10/20 - 27/2022 - Demopolis to Mobile Bay & Orange Beach (quick trip home)

Thurs, 10/20/22 – Kingfisher Marina to Bobby’s Fish Camp (mm119) (84.3nm)

  • On Wednesday evening, we planned to leave at first light with Redemption, Bella Rumore and Breakaway (Beneteau 49) to lock down (#11) Demopolis Lock (mm213).
    • Because of the 30-degree temps overnight, the whole area was blanketed with a thick fog, so we waited until 8:30 before dropping 40’ along with a tow (without a load).
    • Our 4-party flotilla had similar destinations but varying cruise speeds:
    • True to its name, Breakaway put the throttle down and cruised at about 15mph all day.  Bella Rumore liked about 10mph, Port-a-gee fluctuated between 8 – 12, and Redemption held steady at 9.
    Foggy departure from Demopolis
  • Bella Rumore chose an anchorage around mm112, the rest of us tied up at the famous Bobby’s Fish Camp.  It's nothing special, but it's a Looper Must - and they have fuel and power.  We were also reunited with Riverbend
  • I'm beginning to learn Tow Boat Captain lingo - a load of "pig iron" is scrap metal!  We were surprised to see several tows with loads of coal.

    Fri, 10/21 – Bobby’s Fish Camp to Alabama River Cutoff Anchorage (mm53) (60nm). The early shift left at first light, but Riverbend & Port-a-Gee chose to start the day a little slower.  Around 10:00 a.m., we entered the final Tombigbee lock – YAY!!!  (#12) Coffeeville (mm116.6), our last descent of 40’ deposited us at sea level in brackish tidal water.  Big changes are ahead!

    • MM113 -106 was Gator Alley!
    SMILEY!


    Bobby's Fish Camp






    • Just before sunset, Riverbend followed us to the Alabama River Cutoff anchorage, narrow, but deep, creek.  Belle Rumore was already secured for the evening.
      • Both of our buddy boats put out stern anchors, but not us - SOOO, when I woke up in the middle of the night, I noticed Riverbend's anchor light in our Galley Port, and thought, "hmmmmm".  I walked up to the pilot house and saw that we turned 180 degrees.  It was too dark to assess exactly how close we were to shore, but it was only a few feet at both bow and stern.  Images of the gators we saw earlier in the day stole my sleep for the rest of the night.

     Sat. Oct 22 - Alabama Cutoff Anchorage to Big Briar Creek (mm12) (37.5nm)

    • RIVER BEND
      Bella Rumore squeezed past us to leave the creek around 8:30
    • Riverbend and Port-A-Gee followed about an hour later and cruised to one of our favorite anchorages from our 2020 trip.  It is a hurricane hole far off the channel.  It is wide, deep and a nice respite before moving off of the river system and onto the Intracoastal Waterway.

    Sun, Oct. 23 - Big Briar to Turner Marine Yacht (+14.5 RDB) (24.7nm) - MOBILE BAY.  12 quick miles to the shipping channel at the mouth of Mobile Bay.  WOW, what a change from the slow, narrow, winding river to big open water full of life and activity!  No sooner did we leave the ship channel to the open bay; we were greeted by a dolphin!!

    • The bay was very calm and perfect for dolphin, pelican, and fisherman viewing. As we turned right to head towards Dog River, Cap was keeping his eye on the depth sounder as we were seeing 6-7 feet most of the way
    Mobile Bay Shipping Channel
        
    More Ships!










    Riverbend tied up at Dog River, while Bella Rumore and Port-A-Gee chose the adjacent property, Turner Marine.  We stayed at Dog River in 2020 and were disappointed with the condition of the property, 2 years later and it's definitely worse. Both properties are busy boat yards, and not really concerned with "marina life".  The shower at Turner was great though!
      • We could see and hear music from River Shack across the river, but we were tied up too close to Bella Rumore to drop the dinghy, so we ordered an Uber to take us over the bridge!  Colin & Sarah (Riverbend) joined us for a fun evening of music and REALLY GOOD bar food.

    Mon, Oct 24 - 11/4, Turner to The Wharf, Orange Beach, AL (43.7nm).  We said goodbye to our River companions and made our way back to Mobile Bay.  It was a gloomy morning, but not raining.  The winds started to pick up, pushing 2' waves to our port bow.  After being pushed around and water busting over the bow Cap pushed down the throttle and burned $$$ fuel to get us to the Intercoastal waterway (ICW) end of Mobile Bay.

    • Gaillard Island was at our starboard, and we could see 2 dredging rigs positioned near it. I was interested so I did a little research and discovered that the island is manmade by the Army Corp.  This serves the dual purpose of a place to deposit sand and mud from dredging the channel and an important site for colonial nesting of seabirds and shore birds in coastal Alabama.
    • We noticed some police activity, so being nosey, I grabbed the binocs to get a better look.  Seems they pulled up an old sailboat, I wonder how long it was on the bottom?
    Lighthouse / Dredging

    Sunken Sailboat
    • We pulled into the Wharf Fuel Dock around 3:00, recalling the injury I sustained there in 2020 (I still can't wear my wedding rings)
    • Without incident this time, we got fuel and a pump out before being directed to the slip next to our sister-ship, Calm Seas.

    • We stopped by for a quick chat with Sidonia and Fred (Last Item), and then Carmine (Calm Seas) joined us at YoHo Rum & Tacos to watch the Bears deliver the Patriots a decisive loss!
    YoHo Rum Toast

    Tues, Oct. 25 - Wharf, Orange Beach, AL - We weren't thrilled with the location of our slip because the main channel is on the other side of the dock - we'll feel boats passing.  On the plus side, a pod of dolphins show up twice a day.  It's fun to watch them, but difficult to catch on camera

    Wed, Oct. 26, Love the familiarity and amenities of the Wharf.  The sprawling, flat landscape is perfect for my daily run.  The laundry and shower rooms are the best we've seen.

    • We reconnected with Sidonia and Fred on Last Item and shared a lovely dinner at Villaggio Grille.
    Thurs, Oct. 27 - Sidonia and Fred rented a car, so they agreed to give us a ride to Pensacola for our flight home to attend the wedding of Mr. Connor Ryan and Dr. Savannah Soppet!


    LEG STATS:

    Miles: (250.20) 84.3, 60, 37.5, 24.7, 43.7

    Locks: (2) Demopolis, Coffeeville

    Marinas: (3) Bobby's Fish Camp, Turner Marine Yacht, Wharf

    Anchorages: (2) Alabama River Cutoff, Big Briar Creek

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