Mobile Bay On Our Horizon, But First....

November 9, 10, 11, 2011

November 9

Good-bye Demopolis

Off for an early start:  6AM, no fog, the sun is up….untie the lines.  We have 271 miles to pound out before we get to Mobile Bay and the Dog River Marina.  We’d like to get in 70 miles today and with only one lock it shouldn’t be a problem.  Short days are our biggest obstacle.  The sun is up at 6 and sets at 5.  We like to allow an hour to get the anchor set and make sure we are secure.  Everything always hinges on how fast we can get through the locks.  The Demopolis Lock is within a couple of miles from the marina.  We arrive at the lock and it is open, but by the time seven boats move inside the chamber and tie off, the water is dropped 37 feet and we get out – two hours of our daylight is gone.   It’s raining, but inside the pilot house we are warm and cozy.  The new inverter is doing its job.  Time for me to do a little cleaning.  I’ve got the vacuum humming while Brian drives the boat.

I don‘t know how this boat floats.  Looks like a skeleton of bamboo partially wrapped with plastic garbage bags.  And, those sails.... I'm concerned.

 

 

 

 

Looking at the scenery I keep thinking about the force of moving water:  eroded walls of rock, massive land erosion, and huge mature trees pushed around like a baby’s toys.  It has an unforgiving power.  Twice in my life when I was much younger and stronger I was overpowered by water. (And, I bet you’ll be surprised to find out that I was a synchronized swimmer and life guard in high school and college.)  In California I was caught in a riptide that just kept pounding me wave after wave and pulling me further away from shore.  The second time was on the flooded Cannon River in Minnesota.  It is a terrifying feeling to be tossed around with no control of what happens to you.  It certainly doesn’t look like man has a prayer of controling this river.    

Eroded shoreline

  

Eroded stone wall

November 10

We put out both a bow and stern anchor last night.  Our anchorage was along the main channel.  The stern anchor keeps us from swinging towards shore or the channel.  It worked great.  We saw four tows go by before we went to bed.  It is pretty eerie.  They are so huge and they move so quietly.  Their giant spotlights constantly search the path ahead of them.  From inside the boat it is difficult to judge distance -- they look extremely close from my little galley porthole.  When we went outside, we could see that they were about one and a half football fields from us.  They resemble an alien space ship hovering in the dark. 

Again, off early this morning – 6:05….lots of blue sky and sunshine.  It feels good after yesterday’s gloomy rain.  The last lock on the Tenn-Tom is Coffeeville.  (The locals call this series of locks the ‘Dirty Dozen’.  No explanation given.)  We went through it with just a short wait and only two other boats.  Much quicker than yesterday.  Today our goal was 80 miles and we actually made 92.    That will make Dog River a distinct possibility tomorrow with 64 miles and NO locks.  Our planned anchorage for the night was shoaled over so we are anchored just off the channel again with fore and aft anchors.  In case you are wondering where we are -- We’re just south of Alligator Slide and Hell Cat Lake.

 

A portion of the convoluted path we are on.

Lover's Leap -- noted for scenery, but no juicy details about why it has the name.

 

I have to get the scoop on ‘Lollygag’.  This is the 3^rd time we’ve seen it.    Those windows scare me!

You’ve seen old tires used as planters.  How about a barge?

 

We got the anchor set, looked up and saw this beautiful full moon rising.

November 11

In spite of a late start due to fog and an almost two hour delay waiting for a bridge opening; we made it to Mobile by 4:00.  I had a package waiting for me and Brian had more engine parts waiting for him.  We were both able to collect our loot before the offices closed for the week-end.  Lots of boats here that we know or recognize from our trip.  Joe and MaryJo Boyle on Paradise from Stillwater, Minnesota had the loaner car reserved and invited us to join them for oysters.  Had a fun evening comparing notes and gorging ourselves.  She is recuperating from breaking her femur in two places and is on crutches!  Crutches are terrible anytime, but on a boat….I’m not sure that I could do it.    

Mobile -- The busy port

 

  

Each of the rectangles on the ship is a truck trailer.  We counted 14 rows with 73 trailers per row on the deck.  Additional ones are below deck.

Don't adjust your screen -- Mobile Bay is huge, but very shallow.  Boaters must be very careful to stay in the channels.  Stray out of them and the water is frequently between five and seven feet deep.

Luckily we were greeted by others with more enthusiasm!

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!