Thanksgiving in the US

Day 116, November 26th, 2009

Yesterday, Day 115, was a pretty quiet day. Overcast and drizzling. We didn't do much - went to the library in the morning and looked up the weather again. In the afternoon we went for a walk and I fished a bit but only caught a little tiny one to throw back. Now to continue with Day 116 :-

With a fresh batch of bait fish, I was fishing again by 7:30. Meanwhile, Millard was setting up his turkey frying operation. 4 small turkeys were lined up on the table and he set up the propane turkey fryer on the gravel beside the deck. In years passed, he told me, they would have 4 or 5 fryers going and would cook as many as 100 turkeys this way. The fish weren't biting so I moved over to watch the cooking. First the turkeys were washed, then covered in "Creole" spice, followed by a good shaking of salt, inside and out. The fryer was filled with oil, the lid secured along with the thermometer. The oil was heated to 350 degrees. Sue had bought a turkey for our thanksgiving dinner and Millard had offered to cook it. Ours was the first to get put in the pot. At 3 minutes per pound, it took 30 minutes and came out brown all over. As it was only 9:30, we wrapped it in foil, put it in a bag and wrapped it with a blanket to stay warm. The giblets were left on the deck. I retrieved most of ours to chop up and put in the dressing. The others were fed at intervals to the pelicans and seagulls causing great excitement.

Gradually more and more people showed up. Sue reckons that C Quarters is like Tim Hortons at home. The local hang out where everybody shows up to chew the fat and catch up on all the gossip. There's Jim, my fishing guru. Jim actually built the C Quarters building and all the decking. His hobby is deep sea fishing tournaments. He says he won $150,000.00 last year!
Then there's Kim and her husband Harold. Kim has her captain's ticket and delivers boats. She also works for Millard as Harbor Master when Millard isn't here. Unfortunately Harold is being deported back to Holland in 10 days or so, although he's lived here about 15 years. He never got his papers in order so now has to leave and they have to reapply from Holland. Another young fella is Robert, who works like a deck hand around the place. Millard was taking Robert and his wife home for Thanksgiving supper. Buddy comes by to say hi every day. Buddy owns the local septic tank cleaning business. Then there's the fisherman, Buz. He lives in Apalachicola but comes here when the weather is bad because its a shorter distance to get back out. Last but not least is Russell, (we call him Crocodile Dundee because he looks just like him). Russell is the local Tow Boat US captain and has a ferry service back and forth to Dog Island.
They are all friends and real characters. We reckon we understand about half of what they say since the accent is so thick, but they're all really friendly and have made us feel right at home. Lastly, there's little Red Rover, Kim's Pomeranian. He's a dear little chap, very friendly and loves lots of attention but he reckons its his job to chase all the seagulls and pelicans off the docks. He does a very good job. One day John and I laughed as he went chasing a pelican so fast down the dock that when he put the brakes on we were afraid he was going to slide right off the end. Kim says he's a pretty good swimmer!

Back to the dinner. Millard left us his table to use as a buffet, where we set up all the food. Sue brought the turkey, cranberry sauce. I brought the mashed potatoes and stuffing. Pat and Diane brought green beans and a salad, and Steve and Pam from Colorado brought pumpkin pies and dinner rolls. Oh yes, I mustn't forget Casey, a young fella from Chicago who is delivering a 32' Catalina to Miami. He looks about 24 and has his captain's papers too. This is his first delivery. He was all alone so we included him. He brought Rock Shrimp! We also fed Buz who was not going home today. It was a beautiful day with warm sunshine. We had a great meal and enjoyed it all. Washed down with beer and wine, we were done in by the time everybody had gone home and we'd cleaned up. Had to have a 2 hour nap!!!

C Quarters and Fishing!

Day 115, November 24th, 2009

I woke up in the morning thinking I'd like to try some fishing. So I borrowed the phone from "Millard" at the front desk and called the fisheries dept. Since we'll be in Florida several months I bought the licence for the year. You can buy a l icence for a day, a week or a year. Its reasonable at $47.00. Millard also fixed me up with some "Gulp" and "Jig Heads". "Even women and children never fail with these!!!"

After breakfast John and I walked over to The Moorings to see Pat and Diane and invite them to join us for chicken and dumplings at The Old Salt's Restaurant. A local lady just opened her restaurant - she's a great cook and everybody reckons the chicken and dumplings was in a class of its own. She makes a big pot in the morning and when its run out thats all till the next time. They were pleased they'd got their computer fixed and were working on their battery problem, but were happy to meet up at lunch time.

Back at C Quarters Millard showed me how to get my stinky "gulp" on the "jig head". (It actually looks like a little rubber shrimp stuck on this hook with an eye.) I was ready! So I stood on the dock, where it was reported everybody brought in one fish after another, and cast and cast. I started off with 4 jig heads and 4 gulp. By lunch time I only had 1 jig head and 1 gulp, and no fish. I'd had several bites but couldn't seem to set the hook. 3 times my hook had got snagged and the line broke. Millard reckoned it had caught on oysters at the bottom. I was feeling disappointed!

However, chicken and dumplings with peach cobbler for dessert made everything look a lot brighter. There were 8 of us round the table - Sharpie's Dream, Twice 's Nice and Periwinkle, as well as a nice couple from Colorado. We all enjoyed the special. A different way of doing chicken and dumplings - the dumplings were made from noodles, not dough, and there were hard boiled eggs in there too?!

On returning to the marina it was time to try again! I ended up giving up on the gulp and instead tried "bait shrimp". More success this time - a small mango snapper (under 10" so he had to get thrown back in) and then my piece de resistance - a beautiful speckled trout, about 2 lbs. He put up a good fight but I landed him and then yelled for help! One of the locals came to my rescue and stamped on the poor things head. I didn't know how to kill it! Anyway, then "James", another local, helped me fillet it and John and I had fish for supper!!

From The Moorings to C Quarters Marina

Day 113, November 22nd, 2009

We worked hard in the morning thinking there would be a weather window to move up to "Alligator Harbor" that afternoon, in order to shorten the leg to Steinhatchee the next day.

We'd decided not to pull the dinghy on such a long leg, for safety's sake and to reduce drag. One of the jobs we didn't finish before leaving home was to make a motor mount on the stern rail for the outboard. We'd bought a bit of teak for the job but that's as far as it got. So, although we'd started it the previous evening it wasn't right and needed some modification. Right after breakfast we got started, remeasured, drilled a few more holes and by 11:00 a.m. had the outboard up in position. We then pulled the dinghy up on the bow using the spinnaker halliard and scrubbed her clean before getting her into her bag and strapped over the front hatch. We also checked the weather forecasts on the internet and it looked pretty good for a couple of days. As advised by "Buddy" we thought we could get to Port Inglis, then wait out more weather before reaching Tarpan Springs. While checking out of The Moorings and paying our bill, we met Pat from Sharpie's Dream and he said they were not ready and would not be leaving. They'd run into computer problems and had contacted a guy who would be visiting that afternoon to fix it. So we pretty much rushed back to the boat and called Twice 's Nice on the VHF and told them we were ready to go. They called back shortly after and said that the fishermen at their marina, C Quarters, were all saying "Don't go!" They apparently never take their boats into Steinhatchee because of the shallows, and were recommending we all wait for the next front to blow through and then go all the way to Tarpan Springs as we had originally planned! Very confusing. Local knowledge is so important but when you get two different sets of advice, its so hard to make a comfortable decision. We ended up deciding to listen to the fishermen and moved the boat over to C Quarters where the rates were cheaper. Were we indecisive? Yes and No!!! So we ended up saying a temporary goodbye to Sharpie's Dream and joined up again with Twice s' Nice. (The marinas are only a block apart.) We felt kind of stupid actually but what can you do?

Sue had bought a bag of jumbo shrimp from off the boat the evening before. Neither of us had ever cooked fresh shrimp before, but the locals told us to boil it for no more that 3 minutes and rinse with cold water. This huge bag of shrimp only cost $10.00 - enough to feed the four of us for two nights. And they were delicious! We had garlic butter to dip them in and some cocktail sauce, cole slaw and naan bread on the side. Washed down with margaritas, it was a feast!

Oh My! What a Day!

Day 112, November 21st, 2009

It was a lovely morning. We were in no particular hurry so we got up about 7:00 and had a lazy breakfast. I went for a walk on the beach then and found Sue and Paul's dinghy on the beach when I got there. I couldn't see them anywhere so went off by myself with bare feet, paddling in that beautiful warm sea water! It was so lovely - watching the dear old pelicans, and the sprightly little terns. It seems so strange that those big ungainly birds just flap, flap, flap and then glide effortlessly inches above the water, while the terns, so tiny and perfect have to flap their wings frenetically to stay up there! The terns dive from great heights, the pelicans will slowly go up about 40ft and then splash down in the water but don't even submerge. I love to watch them. I loved the little plovers too, tripping along the beach in front of me, every so often sticking their beak into the sand to find whatever grub seems delicious!

Arriving back at the dinghies there was Paul and Sue chatting with a couple walking their dog.
This fella worked as a camp guide in Quetico Park, ON for 13 summers!! Small world. I told them of my one experience at Quetico - rain all week and mosquito bites! I'd never gone back!
We enjoyed talking to them about the local area and the wildlife. We were lucky and saw dolphins while we were standing there. They said they'd also seen Orcas before too.

We were just saying goodbye around 9:30 when the sky started to cloud over and the wind to freshen. It was time to get out of there and look for cover in town. When I got back to the boat I found poor old John. He'd taken the engine cover off and checked the filters etc., but when he'd put the cover back, he'd overlooked securing two bolt locks. When stepping up into the cockpit the engine cover slipped beneath him and he'd ended up skinning both shins. He'd done this before and it seemed to take ages for the one poor shin to heal up - now it was all open again and looked quite a mess! Old Nursy to the rescue! Patched him up with polysporin and band aids!!!

We got the anchor up and set off right away - had to go around a big sand bar to get back into the channel and that wind came up so quickly and so strong. The shallow water developed an uncomfortable chop right away and left us slapping the bottom until we turned for cover!
Carrabelle has a lovely protected little harbour and we had hoped to anchor right in the middle but the tide was down and we just didn't feel comfortable. The wind was strong even in there and were afraid we would ground. So, back to a marina unfortunately and pulled in right beside Sharpie's Dream. Safety the best policy! "Buddy" was on the dock to take our lines and proceeded to tell us that jumping from Carrabelle to Tarpan Springs was NOT a good idea. The weather has been so unpredictable this November that one cold front follows upon the next and if we tried it there was a good chance we'd be divorced at the end - best scenario!! Apparently Buddy has been helping people to do the crossing for 17 years. He recommended that we make a short hop to Steinhatchee and then to Tarpan Springs with the next weather window. Aha! Local knowledge! We will go his way after all! He spent sometime with us looking at weather sites on the internet and he will tell us when it looks a good time to go.

We had a lovely afternoon. We borrowed two bikes from the marina and headed into town where I got my hair cut. Met Paul and Sue at "Fisherman's Wife", a kind of chip shack with picnic tables where we ate deep fried shrimp! Yum! Yum! We had fun spying out the town and bought some postcards for the children at home.

Back at the marina, having written up the postcards, we decided to go and buy some ice for margaritas! It was on the way that John noticed a radio antenna homing device in the water under one of the docks in the inner harbour. He was just wondering what that was doing there when he realised it was attached to a manatee!! Our first! Now we have seen a manatee! Big slow moving old thing, apparently they like to spend time right there.

We enjoyed our margaritas and had some supper and went up to the common room on the dock
to spend the evening with Pat and Diane. We looked at the charts and planned a route and then Diane and I played a game of Scrabble. I won again but she got me back winning 2 of 3 games of pool! Well, actually I can't even claim the first game - Diane pocketed the 8 ball and told me that that meant she immediately lost the game. I did manage to get a few balls sunk over the three games. I was happy with that but was totally outclassed! Paul and Sue had arrived by then (they are staying at a marina just a block away) and we watched a movie together on the TV. Our first TV in 3 months!

We headed back to the boat very late for us after 11:00 p.m. It was already raining. I had my travel Scrabble, two wine glasses in one hand and a small pen in the other. (It was several hours since the last margarita, I promise.) Somehow or other I managed to trip on the dock and went straight into the drink beside the boat. It was a lovely soft landing in the warm salty water, christening my lovely new clothes from West Marina. I handed up the Scrabble game, the wine glasses and the pen to concerned hands on the dock. I'd thrown out the Crocs after the last fall and bought a pair of Sperrys - I was happy this time that they didn't fall off and managed to climb aboard up the ladder, laughing my fool head off! Poor old John, he'd had a bit of a scare this time. The story doesn't end there. I decided to take my dry pyjamas and go off for a hot shower. That went well. On arriving back at the boat, John met me with an umbrella and helped me back onto the boat saying "take little steps, take little steps!" That worked right till I got to the companionway where I promptly slipped on the first step and ended up sitting on my bottom on the cabin sole! What a case I am - my Auntie Llywella used to remark how she never saw me without a band aid when I was a little girl; my Mum and Dad reckoned I could fall over a matchstick and I guess I've never changed!!! Thats okay, all you good friends and family, I know you're laughing fit to keel over - I even woke up laughing in the middle of the night. I really should be on candid camera!!! John begged me to go to bed then (the V berth is rather like a padded cell) while he adjusted the lines and got us centered in the middle of the pilings.
It was a crazy night with high winds, halliards banging, boat slapping as the waves hit the stern, not too conducive to sleep.

Carrabelle, FL

Day 111, November 20th, 2009

We had hoped to leave at 7:00 but awoke to fog. It wouldn't have been possible to see any debris in the ditch so we waited until the fog cleared - about an hour. Then we were off again.
It was a short ride to the end of the ditch and the little fishing town of Apalachicola. We would have liked to stop there and had a look around as its meant to be historical and pretty, however, the weather forecast indicated bad weather closing in and we wanted to beat it to Carrabelle.

Carrabelle is the jumping off point to cross to Tarpan Springs. Its very shallow in the NE corner of the gulf and John and I had hoped to do the "Big Bend" in one hop of 30 hours. The others were vacillating! There was much discussion and some anxiety over the decision. Anyway, it looked as if the weather might be good for a crossing Monday/Tuesday, so we pushed onto Carrabelle, arriving around 3:00. The current was in our favor across a lake coming out of the ditch and we clocked 8.2 speed over ground! That really helped.

Pat and Diane had run out of propane that morning so they chose to go straight to a marina.
John and I went into town and got fuel and water. Paul and Sue headed straight for Carrabelle Beach as it was a lovely warm day and the wind was forecast out of the north overnight so they would be sheltered there.

Just as we got close to the gas dock John noticed a change in the sound of the exhaust and engine. I took the helm and he told me to shut the engine down. We were right in the channel but fortunately no other traffic. He'd opened the engine cover and found no water in the strainer - no coolant! Not good. He came back to the helm and restarted the engine and we limped towards the gas dock. Something must have got caught and covered the water intake because all of a sudden it cleared and the engine sounded fine and the water came back into the strainer. A few harrowing minutes!!!

Once fueled up we went back to Carrabelle Beach and anchored with Paul and Sue. Had a drink together and said goodnight just after dark. We were glad to have arrived safely to Carrabelle before dark. We'd wondered whether that was stretching it when we'd left that morning.

White City, FL

Day 110, November 19th, 2009

Another early start at 7:00 a.m. we left Bay Point Marina and the three boats travelling together went across the bay and back into another "ditch" - another cypress swamp. We were able to motor sail part of the time which always pleases me. I watched carefully for alligators but didn't see one. People say they look so much like logs but I'm sure I didn't see one.

We were hoping to get to "Saul Creek" just before Apalachicola but there was quite a current against us and there was no way we could make it before dark. In one of the books Sue read about a "rustic dock" at a the bridge at White City, so we headed for that. There was nowhere else to stop as the ditch was narrow and still gets the occasional barge. When we arrived at the beach the dock was on the far side and wasn't immediately easy to see. We were looking for the rustic dock too which misled us. On the port side there was a ramshackled old dock, clearly marked "private dock", on the starboard side there was a park with a concrete wall where some people were fishing. I wondered whether that was it but it certainly didn't match the description. We moved on slowly and then on the far side of the bridge was this gorgeous looking dock where this one fella was fishing. I called out to him and asked him where people usually tie up and he indicated the gorgeous dock "People tie up along here all the time!" So we got organized quickly and pulled up along this lovely spot. Big long dock, loads of room for all three of us. Right beside it was a covered picnic area and deck, washrooms and even a beach volleyball court and playground. Apparently the little town of White City had upgraded it all just two years ago. John and Paul got talking to an old gentleman there who lived his whole life on the same property - he reckoned he'd seen three bridges at that same point and three snowfalls in his whole life. His son said he'd never been further than Apalachicola!!! We had sundowners at a picnic bench and spent a very comforable night there.

Bay Point Marina

Day 109, November 18th, 2009

We all did some shopping in the morning. We walked up to the shops, about 3 miles. Went to West Marina first where I found some nice new shorts and a shirt (Columbia) with 25% off! That made my day! We also stopped for more rum at the liqueur store before getting more groceries for the next leg. The marina doesn't have a courtesy car so we shared the cost of a cab coming home.

After putting all the stuff away, Paul and Sue and John and I took the shuttle back to the Hotel and went to the pools again. This time we found out that the convention that was going on was to do with the Ministry of Defense. The shuttle driver drew our attention to the big van outside the hotel where these guys were demonstrating this new van with the collapsible machine gun that hides inside!!! Right!!! All these guys we had noticed the day before were military!!
When we got to the indoor pool there was a training session going on where these pilots were strapped into this pilot's seat and then the seat was turned upside down and they had to get themselves out. All very interesting. They later joined us in the hot tub outside and we heard they were all from Virginia. They were all helicopter and airplane pilots! We had fun swapping stories with them. All very interesting!

I'm sitting in the marina office right now, getting up to date on our blog. We're about to go out for supper. Its chilly outside but there's a movie set up beside the pool - The Hunt for Red October! You can eat supper and watch the movie! Got to run or I'll hold everybody up!
Will have to add some photos later.

Bay Point Marina, Panama City, FL

Day 108, November 17th, 2009

Left Harrison Bayou at 8:00. Big black clouds gathered as we approached Panama City around 9:00 and it rained pretty hard at times. Came through the port and arrived at Bay Point Marina around 10:30.

Really nice place. The marina is associated with the Marriott Hotel. There's a golf course on site and tennis courts. All beautifully manicured. I got the laundry done in the morning and did a bit of cleaning. In the afternoon the girls took the shuttle over to the Hotel and we lazed around in the lovely warm indoor pool and the hot tub outside. Really gorgeous spot. You could just believe you were in one of the lovely resorts in the Caribbean! We had a lovely afternoon.

Harrison Bayou, FL

Day 106, November 15th, 2009

Another lovely day. First we had to go all the way down the long Choctawhatchee Bay. Its Big!
Couldn't sail as the wind was on the nose. (Figures!!!) From the Bay we entered another ditch with trees on either side and no houses. It was long too and we were glad to come out the other end.

Just before we left the ditch, a trawler called Meander passed us. They weren't far ahead as we came out into open water on the other side. I was at the wheel when all of a sudden I thought I saw something black fall off their boat, or had they just run over something which went flying into the air? I called them on the radio to see if they were okay, then all of a sudden I realised I was seeing a whole bunch of dolphins, perhaps as many as 6, I couldn't count them. I slowed the boat right down so we were just idling and then I jumped with the sudden "PFFFFT!!!" sound immediately to my right. I looked down and there was this dolphin swimming along beside me - if he wasn't touching the side of the boat he was just inches away. I could look right down his blow hole! And then he blew again "PFFFT!" and then again "PFFFT!" I was thrilled!!!!

We anchored in rather an open spot called Harrison Bayou. The weather forecast was clear though so we had a good night there.

Joe's Bayou, FL

Day 105, November 14th, 2009

It was so good to be back with Twice 's Nice again! We left early and made our way to Joe's Bayou. We had great weather, warm sunshine, and were able to motor sail again for part of the day. Sure helps with the fuel consumption!

Joe's Bayou turned out to be a pretty spot, lots of lovely homes around. We anchored just off somebody's private dock. It didn't look as if anybody was home but after dark it was all flood lit and looked really pretty. Paul and Sue and Pat and Diane came over for a drink for a short while, we had a quick supper and then I was Done! I went to bed at 7:00 and felt much better next morning after 11 hours in bed!!!

Redfish Point, FL

Day 105, November 14th, 2009

Back in the Intracoastal Waterway we tootled along. The wind was behind us which helped. Not strong enough to sail only but with the motor just idling a bit we could maintain the 5 knots and make good time. Passed some lovely homes - back to the gorgeous lanais and boats on the docks. Just as we were about an hour from where we'd planned to stop, Paul and Sue called on the VHF and had us in their sights from their anchorage at Redfish Point. Just a gorgeous spot by an outer island, right ont the beach. It was only noon so we pulled up beside them and put the anchor down.

Had a lovely afternoon on the beach, sitting in our bag chairs, watching the air show from Pensacola in the distance. The Blue Angels of the US Navy are stationed in Pensacola and they were super. They flew right over us several times - low enough that we could read "US Navy" clearly on their under sides!!! We enjoyed the company of "Mark and Anna" a couple from Mobile, AL who were spending the weekend there on their boat. Mark had just retired from the Navy and Anna was an ICU nurse in Mobile. They were fun and Mark told us lots about the Navy.

We went back to our boats just as it got dark, and shortly after it got dark we watched the fireworks from the boat. Fireworks are always fun but the finale was a little different this time. They used mock bombs with big puffs of smoke (we'd seen this earlier in the afternoon) but during the finale the puffs of smoks were all lit up with yellow and orange lights. It was really something!

Ingram Bayou, AL

Day 104, November 13th, 2009

Left early in the morning with Sharpie's Dream. Almost as soon as we got out into Mobile Bay we saw our first dolphins!!! A Mom and baby and another big one off the bow. How lovely they are. Never seem to stick around long enough to get a photo but there's something about them that does your heart good! The water was so full of life - shrimp boats coming in with clouds of birds behind, the funny old pelicans - I love those silly looking birds. It was a lovely day with warm sunshine and we thoroughly enjoyed our day.

Ended up in the safe anchorage at Ingram Bayou. There was a sailboat anchored there which had obviously been left there during the hurrican. Canvas stripped, main lashed down and jib removed. It was a good spot to spend the night - still haven't seen an alligator though!

Still at Turner's Marina

Day 103, November 12th, 2009
Paul and Sue decided to move on today. We'll meet them in a couple of days in Pensacola. Bit cool but beautiful sunshine. Nice little wind - they should have a nice sail across the bay and into the Intercoastal Waterway.

We have the car booked this afternoon. There's another couple of jobs we want to do here this afternoon, and then we'll move on tomorrow.

We're planning how to get home for Christmas. Some good prices to either fly out of Tampa or Orlando. It would definitely be best to leave the boat in Vero Beach on the East side so that we'd be ready to cross to the Bahamas on our return. Its also a lot cheaper at Vero!!!! (otherwise known as "Velcro Beach"). However, that leaves us another 800 miles or so to do in 5 weeks. We've done some calculations and think its feasible. We'll probably book the tickets tonight.

Sun Comes Out!

Day 102, November 12, 2009
Woke up to warm sunshine. Wind still blowing in the morning but it gradually diminished as the day went on. We got the bimini back on in the morning. Dried out some of the lines and put them away. Cleaned the boat down below, drying out the quarter berth and stowing everything neatly again. Oh it feels so good to be straight again. Living in such a small space, it is absolutely vital to be organized!!!

In the afternoon we joined Pat and Diane and drove to the mall. I bought a new pair of shoes. I had a bit of a fall on Monday. My stupid crocs had lost all their grip on the bottoms and I'd slipped while getting off the boat onto the dock in the pouring rain while we were doubling up the lines. Fortunately I fell right on the safety rail, which prevented me from falling into the drink, but it hurt and knocked the wind out of me for a few seconds. Now I have a nice purple bruise across my right rib cage, in the shape of a big curvy smile!!! I must have bruised my ribs, but nothing broken. Its a bit sore at times but I can work it a bit to avoid some heavy jobs!!!

By the time we got home the wind had dropped and we were able to get the jib up. Now we're back to normal again.

The Aftermath!

Day 101, November 10th, 2009
Dawn came, sky overcast, wind blowing, everything wet and soggy. Wet clothes everywhere. The mattress in the quarter berth was all wet where we'd thrown the wet sail bag and canvas bag. Clutter! Ugh!!! I hate being in a mess!

The first job was to have a warm shower and put the wet clothes in the laundry. When I first got up there to the marina building I thought they'd had a flood as all their maintenance equipment was out in the breezeway and the maintenance room was wet and getting hosed down. I put the washing in and didn't think about it much, but later in the day I understood the situation better. Apparently the laundry machines had only just got put back when I got there.
There hadn't been any flooding. The guys were just putting everything back. They had prepared for the hurricane by putting all their machinery (i.e. electric saws, grinders, etc. plus the two washers and two dryers) into a big trailer and driven them all out to high ground. They obviously have quite the routine to protect the marina equipment as well as to go around and move boats and tie them off securely.

Anyway, the laundry got done and I updated the blog. We couldn't do a whole lot with the boat as the wind was still blowing pretty hard. John got the dodger back on but we held off with the bimini and the jib and decided to leave the double lines for another day.

In the afternoon Diane and I played Scrabble. Quiet evening at home. It was good to chat on skype and tell family at home we were still alive to tell the tale!

Hurricane Ida

Day 100, November 9th, 2009

We met for breakfast at 7:00 and decided we should return to be with the boats. Pat had phoned back to the marina and heard that an evacuation had not been ordered but the owner, Fred Turner, was recommending we get back as soon as possible to strip the boats and get ready. (When an evacuation is ordered you have the choice of moving your boat to protection in a creek or mangrove swamp, or paying them $300.00 to take the boat out and put it on the hard.) A hurricane watch was in effect from Mississippi to Florida along the Gulf Coast! This was beyong anything we had experienced. The weather channel repeatedly forecast that it would more than likely fizzle out as the storm moved North into the cold waters of the Gulf but that didn't seem to be happening at that moment. We drove home as fast as we could watching for signs of flooding. The road was clear and dry and the rain didn't start until we got back.

We talked with our slip neighbours - they weren't too concerned and had decided to stay put but had taken down a lot of their enclosure and strapped their sail bag tightly on the boom. John and I decided to follow their lead. They had weathered many hurricanes and obviously knew their area intimately. We worked quickly. Took the jib down and stowed it. Took the dodger and bimini off and packed them away. Lashed down the main on the boom and anything else that looked loose. We tied the dinghy to the side of the boat at both ends, and finally doubled all the lines on every corner of the boats centering it between the four pilings. Paul and Sue made similar preparations but Pat and Diane decided to spend the night in a hotel after securing theboat.

We were told the Marina would probably disconnect the eletricity but in actual fact they never did do that. It was a comfort! We monitored the weather almost hourly on wifi. It had been downgraded again to a tropical storm but was making steady but slow progress directly to Mobile Bay. John and I hunkered down below and got comfy! When in doubt - eat!!! I cooked a ham in my pressure cooker with pineapple and carrots with cauliflower cheese on the side! That was pretty good! The rain, that had started at 10:30, just beat down outside, and the wind howled a bit but we were warm and comfortable, two bugs in a rug!!! After chatting with our kids on skype, I got out my knitting and we watched the whole of one movie, then nodded off at the climax of the second. We popped our heads up every once in a while but things didn't change at all. The water rose a bit but didn't go over the dock. It really never got scary at all. We eventually went to bed in our clothes, just in case we had to get up in a hurry but dawn came with no ill effects. We'd also left the VHF radio on all night and checked in with Twice 's Nice every couple of hours. And that was our Hurrican Ida experience. Bit of an anticlimax really!!!

New Orleans, LA

Day 99, November 8th, 2009

We were off at 8:00 with high hopes for our little holiday excursion to New Orleans. John and I had originally planned on taking the boat there but realised that its quite a long way out of our general route so had already decided against it. So when Pat suggested we rent a car together and stay a night in a hotel, we were all for it!

The weather forecast continued to monitor Hurricane Ida. On Saturday, instead of weakening it had escalated again to Hurricane 1 status after being downgraded to a Tropical Storm. However, it was still expected to fizzle out and we decided to continue with our New Orleans plan anyway.

We arrived just before lunch and checked our baggage and car into the hotel. We'd stopped at the Visitors Centre on entering Louisiana and spent 15 minutes with this great guy who gave us all kinds of tips on what to see on our short visit. So after grabbing a bite to eat at a "Popeye's" (Seafood Chain) on Canal Street, we hopped on the St. Charles' Streetcar and rode it out to the Garden District. What a gorgeous area! We wandered through street after street of the most beautiful antebellum homes. You just get through oohing and ahhing over one and then see the one beside it. Most of them are beautifully kept with lovely manicured gardens. It must be amazing to visit in the summer when the magnolia trees are in bloom. As it was we saw hibiscus, bougainvillia, and birds of paradise all growing naturally!!! Gorgeous!!! Lining the streets are huge spreading live oak trees. Live Oaks are interesting - not like the oak trees that we in the north are familiar with, these trees have a tiny little leaf and they are not deciduous but keep their foliage all through the winter months. We girls felt that this was definitely our day, having stuck with the guys through all that mechanical stuff, we were really in our element!!!

Back on the streetcar we rode it to the end of the track and then got the next returning to Canal Street - pretty good tour bus for $1.25 per ticket!

Back at the hotel we had a good look around. Just on the edge of the French Quarter, on Magazine Street, it had been converted from some very old buildings including a publishing house. John and I laughed to find the floor in our room was all different levels. You got out of bed and walked to the bathroom - it felt just like being on the boat the floor was so wobbly!!

After Happy Hour in the hotel where we enjoyed a "Swamp Water", we walked a few blocks to Bourbon Street to eat a delicious supper at Bourbons with Pat and Diane. I had shrimp Gumbo, followed by Grilled Red Fish with crab meat on top! It was good - too bad I didn't have room for the creme brulee for dessert. Life does seem to have its disappointments!!! Pat and Diane then decided to go back to the hotel but I managed to persuade John to go with me to "Preservation Hall". This old Jazz haunt in the French District was amazing. Old sleezy, scruffy old place we sat on an old bench while others sat on the floor and others had to stand at the back. The only decoration are old pictures of negro Jazz musicians. Louis Armstrong, among others, played in this home of Jazz. We loved the music. A 5 member Jazz band enthralled us with their trombone, clarinet, piana, bass and drums. They were amazing. As a highlight this old old fella stood up and sang with the band - dressed in his zoot suite, with gold lame shirt, matching top hat, cane and dripping in gold jewellry. His name was "Uncle Lionel". He looked a hundred years old, had a raspy dry old voice but was magic!!! We came out of there so glad we'd gone. Were met by the action of the French Quarter. It was humming. Bourbon Street had been closed to traffic and the streets were milling with people. The many bars were open to the street and music was blasting out from every one of them. Some scantily clad young ladies were advertising their wares on the street at a few strip joints. We tried not to be too obvious as we glimpsed a quick look and walked on by. It was rather like being 20 again and walking down on Yonge Street when we were kids!!! What a great city!

We watched the weather again on the TV when we got back to our room. Hurricane Ida was on its way North from Cuba and due to hit the Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Florida by 0100 Tuesday!!! It was obvious our little holiday was going to have to be cut short! We weren't going to have time to see the Cathedral or wander around the French Quarter in the day time.

USS Alabama and USS Drum

Day 98, November 7th, 2009

Pat collected the rental car today as the Enterprise office is closed on Sundays. Since we had the car we decided to go to see the USS battleship Alabama and the USS submarine Drum. There was a hangar too with all kinds of military planes and helicopters.

The walking tour around the Alabama was interesting. This battleship knocked down 23 enemy ships in World War II and managed to come through unscathed. Definitely a lucky ship for the 25,000 crew members. Living conditions were incredibly tight for these men. It must have been hard on the nerves. The crew slept on pipe cots, three high and squeezed close together. I just couldn't imagine how anybody could get any sleep like that, like being a sardine in a tin can!!! I was getting a bit claustrophobic when we moved onto the submarine! Same thing - scary! We owe these guys a lot who enlist in the Navy and risk their lives for our security!! Needless to say the guys found it all fascinating - it was really their day, I think.

Mobile, AL

Day 97, November 6th, 2009

Its a large marina, covering quite an irregular area so its a bit difficult to get a good shot. However, do you see that lovely big palm tree?!

Woke up to beautiful sunshine. T- shirts and shorts!!!! It was a lovely quiet day to get a few chores done and relax. I got the laundry done and updated the blog. John felt more ambitious and got busy on his project to install a new light over the mirror in the head. He had tried once before but had run into trouble running the wiring. Today, with his stubborn persistence, was finally successful! Now he's going to find it easier to shave and I shall put the mascara on the eyelashes instead of my nose!!

Pat and Diane were busy on the phone. We had decided to hire a car together and drive the 2 hours to New Orleans to do some sight seeing Sunday and Monday. Pat was able to get us bookings at the Raddison in the French Quarter which looks lovely.

It was Diane's birthday today, so just as John had managed to get the new light sorted out, it was time to go. The six of us walked the short distance to the Mobile Yacht Club where we had a lovely dinner together.

Mobile, AL

Day 96, November 5th, 2009
Happy Guy Fawkes Day all you Limeys!!!

We brought the anchors up at 7:00 and hoped to get all the way to Mobile, 64 miles downstream and another 10 miles to the marina, in the northwestern corner of the bay. We tuned into the weather forecast after we'd set off: Class 1 Hurricane IDA over Nicaragua, expected to travel east to the Mobile area on Tuesday but by then they expected it to downgrade to a tropical storm. Diane phoned the marina and heard they were well protected up the Dog River and they didn't expect the weather to be bad. We decided to continue.

Pretty quiet day just tootling along. Arrived in Mobile around 2:45. We were surprised to find the port of Mobile is enormous. We felt tiny as we came through huge container ships, tugs and saw navy ships being repaired!!! Had an anxious moment when we passed by the stern of a container ship being turned 360 degrees with tugs, and had to push through the prop. wash of a tug as we snuck passed. Not a wise decision. We should have waited until they were finished the manoeuvre!!! Never do that again! One very interesting thing - we saw a stealth, trimaran, battleship in the water outside the Austal boatyard where it was being built. John reckoned they would frown on anyone taking photos but we took this photo anyway and are still alive to tell the tale!

Once out on the Bay we had to keep to a buoyed channel to reach the marina. The bay is enormous but very shallow. We lost the advantage of the current in the river and it took longer to travel the 10 miles than we had hoped but we were glad to reach the marina before dark.
Another true sign of the south - pelican poles in the marina. They seem extremely tricky to tie up to!!! Perhaps we'll improve with practice. Too tired to cook we dinghied over to a restaurant for supper. Grilled catfish is as good as fried!!!! Deeelicious!! With a pina colada to wash it down. Hard life! Sorry you guys in the north!!

Three Rivers Lake, AL

Day 95, November 4th, 2009
Didn't have so far to go today so we left at the reasonable hour of 8:00 a.m.

Went through the last lock today at Coffeeville. We had to wait a short while above the lock while the lockmaster got things ready. Sharpie's Dream were idling close to the shore by the lock when Diane was able to get the first picture of an alligator in the water. They called over on the radio and we crept over there in Periwinkle but he got spooked and took off! Well done Diane!

On the other side of the dam, the vegetation changed again. Bayou's all the way now!! Loads of palm fronds, cypress swamps but I didn't see any alligators! We anchored for the night up a little creek with bayou on either side. Tidal water for the first time, even though the tide is only 1.7ft low to high water! We got in and settled with two anchors just in time for the sun to set. Had a drink together on Periwinkle but even with the bug screens the mosquitoes were getting in!! Pat kindly decided he was making supper for everybody so I made a big salad and Paul and Sue brought a bottle of wine and rice krispy squares for dessert!!! All good!

Okatuppa Creek, AL

Day 94, November 4th, 2009
Finally we can go! Others had the same idea. Some huge motor cruisers set off for the dam at 5:00 a.m. We waited another hour so we could see! Only to find that the lockmaster had waited for us and there they all were tied up in the lock waiting for us! There were 14 boats in the lock. Sharpie's Dream rafted along side us and a couple of others were rafted too.

From there on we just tootled along. The sun came out and it was really lovely. While John was at the wheel, I felt quite ambitious and scrubbed the decks and the cockpit to get rid of all the dirty footprints we had acquired in Demopolis. Then, felt inspired and even scrubbed the fenders!!! Don't think I've ever done that! Came up beautifully and look brand new! In the afternoon I finished off Abby's sweater and started one for our new great nephew "Lucas" who arrived this week!

We stopped for the night in a lovely quiet little anchorage called Okatuppa Creek. We noticed as soon as we came through the Demopolis lock that the vegetation had changed - definitely more of a swampy Bayou look. I think I recognised mangroves, and the occasional frond. I sat on the foredeck all afternoon on my comfortable foldy chair, knitting and watching for logs and alligators but although there were lots of logs, no alligators!!! Won't be long!

Still in Demopolis!!

Day 93, November 2nd, 2009
Dry and sunny. Weather forecast is dry and sunny for the rest of the week! Got up this morning and we could see the level had dropped a couple of inches. Much discussion, checking out Internet websites, phone calls to lockmasters, etc. Looks good for tomorrow. At last!!

A nice guy here at the marina loaned me his sewing machine in the morning to repair our bug screens. The screening was tearing away from the zippers at the top. It didn't take too long to sew on some reinforcing tape. They're good again now and its good to have them back again. The mosquitoes just love me!!!!

Another unfortunate thing has arisen the last couple of days - bugs!! Sharpie's Dream got attacked by an invasion of ants, and then the next day Pat found a cockroach in the cockpit.
Twice 's Nice got some ants but nothing else. We have been very fortunate and haven't seen anything on Periwinkle. We have all bought a bunch of products at Wal-Mart to annihilate bugs!!!
Ugh!!! We've sprayed all the docking lines with ant stuff so they won't climb aboard.

Off to Wal-Mart again to make sure we'd have all the groceries on board that we need for the next 4 days. Next shopping opportunity will be in Mobile on the Gulf!!! Hooray!!! The seaside!!! When we got back I managed to coerce two people into playing Scrabble with me, before we all got together on Periwinkle for sundowners. (With the bug screens up and no mosquitoes. Ha!)

We're all happy to be moving on tomorrow. Been here long enough. Mobile here we come!

Stuck!!

Day 92, November 1st, 2009

Still no good. Water is still rising. Still can't go anywhere! The fellas dropped us girls off at WalMart in the afternoon while they drove down to a couple of the bridges to have a close look at things. They thought we could go in the morning. However, when we got back to the marina it was pretty evident that the water level was still rising. Still can't go!

We shared a spaghetti supper with Halloween cookies for dessert!

Halloween in Demopolis

Day 91, October 31st, 2009

We had meant to leave first thing in the morning. Were up and ready to go at 6:30 but the water level was up and it was decided we would never be able to make it under the bridges downstream. Our mast is 48ft and a couple of the bridges are 52ft. The water is about 4ft above normal level. There has been a lot of rain and flooding in Mississippi and Arkansas and the water is all draining this way. It was still raining in the morning but gradually brightened up in the afternoon. Motor cruisers were coming and continuing on downstream - they don't have to worry because they're not as tall. I guess this was really my fault! The books warn you that it may be better to leave your mast down until you reach Mobile but I was so sure it would be okay and thought we might be able to at least use the jib a little bit which would help a little against the current when we were going upstream. Well we haven't hardly used the jib at all - maybe two days but that's all. And now here we are - stuck!!! Oh well that's the luck of the game! The problem thickens in that there are very few places to anchor between here and Mobile and in several cases it means anchoring off to the side of the channel. When the waterway is in flood, there is likely to be lots of debris and the current will be fast.

We went up to Walmart in the afternoon and consoled ourselves with a pot luck supper. We invited a whole lot of people but it ended up with just the 6 of us - Periwinkle, Twice 's Nice and Sharpie's Dream. It was fun though. We had Halloween plates, a Halloween tablecloth and John wore his pirate's hat with the funny hair!!