Gulf Coast Bound with "Cheryl Ann"

With our long johns donned, we left the Demopolis Yacht Basin before 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 1st, in 35 degree weather. Mike & Harriet (“Dual Dreams”) were there to help untie lines and see us off. Dan & Cheryl aboard “Cheryl Ann” left at the same time in their 43-foot Silverton. They plan to travel with us as far as Port St. Joe where they will spend the winter.

It was cloudy and cold all day. After about four hours we broke down and pulled out our little propane heater to take the chill off. We arrived at Bashi Creek, 71 miles downriver, about 2:45 just as the rain was starting. We anchored and then had “Cheryl Ann” raft to us. To keep from swinging in to shore in the narrow creek, the Captain took the dinghy down and tied a stern line to shore on each side.

The rain continued all night and was quite heavy at times. We awoke the next morning to a flooded creek with lots of current and debris washing past us. Good thing we had those stern lines tied to shore! We managed to get untied, which was no small feat, and were underway by 9:30 a.m.

As with the previous day, we had a good amount of current and were able to travel between 9.5 and 10.5 mph at less than 1500 rpm’s. Sipping fuel as the Captain would say! It was a very windy day, though, with gusts approaching gale force. Fortunately, the temperature warmed into the 60’s with sun by late morning.

We reached the Coffeeville Lock about 12:30 p.m. and had to literally squeeze around the stern of a Coast Guard work boat that was blocking the river right in front of the lock. It was a tight fit but we made it through.

We arrived at Old Lock #1, 45 miles and five hours later, where we spent the better part of an hour trying to get our anchor set well enough in the soft mud to have “Cheryl Ann” raft to us. We finally gave up on that idea and had “Cheryl Ann” anchor separately. We put out 100 feet of chain and called it good after three attempts in more than twenty feet of water.

The river was continuing to rise so Todd dinghied out into the river about 8:00 a.m. Thursday morning to check it out. He reported back that debris was minimal so we hauled anchor about 10:00 a.m. and traveled 36 miles to anchor in Three Rivers Lake. It was another cold day with a brisk north wind and no sun. Our anchor grabbed nicely on the first try so “Cheryl Ann” rafted to us. The only drawback was that the current was flushing in to the lake from the rising river which caused us to literally spin in circles around the anchor most of the night!

Friday morning was below freezing and we had considerable frost on the bow. We were underway by 9:00 a.m. in a cold north wind but it was sunny and seemingly much warmer than the previous day. We arrived at the Tensaw Cutoff (52 miles) by 2:30 p.m. and took some time to check out Little Brier Creek before going back out to the main channel of the Tensaw to drop anchor. Then “Cheryl Ann” rafted to us again.

This is a new steel mill under construction about 48 miles north of Mobile.

This is known as the 14-mile railroad bridge, an old swing bridge that is opened on request for river traffic.

We didn’t realize it at the time, but there was a lot of current flushing down the main channel of the Tensaw! Fortunately, the holding was great so we didn’t worry too much about it, although we did end up putting out 50 more feet of chain and adding a heavy duty storm snubber before going to bed that evening in light of the 40 mph winds that were predicted.

On Saturday we took the day off from traveling since Mobile Bay was predicted to be too rough to cross anyway. That and we wanted to watch Alabama play Florida for the SEC Championship! “Cheryl Ann” invited us over for a late brunch complete with Bloody Mary’s and mimosas and then we prepared hors de oeuvres for the game.

Cheryl and Chef Dan preparing brunch!

Between brunch and game time, Tug and Buzz came motoring up the channel in their little boats headed for a small creek off Little Brier Creek where “Rosebud” and “Lazy Days” had holed up the day before. For those who don’t know, these four boats were all in Demopolis in November, at one point or another, and are all single-handing it in very small boats with few, if any, creature comforts.

Can you imagine cruising the 6,000-mile Great Loop on these boats? These guys are much tougher than we are. Or maybe tough isn’t the right word…?

The game started at 3:00 p.m. and what a game it was! Alabama was on its toes throughout and the Crimson Tide earned the Southeast Conference Championship by rolling over Florida with a 32-13 win. Roll Tide Roll!!!

We had frost again Sunday morning as we took off at 8:00 a.m. but we also had the sun to warm us up. We reached Mobile without incident and entered Mobile Bay. At first it was a bit rolly but then it smoothed out nicely as we trekked southeast. Shortly after we reached the Intracoastal, “Cheryl Ann” stopped at The Wharf to take on some fuel and then caught up with us at Ingram Bayou where we concluded our 60-mile day.

One of the new “stealth” Navy ships tied up in port at Mobile.

Lulu’s , a popular waterfront establishment owned by Jimmy Buffet’s sister. One of these days we’re going to stop here and find that “Log shaker of salt!”

Monday morning was not as cold, i.e., no frost, and it was even sunny until about 10:00 a.m. when we took off for Little Sabine Bay at Pensacola Beach, 26 miles east. Todd had reserved space for us at the Sabine Marina ($1.00 per foot) for a few days to wait out the next front. At the end of the channel leading into the bay, we had to squeeze past a working dredge that didn’t leave much room for error, especially for “Cheryl Ann” with its 15-foot beam. Jerry, the dockmaster, said they had about a foot of clearance on each side when they came through – yikes!

"Cheryl Ann” making her way across Pensacola Bay.

Jerry, the dockmaster, and Cheryl getting ready to enjoy the sunset.

Todd walked over to the beach with Dan & Cheryl while I got cleaned up. Just after sunset we went up to the Sabine Sandbar, a funky local joint next to the marina. We met up with Dan & Cheryl there and then walked down the street a short distance to Flounders where we all enjoyed seafood for dinner.

We had a rainbow to our east as the sun was setting in the west!

The front came in overnight with rain and strong, gusty winds. Needless to say, we were relieved to be tied to a dock! The rain had moved through by late Tuesday morning, and the temperature was probably in the 60’s most of the day, but the wind didn’t show any signs of letting up. The Captain started his morning by doing three loads of laundry, one at a time, using the marina’s facilities and then our friend Dave picked us up and treated us to lunch at Peg Leg Pete’s. Thanks, Dave, it was good to see you again!

After much deliberation, the Captain decided we were going to pull away from the marina about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. However, the fog kept rolling in and it ended up being 11:15 before we were able to leave. Two other boats, “Where’s Linda” and “Destrier,” also left the marina when we did and ended up tying up with us at the Fort Walton Beach free city dock, 34 miles down the waterway. It was a beautiful day with sunshine and temperatures in the 70’s. We were even able to trade our long johns and sweat pants for shorts!

This was the first time we have actually seen a shrimp boat on the Gulf Intracoastal. Must mean the Gulf is REALLY rough for these guys to come inside.

All tied up at the Fort Walton Beach free city dock…we like free!

A a little taste of Christmas on the panhandle of Florida.

We were up and at it early Thursday morning. Pete of “Where’s Linda” helped untie our lines and we were off by 7:30. A strong north wind was still blowing making the bay waters quite rough, especially Choctawhatchee Bay which we spent four hours getting across! After eight hours and 68 miles we tried to anchor in Smack Bayou, east of Panama City, but the anchor didn’t hold on the first try and we were far too exposed to the north wind for comfort. So we traveled another four miles or so to Pearl Bayou where we found great holding and better wind protection.

“Cheryl Ann” slogs her way through the rough chop on Choctawhatchee Bay.

Friday was a cold, raw morning with temperatures in the 30’s, no sun and the seemingly ever-present north wind. We even had a couple of unanticipated rain showers and finally fired up the propane heater to mitigate the chill. With only 34 miles on our agenda, we left the anchorage about 10:00 a.m. and were at White City by 2:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. Eastern time which we are now on by virtue of having crossed under the Highway 71 bridge at White City).

We said our goodbyes to Dan & Cheryl aboard “Cheryl Ann” as they broke off about two miles west of White City at the Gulf County Canal to go to the Port St. Joe Marina, their home for the winter. When we reached White City, Jim & Vaughn aboard “Twins” were there to catch a line. Todd had been communicating with Jim via e-mail over the past several days so they were expecting us. After we got settled, Jim & Vaughn came over to visit and talk boating for a while. They are also gearing up to do the Gulf crossing within the next few days if the forecast holds.

Vaughn & Jim keep their heads dry while the Captain takes a photo in the pouring rain, where the heck is the nice Florida temps and sunshine???

There was considerable rain overnight and it was a cold, gray, wet Saturday. “Twins” pulled away from the dock around 11:00 a.m. headed for Carrabelle. Todd contacted Bob & Phillis in Crystal River and made plans to meet at Miller Marine in Apalachicola at 4:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Bob and Art, a friend of theirs, are going to join the Captain for an 18- to 20-hour overnight Gulf crossing from Apalachicola to Crystal River. After taking on some fuel, they will begin their journey and I will ride back to Crystal River with Phillis to await their arrival.

Today is Sunday, December 13th, and we are en route to Apalachicola in the middle of a rain shower after a warm, foggy morning at White City. Think positive thoughts and keep your fingers crossed for calm seas as the Captain and his crew take “Life’s2Short” across the Gulf of Mexico.