye out, I saw a sailboat pass us heading down the channel. I didn’t think too much of it, other than why are they out here at night and in this wind? A little while longer I noticed them come back the other way kind of slowly. It looked like they were maybe searching for somewhere to stop, and since I knew about this free dock, I would expect others know about it as well. I went up to the flybridge and tried calling to them on the radio, but I got no response. Hmmm… I went back downstairs and now they were a little closer, now out of the channel, but not quite heading toward the dock. I called out to them and got a response. “Are you looking to come in here?” I called. “Is this a dock? Can we stop here?” was the response I heard. “Yes, this spot is open and deep I was told, but I can’t be sure, but you’re welcome to try- I’ll catch a line.” I don’t want to be responsible for someone running aground and I am not familiar with the area, but I was told this is the only deep dock available by our neighbors. I helped them dock and they were grateful and fun. They had just picked up the boat from a family member and trying to get it to southern Florida. The problem was their mast is forty eight feet tall, and the bridge at the end of the channel was showing forty seven feet clearance. They understandably didn’t want to take a chance on this, so decided to stop for the night and try to figure it out tomorrow. Their only other option was to turn around and go back to Pensacola to get out to the Gulf and come down that way. I went back to watching the drifting boats and soon I was seeing one boat within about twenty feet of us, yet there was nothing I could do about it until it either reached us or stopped moving. I put every other bumper we have not being used out on the side where the boat could potentially hit us. I kept watching, debating what I would even do if it came close enough for me to reach it. One thought was I would at least raft it off of us so I could control it at least until we were ready to leave; another was to try to walk it to a dock space and tie it off there. As I was watching, it started moving behind us toward the other boat docked there. I soon saw a flashlight trained on it from them, and I stepped outside. We discussed what we could do, and the only option was to wait to see if it came close enough to reach. The winds must have shifted, as it eventually moved a little farther away from us and seemed to be stopped there.

At this point I was ready for bed, so I retired knowing I have protected as best we could our boat and also thankful we are a steel hull, so not too worried about a small fiberglass boat hitting us. Tomorrow we will head to Destin, Florida and anchor out there. The weather looks good, so we’re excited to have a warm day!

We left the bayou and continued on toward Florida. We had been told about this anchorage by the dockmaster in Fairhope. He told us it is well protect and as a bonus the Blue Angels usually fly around practicing as we would be close to the Pensacola Naval Air Station where they are based out of. We had looked it up online and it looked good to us.

We made our way down the Intracoastal and entered Florida. Yay- we made it! We decided we would stop at the first beach we could and see the Gulf if it was possible to anchor. We came across Perdido Key on the way and saw we could drop anchor here and dinghy to the key, so we did. We took the dinghy and went to shore; there were miles of white sand and dunes, with a road that stopped about half way, and the rest was untouched. We let Frank run and explored the beach for a while before returning because we got hungry and it was lunch time. We had sandwiches and made our way a few miles farther to the anchorage we were told about. Upon approach, we saw there were our friends from Fairhope/ Lulu’s there as well as a few other boats. The anchorage was in a small bay that wasn’t very large, but there was room for a few other boats, so we pulled in and dropped anchor. The setting was stunning, as we were surrounded by tall dunes of white sand almost all the way around us, which protected us from wind. The weather was warm too, so it made us feel like we were actually in Florida! We took Frank with us to the old fort, which is actually just ruins at this point. It was built in 1834 and was used in the civil war, then abandoned. It briefly was going to be used during World War Two, but the war ended before completion of the updates, and it was again abandoned. We rode to the other side of the bay, which was separated by shallow water- so shallow the dinghy couldn’t even get through. We went ashore and climbed the higher dunes. From this vantage point, we had a perfect view of the sunset. We watched the sun go down, then returned to Klondike for dinner. We slept well, basking in the fact we’re in Florida and had such a wonderful day all around.

Tomorrow we are heading to Fort Walton Beach which has a free dock for boaters coming through. There are mixed reviews about this place, and there is no power or water, but it is free.

We got off to an early start today, and left our marina by 8am. We pulled out of the channel and made our way farther south toward the Intracoastal Waterway. Mobile Bay is shallow, as I’ve mentioned, and the water depths are between eight to ten feet, with it more shallow closer to shore. We made our way south to get to the channel which is the Intracoastal Waterway. This is kept at a minimum of ten feet deep by the Army Corp of Engineers and runs from Texas to Florida. When we left, I noticed another boat leaving around the same time behind us. It turns out to be people we’ve met before, and they caught up to us about an hour into our trip. We spoke on the VHF and they said they were going to Lulu’s too, and then anchoring in the same spot we had picked. This was cool with us, as its nice to have someone to travel with sometimes. We made it to the channel and were now in more protected waters. We continued for a few hours and soon came to our first stop: Lulu’s. Lulu is Jimmy Buffett’s sister, and she has a couple of restaurant locations, which are similar to Margaritaville, but with her own twist. Our friends ahead of us had reached the destination first, and came out to assist us with docking. We arrived right around noon, so it was starting to get busy but there were no other boats except the two of us. Once docked, we went inside to see if the Cleveland Browns were on one of their TV’s. They were not, but we sat at the bar anyway and had lunch, while watching the game on our phone. The food was good and the Browns were winning, so it was a good day. We finished up and prepared to depart after walking around the gift shop and grounds for a bit. Our friends had already left before us, so we took our time before heading out.

We left Lulu’s and continued east on the Intracoastal. We didn’t have too far to go, so we made it to the anchorage in a couple of hours. As we pulled in, there were a few other boats anchored already, and we worked our way slowly past them to get a little deeper into the bayou. We anchored in about ten feet of water with about five other boats spread around. There was plenty of room, so we didn’t feel like we were close to anyone else. I took Frank into shore on the dinghy and returned to relax for the night and watch the sunset and the dolphins playing around us. We made dinner and researched our next stop. Tomorrow we will enter Florida! We are excited about this as it is a milestone to get here under our own power and finally be in Florida! Hopefully the weather will start to warm up…

We left Mobile and were greeted with a large military ship coming up the channel, as well as dolphins jumping around in and out of the water! The waters are very shallow once outside the channels, so we have to be very careful not to run aground. The approaching ship was huge, and I was very nervous, trying to stay out of its way. We were following a tug boat, and I soon heard over the radio a ship calling us. It was the massive Navy ship coming at us, and he wanted to know if we were going to pass on to their right? “Yes, Captain- I am following this tug to get around you.” “Roger that- sounds good, but that tug is coming for me”. Crap. The channel isn’t that wide, and the tug now started to turn toward the Navy ship, leaving me very little room to get around them. We made it past, and I could breathe a little easier. Fairhope is on the east coats of Mobile Bay, so we had to follow the channel down until it was safe to turn east. Once we turned out of the channel, we were in about nine feet of water. This also makes me nervous, as I like to be at least in double digit depths when we can. At this point I wasn’t sure if we could just go across the bay, so I called the marina we’re heading to. She told me to follow the channel past the red buoy marked #72, then turn on a course of 120 degrees for about a mile, then turn to 150 degrees for about 6 miles. We followed her directions and came to the harbor entrance. There are actually three marinas in this harbor. We pulled to the fuel dock as we wanted to get a pump out before going to our dock. Once the waste tanks were emptied, we moved to a covered slip just next to the fuel dock.

When we made the reservation, we weren’t sure how long we would be staying due to some rainy weather that was expected to arrive. During check in, I told him we would be staying for two nights due to the rain. Since we had arrived in the early afternoon, we had time to go explore the town on our bikes. We got a map from the office, and when I asked about biking to town, they seemed to discourage it as it is almost three miles, and a lot of it is uphill. I relayed this to Lauren, and she was up for the challenge and we set out toward town. The ride was a lot of uphill, but we made it. Once we got to town, we rode around a bit, then locked up the bikes so we could walk around. Lauren wanted to walk around the shops, and she let me hang out at Dragonfly while she did this. After awhile, Lauren returned and it was now happy hour where we were. We shared some appetizers and had some cocktails, while thinking of where to go next. It was getting to be dusk soon, so we had to decide whether to ride back to the marina now, or our other option was to leave the bikes in town and Uber back. We chose to head to another area of town on the bikes and stop at a brewery: District Hall. When we walked in, it wasn’t too busy, and the bartender noticed my Cleveland hat and asked if we were from there? She apparently used to live in the Chagrin Falls area, and we chatted about the area for bit. We got our beverages and found a table out on the patio where everyone brought their kids and they were all running wild. We ordered a pizza and were enjoying that when a DJ set up for rock and roll bingo night. This is how it works: you get a bingo card and it has song titles on it. The DJ plays a snippet of a song, and if you have it, you mark it off. There were different categories for different games, and it was fun playing along. We actually won on the last game, and received a coupon for a free medium pizza on our next visit! Now it was dark, and we biked back to a hotel in the downtown area and locked up the bikes. We were going to call an Uber, but heard some live music down the street, so we thought we’d check that out first. The Bone and Barrel had the music on their patio. We found two seats at the outside bar and were enjoying a beer, when two large palmetto bugs (cockroaches to us from up north) came scurrying across the bar- the few people next to us jumped, and everyone moved back as they fell off the bar and ran across the ground! I don’t care what you call them, I don’t want to see them or be around them! We finished our beers and decided it was time to head back. We called an Uber and got a ride back to the marina so we could settle in for the night.

Day 2: Today we woke up to an overcast day and rain expected. It did rain in the morning, and Lauren did some laundry while I washed down the boat and prepared for leaving tomorrow. Once the rain stopped, we took an Uber back to our bikes. We then stopped at a grocery store for some provisions and biked back to the marina. Our Uber driver had asked us if we had taken the dinghy down the creek yet? We had not, but it sounded interesting, so once we returned to Klondike, we took a dinghy ride. The creek was cool, with houses and their manicured grounds lining the water and everyone seemed to have their own clubhouses and docks all decked out with large TV’s, bars and quite elaborate lounging areas. We continued on as far as we could until it got to be too shallow, then turned around and came back. At this point the sun was setting, but it was getting windy, so when we tried to go into the bay to watch the sunset we were getting tossed about, so we turned around and came back due to the waves. Lauren prepared dinner and we relaxed and ate while planning tomorrows destination. We plan on going to an anchorage at Ingram Bayou, with a stop at Lulu’s on the Gulf Shores….

We woke up, took Frank to shore, then pulled anchor and turned toward Mobile, Alabama. Since we were only sixteen miles away, it was going to be a short day trip of a little over two hours. We could see where another boat had docked there on Nebo, so we knew about the location we were looking for. As we came closer, the commercial traffic increased tremendously. Mobile is the twelfth busiest port in the US. Large barges and tankers were moving about in every direction, and we just tried to stay off to the side and out of the way. On one occasion we had to call them on the radio to arrange a safe pass where a few boats were coming together at once. We got through this and were greeted with the city in front of us. There were shipyards on both sides, and cranes for loading and unloading the ships. The convention center was close as we entered, and as we approached there was a giant cruise ship docked just past the center with a security boat, with lights flashing, patrolling the area around it. This confused me, as I wasn’t sure if we could pass them or not, but our dock was before them. Across from us was a shipyard working on some military ships, which looked super stealthy and blended in to the surroundings quite well. We called the office and they sent a security guard down to unlock the gate from the dock, which was actually just a wall we tied to, to the parking lot so we could come and go when we wanted. Once the gate was unlocked, it stayed unlocked so there was no good security there, but it didn’t seem too unsafe.

Once the boat was secured and Frank was walked, we set out on foot to explore and find some oysters. Our first stop was the visitor center to procure a map. Then we walked downtown and perused the shops and entertainment venues around. We went for a tour at the Mobile Carnival Museum. Mobile claims to be the first official Mardi Gras location, and pre-dates New Orleans by 15 years! It started in 1703 by a Frenchman, when Mobile was the capital of Louisiana. This was fifteen years before New Orleans was even founded! The museum had interesting exhibits, including floats, trinkets, and room after room of the Kings and Queens elaborate outfits they wear, which is all handmade in Mobile by the finest tailors and seamstresses. Afterward we stopped and got some chocolate and popcorn to munch on as we walked at a small local shop. While passing a park, we tossed some popcorn to some squirrels that were around. That was a mistake, as they started coming from everywhere, following us and demanding more! We hightailed it out of there and carried on, searching for an oyster bar. We found Wintzell’s Oyster House and had a couple of dozen oysters. Then we on to Serda Brewing Company to quench our thirst. After that, we were hungry again, so we stopped at Southern National, which we shared some small plates. Now we were full and wandered around the town square, where they were decorating for Christmas and we also checked out the statues and historic sights in the area. We went back to the boat and got Frank for an evening walk.

Tomorrow we are heading to Fairhope, Alabama, which is less than twenty miles away. We will plan on leaving by 10am, and should be to our next port in a few hours.

Today there were no gunshots, no barges, no issues to speak of. We pulled anchor and went sixty two miles closer to Mobile. Our planned anchorage today is another creek situation, where we pull off and drop anchor. Looking at the anchorage on the map, it looked a bit larger than the last creek we anchored in. We will be sixteen miles from Mobile, which will give us the opportunity to get there and plenty of time to explore the town.

We pulled anchor and headed south. There was light traffic, and the trip was again uneventful. We found the creek at mile marker 16.6 and turned into it. The entrance was a bit shallow, but we made it through, then it got deep and wide. We followed this back some ways and saw a couple of houses on a small island, as well as more off-shoots of the creek. We turned around at the island and headed back toward the entrance a few hundred yards, then dropped anchor off to the side of the creek. We used a stern anchor again to prevent us from swinging into land, and I took Frank in the dinghy. There were no good places to land the boat, so we made our way back to Klondike and found a spot just off the port side. We cautiously made our way through the brush to try to find a clearing to walk around. We found a small spot, and I was on high alert for crocodiles. We did not see any, but we know they are around. We made our way back to the boat as it was getting dark, and settled in for the night. We could hear the wildlife come alive, with rustling in the bushes, owls and coyotes howling and other strange noises. It is nice to be secure on our boat, knowing nothing can get to us!

After dinner, Lauren researched Mobile and places to go. We had made a reservation at their convention center dock; it costs $50 and there is no power or water, but the location is perfect. We plan to leave early and get there by 11am so we can have all day to see Mobile.