Do We Stay or do We Go?

11/14/11 Monday     One of the good things about Dog Island in addition to the natural beauty is a good internet connection. With that I can check out the various weather sites to check on conditions for our crossing . What I found was a mixed bag. One said 2' to 3' seas for today. One said 3' to 4'. One said if we stay closer to shore we could expect 2' or less. All were consistent with winds speeds of around 15 knots from the Southeast and waves from the same direction. Our destination once we cross is Tarpon Springs, about 150 miles if we go straight from East Pass to Anclotte Key.

We pulled the anchor at 6:45am and headed to the pass leading out to the gulf. As soon as we rounded the point of Dog Island we could feel the swells rolling in as Tourist glided up and over them. Once we cleared the channel I set the auto helm for Tarpon Springs. The waves were manageable at between 2' to 3' on the nose, not bad but a little jerky when the occasional 4 footer came along. All went well until about 8:30am when the 4 footers became the norm with more than an occasional 5 footer thrown in. We throttled back to minimize the pounding and made a course change to take the waves more on the starboard bow. Better but we were still pounding and taking sheets of spray over the flybridge. All of this made it extremely challenging to make your way to the head let alone take care of business. After travelling like this for an hour or so I decided to head more directly towards shore still taking the waves on the starboard bow but now the impact was much softer. Eventually we got back into 2' to 3' waves and were able to turn more to the south. As we continued we were finally able to set a direct course for Tarpon Springs and pick up some speed. Now all we have to worry about are the crab pots!

We hit the north end of Anclote Key around 3:30pm and headed towards the Anclote River and Tarpon Springs.

Anclote River @ Tarpon Springs.

By 4pm we had covered 171 miles and were in our slip at Tarpon Landing Marina ready for a cocktail!

Once we decompressed and cleaned up the smell of Greek food was too great not to be seduced by it. Off to find it's source we went. Tarpon Springs is noted for it's large Greek community who settled here to dive for sponges many years ago. Now not so many sponges but they have figured out how to use their history to attract tourists. We wandered across the bridge and found Mama's Restaurant. On almost every menu in town are Fried Smelt and Mama's was no exception. That's where we ( I ) started.

Fried smelt appetizer.

We each had more food than we needed and left with doggie bags of our unfinished meals. Don't be mistaken. The taste was as good as the aroma promised! Fortunately we had a nice walk back to Tourist to work off some of the meal.

11/15/11 Tuesday     The Tourist crew decided to take a down day today. That meant that I scrubbed Tourist from top to bottom on the outside and Pam did the same on the inside. Later we strolled through town checking out the shops and stopping at a Greek bakery for some baklava before returning to the boat.

Tarpon Landing Marina.

Sponge Boat

Sponge Diver Monument.

11/16/11 Wednesday     Today the first order of business after departing Tarpon Landing was to travel about a quarter mile downstream to F & Y Inc. and take on fuel. Nothing more than a commercial fuel dock but they have the best prices in the area. And believe me we needed the savings after our gulf crossing. Tourist was thirsty! Ouch!!!
Our next mission was to find a pump out station. The unit at Tarpon Landing wasn't working and we were getting full. Fortunately as we neared Clearwater I overheard two boats talking about a free pump out station right along the ICW. Not long after we came upon it and pulled in. A nice new facility that is easy to get into and not complicated to use. Mission 2 accomplished. The cruising life sure is exciting isn't it?

All along our route today we had dolphins playing in our wake. Pam shot a short video of a couple of them.

They followed us for about 15 minutes before breaking off to entertain someone else.

Our travels took us along the Sunshine Skyway and across Tampa Bay to the Manatee River and our anchorage that we've used before, Desoto Point.

Sunshine Skyway.

Desoto Point anchorage.

We got the anchor set and relaxed a bit before cleaning up for dinner. Tomorrow...On to Venice!

Panhandler's

11/6/11 Sunday     Down day at Grand Mariner Marina. Highlights of the day; Wal-Mart run (sad!) and watching the Packer's win!

11/7/11 Monday     Big day today. In our trips through the area we have never stopped at Fairhope, Al. on the east side of Mobile Bay. Today is the day. Pam wanted to check out Fairhope and I wanted to get the props changed to hopefully eliminate a slight vibration. 11 miles across the bay to Eastern Shores Marina. Marina might be stretching it when trying to describe this place. Like Dog River Marina, it is a working boat yard with a few slips for rent.  We pulled up to the fuel dock to check on the timing of the haulout. When I told the yard foreman what size our props and shafts were and that I didn't want them to pound them off with a hammer he said we had a problem. Their prop puller wouldn't fit my shaft. (No joke's please!) Having already committed to staying we went to our slip with the old props still in place.
Pam went to town and found a small community much like our hometown of Galena. A variety of shops all geared to the tourist. Upon her return Ed the owner of the marina came to the boat and said they would have a puller to fit our shafts by morning. We could be hauled first thing if we still were interested.  We agreed and settled in for the night.

11/8/11 Tuesday     7am and it's time to go to the travel lift for the haulout. Up and out went Tourist. The prop puller did the trick as they came off with a bang! Within a few minutes the new props were in place and Tourist was going back in the water.

Props in place. Ready to splash!

By 9am we were heading out into Mobile Bay and on to the GICW and points East. Near the lower end of the bay we were hailed on the vhf by an officer of the Alabama Marine Police wanting to know the name of our boat and where we had spent last night. Odd, but that was it and he sped off. We hit the protected waters of the intercoastal and cruised past Lulu's restaurant (Jimmy Buffet's sister).

Lulu's

 Shortly after Lulu's we were passed again by the same officer who had hailed us earlier. Meanwhile in our rear view mirror I could see a familiar boat catching up to us. Lindonia who we had last seen at Bobby's a few days back. Still a good distance back we could see them at various times as we traversed the waterway. We hit Wolf Bay and here comes the Marine Police again. This time with his lights on and another officer with him. Once we came to a stop they were quick to inform of what was going on. Turns out a boat similar to ours from Chicago had fueled at Grand Mariner and took off without paying. They wanted to know if we had seen them in our travels and let us know who to call if we did.

Counterpart to the boat that stopped us.

We continued on to anchor near Pensacola in an area at the east end of the Big Lagoon. Us, Lindonia, and another boat, Atlantis anchored for the night in this tranquil spot. We were near the Pensacola Naval Air Station and were able to watch a variety of planes coming and going.

Anchorage near Pensacola.

11/9/11 Wednesday     An easy morning enjoying our coffee before pulling anchor and heading into Pensacola. We pulled into Palafox Pier Marina by 10:30am and started to clean the salt off of Tourist and get ready for a visit to the National Museum of Naval Aviation.

Naval Aviation Museum.

We spent the afternoon looking at all types of aircraft and reading the stories of the people who flew them.

Pensacola is home to the Blue Angels.

One of the attractions at the museum is an Imax Theater in which we watched the Blue Angels go through their routine. I say watched but at times it was as though we were in the co-pilots seat twisting and turning right along with them!

The next slide said "No Photography in the Theater"  OOPs!
We finished the day with a delicious meal at the Fish House Restaurant located just a few blocks from the marina.

11/10/11 Thursday     With small craft warnings issued for the waterways we chose to depart anyway. Winds from the north caused the bay to be a bit lumpy but once we turned east it settled down to a light chop which had little effect on Tourist. By mid afternoon we found our way into Joe's Bayou near Destin to anchor for the night.

I know it's down there!

11/11/11 Friday     Today we travelled across Chocktawahatchie Bay enroute to Panama City. St. Andrew's Marina is on the west side of Panama City and is home to quite a few shrimp boats. Not the best marina in the area but we chose it because of it's proximity to the Captain's Table Restaurant. A spot that we've been to before. Our reason for going.....the Baked Cajun Oysters! Yummm!

Almost forgot to take a picture!

St. Andrew's Marina

11/12/11 Saturday     This morning before we pulled out we went to the farmer's market located next to the marina and then bought some fresh shrimp from the shrimp guy who has a stand on pontoons in the corner of the marina.

Farmer's Market

Pam & the Shrimp Guy.

The route east from Panama City winds through a series of bays and narrow waterways enroute to Apalachicola.

No markers, just stay in the middle.

Sights along the way.

After 2 calls to Scipio Creek Marina we finally confirmed a slip for the night. In our travels through here over the years neither of us had stopped in Apalachicola so this was the time. The marina isn't much with no help at the docks, just a "come into the office when you get tied up". In what is now a recurring theme, we stopped here for the raw oysters. Papa Joe's is located right next to the marina and isn't any more impressive to look at than the marina itself. But looks are deceiving. The food was killer. Started off with a dozen raw oysters! We each had an entree and for desert we had another dozen raw oysters! By the way. I now weigh 500 pounds!

Scipio Creek Marina & Papa Joe's

Notice the presentation on the cafeteria tray.

We waddled back to the boat and passed out after dinner.

11/13/11 Sunday     With only a short distance to Carabelle today we decided to walk downtown. An old Florida town that now caters mostly to tourists. Of course there wasn't much open on a Sunday morning so the wallet got a rest.

Apalachicola downtown.
Once we were back to Tourist we headed out to cross Apalachicola Bay passing the oyster fishermen on our way and arriving in Carabelle shortly after lunch.

Oystermen in Apalachicola Bay.

Heading into Carabelle.
We fueled up at C-Quarters Marina and were able to use the owners truck to run to the deli for some sandwich meat before heading out to Dog Island to anchor for the night.

Sunset over Dog Island.

Demopolis to Dog River (Mobile)

11/3/11 Thursday     Our hopes to be the only boat leaving Demopolis today were squelched when I looked outside at 6am and saw lights on in 3 other boats! Shortly after one of them made a call to the lock and was told to head on down. Just like ants at a picnic the boats appeared at the lock. When the gates closed there were 9 boats in the lock. Normally even at a slow speed we are faster than most boats so after some vhf chatter we had a plan of departure from the lock. That is until the lockmaster said for the side with the slowest boats to leave first. Well, after the lock we got the order established and we took off with Lindonia on our heels. Maybe it's just because I'm an only child , but I just don't like running in a pack.

Ants filing into Demopolis Lock.

97 miles later we pulled into Bobby's Fish Camp to spend the night and partake of some of their famous catfish for dinner. We decided to raft off of Lindonia since we knew several of the other boats would be coming in and it would be better to raft with someone you know and trust.

Rafted at Bobby's Fish Camp

By evening the others showed up with one boat going back upstream to anchor because he didn't want to raft off another boat. We ended up with 5 boats tied to their dock. In true boater fashion we had cocktails first and then went up to what has become an institution on the trip down the river. Pretty much you have the choice of catfish, catfish, or catfish! Beer they have but bring your own wine.  A rustic place for sure with memorabilia and other junk hanging all over the walls. In spite of the decor dinner was good and we can now say we've been there!

Bobby's Fish Camp

Memorial to the late Bobby in front of the restaurant.

11/4/11 Friday     Up and off at 7am headed to the Coffeeville Lock. Our last lock of this trip. Not all of the boats from yesterday made the first lockage so the order of departure wasn't hard to figure out. Some of the boats wanted to make it all the way to Dog River or Fairhope 136 miles away so we let them go. Our plan was to get to the Alabama River Cut-Off anchorage, about half way to Dog River. The cruise was uneventful until we entered the twisting, turning part of the river and saw the nose of a tow coming around the bend. A quick call to the tow to see where he wanted me and his response was "put it on the beach!". He had his nose on the red buoys and his stern almost hitting the bank. That left us about 100' between the reds and the shore. We got out of the way and continued on our way. The boat following didn't get out of the channel far enough and the tow had to come to a stop by putting his nose into the river bank. I'm sure he wasn't happy but never showed it on the vhf.
The river below Coffeeville has several switchbacks that make it interesting when you travel through it.

Chartplotter showing the twisting river.

Meeting a tow with plenty of passing room.
We continued on passing retirement homes and a kayaker on our way to the anchorage.

Retirement home.

Kayaker heading south.

We arrived at the anchorage and when the boat started swinging toward the bushes Mr. Lazy decided to deploy a stern anchor.

Alabama Cut-Off anchorage.

Behind us there were 4 other boats that I know of but couldn't see.

11/5/11 Saturday     Fog!!! Finally we saw a tow going by northbound and decided to go. Not the best visibility but enough.

M/V Tosmo following in the mist.

All went well until arriving at the 14 mile RR bridge. The old swing bridge has just recently been replaced with a lift span and the bugs aren't worked out yet. The bridge tender was all apologies and suggested maybe we could do a little fishing while we waited.

New 14 mile lift span.

Old 14 mile swing span on barges waiting to be taken away.

An hour later with no fish caught they raised the bridge and we cruised on into Mobile harbor and beyond to Mobile Bay.

M/V Moon Lady

Hey B-Gravy. I see your old jeep!

New Navy ship being built.

There was plenty of commercial activity as we passed through Mobile before arriving at Grand Mariner Marina for the next couple of nights. Of course this means we're back in salt water. Bring on the dolphins! Pam has been practicing her call for the past couple of days.

Tenn-Tom'n It

11/1/11 Tuesday     November already? Seems like we were just on the Trent-Severn Canal. That is until you call the Stennis Lock and get a dose of "y'all". As we left Columbus Marina T. Caldwell came out to wave and pass on a few last words of wisdom. For those of you who have been there and met him you know we are much more enlightened for having stayed there. Kind of like staying at a Holiday Inn Express!

Anyway we entered the lock with 1 other boat. Docker's Inn from Hilton Head. Our cruising speeds were about the same and we settled into an easy pace once we exited the lock. Travelling down the Tenn-Tom has become somewhat familiar territory for Pam & myself as we recognize different things along the way that we've seen before.

Left to rot below Columbus, Ms.

The phone booth is still sitting along the way and the old mobile home hasn't fallen in the river yet. The day was a great cruising day with the sun in the sky and the temps in the upper 60's. For the longest time we were the only boats on the water. We did pass the commercial tows Uncle Bob, Jackson III, and Bobby Joe James. In print the names are straight forward. Listen to the captains pronounce them on the vhf and it's a complete different language!
When we got to the Tom Bevill Lock we had to wait for a tow to lock down. Having been in the area before, I thought we should check out the marina just above the lock. Docker's Inn had thought about staying there so it seemed appropriate to pull in and anchor in their cove so they could get a good look at the place. Let's say they were not impressed.

Pirate's Marina Cove. Pickensville, Alabama

Along the way we passed an anchorage and upon looking back into it we saw s/v Lollygag. Both Docker's Inn and I commented on how we have seen them at various times on the loop and that they somehow keep pace with us. Tortoise and the hare?

With the wait at the lock our timing was off to reach an anchorage below the Wilkins Lock that we have stayed in before so plan B took effect. Sumpter Landing about 4 miles above the lock. What a tranquil spot! That is after the pucker factor subsided from the low water alarm going off as we entered. Once in we had plenty of water and enough room for both boats to anchor and swing around.

Sumpter Landing Anchorage. (evening)

11/2/11 Wednesday     Sunrise was spectacular in the anchorage. That is right up to the time a southbound tow went by.

Sunrise in Sumpter Landing.

Knowing that we would have to wait on him at the lock I turned on the vhf to listen to the chatter between the tow and the lock. Horrors! There was another southbound tow just getting into the lock! Don't they know we're ready to go? There's an old saying here that I won't repeat but it ends with "relax and enjoy it"!
A bit later I called the lock and a most congenial lock master said he would give me a call when the 2nd tow exited the lock, which he did.
Once through the lock we again settled into a pace that had us catch and pass both tows that we had waited on at the lock. About 10 miles above Demopolis, Al. we passed s/v Freedom who we had anchored with a few nights ago. We also passed what looked liked a school project gone wrong. Someone apparently tried to make a sailboat from saplings and poly tarps. Oops!

The Kon-Tiki?

Shortly after passing the Kon-Tiki we pulled into Demopolis Yacht Basin to fuel and spend the night. Demopolis is a commercial fueling port for the tows that ply the Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers. Sitting at the fuel dock was the m/v Bobby Joe James who we passed yesterday.

 M/V Bobby Joe James @ Demopolis.

We fueled and were given the option of staying in the old section of the marina or the newly opened section. Once Pam, the laundry freak found out that the laundry was on the dock in the new facility the deal was sealed! Still not complete, Demopolis will be a great place to stop or even leave your boat in the future.

New marina at Demopolis.

A happy Pamster in the new laundry facility @ Demopolis!