Dec. 4th: Fort Walton to Panama City area

This morning I added a new creature to my list of sightings. A jellyfish was swimming effortlessly beside the dock as I took Peanut out for her walk.  I have seen many a dead jelly fish along the beaches in Florida but never a live one.  It was fascinating to watch and I wanted so much to go back to the boat for my camera but Peanut had another plan. She was on a mission to get to the grass and was not about to stand for my delaying her any longer.  The wind had calmed down overnight but picked up again this morning. We had one large bay to cross, Choctawhatchee Bay. Say that fast three times!  About half way across the bay we experienced occasional gusts of wind that caused the canvas on the fly bridge to rattle  and the wind to whistle loudly.  The sky's were overcast and temperatures cool enough to require a heavy sweatshirt and plastics to be zipped tight. We had talked about anchoring out when in the Panama City area but decided with the high winds we would be more comfortable at a marina.  Sun Harbor marina was situated next to a shipping company. It was difficult at first to spot the entrance and took both of us with binoculars to confirm that we really had to pass directly in front of a huge ship being loaded to enter the marina.  Once in the marina we had to pass a 70 foot steel boat and do an almost immediate 180  to get into our assigned slip while fighting the wind. I was my usual nervous Nelly but no need, Tom did a great job of gliding Laughter in.

Dec. 3rd: Passing by familiar places from the past

Traveling along the intercoastal gives a much different perspective to areas previously visited by car.  We had visited Perdido Key and Navarre Beach during spring break several years ago.  From our condominium we looked out on the beautiful white sandy beach and blue gulf waters but as we drove around the area our views were fancy resorts, restaurants, rental properties and lots of gift shops. As we passed Perdido and Navare this time our view was much different. We passed shores of beautiful white sand, tall sea grass and now and then a string of homes but the clutter of condominiums, restaurant's and shops could be barely seen in the distance.  We passed through two very large bays at Perdido and Pensacola.  Because the wind had picked up the bays were rough making for a somewhat less than comfortable crossing.  We were glad to get back to the narrow section of intercoastal and its calmer waters and protection from the wind. Unlike the river the intercoastal buoys have marker numbers but there are no mile markers. This provided an interesting challenge for a little while as we had to adjust to a new way of keeping track of how far we had traveled. Our destination today was Fort Walton.  After a full day on the water, 60+ miles we arrived at the Fort Walton City dock about 3:30. The dock was at a park and the park all decorated for Christmas.  The park was busy with families having their pictures taken in front of the large Christmas tree, kids playing, and pets being walked.After a walk through the park with Peanut, I enjoyed walking through the shops that were on the street behind the park and taking more beautiful sunset photos. One other boat was at the dock when we arrived. We met and visited with Don and Theresa before turning in for the night.

FairHope Yacht Club on Mobile Bay to Orange Beach Florida

November 30th: We returned to Fairhope Yacht Club marina from our trip home for Thanksgiving and Baby G's birthday/baptism celebration.  We drove from Indiana to Tampa Florida, picked up coach and his friend, then headed for the boat.  Coach stayed with us at Fairhope for two days. The weather turned cold again. We woke up Friday morning with ice on the deck!  Whats up with that ! We prepared to leave for Orange Beach and Coach and his friend loaded our car for the ride back to Tampa. We were on our way by 8am, excited and nervous about crossing the bay 20 miles to the GICW.  Thank goodness we took the navigation course last fall. No longer did our chartplotter show the sailing line for us to follow. We had to calculate direction and put in waypoints to create our own line across the bay. The bay was a little choppy but nothing that made it uncomfortable.  We started out a little shaky because Tom had some difficulty calculating our exact direction, and with my math skills, we did NOT want me double checking his calculations, but soon the light bulb went on so to speak, and our anxiousness subsided.  The trip across was beautiful and we never completely lost sight of land. Our calculations took us right to the GICW, gulf intracoastal waterway.  The waterway entrance was narrow, somewhat like the ditch we boated on to Lake Michigan at home and not very wide. In fact I learned that the GICW is referred to as the ditch.  Soon dolphins began to appear near the boat.  They came right up to the boat, then pass underneath which really surprised me. We saw these beautiful creatures glide effortlessly in the water on a off throughout the day. I don't think I will ever tire of watching them and trying to capture them on camera.  Near lunch time we passed Lulu's, Jimmy Buffet's sisters restaurant.  Our day on the water ended up at The Marina at the Wharf, which was three miles beyond Lulu's.  The marina was very nice, with condominium's and a shopping complex with restaurants and bars.  Once settled in the gal from the marina dropped us off at Lulu's for appetisers.  We were joined at our table by a couple who pulled their boat up to the dock in front of the restaurant. Our visit with them was fun.  Once back at the marina I walked the shops while Tom fished.  We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, which was totally unexpected for our location. 

The parade to Mobile on Nov. 12th

The sun was shining again as we left our anchorage on the Canot and headed for Mobile. Earlier in the week the 14 mile turn bridge had been replaced with a lift bridge, closing river traffic for three days and it was now officially open. We were excited!  In about an hour we would be entering the Mobile ship canal and crossing Mobile Bay, a day we had looked forward to for a long time. We had just passed under a fixed bridge when from around the bend ahead of us and coming straight at us was an unbelievable sight. At first we thought our eyes were deceiving us. But our binoculars confirmed what we saw. Two towboats side by side pushing two barges with the old swing bridge straddling them and they were headed straight at us. Where were we supposed to go?  Tom immediatly put Laughter in neutral and called the tow. He wanted us to pass him port to port. We moved over as far as we could and since depth did not appear to be an issue we chose to stay put until we were sure he had enough room. A little excitement to add to two already very excited people.  As we neared the new 14 mile bridge it appeared to be down. This was confirmed by the fact that there were 8 boats, 9 counting us, and a tow waiting to go under the bridge. A radio discussion with irony, the boat we anchored with at Brannons landing, indicated that they were making adjustments and it would be another hour to an hour and a half before they would lift the bridge.  Soon we were joined by three more boats.  It was like a mini in the water boat show!  We listened to all the chatter on channel 68 of who was going to what marina and before you knew it the bridge was up and we were on our way.  We had a nice parade going through the ship canal, confirmed by the number of workers who stopped to watch us come by. The ship canal was amazing. We passed container ships being filled, ships being built or repaired and several tow boat staging areas.  We had been warned to have eyes in the back of our head as we came through and we quickly understood what that meant. Tow boats were crossing in front of us, ships pulling out as we passed, and more tow boats sideways in the canal pushing barges together. I felt like an ant in tall grass trying to look up at everything but not knowing which way to look next for fear of missing something.  Once our parade entered the bay itself we started to break off into groups of two or three heading off to our respective marinas. Once tied up at Eastern Shore Marina we visited with several other boaters who had come in. We spent two days at Eastern Shore, then moved our boat across the way to Fairhope Yacht Club.  We had a great four days before leaving for Indiana for Thanksgiving.

Alabama Cut off to Big Bayou Canot

On the morning of November 8th the weather seemed to be holding and we were not excited about spending a second night at the Cut off so we pulled up anchors, after a battle with the mud, and headed down river.  We entered Big Bayou Canot, tied our front line to a tree and threw our back anchor out, settling in just before the rain started.  As night fell the wind picked up.  Tom got up at 4am and found that between the wind and the tide, our branch and anchor technique was not working.  We were drifting. We bundled up because the temperature had dropped and pulled up anchor to start again.  By now the wind was howling.  I was at the helm, while Tom controlled the anchor drop.  I was getting some intense piloting practice as we battled the wind and the tide to get anchored.  Finally after two more attempts we were successful.  How long did it take us? Well, when we were finally set, I made a pot of coffee and we watched the sun come up!  After a little breakfast we talked and I admitted that I was not really comfortable with our anchor spot.  Since we were staying a second night in the Canot Tom wanted me to be comfortable sooooo we pulled up anchors again and moved to an area that was wider and more open.  Once anchored, again, we took care of some inside jobs as the wind was cold and nasty.  About 2pm the wind settled down, the sun came out and we enjoyed the evening listening to some very loud owls.  It was an early night for us after a very long day.  We woke to a beautiful mist coming across the anchorage. I enjoyed watching the sun shine through the mist, thinning it as the rays warmed the air. We were pleased with ourselves as we had not moved since our final anchoring the previous morning.  What we didn't know until now was WHY we didn't move!  How bout being anchored to a 40 foot tree that had fallen over into the water!  Each time we moved the end of the tree bounced up and down on shore. It took a few manuevers but we were able to break loose without loosing the anchor. 

Bobby's Fish Camp to Alabama Cut Off

Still filling in a few gaps in our trip;   On November 7th we pulled anchor and headed for the infamous Bobby's Fish Camp.  The tow traffic was heavy and the scenery fascinating. Beautiful white bluffs, sandy shores, and thick forests all in one day.  I had read about the Indian settlements and battles that had taken place along the river, in fact one of the bloodiest Indian battles took place at Bashi Creek, a popular anchorage.  My mind wandered, forming a picture of what life might have been like living and traveling along the river back then. For a moment or two I was lost in the history of my surroundings and thankful that I had the opportunity to pass through.  We arrived at Bobby's Fish Camp and were pleased that there were only two other boats there. This meant there was room for us because Bobby's is nothing more than a very long dock.  I wondered around the grounds a little and peeked in the windows of the restaurant. It's only open on weekends. Soon after we arrived another boat filled the remainder of the dock.  We visited with the other boaters, Mike, Tom and Sara Ann ( a retired 5th grade teacher) and returned to our boat for the night.   November 8th - The weather was changing and rain was heading our way.  We had a great day on the river and anchored out at the Alabama Cut Off.

The crew was a little rusty!

Yeah!!  7am. November 6th ready to go and No FOG to wait on.  We called the lockmaster at Demopolis lock which is only 2 miles from the marina.  The lockmaster was difficult to understand but we heard him to say come on. He was locking a tow through and would be clear when we arrived.  Excitement filled the fly bridge as we prepared to leave. It was a beautiful sun shiny morning, so coffee in hand we were off.  Have you heard of the saying "hurry up and wait"?  Well that was us. We arrived at the lock about 7:20 and waited and waited and waited!  Lesson learned, always repeat what you think a  lockmaster with a Southern accent says. Anyway, 45 minutes our parade of three boats that were now waiting paraded into the lock.  It was windy and our locking skills a bit rusty so catching the bollard wasn't pretty nor efficiently or calmly accomplished in front of our audience but we did get it done. We spoke with the other boats on the radio and we all now shared the same concern.  Can we make it to Bashi creek to anchor before nightfall?  Now behind we decided to run 10 knots rather than our usual 8.  At 2:30 we were approaching Barrons Landing, a large indentation in the river that is used as an anchorage. It is set back enough to keep 2-3 boats out of harms way when the tows come by. We chose to anchor here rather than risk arriving at Bashi at dusk and finding it full of boats that had left before us.  Anchoring went somewhat smoothly. Soon after we anchored a tow passed, their wake rocked us but we did not move, which meant our anchors were set which is definately a good thing. We settled in and did a little fishing off the bow.  About an hour later another boat joined us. a beautiful coaster cruiser named Irony.  Now you may remember we have a dog with us. What does she do when we anchor and can't get her to shore?  Tom bought a large piece of sod, cut it in two and put each piece on a plastic tub cover. Thank goodness, she chooses to use them!!