We didn’t have a long way to go today, so we didn’t leave until 8:15. It was overcast this morning and a little chilly. About late morning the sun came out and it warmed up considerably.
One of the barrier islands we passed was marked restricted on the charts, was undeveloped and had nothing but several radar domes and a tall observation tower. The water on the gulf side of the island is a training area for US Navy pilots to drop ordinance so we figured the radar and tower was support for the training. We saw a C130 military plane flying around and Darrell saw a couple of fighter aircraft.
We had our first dolphin sighting since we’ve been back in salt water. Several of them were playing in the waterway. Beth didn’t get pictures of them.
We docked at Fort Walton Beach at 1:00. Fort Walton offers free overnight docking. There is no electricity, but it is a very nice pier with fingers and is within walking distance to town. We walked about a mile to West Marine and Napa and stopped at Publix for groceries on our way back to the boat. The waterfront area is anice park and the main street, just a block away, has a number of bar/restaurants, and neat shops
- a nice place.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
English Navy Cove, FL. – Fort Walton Beach, FL - November 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Fairhope, AL – English Navy Cove, FL. - November 3, 2008
Now that it becomes dark earlier in the afternoon, we need to get an early start if we want to travel any distance during the day. We were up at 6:15 and on our way at 7.
The marina we stayed at the past 2 nights had been about midway down Mobile Bay and today we went 25 miles further before joining the ICW. On Mobile Bay we started plotting our course again and following it on the GPS – Darrell is happy! . On the Tenn-Tom Waterway all you do is keep it between the banks of the river and the red and green buoys.
We passed by Lulu’s Restaurant. Lulu, the owner, is Jimmy Buffett’s sister. It’s a popular stop because occasionally Jimmy will drop in. 
Until we reach Carrabelle, FL, will be on the ICW. It’s nice to be back in salt water with barrier islands protecting us from big water. It’s also good to see sand again. There were beautiful beaches with dunes. It’s probably obvious we’re happy to be back in Florida.
We also passed Pensacola, FL. Pensacola is a large navy town, with the Pensacola Naval Air Station located there. That is the home of the Blue Angels. A couple of jets flew overhead as we passed by.
We dropped our anchor at 3:00. 65.7 miles and 8 hours.
Fairhope, AL – November 2, 2008
Fairhope is a beautiful town of around 12,000 that began over a hundred years ago when an adventurous group of people sought their personal utopia. It is located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay and they boast nearly a 0 crime rate. There are many boutiques and art galleries featuring local artists located in their downtown area.
While Darrell worked on the boat, Beth took the courtesy car to downtown Fairhope. Unfortunately, because it was Sunday, nearly every store was closed. She found only 4 open stores; a bookstore, 2 boutiques and the Fairhope Street Artists. Fairhope Street Artists is a gallery showing the works of many local artists. Each artist has their own wall and one of them was outside painting when she walked by. The pictures are of downtown Fairhope and inside one of the art galleries.
Darrell has been working on the autopilot, trying to get it working correctly. Beth cleaned the bumpers. Now that we are through with the locks, we hope to keep the bumpers cleaner.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Fuzzy and the Butterflies
Fuzzy likes butterflies so much that when he saw a butterfly chair he had to sit on it and have his picture taken.
Big Bayou Canot, AL – Fairhope, AL, - November 1, 2008
We pulled our anchor at 8:30 and very soon we were back into the waterway on our way to Mobile. Almost immediately we passed 1 tow and met 2 others. Both of the northbound tows were hauling coal.
Very soon we saw the Mobile skyline. YES!!! As we got closer to Mobile Bay the river traffic really picked up. There were many tows and also many barges tied to shore waiting for a tug. The number of tows indicated how close we were getting to a major commercial center.
The scenery had been slowly changing for the past few days. We have been seeing cypress trees, tall grasses and more marshy looking areas.
As we cruised through Mobile’s harbor, we passed what Darrell believes was a Prototype of a Navy stealth ship. It was a catamaran and did not appear to be commissioned since the hull number was painted over. We found a picture of it (on the web) of it being launched. Rumored to be commissioned the USS Indianapolis.
We passed the cruise ship terminal where Norwegian cruise ship “Spirit” was docked. Beth mentioned she would be up for a cruise and would like to be “pampered” for a while. We passed a working dredge and an old Coast Guard ship that was aground and abandoned.
We got to downtown Mobile, mile 0 of the Tenn-Tom waterway. We are glad to be out of the river system. We were now in Mobile Bay. On our way to our marina on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay we saw fishermen dragging nets to catch fish. The gulls were all over the boat, hoping for some food.
We arrived at our marina at 11:30, put on 128 gallons of diesel and docked. We took the courtesy car and went into town. It was good to get off the boat for a time.
We came back to the boat for a while, then took the car again and went to dinner. After driving around checking out places to eat we decided on the Fly Creek Café, just across the creek by boat, but about 3 miles away by car. It’s a boaters hangout with lots of character and local color. Local artwork (Fairhope is a artists community) hangs on the walls along with retro posters and black & white photos. It has a resident cat, pool table, Pac-man and great early 60’s music playing in the background.
The wine choices were chardonnay, merlot and white zinfandel. Beth ordered chardonnay and it was delivered in a small bottle with a plastic glass. When we asked what food they are known for our server told us it was the hamburgers and their fish, shrimp, and clam poor-boys. Darrell had a Fly Burger (regular, plain hamburger) and Beth ordered a Surge Burger. That was a Fly Burger with BBQ sauce, grilled pineapple, bacon and cheese. They were the largest hamburgers we had every seen and they were both extremely good. We were very happy with our choice of restaurants.
Upper Sunflower Bend Cutoff, AL – Big Bayou Canot, AL - October 31, 2008
There was fog again this morning. This is one of the boats we’re traveling with. Can you see him? He is anchored only 150’ feet from us. The fog lifted quickly and we were underway at 8:30.
We found there was a very large northbound tow in the midst of moving through a very narrow serpentine part of the river. He was 3 barges wide and took up nearly the entire channel while maneuvering from turn to turn. In this area we could not meet while both of us were moving. The tow said he would pull over to the side and let us pass.
We were now in ‘gator country and the first one we saw was dead, floating in the river. It wasn’t long until we found one sunning on the bank.
Suddenly, after rounding a bend we saw the S/V Sojourn anchored in a small inlet. Sojourn is a sailboat owned by our friends Gene and Kay Jurrens. They left Lake City, Minnesota in August and have cruised down the river systems on their way to Burnt Store Marina, which is also our destination. They also have a blog and we thought they were about 1 day ahead of us. We were surprised to overtake them.
When they didn’t answer their radio on 16, we decided to sneak up on them. They were down below and didn’t see us until we were quite close and Darrell blew the foghorn to get their
attention. We rafted up with them, and had a nice visit before leaving for our intended anchorage.
We anchored at Big Bayou Canot at 4:30.
Bashi Creek, AL – Upper Sunflower Bend Cutoff, AL - October 30, 2008
We were up at 7 and were hoping to get an early start, but we were fogged in. It was very cold and Darrell started the generator so we could get some heat.
We had anchored in a very narrow creek off the river and by 8 we could see the river and across to the other side. It seemed as though the fog was lifting and the 2 boats rafted to us left at 8. It was 10 minutes later, after raising both bow and stern anchors, that we followed. We were surprised when getting to the main channel the boats had stopped and were waiting for us. The
reason was extremely heavy fog. We found that the fog had burned off only in the areas the sun was hitting. There was still fog in the shaded areas. We had radar and crept ahead of them so we could lead. It was rough going for about 15 minutes. The pictures are when the fog had almost lifted.
Here is another example of how this river twists and turns. After we had been traveling 1 hour 15 minutes we had gone 9 river miles. It was 1.4 air miles.
We arrived at out last lock (the Coffeeville Lock &
Dam) a little before noon and were fortunate again that we didn’t have to wait for any commercial traffic. We were out of our last lock at 12:20. That’s a grand total of 107 locks.
After this lock we were only 4’ above sea level. The tide can now start to affect us.
We have met and passed many tows on this trip. Because all pleasure boats can maneuver easier than a tow in tight quarters, you always call the tow and ask them what side they want you pass on. For example, when meeting, they will let you know whether to pass on the 1 whistle (port to port) or the 2 whistle (starboard to starboard). They know the river much better than any pleasure boater and you do what they say. Generally when passing on a turn they have you pass on the inside of the tow.
We got to our anchorage at 4:30. It has finally started to warm up. It was absolutely beautiful this afternoon.
1 lock – total 107
