Skylarking

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.

We woke up to a foggy morning and I took Frank to shore for his potty break. As we were walking around the woods by the boat, two shots rang out. They were coming from the other side of the creek, and I figured it was from the two guys in camo gear that went by on a small boat as I was getting Frank ready for our ride in his orange reflective life jacket. “Hey” yelled Lauren to us: “get back here!”. Since Frank had done his business and I could hear the worry in her voice, I called back “we’re on our way!” We popped out of the woods and Lauren was on the deck looking for us. “did you hear that? Sounded like gunshots!” she asked. “Yep, probably duck hunters” I replied, explaining I saw them pass us earlier, so I wasn’t worried, and Frank has on hunting safety gear colors, which I don’t think she was overly convinced of my reasoning.

At this point is is about 630am, and I hear on the radio someone calling the lock to ask for an opening. The boat calling is at Bobby’s Fish Camp, a few miles ahead of us. We are about seven miles/ forty minutes from the lock. I listen to the lockmaster tell him there are a couple of barges coming through as soon as the fog lifts and he will advise on when to come to the lock. I got on the radio and advised the lockmaster we would be joining them, and would also monitor the radio waiting for instructions. Now we wait. I was a little nervous since we were a few miles back, and felt we should move closer to the lock. Lauren was in agreement, so as the fog was lifting, we pulled out of our anchorage and headed toward the lock. We had researched the lock and saw there is an anchorage in front of it, but in front of the dam. We didn’t feel comfortable anchoring there overnight, because what if the anchor slipped and we drifted back over the dam? This was not something we wanted to worry about which is why we stayed further upstream. We passed Bobby’s and saw two boats tied up there to the dock. We made it to the lock and had not heard from the lockmaster, but I could see on our AIS where the barges were, which we had to wait for them to go through first. Knowing we had time, we decided to drop anchor off to the side in front of the dam, but well away from it. We got there and waited for almost five hours.

During the five hour wait, we could hear other boats approaching and calling the lock. The lockmaster was polite for the first couple of boats, but then stopped responding as more boats would get close and try calling him with the same request. You could hear his frustration the one or two times he did respond to the late comers. We just hung out, watching the big ships go past, listening to the radio chatter, and just tried to enjoy the beautiful warm day we were having. It was a little frustrating waiting so long, but we had nowhere to be! Except our next anchorage. It was also funny to hear two boats go by the people waiting at Bobby’s per the lockmasters instructions, and talk on the radio between themselves (anyone can listen) about how “those people better get moving!” and something along the lines of: “They’re idiots for waiting there”. Those two felt like they had to take charge and tried to tell the lockmaster more people were coming, but they were still at Bobby’s, and the lockmaster shut him down pretty quickly with “they all checked in already, I need YOUR information!”. Eventually the lockmaster told everyone to prepare, and we all came through the lock. By this time it was around 1130am and everyone who came out of the lock went as fast as they could. We were the last one in, last ones out.

We continued on our way, following two other boats going just a little faster than us who stopped short of where we were going. We were worried we wouldn’t make it to our anchorage before sunset had the lock taken any longer, but we estimated we would get there right around 4pm. The waterway we are traveling is a very winding path, with lots of turns and corners, where you have to be very careful if you meet any barges. Since we can see the barges on our chart, we can radio to them and advise them of our presence and we can communicate which side we should pass each other on. We can see them, they cannot see us until we’re actually in their line of sight. We were getting close to our anchorage and was watching some barges on the chart ahead of us. I could also hear them on the radio, and it seems one of the barges had run aground taking one of the turns. It can happen to anyone. A pleasure boat had called him about going around him, and he was told to wait for a bit, then he was told to come on around. It sounded like he was trying to pull himself off with his engines, but was having a bit of trouble. The barge we had been following had come to a stop at one of the bends ahead of us. Since I was listening, I thought I knew what was going on. We came to a stop, and waited for a bit, but I was getting nervous because the sun was getting lower and we really wanted to get to the anchorage before sunset. Eventually I radio’d the barge in front of us and asked permission to pass. “come on around” was the tired sigh of the towboat captain. I came around him and was greeted by another barge, which looked like it was turning in the river, in what looked like our direction. I came to a stop and was a bit bewildered and not sure what to do but wait and see. “Hey Captain!” the radio blared “You came around me and stopped! I’m getting going and I can’t stop!” Shit! He is talking to me! I throttle it forward and am now between two barges heading down river. The one in front of us had started moving forward and I had nowhere to go but behind him, with his giant wake coming out bouncing us around and making it hard for me to steer if i get too close into his wake. Behind me is a boat pushing 6 large barges right at us, expecting me to stay out of the way. We’re in a pickle now, and to make it even better, I realize our anchorage is just around the next corner, outside of the red channel markers, which means I’m going to have to pull off the channel while in this mess. We went a few minutes and I got on the radio to the tow behind us and asked him to go to a channel we can talk. I apologize and groveled profusely and made him aware of our intention. He was pleasant and explained the situation: the barge in front of us had stopped because there was a third barge which had been stuck, but he got off and is now moving ahead of them. Whew. I still felt like an idiot, and Lauren made me promise to never make us a barge sandwich again. Deal.

We got to the correct mile markers and pulled off and waited for our friend behind us to pass before dropping anchor. At this point it was a little past 4pm so there was still daylight to walk Frank. This anchorage was much like the first anchorage we did in the river, but it felt like there was more room to be out of the channel. Once secure and sure we weren’t moving, I took Frank ashore. I pulled the dinghy up as close as possible and Frank leapt out to land in mud and he sank to his knees. I just looked at him and said “shit”. I could tell the whole beach was like this. We are now in tidal waters, and the water was low, which left fresh mud exposed and gave me no choice but to get out into it to walk Frank. I removed my shoes and rolled up my jeans. I sunk in about a foot and a half deep. I walked him barefoot and now my feet were covered in mud and leaves too. Whatever, it felt like a mud bath for my feet. We returned to the boat just as it was getting dark and got both of us cleaned up. We are pleased we are done with the locks for now, but now have to worry about the tidal changes and crocodiles. There’s always something!

Tomorrow we are getting close to Mobile, Alabama! This will put us in Mobile Bay, which is just off of the Gulf of Mexico! The weather should be getting warmer and we are getting into saltwater. Mobile is just a little too far away to get there in a day, and we want to be able to enjoy the city and explore, so we decided to stop about sixteen miles short of Mobile and anchor there for the night, then go in to town the next morning.

The morning was foggy, so we waited for the sun to burn off the fog a bit before we left. We pulled both anchors and turned downstream. Today was a forty five mile cruise downstream, with a slight push from the current. We had chosen the anchorage instead of the only dock available, which has no power or water, but charges $50 a night. They have a restaurant, Bobby’s Fish camp, but it is only open Thursday- Saturday (today being a Monday), so we felt anchoring was the more sensible choice. The trip was again uneventful, just enjoying the trip and the day. We have been a bit warmer, but it is still cold in the morning and after the sun goes down. During the afternoon, it is somewhat nice. We keep the windows open on the flybridge, but keep the rear cover on to block the wind, which helps keep us warm.

We arrived to our mile marker and found the creek we would be turning into. I passed it and turned upstream for the approach. I was coming in cautiously due to the 2015 warning, but we never went under six feet depth. The creek was very narrow, but it kept on going back. Once we were up the creek a little bit, the depths stayed at ten feet or more. We went back, then got nervous that maybe we were pushing our luck, so we turned around, which took some time due to the narrowness of it. We came back to about twenty yards from the opening and dropped anchor. We had to do the same routine as yesterday with the stern anchor. Once that was down, we sat there listening to the nature around us, tress hanging five feet off our stern, and overhanging our bow a little. There was not much room, but it was peaceful and still. We left enough room for boats to pass us if they came in, but we were as close to shore as we felt comfortable. I took Frank ashore for a walk in the woods, and we explored a bit before returning to the boat. Unfortunately for him, once it gets dark, he does not leave the boat. I will not be walking in the woods in the pitch black, not knowing whats around, and we are getting close to crocodile and alligator country. We went one more time right before dark and was back on the boat before the sun disappeared. Once the sun goes down, we were in complete blackness, except for our anchor light and flashing solar lights we have wrapped around our rails on the mid level deck. Just before it got dark, we heard another boat approach and slow down and we thought may be pulling in with us, but they seemed to have turned around and went somewhere else as we never actually saw them. We ran the generator for awhile and made dinner, then retired for the evening.

Tomorrow is the last lock, Coffeeville Lock and Dam and then we are done with locks for awhile. There are some locks in Florida but that will be later on. Since we know others will be locking through too, we will prepare for our 7am departure…

Right before we retired last night, I spoke to another 2 boaters who were planning on leaving in the morning. This is good news to us, as we knew people were going but didn’t know the time, but now we do. We were to be ready at 7am, and monitor the radio as one of the captains was going to arrange with the lock at 6am. We listened and were told to be ready for a 7am lock through. We readied and tossed our lines around 645am. While we were pulling out of the marina, we could hear other boats on the radio calling the lock, informing him they would be joining as well. We ended up with eleven boats coming through the lock! Everyone made it through in an orderly fashion, and the lockmaster was out and chatting with us as the last few boats were tying up. Once out of the chamber, everyone separated again according to speed, and we brought up the rear.

You can see by the heading we anchored. We had procured a hand written photocopied list of anchorages at the marina, which listed about a dozen stops in the next 200+ miles, with only one place that has an actual dock but no power or water. The only way to describe the place to stop is by mile markers (MM). Old Lock #2 is the name left over from some time ago, there is no lock or any structure, just an area there used to be one. We left the marina at MM 216 and saw a stop at MM 168, which is the Old Lock #2. Tis is a good travel day for us, moving around 6.5-7 knots, we could do the forty eight miles in a little under seven hours. It is very important to us we don’t travel in bad weather and we get to our destination in the daylight.

The trip was uneventful, everything was running well and the steering was good. We came to our destination, and saw that the river became about thirty feet wider. There was a small boat ramp, and the description was to go past the ramp and anchor where the stone wall ends, using a stern anchor so you do not swing into land or the channel. There is no wake protection, as the boats, small and large tugs pass by you at any time, day or night. Ok- this seems strange, but we don’t really have other options other than to continue downstream and hope another is better. We also see other anchorages are listed as the same, or “just outside or reds’, which is referring to the red buoys used to mark the channel.

We approached the area very slowly, and as we passed by the boat ramp saw someone was just launching a small fishing boat. The area it widened, then came back to a point where it resumed the normal channel width. On the point was a young guy fishing. The stone wall ended and left about seventy feet to the point where he was fishing. I turned the boat upstream and motored very very slowly toward shore. We were watching the water depths as we moved closer, and it was staying around nine to ten feet, even ten feet off land. This was close enough for us, and we were out of the channel. We dropped the front anchor and backed down on it to make sure it was secure. Then I hopped in the dinghy, without Frank who didn’t understanding why I wasn’t taking him, to drop a stern anchor. I put the anchor in the dinghy and motored out as far as the line I had tied it to. I then drop it overboard and come back to the boat to haul in the line and get the anchor to bite. I also pull in some of the front line to give more purchase on the rear. Once all was set, we sat there and watched to make sure we weren’t moving. I asked the fisherman who was only twenty yards away if he’d seen anyone else anchor here? He replied he had not, but he “isn’t from here and there is nothing around here if that’s what your looking for”. I told him we were just looking for a place to stop, and he went back to fishing. He didn’t seem overly friendly. Maybe I disturbed the fishing.

Lauren, Frank and I went to shore to walk around, stretch our legs and let Frank do his business. I pulled the dinghy over to the boat ramp to let everyone off, which Lauren and Frank jumped off into very soft mud. I moved the dinghy a little farther away and got off by some rocks, so I wouldn’t go through the mud too. We walked around a small park the Army Corp of Engineers maintains, and found a cool, old abandoned school bus that someone had on their property next to the park. We took a few pics and went back to the boat. I got the dinghy and met Lauren and Frank in a not so muddy area and picked them up. We just got back to the boat when we saw the people who had launched their small boat returning. They weren’t out long- maybe an hour or so. We watched the couple bring the truck and trailer to the muddy ramp and attempt to pull it out. There is a boat saying: Sometimes there is a show, and sometimes you’re the show! They were definitely our show today; they finally got the boat on the trailer, but the truck had no traction to pull it up and out of the water with all of that deep mud. We could hear the tires spinning and he would inch up, then fall back. We watched this for about twenty minutes, then they eventually got it out. Good for them as I was getting worried for them. The night was quiet, with only a couple of barges coming by, one during daylight, which rocked us a bit, but they slow down and take care not to cause too much disturbance. Then one passed at night which woke us up for a moment, then all settled down and we fell right back to sleep.

Tomorrow we are planning on another forty five mile day, and the anchorage is in a small creek, which in October 2015 entrance was reported shoaled to four feet so it may not be usable. We have a back up anchorage just in case…