10/25 - 11/17/20 - Orange Beach to Home

Work of Art
10/25/20 - We arrived at the Wharf, Orange Beach, AL, late afternoon and tied up to N196 which turned out to be our home for a while.  The Wharf is a 4-star marina that offers clean, spacious amenities, shopping center, restaurants, and miles of improved space for exercise.  It is also an in-the-water boat show with $10,000,000 ++ boats, each one meticulously maintained by captains.  Mostly Viking Sport Fish.







Seeker & Port-a-Gee Crews

10/27/20 - We've been watching the 27th named storm of 2020 for for about a week, and it looks like Zeta will make US landfall overnight tomorrow (10/28).  Thus, our frequent buddy boat, Seeker, reevaluated their Bay St. Louis destination, and made their way to The Wharf to ride out the storm under the protection of The Wharf, which fared well through Hurricane Sally in September 2020 - Fingers Crossed!  We rode out Zeta in the Marina, and came away unscathed.  We get to check off Hurricane on the Bingo card!

UNCLE!  We've decided we've had enough of the hurricane season, so we won't make it to our target of Punta Gorda.  Brian and I decided that we will remain at the Wharf through the end of November before returning to return to Chicago for the holidays.  We secured storage for Port-A-Gee in Cape Coral so now the logistics of AL to KY to FL begin.

Sat., 10/31 We took Port-A-Gee out for a cruise while touring the devastation left by Hurricane Sally 6 weeks earlier. 

We noticed the bow rails shaking, and Brian was sure something was wrong.  He reversed the prop, and it seemed to improve, but still "not right".  We returned to the Wharf and hired one of the divers, that are always on the docks, to go down and take a look.  Low and behold, we picked up a severed crab pot line when we were coming across from Dog River!  Side note:  The diver looked just like Matthew McConaughey - Alright, Alright, Alright!!

Also, the Wharf put on a fantastic Halloween Fireworks display - who knew?




Hurricane Sally Devastation

Monday, 11/2 - Enterprise rental to Grand Rivers, KY to retrieve the truck and trailer.  We are blessed with wonderful friends and boating partners in Marty and Brenda Colburn who not only let us keep our boat and trailer at their marina, they provided us with with a cottage for the night before returning back to Orange Beach.  Family has also been supportive in our efforts - Brian's sister, Inez, has graciously agreed to allow us to stay at her vacation home in Lillian, AL while we prepare Port-A-Gee for storage.

Sun, 11/8 - Conditions were perfect for a cruise, but first fuel and a pump out.  Brian was fueling Port-A-Gee, while Loral was adjusting the fenders to hold us off the dock. While holding onto the roof rail, I jumped off of the deck, but my ring stayed hooked on the rail - OUCH!  I rarely wear jewelry on the boat, and now I never will again.

11/17 - We really enjoyed our stay at Wharf - encountering many Loopers during our month-long stay:

  • Doug & Pat Grunnet / Talisman (IL)
  • Jim Williams & Renee Abel / Seeker (TN)
  • Bob & Amy Jensen / Knot In A Hurry (MN)
  • Rick & Christi Lawrence / Inked Mermaid (WI)
  • Warren & Linda Ferrell / Gold Dust (TN)
  • Helen Jacobse & Greg Nelson / River Ranger (MN)
  • Ethan & Tammi Barnett / Liberty (CA)
  • Scott & KC Calkin / Jetstream (AL) (Gold Loopers)
  • Gary & Colleen Barger / Calypso Poet (AK) (Gold Loopers)
  • Marvin & Nancy Wehl /Crimson Tug (AL)
  • Steve & Debbie Russell / Gypsies Palace (CA)
  • Jerry & Debbie Rogers / Whiskey Business (KY) (Gold Loopers)
  • We also enjoyed the company of locals that were our dock neighbors for a couple of days, Kenny Womack & family.

It's too bad Covid-19 interfered with the fellowship we typically enjoy, but it was nice to visit with these folks even while observing social distancing.

However, sometime after Christmas, we learned that approx 8 of our fellow loopers contracted Covid.  Thankfully, they all came through it without hospitalization.






Wed, 11/18/20 - We loved our time in Orange Beach, and can't wait to return for another extended stay.  Today we took Port-A-Gee over to Turner Marine to be lifted onto the trailer, where she will remain until we return in January 2021.


                                                


Lillian, AL - End of the line 2020



Comments

  1. Bill KightFebruary 16, 2021 at 9:15 PM

    My goodness, that diver DOES look just Matthew McConaughey!

    It’s a pleasure reading your blog. Well-written and well-illustrated.

    Bill Kight

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Port-A-GeeFebruary 17, 2021 at 10:18 AM

      Thanks Bill - It's nice to know someone is following :)

      Delete

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