027: Head East Part 2: Dinghy 2, Dave 0

 On the morning of November 27^th, I was up early and pumped the dinghy pontoon that I had “repaired” with silicon sealant.   Matt and I did a quick bubble test, and all looked good.   Victory?  Time will tell.

Nancy and I took a 1.2 mile walk to the UPS store so I could return the portable VHF radio that I had purchased for the trip and that died after a few days.   On the way back we stopped in a coffee shop for a much-desired latte.    On the way back I got this shot of KatMat and Hygge on the dock dwarfed by the bow of the Kadey Krogen 58:

 

We left Seville Marina at 9:15 a.m. headed for Two Georges Marina in Fort Walton Beach.  We had planned to anchor out, but there were strong north winds predicted overnight and into the next morning, so we took the conservative option.

A lot of the ICW is like these pictures with condos and hotels on the Gulf-side (south) and private homes on the landside (north).    It did get a bit monotonous:

A cool thing we passed by was the Santa Rosa Island Tower which is a three-hundred-foot-high observation platform used “to help test high tech weapons.”    https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2003/12/07/300-foot-tower-to-test-high-tech-weapons/28778255007/

 

We did pass an unfortunate sailboat high and dry (the tide is not that great to suggest it was purposefully left there):

 

We pulled into the marina about 2:45 p.m. and topped off our fuel tanks.  Again, we were lucky to get a slip for the night and only got in because our two RT29’s could both fit on the “inside” of the fuel dock.   I had a work call at 3:30 p.m., so I took that while Nancy and Kathy went for a walk.  

The dinghy was still looking nice and full.  So far, so good.

Nancy got this nice picture of the sunset from the dock:

We had leftovers from McGuires for dinner and then watched the first two episodes of The Crown, (poor ill-fated Diana.) before calling it a night.

Tuesday, November 28^th, I woke up to find that the dinghy had lost some air.  Not as much air as it was losing before, but enough that we can call it:  Dinghy 2, Dave 0.   Back to the drawing board later.

The strong north wind came as predicted which made our twenty-five-mile journey across the Choctawhatchee Bay very rocky as we had a two-to-three-foot waves on our port beam.   Not the most comfortable ride.  About thirty minutes into the trip, we heard this huge roar and the boat literally vibrated.  We rapidly swiveled heads looking at gauges, depth indicators, etc. wondering what was up.   A quick look at the chart let us know that we were adjacent to a military testing area and what we were experiencing was military jets overhead flying fast.   Unfortunately, they were too far away to get a good picture.  This went on for about an hour and even though we knew the cause of the noise and vibration, it was still unnerving.

We were very relieved to enter what is known as “the Ditch,” a sixteen-mile-long manmade canal that connects to Choctawhatchee Bay West Bay near Panama City.     Some people trash it as uninteresting, but we enjoyed the return to a more natural setting.  We were very happy to be in calm waters again after that trip through the Bay.

 A quick video:

 

 

Another unfortunate boat:

 

 Lions and tigers and bears, oh my?

Coming out of “the Ditch” we came to tugboat that was pushing a barge against the bank so its propwash was perpendicular to our path.  Nancy was at the helm and did a great job getting us through, but that tugboat’s propwash really pushed us to the side and gave us a good rocking.   (A bit too dicey an event to take the time to get a picture.) 

We then came upon West Bay and the sites became more industrial:

 

 We passed this parade of boats which was a salvage operator cleaning up the water way of derelict boats that looked to have been submerged.   Sad.

 

We pulled into Emerald Harbor Marina just before 4:00 p.m.  They don’t have floating docks, so the configuration is like Sundowner.   You don’t tie off to a dock, but rather to poles in the water.   The actual dock area to walk on was really high so I elected to go “bow in” rather than stern in.  We finally got to use the bow swim platform that we have on Hygge!

That night Matt came over for dinner (Kathy had work to do) and we discussed Crossing the Gulf, more on that next time.    Nancy and I watched another "The Crown" (wear a seatbelt Diana!!!) and then it was lights out.

Dave

Odometer:  1,500 n/m

026 Head East Part 1

Confidential to those of us who were teenagers in the 1970’s, hopefully you won’t have to “Save my life (because) I'm goin' down for the last time" at any point on this trip.

On Saturday, November 25^th, we reluctantly parted ways with Sol Maria for a bit.   Gavin and Lica have a few days ahead of them getting their mast back on the boat, tuning the rig, sails on, etc. etc.    We plan to catch up with them later on the west coast of Florida.   Lica, Gavin, Kathy and Matt before we left:

 

Hygge and KatMat made a quick fuel stop at the marina just across from Sundowner.    The fuel dock does not have a floating dock, and the highwater mark of several hurricanes is noted:

We then crossed Mobile Bay without incident.   We saw plenty of dolphins but they continued to eluded our cameras.  We then entered the Intra-Coastal Waterway ("ICW") Gulf coast edition on our way to Carrabelle, Florida.   Taking the ICW allows us to stay in (more or less) sheltered waters and not go out into the Gulf of Mexico.  Our boats are more than capable of going out in the Gulf, but sheltered waters are nice.    

Our first stop on the ICW was the “must visit” restaurant owned by Jimmy Buffet’s (RIP) sister Lulu.   An iconic G/L stop.   Lulu’s lived up to its billing.  Service was beyond excellent, and the food was exactly what you would expect:  I had the shrimp/cheese/ham grits.   Good Southern cooking at its finest.  

Lulu’s also has free docks you can tie up to for your lunch stop.   Nice.

 

At Lulu's we also briefly met up with Kim Russo, Director of the America's Great Loop Association, so I could give her a bottle of Kanzler Vineyard's Pinot Noir.   Kim did an amazing job coordinating the closed lock issues.  She organized the flotilla's. worked with the Army Corps of Engineers and the commercial tug operators to ensure our safe an timely passage through the Illinois River.  (I suspect her biggest challenge was the plethora of "Type A" G/L boaters she had to deal with in scheduling the flotilla's, but she is too polite to say.)  In the words of Judge Smails to Danny, "Top Notch, Top Notch!"

On the way out of Lulu’s we passed a tug boat waiting for a load, so yes, there are tows on the ICW:    

 

 That night we stayed in a lovely anchorage, Ingram Bayou:   

 

After setting the hook, Kathy and Matt dinghy’d over for cocktails and route planning.    Nancy and I were so full from our Lulu’s meal that we bypassed dinner after they left and each caught up on emails before calling it a day.

The next day, November 26^th, we pulled up anchors at 8:00 a.m. and got back on the ICW.   The weather was rain and wind and not conducive to picture taking:

Coming across Pensacola Bay was a bit “saucy:”

Nancy called around to multiple marina’s for a slip for the evening.  We finally got into Seville Harbor Marina because a large seventy-foot motor yacht had pulled out for maintenance and both our RT 29’s could fit into that slip.   This is another reason we are glad are doing the G/L on Hygge:  diminutive to be sure, but we are getting into spaces larger boats can’t get into to.

We got in relative early at 11:35 a.m. (again, weather was crap).   Nancy and Kathy went in town to sight see and I did round two with the dinghy (results tbd) and a few work-related things.     Nancy’s pictures:

Due to the Naval Air Station, much of Pensacola is Navy-themed:

We had a nice chat with a couple who live on their Kadey Krogen '58 full-time.  They are in Pensacola in the winter months and then go up-river in the summer to cruise the Tennessee River.   They like Chattanooga a lot, which we had hoped to see before the lock closure issue.   Didn't get a shot of their boat, but here is a stock photo of a KK 58.  A real world-cruising capable boat:

While Nancy and Kathy were sightseeing, I was going for Round Two with the dinghy.  I cleaned up all the yellow gooey mess with mineral spirits and elbow grease.  After it was all cleaned up I applied a liberal bead of silicone sealant around the seam and left it to cure over night:

That night we took a Lyft ride to McGuire's Irish pub, a Pensacola favorite.   The service          and food were excellent.   I ate too many potato skin appetizers so I just had a nibble on my   Shepherd’s Pie, but now have leftovers for tomorrow.   Alas no Smithwick's beer, but I did      have a nice house-brewed beer.                                                                                                 

 

McGuires has an estimated 1.8M one dollar bills autographed and stapled to its walls and ceilings.   It also has a stuffed moose's head that allegedly will bring you good luck if you kiss its nose.   The server invited us to do so, and my reply was, "If 1.8M people have put up a $1 bill, probably three times that many have kissed the moose's nose; no thank you." 

We passed on desert and got an Uber back to the marina.

This restaurant was next to our marina and Nancy got this nice quick video of the sign reflecting in the water:

 

 We were so full from the meal that it was easy to hit the sack early.

Dave

Odometer:  1,440 n/m

 

 

025: 025: Dinghy 1, Dave 0

On Friday, November 24^th I rode with Peter and Sandra to the Mobile Reginal Airports, they to catch a flight to Houston and thence to London, and me to get a rental car.    On the way back to the marina I stopped by Lowes to get some liquid rubber Flex Seal to fix the dinghy air leaks.  TakaCat had already shipped a replacement, but I wouldn’t catch up to it until December 18^th in Marathon and I was tired of pumping air into this one twice per day.  Gavin suggested just smearing the seam with a good adhesive silicone sealant.   I read on the “inter-web” that a more viscous sealant could be sucked into the seams by using the deflate option on the air pump to improve the seal.

I applied the Flex Seal around the seams, and the deflated the dinghy creating a suction as per the internet's advice.   The directions on the can said the rubber would cure in three to six hours to the touch, and twenty-four hours for a full cure.   Well, the crap never cured.   Twenty-four hours later it was still gooey, and it got everywhere when I had to get the dinghy off the dock and back onto the boat to leave on Saturday.    Guess I should have listened to the guy who sailed a boat from New Zealand!   Now I had a big mess on my hands, but more on that later:

The car was a great help.  I ran Gavin over to Advanced Auto Parts for some oil and filters (his day to change the oil) and dropped off my dirty oil from the day before.  Then the womenfolk took the car to go grocery shopping.  Nancy, Kathy and I did find some time later for a small bit of sightseeing, going to the Fort Conde area of Mobile to see that historic district.

Remains of the original fort:

 

Fort Conde Inn:

Now is a good time to say something about Sundowner Marina.  It is not listed on any of the guides as it is, shall we say, “rustic.”   It was literally the only place that could accommodate the four of us (Hygge, KatMat, Fika and Sol Maria) on such short notice, so we are very grateful.   As noted, before, Cliff, the Marina Manager saved our Thanksgiving with his family’s leftovers, so props for Cliff:

The slips were tight, and there are only partial docks, so you have to back in to be able to step off the boat.  Here is KatMat backed into one:

The bathroom and laundry facilities were in this shed:

 

Matt and I took showers in there, but Kathy and Nancy would not (dirty, no working lock on the door, rotted wood, etc.).   Gavin let Nancy shower on Sol Maria’s spacious extra head, so that was a real plus.   Sadly, there were a lot of derelict boats in the marina.   People post about not being able to afford a boat on some of these FB groups.  I once replied, “Every marina has abandoned boat in it that can be had for cheap if you are willing to but the elbow grease into fixing them up.”   Here are a few that have been abandoned:

 

 

 

 

There were a plethora of marina cats wondering about it, and one even consented to let me give it a chin rub but skittered off when I wanted to take a picture.  (Just like the darn dolphins.   Swimming in our wake, but as soon as we get the camera out, they disappear, must be a conspiracy.)   

Although Sundowner was rustic, we met some nice people there and we have no complaints as Thanksgiving Dinner would have been tough anchored out.

That night Kathy grilled up all the chicken that Nancy had thawed out for Thanksgiving, Nancy made some excellent garlic sweet potatoes, and Lica made a great Greek salad.   I had been up since 3:00 a.m. (had some indigestion) and fell asleep in Sol Maria’s cockpit after dinner.  I rallied enough just to get back on Hygge for an early night of it and was asleep before Nancy came back from Sol Maria.

  

Dave

024: A Day to Give Thanks For

On November 23^rd, we awoke to a beautiful misty morning.   At 6:30 a.m. Gavin from Sol Maria asked me, “So when do you want to get a move on?”   I replied, “7:30”.  Gavin came back at 7:00.  I countered at 7:15. He countered at 7:00.   I reluctantly agreed.  (I guess this explains why he was the successful head of large company in New Zealand).   But a funny thing happened that morning:  there was a quiet, unspoken mutiny.   As we all gathered to untie lines, the beautiful morning wrapped us in its embrace, and we drank our coffee and drew it all in.

Hygge rafted up:

 

Gavin in his "Wellies" enjoying the moment:

  

 As if just soaking in this beautiful morning was not enough, Gavin’s wife Lica serenaded us with the song Pōkarekare Ana (“a traditional New Zealand love song, probably communally composed about the time World War I began in 1914. The song is written in Māori.”).  Little did we know that Lica and her parents and siblings were the von Trapp Family of New Zealand and performed professionally.   If you click one link in this blog series, make it this one:

We got going at around 7:35 a.m., so a win for the mutineers.  (Gavin said to me later, “You were bloody right about leaving later.   Sometimes you just have to live in the moment.”)

We headed down the last stretch of the Inland River System to Mobile Bay.    We knew things were changing when we came upon this steel plant:

We came to this interesting bridge that is remotely operated.  You call them on Channel 16 on the VHF radio, or call on the cell phone, and they raise the bridge remotely.

We then came upon the industrial area of Mobile:

Navy ship being worked upon:

USNS "Comfort" hospital ship:

Floating offshore oil rigs being serviced:

Container cranes like this in Sausalito, CA inspired the design of the Imperial Walkers from the Star Wars movies:

While going through the Bay, our children Charlotte and Jack arranged a Facetime call with us, and we had a nice chat.  It was the first Thanksgiving Day since they were born that we were all not together, so that was a nice gesture on their part.

Traveling through Mobile Bay we began to see dolphins, but they were camera shy I guess as each time we tried to get a picture, they disappeared.  We pulled into Sundowner Marina through a very narrow entrance at about 2:00 p.m.   

I needed an oil and transmission fluid change, so Matt came over to help me.  While we were doing manly men things, the womenfolk were working on Thanksgiving Dinner.  The grocery stores were all closed by the time we got docked, so Nancy started thawing out all our frozen chicken meat.  Fika had already baked pumpkin bread and a cake, and KatMat and Sol Maria were scouring their food pantries so we could have something special for the day.   Hearing our “no turkey” plight, Cliff, the Marina Manager, offered up all his family’s leftover turkey for us.   A Thanksgiving miracle!

Before sitting down to dinner, Chris from Fika fired up his drone camera and got this shot of “the gang.”   Only having the crew of Willie Dawes (they were still two days behind us) would have made this dinner and moment “more perfect.”    There was enough turkey to go around, we had roasted and baked potatoes, roasted vegetables, green beans, and gravy; plus desert from FIKA.

 

We went to bed with a bit of bitter sweetness, Peter and Sandra were leaving to fly back to Great Britain in the morning and the crew of Fika was renting a car to head back to Michigan for a few weeks.  

Dave

023: Last Lock and a Sad Anniversary

We left the Okatuppa Creek anchorage at 6:30 a.m. to catch our final lock through for a long time:  The Coffeeville Lock and Dam.   I believe it was the 29^th lock since we left Hammond, Indiana.  In celebration, here is a picture from that last lock:

 

Now the next time I run aground, and my excuse is "It was Garmin's fault," you have to realize that Garmin chart plotters are not as accurate as Garmin golf watches.   I took this picture from the chart plotter while I was tied up to the left side of the lock wall.  Basically where the triangle with the ! is.  I was not over to the right, and I didn't hit the lock wall.   Another reason to make sure you look at your depth sounder and keep your eyes outside the boat:

After we cleared the lock, we were officially into “tidal waters.” 

The Tombigbee River in this area has a lot of bends and turns, so you can get pretty “up close and personal” with the tows:

 

Sol Maria passing by a tow:

Another close pass: 

 Sometimes you can catch a tow getting loaded:

https://youtu.be/Mcsm3Lst64A

As I mentioned in the post before, two boats anchored in Okatuppa Creek blocked the creek so that we had our “ass end” sticking out into the river a bit.  The one who offered to move the night before contacted us on the radio as to where we were going to anchor for the night so that he could leave us enough room.  Nice gesture, but a moot point as we were going to go as far as we could, which wound up being a seventy-six nautical mile day.   A good fifteen miles past where he anchored.  We were pushing hard to make Thanksgiving Day’s travel all that much shorter.  We wound up anchoring in the Tensas River as the sun was setting.  It was a great anchorage and as usual we took up our positions on either side of Sol Maria. 

Matt of KatMat accidently turned off their freezer, so Kathy had to cook up a bunch of meat which we turned into chili, taco meet, and turkey burgers.    Some of the gang decided to continue the Phases card game from a few nights earlier.  I reflected that it was the 60^th Anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination and probably my earliest memory:  I remember my mother crying at the kitchen sink.  I asked her why, and she replied, “Somebody killed President Kennedy.”    The President didn’t mean much to me at three and half years old, but my mother crying did.  I can still picture it.  (Growing up we had two portraits of non-family members in our house:  President Kennedy and Pope John XXIII.)  There was some table talk about conspiracy theories, but I was tired and went to bed early.   Tomorrow was a big day; we’d be off the rivers and fully into salt water.

  

Dave