10/19 - 25/2020 - Demopolis to Orange Beach
10/19/20 - We took a day off and spent the day at Kingfisher Marina, Demopolis, AL. Kingfisher is one of the nicest marinas we've visited. The pool was open, but we didn't take advantage of it. We did, however, appreciate the big, clean laundry and shower facilities. They even had free cable - but who has time to watch TV? I'm sure we would have appreciated it had we stayed longer.
Cap gave Port-A-Gee a much-needed bath. The chalk cliffs that we admired, attached their mineral deposits to the hull turning it white. First Mate went for a run on gravel, but flat. This is always a great way to check out the area. We were reunited with Seeker as they arrived late morning, and then used the courtesy car to get provisions - including some items for us. We're saving our pints of Cherry Garcia for an evening on anchor.
The crews of Port-A-Gee and Seeker borrowed the courtesy car to go into town for dinner. We were pleasantly surprised to find The Bistro - a charming restaurant with an impressive menu. We had our fill of craft cocktails, wine, steak, scallops, and pork chops. Folks on the dock told us that the proprietor/chef was the former Mayor of Demopolis.
10/20/20 - Kingfisher to Bashi Creek (Morvin, AL) (71 nm). Port-A-Gee joined Seeker and SV Erie in the Demopolis lock to go down 40 feet. The Demopolis dam is unique because it is "underwater" so the fall was in plain view and really cool to see in from both sides of the lock. Unfortunately, tending tying up didn't leave a free hand to snap any pictures. Once again, we waved goodbye to Seeker as we prefer traveling at 7.5 knots as opposed to their 6. It put a couple of miles between us by the end of the day.
It was a long day on the winding Lower Black Warrior River under perfectly blue skies. We watched the changing landscape of rock, sand, lush greenery and Spanish moss on the shores. Because this leg appeared to have minimal human habitation, we were surprised/disappointed that we did not see many critters. I did, however, manage to catch this juvenile Bald Eagle. I wasn't quick enough to snap the adult, but it was amazing to see this majestic creature.
We arrived at Bashi Creek around 5:30, so we had about 1-1/2 hrs. of daylight to get anchored and buttoned up for the night. The crockpot had been beckoning us for hours with the aroma of chicken and stuffing. Bashi is an Active Captain recommended anchorage. It gave us great protection from the wind and barges, and there was plenty of water (10 ft), but it was veeery narrow. Thus, our anchor alarm had very little swing, so it was triggered many times during the night.
10/21 - Bashi Creek to
Three Rivers Lake (Wagarville, AL) (83nm).
We rose early, pulled the muddy anchor and throttled down to Bobby's Fish Camp
for fuel. Another boat on the dock contacted the Coffeeville Lock, so we
were positioned to go down as soon as we finished fueling up. Coffeeville
was the last of the "Dirty Dozen" locks, and we are glad to see them
in our rearview mirror. Shout out to Ron and Libby Johnson, who loaned us
their clever device made from a line threaded through a length of garden hose,
to lasso the lock pins. It worked fabulously, I may a future in the
rodeo!
After descending 34 feet, Port-A-Gee was introduced to her first taste of salt water (well more brackish at this point). We are officially in Tidal Waters, so this will have to be calculated when we anchor or tie up for the night.
We called it a day
around 4:00 and ducked into Three Rivers Lake for a night on the hook.
Getting to the anchorage required a mile run down a skinny channel, but plenty
of water. It opened to a small lake favored by fisherman. We threw bow
and stern anchors, showered on the swim platform and enjoyed chicken chili that
had been warming in the crock all day. Before sunset we were waked by
a couple of bass & john boats blasting by our port, which sent us rocking a
bit. It was a quiet night (no anchor alarms). The last thing we see
before going to sleep is the stars through the bow hatches - ahhhh.
|
|
 |
| "Dolly Parton" Bridge Creola, AL |
10/22 - Three Rivers Lake to Big Briar Creek (Spanish Fort, AL) (52 nm). 6:00 a.m. "wake" up by the fisherman blasting past us. I guess there are worse ways to be awakened. We got a slow start, pulling the muddy anchors before heading back up the mile-long channel to the Tombigbee. We are beginning to see more tropical foliage and critters as we make our way through the Bayou of Alabama.
 |
| Big Briar |
 |
| Big Briar |
 |
| Water Hyacinth |
 |
| Shrimp Boat |
We arrived at Dog River Marina mid-morning, and secured a slip, fuel and a pump out. Dog River has gotten great Active Captain reviews, but in our humble opinion, it was a worn-down shipyard. It served its purpose but was not anything special. This was our first encounter tying up to pilings - 3 tall poles on starboard and port. We pushed Port-A-Gee back and forth until all sides of her was secured to their respective poles. Cap was anxious to get the salt off Port-A-Gee, so we gave her a wash down, took showers, and relaxed for the evening.
10/24 - Dog River Marina. There was some rain overnight, so we were glad to be in a covered dock (well, except for the planks that were missing). In the morning we were surprised that the entire parking lot behind our dock was flooded as well as the entire access road. This also prohibited entry to the restrooms/laundry, marina office and West Marine. Apparently, this is due to the tide and is a regular occurrence.
Inez and Peter drove
down from Biloxi with shrimp, salads and apple cobbler! We had a lovely
visit all afternoon, then Inez ran me to the grocery store for
provisions. Did I mention that Dog River's advertised courtesy car was
broken??
Seeker arrived late
afternoon and tied up next to us. After our company left, the four of us
walked over to the Mobile Yacht Club and indulged in Vodka and Crab
Cakes. Life is good!
10/25 - Dog River to The Warf (Orange Beach, AL) (50 nm). It was a little fogged in, so the crews of Port-A-Gee and Seeker waited until noon to head back out onto Mobile Bay. When we reached the southernmost point of the bay, Seeker went West to Bay St. Louis and Port-A-Gee went east to The Wharf (Orange Beach, AL).
 |
| Mobile Bay Lighthouse |
 |
| Oil Rig |
LEG STATS:
7 days
286 nautical miles
2 Locks: Demopolis and Coffeeville
2 Marinas: Dog River and The Wharf
3 nights on anchor: Bashi, Three Rivers, Big Briar
Gorgeous weather 95% sun, 0 rain!
Comments
Post a Comment