Plans were to get an early start Saturday morning, but we woke up to thick fog. Once the fog lifted we left the slip along with 4 other boats. There was still some fog at the lock and the lockmaster would not let us into the chamber. Once the fog lifted he directed us in one by one with explicit instructions on where to tie up. The same when we lefty the lock. We have been in 32 locks so far and this was the first one with so much direction. Today was a long day, 71 miles and not much to see, very few houses, some of the leaves are gone on this part of the river but there is still some color. For the most part though, as Mary put it a whole lot of nothing. We did pass a homemade raft that we had heard about. Basically a tent on 4 55 gal drums with an outboard motor.
We ran a little faster today and it showed with the fuel consumption. Where we are anchored it is very narrow and we wanted to get there a bit ahead of Southern Belle so we could get secured. We dropped the anchor then John launched the dinghy and ran two lines to shore to keep us centered in the creek. It was a chore due to the muddy banks. He then had to remove a couple snags from the creek so Southern Belle could get in without a problem. Needless to say the dinghy and John were quite a mess.
Could Florida beaches be far away?? |
Home made raft |
John trying to remove a log in the middle Bashi Creek entrance |
After dinner as we were sitting on deck chatting with Chris and Kerm and north bound trawler came in and anchored just at the mouth of the creek. The said they had come from Mobile which is 145 miles away and were heading to Demopolis. Tomorrow we will stop at Bobby’s Fish Camp which is said to be something all Loopers should experience, much like Hoppies was back in Missouri. After Bobby’s there is one more lock and we will be in tidal waters, which will require a bit of getting used to. Then there is one more night at anchor and Mobile Bay.
We plan to spend a few days at Mobile split up on each side of the bay and then we will start down the Gulf inter coastal waterway along the Florida panhandle to Carrabelle, which should take about a week or so. Carrabelle is where all Loopers gather to wait for the right weather window to make a 20 hour run out in the Gulf to Tarpon Springs. We have reservations at a marina in Pasadena, FL for December 9th and we fly out to Utah on the 13th. After a week With Kelly and family we fly home for a couple of weeks seeing doctors and dentists as well as spending time with Christy and family. Then it's back to Florida on the first of the year.
John and Mary
John and Mary
1 comment:
Looking forward to hearing about Bobby's Fish Camp, sounds intriguing. Exciting to hear that you are getting so close to tidal waters, hello beach time! How will that effect your travels? Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
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