Crossing The Gulf of Mexico

 

 I was not looking forward to it, but there was no way around it...

It took us 26 non-stop hours to go from Apalachicola, Florida (in the Panhandle) to Dog Island (off Carrabelle) and then across the Gulf of Mexico to Dunedin, Florida (just North of Clearwater). Dolphins played in our wake on our way to Dog Island where were met up with our crossing buddy boats.

Dolphins beside us

Dolphins are way cool!

A baby looking at Marti

You could practically touch them

Fortunately, we had our good friend and experienced blue-water sailor, Jim Isler on board to help us. He and Pete alternated 3-hour watches and I, having shown in the past my utter inability to stay awake on an over night passage, was relegated to stewardess status and spent the night periodically handing out food and drink in between naps. Marti, Jim's wife, unfortunately had commitments back home and had to leave us at Panama City two days before the crossing.

Jim & Marti Isler came all the way from Colorado to join us

For the crossing, we buddied up with three other looper boats: "Carol Anne," "It's Alwyas 5 O'Clock" and "Journey" (a power catamaran). It was comforting to see their lights and be able to talk to them on the radio throughout the night. There were many other small floatillas of loopers doing the crossing that night (we could sometimes see their lights way off in the distance) because it was the last good weather window until after Thanksgiving Day, more than a week away. A weather window, is a period of relatively calm water and no storms, that is long enough for a slow looper boat to make the crossing.
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Carol Anne at Dog Island the rendezvous point

Journey at Dog Island

The floatilla

Journey at sunset

Pete said the sunrise was spectacular. Jim and I slept through it (in separate cabins).

We arrived in Dunedin early afternoon and slept for a few hours, then went out with our fellow loopers to celebrate everyone's safe crossing of the Gulf. We also celebrated "It's Always 5 O'Clock's" crossing of their wake (finishing the loop). We first met them at the Northern end of Lake Champlain back in early June and from then  on, frequently encountered them. It will be strange to not see them at docktails.

Dawn

Approaching Dunedin

Celebration dinner at Hella's Greek Restaurant in Tarpon Springs

Margie and Rick from "Journey"

Margie, on "Journey," grew up in tiny, obscure, upstate, Cobleskill, New York where I grew up. She went to my high school and her younger sister, Karen Davis, was in my class.SMALL WORLD, huh?

Al (on the right) from "It's Always 5 O'Clock" and Arch (on the left). Arch  is doing the loop singlehandedly on "KaJen" named after his daughters.We've been encountering him off and on since Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving. We are sharing it with our friends, Bob and Loretta from "Carol Anne," and Hiromi and Mike, from "Off Leash," in a house near Tarpon Springs being loaned to Bob by old friends.We are thankful for our safe passage so far on this journey and for our new good friends.





snfsnf,snsff

Mobile and New Orleans

Approaching Mobile

While HUMBUG was out of the water (and therefore had no heat), we stayed first in Mobile, AL for three nights, then took a driving trip to New Orleans for two nights.

HUMBUG in Mobile marina travel lift

MOBILE

Mobile turned out to be another surprisingly nice, small city.  It has a very busy commercial port (one of the largest on the Gulf Coast) which is home to the Battleship "Alabama" and some very futuristic looking military ships.

Futuristic,shallow draft, attack boats in Mobile Harbor

There are several historic areas in Mobile, that reflect two eras of prosperity.  First, the cotton industry produced great wealth and elaborate antebellum mansions, then the lumber industry followed after the civil war, and the lumber barons built even larger, more elaborate houses.

Malaga Inn - Our hotel in Mobile, a converted mansion

Wedding in Malaga Inn Courtyard

While in Mobile, we were the uninvited guests at yet another wedding. We danced to their music on the balcony outside our room above the reception late into the night.

One of the interesting things we learned in Mobile, is that the oak trees here, called "Live Oaks," are considered to be evergreens.  Even though they shed their leaves, the old leaves are immediately replaced by green leaves. Another interesting thing we learned, is that Mardi Gras originated in 1703 in Mobile and then spread to New Orleans.

We also saw something in Mobile that we'd never seen before - menus that light up internally when you open them (excellent for aging baby boomer eyes!).

Lighted Menu

NEW ORLEANS

New Orleans was a lot of fun and full of great restaurants. We stayed in a nice little hotel in the French Quarter and were complete tourists.

Privincial Inn New Orleans

Courtyard of Provincial Inn

We took a 3-hour sight seeing tour during which we learned that a "Creole" is the first born of foreign parents, cemetary means "sleeping place," bayou means "slow moving," the French Quarter never flooded during the 2005 hurricane, and Mardi Gras parades are never in the French Quarter (who knew?).

Cemetary #3

You can not visit New Orleans and not eat Beignets (fried dough topped with a MOUNTAIN of powdered sugar)

Before leaving, we visited the World War II Museum which was very moving, especially the Tom Hanks-narrated 4-D movie, "Beyond All Boundaries." During the film, because it is 4-D, we were shot at, snowed on, smoked, fogged and rattled in our seats. It was a vivid reminder of how lucky we are to not have had to experience war and how incredibly brave our parents were.

WW II Museum

WW II Museum

As the complete tourists we were, we also drank "Hurricanes" at Pat O'Briens, had dinners at Irenes and Muriels, listened to jazz, and slept late. What a great side trip!

Famous flaming fountain at Pat O'Briens

Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's

Cornstalk wrought iron fence

What to do in New Orleans?

Only in New Orleans (or, perhaps, Salem)

Ten-Tom and Black Warrior-Tom Bigbee Waterways

The Divide Cut, a straight, man-made section of the Ten-Tom Waterway

The Ten-Tom Waterway, which connects the Tennessee river with the Tom-Bigbee River, was proposed back  in the late 1700's by the French but wasn't started until 1972. During  its construction, more earth was moved than was moved in the construction of the Panama Canal. It was finished in 1985 and allows boats to cruise between the Gulf of Mexico and the Midwest without encountering the dangers and swift currents of the Mississippi. It also significantly reduces the miles between the Gulf and the Midwest.  For examples, the trip between Pensacola, FL and Chattanooga, TN is 771 miles long vs 1,541 miles via the Mississippi.  Like most Americans, I think, we were totally unaware of this amazing waterway until we began reading about the Great Loop.

Not all parts of the Ten-Tom are straight

Waverly Mansion, an antebellum house built in 1852 on the banks of the Ten-Tom River

The Ten-tom is officially, only the 234 miles between the Tennessee River and Demopolis, AL. The 217 miles between Demopolis and Mobile Bay, is the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway. Most boaters, however, call the entire 450 miles, the "Ten-Tom" or the "Waterway."

Leaving Demopolis

It took us 15 days via this "waterway," i.e., 50-70 miles per day, 2 lay-over days and one very long (148 miles), fast-speed day, to complete the trip from the Tennessee River to our marina 29 miles down Mobile Bay.

White Cliffs of Eppy

Provisioing by Gulf Cart in Demopolis

Narrow Bashi Creek - anchored here one night to get out of the way of the tows

For the most part, what we saw was wilderness, some rustic fish camps, some barge-tows and increasing amounts of Spanish Moss and Banyan Trees. 

Sumpter Landing - another of-the-channel anchorage we stayed in

HUMBUG and CHAMP III at Bobby's Fish Camp

One place all loopers stop on this trip, is Bobby's Fish Camp. It's the last place to tie up for the night and get fuel for the next 145 miles. It's a very funky place.

Restaurant at Bobby's - Fried Cat Fish a specialty

Rubbermaid Shower/toilet house at Bobby's (you can't make this stuff up). We used the facilities on HUMBUG that night.

Patty & Geoff from Ashland, OR on OSPREY - we first met them while

 waiting for a lock in Montreal

The locals call this the Dolly Parton Bridge - it's 22 miles to Mobile now...yea

Now I KNOW we're almost to the Gulf

This completes the long river section  of the Great Loop which began in downtown Chicago for us, on August 28. Back to salt water, waves (no more baking pies or vacuuming while under way) and tides - also NO MORE SPIDERS (thank goodness they hate salt water). We're looking forward to playing tourist and staying in boutique hotels in Mobile and New Orleans, while HUMBUG is out of the water for routine maintenance, including as the locals call it, a "bottom job."

BUG in travel lift this morning

After over 3,000 miles and five months in the water, we were very keen to take a look at HUMBUG'S hull and propeller. Good news - no nasty surprises. Phew !