Another decorated sailboat

Marina

Grant biked this huge bridge-just to get to West Marine aka the "Home Depot" for boaters.

Day 49

The water is still a little choppy today so we decided to play it safe and stay here at the Marina. Grant wants to go visit the Marine West guy and get all the info that he can about anchorages and our trek across the gulf. We slept in and Grant left on bike for Marina West at about 2:30. This marina said on their advertisement that they had a courtesy car, however it seems like the employees here just lend you theirs. So Grant decided to bike to the store, up this huge hill/bridge and over the river. Tabbie wasn’t looking for that kind of challenge so she stayed home. It is better that way; Tabbie wasn’t about to endure 2 hours of manly boating talk. So Tabbie worked on the website some more, which she had been doing all morning. We only have Internet phone service, which is very slow, so posting a week worth of entries and pictures takes all day. We were low on groceries, so she decides to surprise Grant and go to the shopping, (it turns out that they do have a courtesy car after all, one of the employees just uses it), and on her way back she stops to see if Grant is still at West Marine. Low and behold he is, so she stops to ask if he might want a ride. He was just starting to check out. Good thing that she showed up when she did, because the one thing that he was supposed to get was anchor chain, and he forgot. Maybe because he didn’t want to haul it back on his bike or, maybe it was because Grant was too busy making friends with Richard, the West Marine salesperson. Richard gave us all the necessary info between Mobile Bay and Apalachicola; anchorages, shoaling spots, damaged waterways due to the hurricanes(s) and such… Richard also gave him pointers on making a Gulf crossing, and the best places to do so… However, we seem to be getting mixed signals on the best route. Grant is going to wait to decide the best plan once we get to Appalachia and talk with the experts that are able to see and talk with boaters that do it day in and day out. We are hoping to meet up with some other folks in Appalachia similar to in Demopolis that would let us follow them across. Better to travel in packs incase of any problems… We always seem to find the nicest people along the way who are more than willing to give us information and pointers.

The rest of the night we spent completing the website and organizing the boat. Tabbie made sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles in honor of the holidays. We both made phone calls on our free minute time and Grant also washed down the boat. Wanted to be to bed early, but ended up working on the boat until about 12:00. Oh well, maybe we can leave a little later tomorrow morning…

Tabbie made some new duck friends

US Cost Guard Vessel

Mobile Bay is so busy

Navy Vessel

Part of Mobile

More industrial cranes in Mobile

Another ocean vessel

Oceangoing vessel-drydocked

Entering Mobile Bay

Another house in the water

Entering Mobile Bay

Day 48

We shoved off today at about 7:30am. Finally left before us, but we wanted to follow Candor. Grant drove from the top again. Tabbie took a nap in morning, but was awake by the afternoon to enjoy the wonderful warm air. It was 71 degrees today. We finally hit Mobile at about 12:30, and were amazed at the amount of commercial activity. It would have even beaten the activity in St. Louis! There were numerous towboats and barges that we are familiar with, but also many ocean going cargo ships that were very impressive. Grant got a little excited with the camera, so we have many pictures to share! Well, after we got through the commercial area, there it was…. The big Blue! Nothing but blue skies, 70 degrees, and water as far as the eye could see (OK, at least as long as you were looking South!) This was our first test in open water, and Mobile Bay can be very shallow (3 feet in areas!), and all the directions we had to go by were a few chicken scratches on a piece of paper… With a little luck, and some racking nerves, we made it through the ship channel, and onto the “Dog River” channel that we took to the marina. We arrived in the marina at about 3:00, and pulled up to the gas dock for fuel and a much needed pump out. After fueling, the dock master (Lorane about 75 years old) helped us move the boat about 100 feet down the gas dock – yet again we are on the gas dock for the night!! After getting lucky navigating our way to the marina off a napkin, we decided it in our best interest to purchase charts and a GPS (we were planning on the same anyway). Unfortunately the marina did not have the necessary equipment, so Lorane gave us here car to drive across the bridge to the West Marine supply store. They had all the necessary information, and Grant made another friend with the manager. Grant is going to go back tomorrow, and the manager said he would sit down with him and go over the charts and show us good anchorages along the way. Perfect – just what we were looking for! Then it was back to the marina so Grant could play with his new toys…

We have Internet service on the cell phone for the first time in two weeks, so Tabbie is very excited to be able to post the journal entries, and check emails…

This is where we anchored. We are pretty sure that these people used boats in lieu of cars.

How exactly do they get to their house?

These birds ride these logs down the river. Lazy, Lazy birds.

Ooops, built a little too close to the river.

Our last lock of the trip....

The lock door was stuck.

Candor in the lock with us.

Day 47

This morning we experienced Tornado warnings, so thankfully Candor stayed back and waited for the warnings to expire, which meant that we could travel with him. Finally decided to leave at around 9am, but we both left at 10am. The weather decided to clear up during the day and we did not experience any rain. Grant drove upstairs for most of the day and Tabbie of course slept for part of the day. We are shooting for an anchorage spot located around mile 54. The river is with us and gives us an extra boost, so it looks like we will make it with plenty of daylight. When we arrive, we find that Finally is already there, however there is plenty of room for us. We can hear the four other boats that we left with on the radio; they seem to be about 6-10 miles behind us. Grant radios them to let them know that there is plenty of room, however they decide to anchor at mile 64.

We are located in a swamp area, with houses on stilts lining the river/swamp on one side. There are small watercraft that comes and goes at night and in the morning which leads us to believe that the only access that these people have to these house are by boat. It looks to be an island or at the very least swampland and unable to support roads. Each house also has a covered boat lift in front. On the opposite side is a forest/woods area, where we hear splashing that seems to be comparable to that of an alligator, so we assume that they are over there. We are in the middle of the channel so no worries. We would like to see one though, just to prove that they are here. We are going to go to bed early, so that we can leave with Candor again. He has been a blessing in disguise, even if he does travel slower, he is experienced and a great navigator. We would prefer to follow him, rather than go faster, which would not be much faster at all. There are many mosquitoes because we are in the swamp, so it reminds us a little of home. But it is warm and we did sit outside while we grilled our pork chops. It is hard to believe that it is December. We have been getting so much sleep lately. I think that we average 12 hours a night.

The high river

The line of boats....

The spillage from the lock

Locking through with the other boaters.

Goodbye Demopolis!

View as we were leaving Demopolis Marina. It was almost home......

Men conferring with each other...

Day 46

You would never guess what we woke up to this morning. No, but good guess, it was not rain, but instead fog! The good thing is that it looks like it will clear as soon as the suns peeks it’s way out. Two other boaters with radar left this morning. Finally (from MN) and Candor. We decided to wait out the fog, along with 4 other boaters. River Ark, Water Musik, Sea Angel, and Angel. Grant and the other men, I mean Captains, conferred with each other all morning, calling the lock, listening to the chatter on the radio and watching the fog lift off the river. Just when we had decided to leave, a barge comes plugging along. And since the lock is only 3 miles away, this tow would get precedence and have to be locked down first. Which meant about an hour delay. This would put us at about 8:30, which would still give us enough time to get there. Men kept milling around the deck, waiting, waiting, and waiting. Tabbie took a shower, the last for a few days and tidied up. The Captains tried calling the lock again who then said another hour delay, which means that we are pushed back to 9:30 or 10am. Ok, this is getting frustrating. We are so excited to leave, and wanting to push on our way, but things keep delaying us. There is not much we can do but wait. At about 9am we here another tow call down to the lock who is a few miles up and find out that the lockmaster really has no idea that so many pleasure craft are waiting. So the Captain of Sea Angel calls down to say that there are 5 of us who would like to lock through and he tells us, in no uncertain terms, to get our butts down there. So out pull five boats, everyone helping each other, waving our goodbyes and going on our way. It was the first time that we have ever “traveled” with other boats. There was line of us leaving the marina, like little ants on the same journey. Our boat travels the fastest because the others are either sailboats, or the larger houseboats. They travel at an average speed of 6-8 knots. However, with the river moving so fast, all boats are gaining about 3 extra knots per hour. We make it and lock down together. This was the first time that we have been in a lock with more than one other boat. Being that first one in, we were also the first one out and kind of lead the pack. Which was a good and a bad thing for us. We didn’t have to be held up by the slower boats if there was another leader, however, we were paving the way for the others, taking on any of the dangers that presented itself and then warning the others behind us so that they can avoid it. Unfortunately the buoys at this point in the river were all mostly submerged, except for when you were just a short distance from them, they would pop up when the boat displaced the water around them. At that time you would have to yank the steering wheel and make a sharp turn or stop the boat. It was like running through a maze, only you didn’t know where the runs were until the very last minute.

We also did experience another problem with the packing nut. It spun off again, within a few miles of leaving the marina. Grant was able to tighten it again, but the leak this time was a little bit faster and we were taking on water again and had to manually run the pump and be mindful of the water in the compartments. Fortunately it did not do it again and we were able to keep going. The speed of the current allowed us to pull ahead of the others and we made it to Bobby’s Fish Camp, a dock where we could tie down. Candor and Finally, the other two boats that left this morning who had radar where also there. It was about 5pm. There was also another North bound boat heading to Demopolis there. Fortunately there was just enough room for us on the dock and we wouldn’t have to raft off.

Grant spoke with the other northbound boat owners, and found out they were coming from St. Petersburg – what a coincidence! So, on for an hour conversation about traveling to St. Pete from here… Ends up they made the trip in a week, while we were thinking it would be at least 2-3 weeks… So, good news, and they began filling Grant’s mind with the idea of cutting across the gulf to save time. Once we get to Mobile we are going to have to talk with some locals to determine if it would be feasible for us to accomplish…

We made it an early night since we had absolutely no cell phone service or Internet. There was supposed to be severe weather during the night and even into tomorrow. The water level in the engine compartment will have to be checked regularly and the pump will have to be turned on. We are looking to leave with the other boats in the morning if it is feasible and safe for us.

Day 45

Today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the air is warm, and the river is calm. Two boats left today, southbound. The river level is dropping and people seem to feel that it is safe enough to travel. These boats have radar and GPS, so even in the high water and the fog; they can detect the channel and buoys, if they still happen to be there. We don’t have either of those. Today Tabbie went into town to talk to the banks and other business owners about some employment. She went into all three banks who were very happy to take her resume, however all said the same thing, noone is hiring, they have cut their banking hours and froze salaries. It was the same across each bank. Not much happens in this sleepy little town after the Christmas on the River festival. She stopped into a few other businesses who said that most places already have their seasonal help in place, and that after the holidays, business drops off. But everyone asked for my number and said that they would keep an ear open if they heard of anything. There were business that were hiring on the outside of town, but Tabbie needed something close to the marina, within 5 miles, since she would be biking to and from work. So after all was said and done, the consensus was that we would leave and try to make it to Mobile within the next few days. Other boaters around the dock were planning on leaving tomorrow, including the other boater from MN. Maybe Mobile would provide us with some more opportunity. The price was right to stay here, but the job market very poor.

Sheila from Trust Me, our neighbor boat, was assembling a dock party on her boat as a kind of send of. They are also leaving but will wait until Saturday to go. The party starts at 5 with each boat bringing an appetizer and our own drink. We brought the remaining of our brownies that we made the other day. (So did the other fellow MN boater-we must like our chocolate in MN) It was actually quite fun. We learned a lot about other peoples experiences, how they named their boat, other points of interest, and where they are headed or what their plans were. We were at least 25 years younger than the youngest person there, but it was fun, nonetheless. We felt very taken care of. We also got lots of information on the lay out of Mobile, which is not user friendly to a bike rider. It seems that most of the land adjoining the river is very industrial and the city is about 10 miles inland. It is not set-up on the river like St Paul or St Louis is. This was disheartening is a way, but helped us decided that in fact we should keep going and shoot for Florida. Tabbie spent part of the day calling Marinas east of Pensacola, and it seems that they are in better shape to take in Long Term dockage for pleasure craft. Panama City has some availability and west of there it was pretty much open. They become pricey and some require 12-month leases, but at least we know that they are open. There were several in Pensacola that Tabbie called that were completely closed to all boaters; no gas, electricity, or dockage. Even their current residents were anchoring out so that they could repair the docks. This information initially influenced us to think about staying in Demopolis, but since some marina will take a transient for up to a week, it looks like we could make it through.

So we began preparing for our departure and informed the other boaters who kind of took us under their wing. Some were leaving with us; others would be leaving at the end of the week. We also began cleaning the boat thoroughly and did the rest of our laundry. Grant had scrubbed the back deck and laid the carpet down. It made the boat look so nice. Tabbie vacuumed and washed the inside down. It is amazing how quickly this small space becomes cluttered and dirty. It takes only a matter of hours. We finished all of our chores at about 11 o’clock and went to bed. The other boaters would be getting up at 5:30 to leave at about 6. We wanted to do the same if there was no fog. It would be our longest day yet with 98 miles to go. The good thing that would be working with us is that the river would give us an extra 3.5 knots an hour. So hopefully we won’t have to drive at night. We plan on going to a place called Bobby’s Fish camp, which is not a marina, but instead, a restaurant and gas station. However, they are allowing boats to tie up and dock at night for safety. Some are even rafting to each other. Meaning that a boat will tie up to the dock and then another boat will tie to the boat. If the dock space becomes filled, it is either rafting, or finding a place to anchor. However, with the river so high, anchoring can become dangerous.

Day 44

Guess what? No luck at the library. Demopolis has absolutely nothing online or ran in the classifieds. And after talking to several natives it sounds like people don’t really advertise. Because it is a small town, you just go into a place that you would like to work and ask if they have an opening. Tabbie went to talk to Fred, the harbormaster, about staying long term. The monthly rates here are very low. Only $131 per month plus electricity. Other marinas charge anywhere from $400-750 per month. So that is good news. Also everyone we have talked to has suggested that we should have no problem finding a job. There are a few good banks here in town and places like Wal-Mart are always looking for help. So we decide that tonight we will work on the resume and tomorrow Tabbie will go and talk to the bank in town. There is a bank by the name of Robertson’s, which seems to be the big guy in town. They are rooted in this community and actually have 3 branches in Demopolis. They are very old and established.
Tabbie went to watch Monday night football and complete her x-mas cards in the lounge. Come to find out that there are about 5-6 boats here in Demopolis from the Minnesota area. Another couple pulled in tonight to get their boat ready to sell, however, they will be docking it here long term. Another gentleman came here 30 years ago from Wayzata and never left. Then we have a boat by the name of Finally who is from Afton. They were transients that came into the marina and are stuck here with us while the river is still too high. They will be leaving to go south soon. Another guy with two large boats here, who stays long term, grew up in Minnesota, but is fixing his boats here because the weather is more cooperative. And then there is us. We heard that lots of people like Demopolis for the mild weather. I guess that it is ok if you like the rain. Some nights we still have to put our heater on, and some days it gets warm enough to wear shorts. But for the most part, it always seems wet. And humid. This is the last actual marina until Mobile, which is more than 200 miles away. So there are no other choices. The people here are very friendly though and the men spend a lot of time out on the docks chatting to each other all the time. At any given point during the day you will see three or four men huddled together talking about anything there is to talk about concerning the river, a boat or the gulf. There are a few natives here who like to just wander the docks and catch anyone who happens to be walking by in conversation. Grant has been “trapped” like this numerous times, sometimes for an hour or more. And he is way to polite to excuse himself if he has something he needs to do. The good thing for Tabbie about being a woman is that they are much to polite to engage in conversation unless she initiates or encourages it, thus she doesn’t have to partake in repeated redundant information. The information is usually very good and helpful information; it is just the same stuff every time. We just always listen respectfully and try to take whatever we can out of it that we have not heard. Some of these men live alone on their boats and use this as their social activity. Maybe they should have a dock mixer with some of the single lady folk in town. A few of these men need some companions……

Day 43

Today we woke up to rain! It looks like rain is the souths “snow”. And they are getting plenty of it. We have decided today that we are going to give Demopolis a try and stay here for awhile. We find out that the library is closed on Sundays, so we are going to reserve the courtesy car and go into town for the newspaper. We reserved it for 5pm and by that time, the rain had stopped. We made our usual trip to Walmart and then to the movie gallery where we rented both Kill Bill DVD’s. Interesting movie. Anyway, after locating a paper, we find out that the Demopolis Times only runs from Tuesday until Saturday with no Sunday paper. Tuscaloosa has a Sunday edition, but is 50 miles from Demopolis and not practical with only one car between us. The classifieds of the Demopolis times is very slim and consists mainly of the Work From Home advertisements. So we decide that maybe we need to look online tomorrow. Maybe the Chamber of Commerce website will have something on their homepage like other cities do. Or perhaps a website search engine can help us out...