Of Pelicans, Good Friends and the Blue Angels

. . . Mobile and Pensacola Bays

It’s the Blue Angels' fault that we’re behind in our blog. Or maybe it’s our trigger-happy fingers on the camera while they practiced, causing us to have hundreds of pictures to go through before we could post the trip update.

Let’s turn the calendar back to Friday, October 19. After gawking at the huge cargo ships being loaded or in dry dock at the Port of Mobile, we passed by the pretty Mobile skyline. When we entered Mobile Bay, we were in saltwater, starting on a totally different phase of our sail south.

The Port of Mobile is the ninth largest port in the United States, with a $10 billion
impact on the state economy.

Downtown Mobile is a short distance from the port. It's home to the original Mardi Gras
and is a sane version of New Orleans (sorry, N.O.).

Bob and Trish taking in all the ships at the Port of Mobile.

New Boat Name: Pogo-Pelican  (instead of Pogopelli)

Bob and Trish must have done something to upset one of the many pelicans flying around or maybe it was the pelican’s way of saying, “Howdy, ya’ll!” Bob said what got his attention was the sound of something raining on his bimini and open companionway.  Then he noticed the smell of recently digested fish.  And finally he saw the spray all over everything.  We’re a little leery of pelicans now.  It's one of those things that's very funny unless it happens to you.

A Grand Stop at the Grand Mariner

Our planned stop for two nights and a full day was the Grand Mariner Marina, south of Mobile.  It was a friendly, flip-flop-wearing, laid-back place where everyone was a friend or would be soon. The Grand Mariner has its own restaurant – a definite plus after weeks of cooking aboard. The only problem was when Jane got a bad muscle spasm, probably from laughing so hard at Pogo’s bimini the day before.

By the start of our first day at the Grand Mariner, we were on a
first-name basis with everyone.

Sails UP

It was a relief to raise the sails, becoming a real sailboat again. Pogo Bob and Trish captured some good pictures of Carina as we sailed near them. At about the time they began shooting, the dolphins decided to put on a show, leaping into the air in front of Carina. Just as he saw it developing, Bob switched to video. If he puts it up on YouTube, we’ll post a link.

Carina at sail in Mobile Bay right before the dolphin show began.
(Photo by Bob and/or Trish, on Pogopelli, aka Pogo-Pelican)

Tiki Bar Bob

From Mobile Bay, we headed into some easy days. Before reaching the end of Mobile Bay, we turned left into the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW), anchoring at Ingram Bayou one night and docking at Bear Point Marina the next. Bob entertained the people at the Tiki bar.

Bob was sort of an open mike walk-on at the Bear Point Marina Tiki Bar.

Blue Angels and Bonfires

One of the most amazingly beautiful anchorages, Big Lagoon, was next on the plan. Other good sailing friends – Paul on Hooligan, John and Anita on Outrageous – arrived there about the same time we did. The raft-up turned into a party, a good time to catch up on everyone’s activities since we’d seen them last.

The next morning, the loud roar of the jet engines soon had us all on our decks watching the Blue Angels practice for their annual homecoming performance.  It was an exceptionally long practice with loops and a fireworks-looking formation.  Many, many, many photos later, the Navy precision air team landed. 

You can see the team better in the photos than with your eyes. They fly just a few feet apart in their formations. They are truly amazing --highly skilled and gutsy.

The Blue Angels gave us our very own air show. For more pictures, click on:https://picasaweb.google.com/115770960046090306716/USNavyBlueAngelsPractice?authkey=Gv1sRgCKiI2LLk36uZdQ.

John and Anita had brought three packs of firewood for a bonfire on shore that night. A bonfire at Big Lagoon has been a tradition for years. We perfected the art of bonfire that night, learning that wood doesn’t have to be removed from its package. The package can be burned with it.

Bob plays and sings at the bonfire with the sun setting. We're betting he
sang a John Prine song or two.

The next stop was Pensacola. We docked Carina, but not without problems – Kent had a muscle spasm, too. Can they be contagious?!

Pogo and Carina at dock in Pensacola.

Like the Clampets of Beverly Hills fame, we filled our rental car to the brim, almost put Granny on top, and drove back to Tennessee for a five-day break. 

The dinghy was put on Carina's foredeck during our absence.  We will continue to tow it until we start to cross the Gulf to Tarpon Springs.  Then it will be folded up and secured to the lifeline stanchions.  

Carina has performed without problems, much to our relief.  We have gained confidence in her and also in our ability to maneuver, anchor, and such.  That's good because now it's just us and Squirt.  After a get-together with more good friends in Florida on Saturday, we’ll say bye to our sailing buddies and sail out on our own for awhile.  

NEXT: What We’ve Learned So Far, Part I

Back to the Sea

. . . Carina Returns to Her Watery Roots

For most of her existence -- 10 of almost 12 years, our Carina has been an Atlantic saltwater boat. Her first owners docked her around the North Carolina coast, then moved her to Norfolk, Va.  Her first time in fresh water was when we bought her and brought her to Tennessee. Sailing from the waterway into Mobile Bay on last Friday, she returned to seawater, the type of water she knows best.

Although Carina was new to the Gulf, this area is like a second home to us. We’ve taken our trailerable sailboats and sailed these Northern Gulf waters with friends many times.

Pogopelli and Carina leave the freshwaters of the
Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway to head into Mobile Bay.

Losing Our Traveling Companions

We are grateful to our good friends Bob and Trish for showing us the ropes of Looper cruising. Now they are leaving to dry dock Pogopelli for a few months at another friend’s home, pick up their new RV and have some land adventures by themselves.

What a troubadour Bob is – even more than we expected!  And speaking of more than expected, Granny Bird (a nickname for Trish) has quite a sense of humor. You guess how she earned her nickname.

They are just about the best traveling companions anyone could wish for and will be truly missed when Carina pulls away from the dock by herself. They’ll probably be missed most at sundowner time when we usually share food, drinks and stories with them.

Bob and Trish with fenders out on Pogopelli, ready to lock through.

Taking a Brief Break

We’re going back home for a few days to check on the house, take home the things we don’t need and bring back a few things we do.

Over the week, we’ll bring you up to date on our adventures and our immediate plans. Right now, we’re running about a week behind in telling you about what we’ve seen.

In the meantime, please check out our Picasa photo album on the Chattanooga to Mobile part of the trip. It contains some photos from the blog and some that will be new. We hope you enjoy seeing them as much as we enjoy sharing them with you.

Click on: https://picasaweb.google.com/115770960046090306716/SailingSouthOnCarinaFromChattanoogaToMobile?authkey=Gv1sRgCNLPh-jZlriL9wE. Set it on slideshow and sail south with us down to Mobile.

Traveling the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway

. . . Mobile Bound

A new phase of our adventure began when the Black Warrior River joined the Tombigbee just above Demopolis, Alabama. That’s where the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway ended and the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway began.  

After several nights at anchor, we docked at the newly expanded Demopolis Yacht Basin for two nights. The yacht basin had a lot to offer – new floating docks, dockside pump out, golf carts to get you where you needed to go as well as a courtesy car, and a magnificent shower/laundry facility. The shower/laundry house had a bank of washers and driers, multiple showers separate for men and women, rockers and a big screen TV!

The laundry/shower facility also had a rooftop patio for get-togethers.

Somewhat reluctantly, we left the Demopolis Yacht Basin at 8 a.m. Sunday.  Despite there being three up-bound tows already waiting at the Demopolis Lock, the lockmaster said he would work us in.  The doors were open when we arrived.  Below the lock, the dam spilled over the top onto boulder ledges below. It was gorgeous and very unusual.

We've now entered the land of Great White Herons, these waiting
to fish in the Demopolis Lock.

The water release past the Demopolis Lock and Dam is stunning as it flows
over the dam onto rocks below.

So close and yet so far away

The river became very twisty.  At one point, we traveled a three-mile loop, the two ends of which are only 1000 feet apart. 

This page from the chart gives you an idea of the twisty river bed.

Finding Safe Harbor

As we traveled the blind curves, Bob issued a “Securite” call on the VHS for other boaters to let us know if they were near.  This call was mainly for tows so we would not be surprised as they came around the sharp bends.  We need to communicate with them to be advised about which side to pass.

Anchorages are few and far between in this section, but we had a plan.  There was an embayment 40 miles away that was used by a paper mill to unload barges.  Because the mill now gets wood by truck, we were told the embayment was probably abandoned.  When we arrived, it was apparent it had not been used for years as a barge site.  It was a relief to find a protected anchorage where we could get off the river out of the way of barge traffic. 

To avoid barge traffic at night, we needed to find safe side anchorages
like Kemps Landing.

It was supposed to rain tonight.  We awoke feeling rain coming through the hatch.  After closing it, the rain came harder with one flash of lightning and thunder.  In less than a minute, it was over!  Then in just seconds, there was nothing but stars in the sky.

A Gold Mine in the Rough: Bobby’s Fish Camp

A couple of days later, our destination was Bobby’s Fish Camp. All reports had said that it was rustic, but it was the only place with fuel between Demopolis and Mobile. Bobby’s is first and foremost a fish camp that caters to fishermen.  And oh, by the way, it has fuel, ice and a floating dock for transient boaters if any happen along.

Bobby Dahlberg has passed on, and his daughter, Lora, runs the place now. She’s made a few improvements, like adding a shower. It could be so much more than it is.

The office/restaurant (open four days a week) looks over the camp and dock.

Bob and Trish on Pogopelli and Bruce and Bev on Paddywagon left Bobby's
on a foggy morning.

Mobile Bound

We have 120 miles of river left and then 15 miles to our marina.  We will have long days because there are few places to stop.  We will travel 55 miles to our Three Rivers Lake anchorage, 45 to Big Lizard Creek , then 35 miles to the Grand Mariner Marina on the Dog River south of Mobile. 

The scenery really changes. The hill country has been left behind as we enter the flatlands of Lower Alabama. The river is bigger, especially after the confluence of the Alabama River creating the Mobile River.  Forty miles above Mobile, it splits, and the Tensas River branches off to the left.  We have never seen this happen in all of our river running in canoes. Rivers flow together, but never apart. Both enter Mobile Bay with just a couple of miles separating them. 

We are on Big Lizard Creek, our last anchorage on the way to saltwater.  Squirt, who had been using his little square of green fake grass for #1 finally, did # 2*!!!  What a good dog.  It only took 710 miles.

Squirt's a happy dog now. . . as are we!

* For those concerned about Squirt’s well-being, he had been doing #2 on real grass when we docked, just not when onboard.

Thoughts on Locks, the Bermuda Triangle of Electronics, Anchor Goddesses, and Clinchers

. . . Locking Through Mississippi

Rain lingered on the Tombigbee Waterway over last weekend.  Despite a wet night anchored above Bay Springs Lake, we pulled anchor early Sunday -- before 8 a.m..  We had a big day planned with four – maybe five -- locks to go through – the huge Whitten, then Montgomery, Rankin, Fulton and Grover Wilkins.  A distance of roughly 10 miles was between each one.  For anyone reading this blog who doesn’t travel by boat, that’s a LOT of locks.

You enter the lock slowly. In our case, Kent drives the boat to the bollard on the side of the lock, and Jane “lassoes” it. A bollard is a floating metal post that rises or falls with the level of water inside the lock and stabilizes a boat or barge as the lock fills or releases.

The lassoing part is much easier with the Bollard Tamer that Bob on Pogopelli made and gave us as the cruise started. Although we had an old one, this one seems better.  It’s rounder. The rounder, the easier to catch a bollard in the lock. It’ll see a lot of use on this trip.

A bollard and the Bollard Tamer, a line inserted in a clear plastic tube, then spliced
 back on itselt to make a stiff loop. The tamer is cleated off to the boat or held as the 
lock fills or releases.

The funniest lock of the day was Montgomery Lock and Dam. The lock had a weird squealing sound, and we all decided it was haunted. 

The Bermuda Triangle of Electronics

We could have made all five locks in that series, but stopped because we found a protected anchorage on the charts right above the fifth lock. The prevailing winds and rain that night would have made anchorages below the Grover Wilkins Lock very rocky roll-y.

We affectionately call the place the industrial complex anchorage. Heavy equipment and pilings for barges were nearby.  We had sundowners and then ate barbecue tenderloin cooked in the slow cooker, along with rice and salad.  Rain and light winds started after night fell, but we were secure and dry.  

Life was good, well except this is our second day in the Bermuda Triangle of electronics.  .  . little or no cell service, Sirius radio, Internet, and the iPod  doesn’t want to cooperate. No one with Verizon can “hear me now” in the northern Tombigbee.

Anchor Goddesses

We’d talked off and on with another Looper on the VHS radio and invited him to join us in our safe anchorage out of the winds.  When Say Good-Bye’s skipper, Ralph Yost, joined us, he mentioned sending his anchor babe to the foredeck.  Jane and Trish thought long and hard about that title too, but decided they want to be known forevermore as Anchor Goddesses.

Beauty in Quiet Places

Since making the left turn onto the Tenn-Tom, we’ve seen so much beauty we want to tell you about before we forget, such as navigating the narrow, skinny water, cypress-knee trail to the Aberdeen (Mississippi) Marina.  Who would have thought that the alabaster white Cliffs of Epes were in Alabama and not a more exotic area? They were surpassed by the White Cliffs just a few miles later.

Pogopelli navigates between the red and green sticks in the water to reach the
Aberdeen (Mississippi) Marina.

The trees above the Cliffs of Epes show a touch of fall color.

The chart just calls them White Cliffs. Gorgeous!

When Bob and Trish did their Loop in 2007, a train started on the track over the Cliffs of Epes and really startled them. The same thing happened to both boats on this day. What are the odds?

Pogopelli repeats an experience from five years ago -- the Cliffs of Epes at the same
 time a train passes overhead.

Colorful People

Let me tell you about David near our Summit Recreation Area anchorage. He was walking his Chihuahua and never met a stranger. A stranger might be a little reluctant to meet him, though, since he had a gun strapped on.  He said that the gun is for rattlesnakes and wild hogs. “If it’s a hog, it makes it into the freezer. If it’s a rattlesnake, it makes it into a fryer.”  We don’t make these things up.

Plain Old Bridges vs Clinchers

Along with locks we go through, the waterway features bridges we go under – some 22 of them. You may know that a big worry before the cruise was the bridges. All must be at least 52’ at normal pool on the Tenn-Tom. However, some are just that – 52’, and rain might raise the river level. Did I mention that the height of Carina’s mast is 50’ 7” including antennas and such?

We started calling the lower-height bridges clinchers. . . well, you can figure out why. The early ones seemed the worst, particularly one when Jane was at the wheel.  Friday, we passed under our last clincher, the Highway 39 bridge, a 52-footer just before the Howard Heflin Lock and Dam. We cleared it by 2-3 feet. That’s our story. 

Going under our first clincher on the Tenn-Tom.

Approaching our final Tenn-Tom clincher, the Highway 39 Bridge.

Goodbye to the Tenn-Tom Waterway

At this point, we’ve gone through all 10 Tenn-Tom locks and reached the end of this waterway just before Demopolis.  We'll start on the Black Warrior-Tombigbee River Waterway on Sunday. Most Tennessee-Tombigbee locks and dams were named after the politicians who made the waterway possible in the 70s and 80s. Foremost were U. S. Senator John Stennis, Mississippi, U. S. Senator Howell Heflin, Alabama, and U.S. Congressman Tom Bevill, Alabama.

What seemed a $2 billion pork-barrel project at the time has returned $43 billion in a recent period from 1996 to 2009 and directly created some 29,000 jobs. It is the largest civil works project the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers has completed and is five times longer than the Panama Canal. 

So here’s a tip of our hats to the people who made it possible. We will pour a little libation into the waterway tonight in their honor.

Starting America's Great Loop

. . . From the Tennessee to the Tombigbee

Although we enjoyed our stay in Huntsville, it was time to move on.  Bob and Trish told us early on that weather dominates everything you do – or don’t do. They are so right. Sailors ordinarily are extremely weather aware.  Sailors who cruise are weather obsessed. We’re constantly checking weather Web sites when we can get an Internet connection.

The days leading up to our turn onto the Tombigbee were perfect -- crisp, bright blue, fall skies, warming to the mid-70s or higher. The nights cooled to the high 50s for good sleeping.

On most days, we traveled around 35 miles. Bob and Trish in Pogopelli showed us small anchorages off the beaten path that they found doing their Loop in 2007. It was odd that we saw little river traffic, either recreational or commercial. We had the river to ourselves, it seemed, except for the wildlife.

On Wheeler Lake were huge white birds that we learned were migrating white pelicans. They were roughly four feet tall with a nine-foot wingspan. Until you see them among migrating ducks, you don’t realize their huge size.

White pelicans are freshwater birds that migrate from Canada and our most northern states, unlike brown pelicans that eat saltwater fish.

Not Alone After All

At Wilson Lock, our timing was bad, according to the lock master as he apologized to us for the wait. We sat for two big tows to lock through – nearly three hours – before it was our turn. One of the tows was slowed down by the wind leaving the lock, the lock master said. The afternoon was beautiful, and the wait gave us time to catch up on news about mutual friends. Fortunately, we didn’t experience the same wind as the tow when we locked through.

Bob and Trish waited on a good word from the lock master.

A Good Ending to the Day

Just down river from the lock was the Florence Harbor Marina, a pleasant end to a long day. It would be hard to find a prettier, cleaner marina.  With the courtesy car, we went on a Garmin Nuvi adventure to find Wal-Mart for even more provisions. Most times car GPS systems get you where you want to go directly. Other times it is an adventure. This was the latter.

Florence Marina was a picture-perfect place to dock.

What a re-bolting development!

The next morning, we found that a bolt had sheared off connecting the alternator to Carina’s engine. Thankfully, Bob had a bolt that would work. It surprised him that he had it. He didn’t need it for Pogopelli. We’re adding bolts to the extras we carry.

We were lucky to have friends who carry bolts too large to fit their boat.

Making the Turn

Squirt truly became a sailing dog as we unfurled the jib on Carina for an easy sail – our last sail on the Tennessee River for awhile as we approached the Tombigbee. The river there was divided, half Alabama, half Mississippi. We tried to hug the green cans as long as possible to stay in Alabama, Jane’s home state, but eventually had to furl the sail. We headed into Mississippi waters and in a few minutes turned left onto the Tombigbee Waterway. We’re sailing south!

With this turn, Carina is on the Tombigbee portion of the Tenn-Tom Waterway.

It was a dark and stormy night

Isn’t that how Snoopy’s novel began, the philosopher dog of Peanuts cartoon fame? Last night at Zippy Branch where we anchored off the Tombigbee River, it was every bit of dark and stormy.  After days of fall skies, our weather luck stopped last night for a while. The temperature dropped to around 49 degrees. Wind whistled through the rigging. Carina sailed around at anchor – but the anchor held, which is the most important thing. Then the rain and wind moved through.

Zippy Branch is our first stop as we officially start the trail of the Loopers.

We have almost 40 miles to travel today, so we put on layers and lifted anchor at 8 a.m. as planned. The destination for the day was through the canal, the man made part of the upper Tombigbee Waterway.

Yes, it WAS chilly and wet.

Day by Day

. . .Our First Week Underway

Monday

The lines are tossed!  We started our adventure at 1:15 p.m. today with sunny, beautiful blue skies and wind at +/- 8 mph.  We locked through Chickamauga dam and docked at Marine Max Marina in downtown Chattanooga for the night -- a short day, but relaxing.  

Our friends, Bob and Trish are accompanying us in Pogopelli, their 23-foot Jenneau, as far as Fort Walton Beach, FL.  It’s great to have the company of friends. 

We met another “Looper” couple, Hal and Cheryl Baker, Mas Bueno, who were Looper Harbor Hosts at the Chattanooga dock.  They told us that Loopers get a special rate of $.75/ft. through November! That saved us $.50/ft.  What a great way to start the trip. Hal said they started their Loop like we did, saying they were going “a little farther” until they found they’d completed the Loop.

We shared a champagne toast on the dock, wishing for a good trip.  Later we enjoyed a light show of reds, purples, and pinks in the BlueCross north tower that overlooks the river. It turns out that the company was honoring the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure by lighting the tower pink. We happened to be there when they were searching for just the right shade of pink.

Bob, Trish and Kent just before the lines were thrown on the dock.

Tuesday

It was another beautiful day!  After passing Hale’s Bar Marina, we were traveling waters that were new to us. We got to Shell Mound State Recreational Area right above Nickajack Dam at 4:30.  The docks were free. The facilities were nice, clean.  Skeeter-magnet Jane kept the rest of us safe from the pests. We’re starting to see amazing sunrises and sunsets.

Pogo and Carina at the FREE docks. Did we say FREE?!

Wednesday

The sunrises are awesome, too. It’s a little warmer this morning, our first day in totally new territory. We locked through Nickajack Dam and proceeded to our anchorage at Jones Creek.  It was very scenic with a beautiful bluff once we made it through a very narrow, twisting approach through the weeds and lily pads.  As we had sundowners on Carina that evening with Bob and Trish, we were treated to an awesome sunset.

At Shell Mound, the sun's up. Where's Pogopelli's crew?

Sunset at Jones Creek.

Bob and Trish, sharing a moment with each other and sundowners with us at Jones Creek.

Thursday

The sunrise was spectacular that morning. We left Jones Creek before 8 a.m. and wound our way back out the lily pad trail.  Once again, we enjoyed blue skies and puffy clouds, although there was little wind. 

On a boat, it’s the little things that make you happy. About 1:00, Squirt did #1 on his green pad!  He’d held it for about 30 hours. Going aboard the boat was a first for him. 

We stopped at Goose Pond Marina – a very nice place -- for ice.  They only charged $1.25 for the ice.  

We then continued on to our anchorage behind Goat Island, just a few miles above Guntersville Dam. Goat Island was a protected bay off the river, largely undeveloped, with a beautiful rock bluff.

Looks like fire on the mountain as the sun rises over Jones Creek.

Friday

Morning found us really fogged in.  Bob called the lockmaster who said he couldn’t see the other end of the lock, so we waited, finally locking through at 10:40.  

Because there was very little river traffic and good current, we arrived at Ditto’s Landing Marina, Huntsville’s municipal dock, by mid-afternoon -- in plenty of time for the start of Jane’s high school reunion that evening.

As she expected, she didn’t recognize many people from “back in the day,” but found others to talk with who were as clueless about their former schoolmates.

Saturday

The day started a little cloudy with rain predicted the next day. We reprovisioned at a nearby Wal-mart, refilled water tanks, did laundry and pumped out. 

Dressed for the main reunion that evening, we drove to Marriott Tranquility Base, a very Huntsville-sounding name. Although Jane didn’t know any more people on Saturday than Friday, we did manage to make connections with three other sailors in the group. 

One, Margaret Meyers-Selby, turned out to be a friend to our friends Pat Noonan and Dick Davis and a member of the Fairhope Yacht Club, that had helped our friend Paul Gallant on his trip south a couple of years ago.

We clean up fairly well.

Sunday

With a rain front moving in, we stayed put at Ditto’s Landing, taking a side trip to the Alabama Space and Rocket Center. It’s known for having one of the biggest collections of space hardware anywhere. The Saturn V rocket that was created in Huntsville is something to behold. Only three exist – the one in Alabama, one in Houston, and one at Cape Canaveral.  We spent hours at the center and saw about half of it.

Kent, Trish and Bob tour the Alabama Space and Rocket Center.

The Saturn V rocket is massive! Jane and Trish listed closely to tour guide Mike.