Wed., Nov. 25, 2009 LAST LEG (for now)

It hadn't rained all night, but shortly before 7:00 A.M., just as we were leaving Royal Palms Marina in Englewood, Florida, it started raining. It rained all day. Fortunately, we were on the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway), mostly a narrow channel, so the crab pots weren't in our path. Since visibility was rather limited, this was a very good thing. We got to our new winter home Paradise Marina in N. Fort Myers, Florida, right around 2:00 P.M. Paul and Patty had driven our van from Cincinnati to N. Fort Myers for us and delivered it within about 15 minutes of our arrival. Thank you, Paul and Patty. It was great to visit with them this afternoon.

It is nice to be here. The weather has been warm enough for shorts only yesterday and today. Now we're ready for some Florida sunshine. We are also happy that we made it just in time for Thanksgiving. The marina is having a community Thanksgiving dinner. The manager is providing the turkey, a ham, and mashed potatoes. Everyone is bringing a side dish. John and I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we'll see many of you over the Christmas holiday. 'Til then.......

Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 23 & 24, 2009

C-Quarters was a delightful place to stay. They charged us $35 for each night instead of $42 each night and only $ 2.30 a gallon for diesel fuel. The place is so laid back and there are plenty of places to walk. We had a great time.

Monday at 1:30 P.M. we departed C-Quarters to do the Gulf crossing. Our intention was to go from Carrabelle to Clearwater across the Gulf. We figured it should take 18 hours. The seas were calm and there was little wind. It was cloudy and very dark. That is the strangest feeling, to be out in the middle of a huge body of water and not be able to see anything. If we didn't have a compass or a chart plotter, we probably would have gone in circles all night long. However, we were approaching Clearwater at 5:00 A.M., before it was light outside. We decided that wasn't a good idea to come in close to shore and all of the crab pots in the dark. So, we amended our plan and didn't come in near shore until we got to Venice. We ended up in Englewood at The Royal Palm Marina. We had traveled 26 hours straight. The couples took turns at the helm in three hour shifts. We were soooo lucky to have Norm & Sue along and to have calm seas. The entire experience was grand. We ordered pizza and are planning to go to bed early tonight. We have one more day of running to get to our winter destination, Paradise Marina in N. Fort Myers, Florida.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

We pulled away from the dock at Bay Point Marina at 6:10 A.M. It was cloudy and gray and mild. It was supposed to rain this afternoon, but it's 7:00 P.M. and it hasn't rained yet. We're so glad we decided to travel today. Our goal was to make it to Carabelle and we did. We arrived at C Quarters Marina at 5:35 P.M. just as it was getting dark. (I'm happiest when we arrive a good 1 1/2 hours before it gets dark.) The trip today was mostly narrow rivers except for Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sound. We saw probably two dozen dolphins and a large turtle. It was a long day and nice to have Norm & Sue"s company.

While we would like to cross the Gulf tomorrow, we are supposed to have thunderstorms tonight and the Gulf is supposed to be too rough tomorrow ( 4 to 6 foot waves). Supposedly, on Monday the waves should be 2 to 4 feet. This is the scary part as far as I'm concerned. Driving the boat across the Gulf for 18 hours straight, including the middle of the night and worrying about getting seasick. I've misplaced my sea bands so I guess it will have to be Dramamine to the rescue. My fingers are crossed. I'll let you know how it goes.

Fri., November 20, 2009

Pensacola Lighthouse

Can you see the dolphins?

Welcome to Florida

We left our anchorage at 5:45 A.M. in clear, cool weather. Our goal was to make it to Panama City. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be bad, so we wanted to get to a harbor where there would be things to do while we wait out the weather. The pelicans are so funny. They fly down to the water and plop in so ungracefully. You'd never be able to call it diving. Today we had dolphins run with us again. I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing them. I tried to get pictures again of them jumping, but by the time the camera clicks, they're back in the water. All I have is pictures of water. That stinks.

We arrived at Bay Point Marina in Panama City at 3:00 P.M. We caught up with Bob & Liz on "Second Wind" at the marina. Bay Point gave AGLCA members a 25% discount on moorage and a $ .25 discount on fuel. We had dinner in their restaurant called 30 degrees Blue. Mine was the best salad I've ever eaten (or else I was so hungry i didn't know the difference). There are some of Norm & Sue's friends wintering here at Bay Point. We had a nice visit with them. All in all, it was a wonderful day.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

We got underway at 6:00 A.M. this morning. The day was cool and sunny and we couldn't have asked for better seas. We left Fairhope and traveled about 90 miles to Santa Rosa Island which is only about 10 miles from Fort Walton Beach. It was so strange to be in the middle of a big body of water and only have a narrow channel that was deep enough to navigate. When we reached the Pensacola area, we had two dolphins that swam along with us for awhile. They swam right in front of the bow and swam exactly the same speed we were going. They were quite the entertainers. They rolled over for us and jumped in the air. I tried to get pictures, but I don't think I got a very good shot. Sue said they love the attention and as long as you watch and make over them, they'll stay. As soon as you stop paying attention to them, they leave.

We also saw the Pensacola Lighthouse. I did get a picture of that which I will post once we get somewhere with WI-FI. We are anchored out in front of a Park called Navarre Park. We did not travel with any other boats today, but it was a fun and uneventful day. That's the kind we like.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

This is the swing bridge. Isn't it cool!

Happy Birthday, Bob! Sorry there is no cell service here, so I can't call you on your birthday. Love you and hope your day was great!

Today Norm & Sue, and John & I spent the day in Fairhope. We started at Walmart grocery shopping. The Walmart Greeter was hilarious! He sang us a rap song about shopping at Walmart and being happy. It was funny and very strange. We took the groceries to the boat and then spent the rest of the day in town walking through all the little shops. One thing we noticed was that 75% of the shops had dogs in their shops. All of the dogs were nice. I just thought that was odd. The town itself is quaint. There were very few vacancies in their store fronts, there were lots of fall flowers around the business district, and the houses and yards were extremely well taken care of. We had lunch at Mary Ann's in their outdoor courtyard.

At dinnertime, we were planning to go to Ben's Bar-B-Q that we had passed early in the morning. A 8:30 A.M. they had the food cooking and it smelled so good when we passed by. However, when we got there for dinner, it was closed. So, instead, we went to Old Bay Steamer and had delicious seafood.

We are hoping to leave at first light in the morning barring no fog or big time waves.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

We had another interesting night at anchor. Around midnight we woke up and John went out to check on things. Our anchor was fine. However, the boat that was anchored behind us had their anchor let go and they drifted back on the boat behind them. He reset his anchor and most of us went back to sleep (not John).

It had rained during the night, but the morning was cool and cloudy, but not raining and not foggy. We left our cozy Three Rivers Anchorage at 7:00 A.M. We saw a raccoon swimming in the river. I'd never seen that before.

Coming through Mobile Bay was intense. It made me feel so tiny and insignificant. There are so many barges, tugs, and freighters moving about. My mouth hung open (no wisecracks) in awe of all the commerce and activity. It was amazing.

We arrived at Eastern Shores Marine, Inc. in Fairhope, AL. "Finally", "CC Manhatten", and "Theresa" are here with us. Norm and Sue drove from Ft. Myers to accompany us on the next leg of the trip across the Gulf. However, we are taking tomorrow off and going into Fairhope to investigate. It is so good to see them and spend time with them.

Monday, November 16, 2009

We were up early and ready to go. However, Mother Nature had other ideas. We had to wait for the fog to lift and then for barges at the Coffeeville Lock. All six boats left together and stayed pretty close together all day. We ended up at an anchorage called Three Rivers. The six of us were there plus one more. Again it was dusk when we arrived at our anchorage for the night. It's beautiful back in this creek and we anchored in a single file. The Skipper Bob Book says that there is 6 feet of water back in this creek, but we were in 25 feet of water.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

We left our anchorage around 9:00 A.M. and headed on down the river. We are still in the company of three other boats. We went as far as Bobby's Fish Camp and stopped for the day. It was only 2:00, but after last night, we needed to be tied to shore to get some serious sleep. This is the last "marina" until you get to Mobile. Bobby's costs $1 a foot. There is no electric or water, just a dock that holds only four boats. Usually, he allows people to raft off one another, but because the water is so high that is not an option right now. We were lucky that there was no one else at Bobby's when we got there. He does sell gas and diesel fuel ($3.15 a gallon). There is a restaurant here, but it's only open Thurs. through Sat. Bobby opened his marina in 1956. He had a stroke this past September and has just recently come back to work. This is an interesting place to say the least.

We had Happy Hour on "Moon Beam" and got to know one another better. One couple is from Montreal, one couple is from Minneapolis, and the other couple is from Charlottesville, VA. They are all very nice people.

Underway Again

On Friday the 13th, we decided to leave on the following morning at first light with three other boats. So, on Saturday, we were up and ready to go at 5:00 A.M. However, there was so much fog, we couldn't leave right away. By the time the fog lifted, there were a number of barges ahead of us at the Demopolis Lock. Our "early" starting time ended up being 11:30 A.M. We hesitated to take off at that time because there didn't seem to be any good anchorages close enough to make by dark. The people at the fuel dock at Demopolis Yacht Basin told us about a barge facility off the river, that didn't have a contract this year and so is closed down. They told us that would be a good place to anchor. We arrived there just at dusk and this facility is a very active barge facility. Uh oh, time to reevaluate. The lead boat contacted an oncoming tow and asked if he had any suggestions of where we could anchor for the night. He told us Old Lock #2 at mile 168.6 That's where we ended up. We rafted with one of the boats in our group. Everything was fine from 6:30 P.M. until 1:30 A.M. Evidently, when a barge went by, it loosened the anchors. Both boats' anchor alarms were chirping. We had to get up and found ourselves in the middle of the channel with one anchor now holding in the channel. It took awhile to release our rear anchor and haul it aboard. Then we went back to where we were before and anchored separate from each other and stayed put the rest of the night. We weren't comfortable just going back to sleep. So, we took turns staying up and monitoring the situation. Of course, we didn't move at all after that. Thank God for anchor alarms.

Thurs., Nov.12, 2009

I had to look at my phone to know what day it is. The days are all running into one another. Yesterday the manager of the marina made gumbo for everyone for lunch and then gave us his take on the situation. He said that if you have only one engine, don't even think about attempting to leave. If you have two engines and have enough power to motor against the current, then it's up to you. However, there is a really swift current and a lot of debris in the river. Two boats left yesterday and three left today. We heard one person say he is leaving tomorrow morning, and some are talking about leaving on Saturday. John is leaning toward Saturday at this point. We'll see how things are by then.

Today to keep busy, I did laundry, baked a pie, and made two Christmas presents for grandchildren. John put the numbers on the dinghy, fixed a wire that pulled out of the marine radio, did some computer stuff, and watched a movie. I believe we are going out to dinner tonight. There is a restaurant at the marina.

While doing laundry, I was visiting with some of the other women here. One of them said she has a Designer I sewing/ embroidery machine (just like me) which she brought with her. She also brought her serger. We seem to have a lot in common. We miss everyone at home. Til tomorrow.....

UH-OH

We had hoped to get underway this morning. However, the marina manager (Fred) came around yesterday late afternoon and advised everyone to stay put for another week. It seems the flooding below the Demopolis Lock and Dam is significant. At Mobile, it is expected to be 33 feet over flood stage on Thursday. Another week..........oh, my! The good thing is we are safe and have grocery, laundry, water, and trash collection services. It would be ever so much more boring if we anchored out somewhere. All of the loopers' boats are soooo clean because there is nothing else to do.

Boredom

We have been here since last Tuesday when we limped in with the drive train problem. It was fixed by Friday morning and then Hurricane Ida came along. It has been raining and blowing at 20 to 30 MPH since yesterday afternoon. It is suppose to continue today. We hope to be able to finally move on Wednesday. The people here at Demopolis Yacht Basin are very accommodating but there just isn't many amenities here. Even with the power antenna, we can only get PBS on TV. I AM TIRED OF WATCHING COOKING SHOWS AND DORA!!! There are a lot of loopers here who are also waiting like us. At least we are not in Mobile yet as we would have been had the pressure plate not broken. The group we were traveling with before the mechanical problem put us here are in Mobile now. We sure hope they are fairing well with no Ida problems and found safe harbours.

Fri., Nov. 6, 2009

This morning I got the laundry caught up. We walked the docks a couple of times and met a couple from Ft. Mitchell, KY. It's so interesting to hear people's stories. We all learn from one another's experiences.

Our transmission issue is repaired. That's a very good thing. The manager of the marina came around and told everyone to stay put at least until Monday. The different marinas along the waterway spoke to one another and there are no slips available. So, they are telling everyone to stay put until the weather lets up and the boats can make the Gulf crossing. At least we are in a marina and not anchored out in case the weather gets bad here. So, our balloon on the map has to stay in the same space for awhile longer.

Thurs., Nov. 5, 2009

We are still at Demopolis Yacht Basin. The part we needed (pressure plate) was delivered this afternoon around 2:30. The mechanic came to work on it at 4:00 and his work day was finished at 5:00. So, he will be back first thing in the morning. Our next issue is Ida. The AGLCA is advising people to not try to cross the Gulf, even via the armpit (staying close to shore).

It's a bit boring here for John because there is only one TV station and it's PBS. I went to Walmart this morning for groceries. Tomorrow morning I will do laundry. We 've each read a book borrowed from the harbor's lounge. Hanging loose .........

Tues., Nov. 3, 2009

The rocks are so impressive looking.

The scenery is beautiful.

It's supposed to be another gorgeous day. We left Pirates Marina Cove at 5:30 A.M. in the dark. There was a full moon and Sandpiper knocked on the door and told us he spoke to the lockmaster and if we got there in 15 minutes, we could lock through before a barge. So, five of us left the harbor and locked right through Tom Bevill Lock and Dam. By the time we were tied up to the bollard, it was light.

Yesterday and today we saw a lot of floating grass and foamy looking stuff. At 10:00 A.M. we exited the Howell Heflin Lock. We didn't have a wait there either. There were eight boats that locked through together. After going about 2 miles beyond the lock, something happened to the transmission and it locked up. We limped on one engine the rest of the way to Demopolis Yacht Basin. John did a great job docking with only one engine. We are probably going to be here for awhile. I hate to think how much this is going to cost.


JOHNS NOTE: We are very fortunate. The problem is not the transmission but the pressure plate which deliver the power from the engine to the transmission. It is a considerably cheaper fix. They are planning to overnight the part and be able to fix it in the morning and then pull the boat to check the props and put on the ones we had worked before we left Cinicnnati. What started out as a horrible day has turned into not so bad one after all. The staff here is very considerate have been prompt to work on the boat.

Mon., Nov. 2, 2009

We left Aberdeen at 6:00 A.M. We immediately locked through Aberdeen lock. There was one other boat in the lock with us. While we were in the lock, one of our "dingle balls" became unattached from our boat and fell in the water. Captain John was able to snag it with the boat hook. (My hero!) The people on the other boat cheered for him.

At 9:30 A.M., we locked through John C. Stennis Lock. At this particular lock, the lockmaster asked for information, such as documentation or registration numbers, where we were coming from, and where we are going to. We were in the lock with one other boat who was smaller and faster than us. So, Captain John contacted him on the radio and invited him to pass us. We slowed way down for him, but he went past us full speed ahead. My juice and John's coffee spilled all over our guide books, a lamp fell over, the loveseat slid across the floor, ... You get the idea. How rude he was!

We spent the night at Pirates Marina Cove. They had laundry facilites, so I spent the rest of the day doing laundry. Their dryer took forever. We finally brought the jeans down and hung them across the back deck. I felt bad because there was a man waiting to use the washer and dryer when I still has 2 more loads to go. We met up with Second Wind and Sandpiper again here. Tomorrow will be an early day, as we want to get as far as Demopolis.

Sun., Nov. 1, 2009

84 foot drop - one of the largest of the trip

How did it get to be November already? Time sure flies when you're having fun. Today is absolutely gorgeous. We left Midway Marina around 7:00A.M. (the time changed last night). Actually, the 7:00 A.M. is Cincinnati time. Here it was only 6:00 A.M. That makes me tired just to think about it. Six boats left this morning together and went to the first lock which was Fulton Lock. We pulled right in and left together to the next lock, fifteen miles away, which is Glover Wilkens Lock. Then , another five miles we came to Amory Lock and Dam. The next lock is Aberdeen, but we turned off right before the lock and went to Aberdeen Marina. All of the others went on to Columbus, MS, about another 20 miles away. We heard later that there is a problem with the Aberdeen Lock. Hope they get it fixed before tomorrow morning.

Upon arriving at Aberdeen Marina, we went into the store to pay and pick up our mail. Allelluia! Our 50 amp splitter was there. Thank you, Paris Landing!!!!! Thank you, Gina, for our mail too. We especially like the picture Clara drew. We borrowed the courtesy car and went into Aberdeen. Very little was open as this is Sunday. We did, however, find a drug store, a car parts store, and a grocery store. We spent money in all three. There is supposed to be WI-FI here (and at the last stop), but there is none. So, pictures will have to wait until we reach a place that has WI-FI.

We hope to catch up with the people we ran with today or hook up with other people doing the loop.