We’ve learned from experience that while cruising, deadlines are dangerous. You set yourself up to make bad decisions based on the deadline instead of the more important issues…..like weather. In 2008, we made a bad call on the brutal North Atlantic because we wanted to get to Long Beach Island for Mom’s birthday. Last year, we rushed across Lake Michigan to get Nick James back to his Princess (and work) and dealt with terrible conditions.
This year, we promised, NO deadlines! Except, Chas had to be in St. Louis by October 9. And Bob and Mary Jane and Brad and Chis had condos rented in Destin. Can we make it there by the end of October? Sure!
Another deadline snuck out of nowhere and off we rushed down the Tenn-Tom Waterway. This year, though, everything went in our favor. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. We did not see a cloud or a drop of rain from Mackinaw City to Mobile Alabama. We did not munch on one single Triple Ginger Snap to deal with rough and rolly seas. It was warm and sunny and perfect cruising.
Backtracking to the first lock on the Tenn-Tom, the Jamie Whitten was a drop of 84 feet. In a previous lock, Gary noticed someone had stuck an advertisement in the floating bollard. Since he had so much time on his hands in the Whitten, he went down below and grabbed a sharpie. I thought he was writing "TESSA was here", but instead he was being wonderfully romantic, writing “Gary loves Lori”. I love my Captain!
That night we stayed at Midway Marina and enjoyed a relaxing evening on Taken Care of Business. I fried up some wonderful catfish with a side of home grown black eyed peas, compliments of Bill Magers. Delicious!
Sunday we made it to Columbus Marina, where we were greeted by Jacob, who invited us all over "to his wooden houseboat across the dock" for a cocktail after dinner. He should have said "come over and see my classic Trumpe Yacht that looks like a magazine spread for lifestyles of the rich and famous." He has spent seven years restoring her, and Aurora is stunning.
The next night was our Demopolis layover, where we met some great people on board a power yacht named Duet. Here is where Walt and Vickie departed with no ice on board, from my previous short update.
From Demopolis, it is a long haul (217 miles) to Mobile, which requires anchoring out three nights in a row. The first night was uneventful. The second day, we needed to get through the Coffeeville Lock and make it to Three Rivers Lake, where we enjoyed our hurricane hole last year. Except our timing was a bit off. We first had to wait for a barge to pass our previous night’s anchorage so that we could pull out into the river without interruption. Next we had to wait at the lock for 45 minutes. Our window of daylight was severely compromised. The miles ticked by, the sunlight faded, and Gary called out how many minutes until sunset. We searched anxiously for a cut-off prior to Three Rivers that we KNEW was there somewhere….having seen other cruisers holed up there last year. We did not want to run down the river in the dark. Walt and Vickie stayed close behind, and I was sure they were cussing up a storm as Tessa led them into the river darkness. We both used our spotlights to point out big steel red and green buoys that could sink us if hit. Where was the darn cut-off? We had to have passed it, as the chart showed we were now close to Three Rivers Lake. Shortly, Gary advised that we were there, we should see the entry, but it was so dark that even the high powered spotlight wasn’t picking up any cut in the riverbank. Suddenly, I saw lights from boats at anchor, and screamed to Gary “There it is!” He cautiously steered to starboard and eased into the mouth of the cut, as Walt and Vickie followed. It was such a relief to drop the anchor and call it a night, although difficult to block out thoughts of what could have happened.
The last anchorage on the river was another bit of a challenge. We attempted to raft off to Taken Care of Business , but the current fought us and we aborted the mission. We agreed it best to anchor separately, except Tessa’s anchor windlass moter disagreed. Our spirits sunk as we suspected another blown windlass motor, which we just paid $800.00 for in 2008. Gary muscled out the back-up Fortress, tossed it overboard, and collapsed in fatigue and frustration. As the sun set, we chatted with Walt and Vickie on the VHF, to compensate for our planned evening of dining and drinking together.
Next morning, we departed at dawn and were on our way to Mobile Bay and Dog River Marina. It was a beautiful trip, sun sparkling off the water, and we were thrilled to see Captain Sid, the shrimper boat we made friends with last year, shrimping on Mobile Bay. The staff at Dog River were welcoming as we fueled up and pumped out. Duet was also there, and we all enjoyed a great dinner at the Mobile Yacht Club.
The following day we moved next door to Turner Marine, where Gary and I spent a very enjoyable, economical week last fall. Boat chores had piled up aboard Tessa and Taken Care of Business. We briefly crossed paths as we worked, and stopped in the evenings to cook some great meals. Fresh flounder stuffed with freshly picked crabmeat, and grilled shrimp for night two. The weather was balmy and humid and the no-see-ums drove us all crazy. I layered bug spray constantly, and thankfully escaped with only a dozen bites.
This morning, we headed south down Mobile Bay toward the FloriBama Intracoastal, with Taken Care of Business in the lead. Another brilliant sunny day, with brisk winds and agreeable seas. Both Walt and Vickie have exhibited a tendency to play chicken with barges. As a big one approached in the distance, we watched in amazement as Taken Care of Business’s silhouette lined up perfectly in it’s path, just like the closing scene in Captain Ron. The closer they got to each other, the harder we laughed…until the barge blew a loud one-whistle warning and Walt scooted out of his way. To hear what that Captain in the bridge was saying would be priceless!
Later this morning, we saw our first dolphin after many months of missing them. It is hard to describe the feeling of finally seeing a dolphin after a long saltwater absence, but suffice to say we CHEERED! Tonight we are in a peaceful anchorage called the “Big Lagoon” where we enjoyed a great meal with Walt and Vickie. Tomorrow,off to Destin, to see our friends before they head north. So far, this does not appear to be yet another dangerous deadline….but nothing is for certain until the dock lines are securly tied at Harbor Walk Marina in Destin!
And then we have to be in Carrabelle to pick up Bryan Diveto on November 6………
That night we stayed at Midway Marina and enjoyed a relaxing evening on Taken Care of Business. I fried up some wonderful catfish with a side of home grown black eyed peas, compliments of Bill Magers. Delicious!
Sunday we made it to Columbus Marina, where we were greeted by Jacob, who invited us all over "to his wooden houseboat across the dock" for a cocktail after dinner. He should have said "come over and see my classic Trumpe Yacht that looks like a magazine spread for lifestyles of the rich and famous." He has spent seven years restoring her, and Aurora is stunning.
The next night was our Demopolis layover, where we met some great people on board a power yacht named Duet. Here is where Walt and Vickie departed with no ice on board, from my previous short update.
From Demopolis, it is a long haul (217 miles) to Mobile, which requires anchoring out three nights in a row. The first night was uneventful. The second day, we needed to get through the Coffeeville Lock and make it to Three Rivers Lake, where we enjoyed our hurricane hole last year. Except our timing was a bit off. We first had to wait for a barge to pass our previous night’s anchorage so that we could pull out into the river without interruption. Next we had to wait at the lock for 45 minutes. Our window of daylight was severely compromised. The miles ticked by, the sunlight faded, and Gary called out how many minutes until sunset. We searched anxiously for a cut-off prior to Three Rivers that we KNEW was there somewhere….having seen other cruisers holed up there last year. We did not want to run down the river in the dark. Walt and Vickie stayed close behind, and I was sure they were cussing up a storm as Tessa led them into the river darkness. We both used our spotlights to point out big steel red and green buoys that could sink us if hit. Where was the darn cut-off? We had to have passed it, as the chart showed we were now close to Three Rivers Lake. Shortly, Gary advised that we were there, we should see the entry, but it was so dark that even the high powered spotlight wasn’t picking up any cut in the riverbank. Suddenly, I saw lights from boats at anchor, and screamed to Gary “There it is!” He cautiously steered to starboard and eased into the mouth of the cut, as Walt and Vickie followed. It was such a relief to drop the anchor and call it a night, although difficult to block out thoughts of what could have happened.
The last anchorage on the river was another bit of a challenge. We attempted to raft off to Taken Care of Business , but the current fought us and we aborted the mission. We agreed it best to anchor separately, except Tessa’s anchor windlass moter disagreed. Our spirits sunk as we suspected another blown windlass motor, which we just paid $800.00 for in 2008. Gary muscled out the back-up Fortress, tossed it overboard, and collapsed in fatigue and frustration. As the sun set, we chatted with Walt and Vickie on the VHF, to compensate for our planned evening of dining and drinking together.
Next morning, we departed at dawn and were on our way to Mobile Bay and Dog River Marina. It was a beautiful trip, sun sparkling off the water, and we were thrilled to see Captain Sid, the shrimper boat we made friends with last year, shrimping on Mobile Bay. The staff at Dog River were welcoming as we fueled up and pumped out. Duet was also there, and we all enjoyed a great dinner at the Mobile Yacht Club.
The following day we moved next door to Turner Marine, where Gary and I spent a very enjoyable, economical week last fall. Boat chores had piled up aboard Tessa and Taken Care of Business. We briefly crossed paths as we worked, and stopped in the evenings to cook some great meals. Fresh flounder stuffed with freshly picked crabmeat, and grilled shrimp for night two. The weather was balmy and humid and the no-see-ums drove us all crazy. I layered bug spray constantly, and thankfully escaped with only a dozen bites.
This morning, we headed south down Mobile Bay toward the FloriBama Intracoastal, with Taken Care of Business in the lead. Another brilliant sunny day, with brisk winds and agreeable seas. Both Walt and Vickie have exhibited a tendency to play chicken with barges. As a big one approached in the distance, we watched in amazement as Taken Care of Business’s silhouette lined up perfectly in it’s path, just like the closing scene in Captain Ron. The closer they got to each other, the harder we laughed…until the barge blew a loud one-whistle warning and Walt scooted out of his way. To hear what that Captain in the bridge was saying would be priceless!
Later this morning, we saw our first dolphin after many months of missing them. It is hard to describe the feeling of finally seeing a dolphin after a long saltwater absence, but suffice to say we CHEERED! Tonight we are in a peaceful anchorage called the “Big Lagoon” where we enjoyed a great meal with Walt and Vickie. Tomorrow,off to Destin, to see our friends before they head north. So far, this does not appear to be yet another dangerous deadline….but nothing is for certain until the dock lines are securly tied at Harbor Walk Marina in Destin!
And then we have to be in Carrabelle to pick up Bryan Diveto on November 6………
2 comments:
We hope your hand does not cramp up from this wonderful blog!
Keep safe and keep on posting your great adventures.
Thanks to your travel mates!
Maybe we will meet them sometime.
thomar
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