Typical Cruising Day

Today was a typical cruising day aboard Shingebiss. We usually wake up by 6:30, and the first order of business is to make coffee. By 7:00, Steve is at the helm and I am out on the front deck pulling the anchor. Our new anchor and windlass are both working great, no problems with either so far. Today it came up covered with black slimy mud, so I had to dip a bucket and splash away all the mud spatter on the deck. After an hour or so, I prepare a little cruising breakfast and bring it up to the flybridge. Today we had hard boiled eggs, pineapple, strawberries, and a muffin. Yummy and nutritious.

As we travel, we are checking 2 sources, the chart plotter and the Coastal Explorer software on Steve's laptop to make sure we are staying within the ICW channel. There are red and green markers, like the river, except the reds are toward the mainland and the greens are toward the sea. Today we went through a narrow section with towns of Fort Walton Beach and Destin on the shore and then entered the Choctawhatchee Bay, a 30 mile long and 5-10 mile wide body of water. It was calm, that was good, but not much to see. I didn't take many pictures today, but in the middle of the bay is a 4 mile long bridge. Here we are going under it.

By early afternoon we are usually at the next anchorage, and I go out to drop the anchor. If there's a place to land the dinghy and go ashore, we go for a walk. Napping, working on the computer, and reading are other afternoon activities. We are staying in marinas more than we thought we would (did about half marina, half anchor in November), but we admit, we love marinas. After a few days in a marina, however, we are usually ready for the solitude and quiet of anchoring. No two days are alike and it's never boring. Except for Lucy, her days are pretty much all alike. Steve built her a little bedroom a while back. The minute we set it up on the shelf in the stateroom, Lucy settled right in. We bought a piece of fleece to make it cozy for her, and this is where she relaxes while the engine is running.

Santa Rosa Island (aka Pensacola Beach)

Santa Rosa is the barrier island off the city of Pensacola, FL. Barrier islands, usually long and narrow provide protection for the mainland from waves and wind by forming a "sound", the body of water between the island and the mainland. There are lots of barrier islands in Florida and the ICW runs in the sounds with channels cut through the land to join the sounds together. Santa Rosa Island, which includes the village of Pensacola Beach, is a beauty. Friends Kathy and Jeff, along with many other property owners, lost their vacation condo in Hurrican Ivan (2004). Five years later, their replacement condo is complete and gorgeous with Kathy and Jeff currently adding the finishing touches. The 3 story condo is built on concrete pillars sunk 35 feet into the ground. The lower level garage has "breakaway" walls designed to give way to a storm surge letting the water flow through. There are many beautiful expensive homes on the island, all hoping to survive the next big one, I suppose. The eastern end of the island is 7 miles of National Seashore, the road running through it was broken up by Ivan and tossed into the dunes in pieces, but has been repaved. Driving this road with the beautiful dunes, sea grass, and blue water was what convinced Jeff and Kathy to buy here. There are a couple of small marinas on the island and we stayed 3 nights at Sabine Marina, nice facilites and good price, just 3 miles from the condo. in the lower right corner of the arial shot. It's the first marina we've been in for a long time with no other loopers around. In the river system, we were all travelling the same linear path, but now there are so many marinas and anchorages to choose from that we are all scattered about.

The first morning we were here we rode our bikes to the condo and walked on the beach. The sand here is white, sugary and quite perfect. It was a beautiful morning and it's finally sinking in that we are really in Florida. We hopped into Fran the Van, and went to LuLu's for lunch. Friends Peter and DiDi were there with Moon Beam at the dock. After a delicious "cheeseburger in paradise", we drove to the lengendary Florabama Lounge on the Gulf coast at the Florida Alabama border.

You have to see it to really get the picture, but the buildings appear to be built of scrap lumber and driftwood on concrete. The room with the music stage (and they are known for their music) lost its

roof in Ivan.

I'm surprised the whole thing didn't blow all the way to Kentucky, but the roof has been creatively replaced with a large tarp over a sturdy PVC pipe and duct tape frame. The funny thing is that it sits among high rise condos and million dollar homes. The patrons are an eclectic mix and at the 5 pm show we were some of the youngest !! Here's some pictures of the Florabama, note the bras hung from the ceiling in the music room, we didn't add ours, there were plenty.

On Thanksgiving Day, we had a home cooked meal with (left to right) Kathy, Jeff, Diane (our hostess), Evelyn and John. The meal was delicious and we were grateful for the friendship and hospitality we were shown.

On Friday, it was time to move on, and Jeff and Kathy came aboard to ride with us to Navarre Beach, the village on the other end of Santa Rosa Island. We had a pleasant ride and a good lunch at another restaurant whose name I cannot recall. John and Evelyn met us at the restaurant and gave Jeff and Kathy a ride home. Steve and I are settled in for the night, trying to figure out how far we want to go before Monday when a storm is predicted. We've enjoyed some really pleasant weather for the past month, so I suppose we are due for a weather delay.

Here's our e-mail address mainship34@gmail.com. When you readers add a comment or question, we don't get your e-mail address, but we wanted to let John Halter know that we are not at this time coveting twin engines. We like the advantages of a single engine (protected prop, less $$$ for fuel and maintenence etc.). Steve has learned how to pilot our current vessel quite well, even though it is a SINT (single inboard, no thrusters, my acronym). IF we ever get a bigger boat, however, we'd like it to have a bow thruster along with the single engine.

First Dolphin Sighting

We departed Dog River Marina early this morning. Our route took us back to the Mobile Bay shipping channel for about 6 miles where we passed a fishing trawler and a freighter. We had a tip from an experienced delivery captain on how to cut across the Bay to the east, shortening the journey to the ICW (intercoastal waterway). The bay waters were pretty flat and the sky was cloudy. We entered the ICW and began to see homes and marinas along the way. We also had our first dolphin sightings, at one point several of them were jumping so high that we could see and hear them exhale through their blow holes (or whatever it is they do with them). Didn't even try to get a picture, too busy watching and delighting in the experience. LuLu's Restaurant is owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister and we could see the folks eating lunch at the windows as we cruised by. Parts of this section are straight cuts through the land, one section had houses and a busy road running parallel to it. Other parts open up into large bays. We are anchored in Ingrams Bayou and have the place to ourselves. A 6 hour cruising day is about right for me and we are just relaxing on the boat. A tasty onboard dinner and some cribbage will round out our day. We always look for anchorages with alot of bars (internet bars, that is) and this one is good. Hopefully AT&T will continue to cover us in Florida, where we plan to be tomorrow with Pensacola as our next destination.

We are adjusting our electronic charts (and our brains) to thinking in nautical miles (the river charts use statute miles) and adjusting to different ways of tying our lines and our fenders due to the tides. Lots to learn for us "river rats".

In response to those who wondered how much fuel we've used, Captain Steve has provided the following numbers. To go 1554 miles from Newport, MN to Mobile Bay in 206 engine hours (plus 26 generator hours...it's not even broke in quite yet), we used 416 gallons of diesel fuel (plus 13 gallons for the gen). Our fuel consumption is considered economical at 3.74 miles/gallon. Prices varied from lowest in Aberdeen, MS at $2.46/gallon and highest in Rock Island, IL at $3.10/gallon. Average price was $2.78. Now if you are still with me after all those facts, I'll tell you that we are budgeting $100/day. I've read estimates from $25,000 to $50,000, putting us right in the middle. Anchoring out saves money as marina costs depend on how long your boat is, average $1/foot on the river, but Florida and the east coast will be more. We hear that there are record numbers of loopers this year. Good fuel prices and lots of baby boomers pursuing their dreams. So if you can dream, you can do.

Dog River Marina, Mobile Bay

Today has been quite a day for the humble Shingebiss and her crew. We started the day with a daring fog filled rescue of the sqweegee by Steve. Can you believe he dropped it overboard and not me? If you look closely, you can see the coveted sqweegee in his hand. It's a vital tool on a boat, so we're relieved we didn't lose it.

But the real event of the day was exiting the river system through the port of Mobile and getting into Mobile Bay. We've seen our first palm tree and our first ocean going ships. Here's just a sample of what we saw today.

I think the second one is some sort of navy stealth boat. We were prepared to be dodging ships left and right, but we were the only boat moving during our entire transit of the harbor. Oh yeah, and Mobile, AL is a city too. Here's what the downtown looks like from the water.



Soon we saw the open water ahead of us. This panoramic shows the harbor and city behind us as we head out into Mobile Bay. We went out about 10 miles into the bay, and then hung a right to go to Dog River Marina. It's a pretty neat place, very much a real boat yard with lots of very big boats. Steve is in heaven just walking around and taking it all in. We reunited with Peter and DiDi from Moon Beam. They had a CAR, so we went to a restaurant the name of which we cannot remember, but the food and the company were both excellent.

In completing the River Section of the loop, we traveled 1554 miles in 7 weeks, putting 206 hours on the engine. It's been a great experience, and now we're ready for the new adventure on the Gulf Coast.

Bayou Country

We've traveled over 200 miles in the past three travel days and are just 9.8 miles from entering Mobile Bay where the River Section of our loop ends and Shingebiss enters the blue salt water. This last section of the waterway is called the River Section because it is left in its natural state. Every mile has incredible switchback turns and very few straight sections. At one point, we traveled 22 river miles to go just 4 miles as the crow flies. There are no towns, not even any fishermen, some industry and many small tows. I don't know how the tows make those turns. There are no marinas in this section, the only place to tie up is halfway down, called Bobby's Fish Camp where you pay $1/foot to tie to a 100 foot dock, often rafted out to other boats and no electric, so we decided to skip that one. We used the guidebooks and the recommendations of those we've met along the way to find a safe, peaceful anchorage every night and are now in our third night of anchoring, a new record. The first picture is us leaving our anchorage this morning. Today the river became wider, it's now called the Mobile River, and there are bayous all over the place, more like a delta. Tonight we are anchored in Big Bayou Canot. We saw this canal while exploring in the dinghy this afternoon. It's a straight cut with a pipeline running along it and is loaded with birds chirping away, we just turned off the motor and drifted and listened.

Lucy continues to explore and adapt to her new life. As soon as the engine is turned off each day, she gets up outa bed and makes her rounds on the decks, into the dinghy and then jumps up onto the flybridge from the front of the boat. So far she has not been able to figure out how to get off the flybridge, so we go up and get her. Today, however, she took a flying leap from the back of the flybridge into the dinghy. Quite proud of her accomplishments.

There is a famous story along this stretch about a tow boat and high water and a bridge. If you want to hear about it, google Rooster, Cahaba, Tombigbee or go to www.umc-1.com/images/Towboat.pps for a powerpoint show of the incident.

Demopolis Yacht Basin

We left Pirates Marina Cove early morning two days ago even though we continued to hear that Demopolis Yacht Basin had no more slips available. We anchored out one night in a quiet peaceful cove at Sumpter Landing with Joe and Punk (boat Carolyn Ann) where 3 other boats joined us. There was some "float" (that's what the towboat captains call debris) in the river, but no more than we are used to on the upper Miss. The next morning brought some fog, but we all left as a group to make the lock 3 miles ahead, motivated to get through the lock before an upstream towboat got there. The fog cleared as we cleared the lock. We listened to the Vikings beat Detroit as we passed the White Cliffs of Epes.

When we arrived at Demopolis, we were not optimistic about getting a slip. It is a relatively small marina that does not take reservations and they have been telling everyone who calls that they are full. Our plan was to just stop for water, ice, and a pump out, but our timing must have been good because they took us, Carolyn Ann, and the other 3 boats we had anchored with as well. Demopolis is a major stop on the loop because it is the last place to get supplies before Mobile, and we were thrilled to get in.

Dempolis Yacht Basin is one happenin' place, at least at this time of year. Steve and I have spent the entire day out on the docks, in the boats and in the restaurant talking to loopers, liveaboards, yoyo's (up the River for the summer and back down to Florida (or the Bahamas) for the winter) and those who just meander around the coastal areas in their boats. We've got the local lowdown on which anchorages are good and which are not for the 200 miles to Mobile and into the Florida Panhandle. Our brains are full and our charts and guidebooks are annotated. We got to tour Damtootin, a remarkable 37 foot Willard, a unique boat that is one of our favorites and quite rare...less than 40 of them were made. Owners Walter and Nancy spend 6 months a year at their home in Minnesota and 6 months cruising on their Willard. We capped off our day dining at the New Orleans Restaurant with Mark and Carol (boat Grateful Dreaming) from Afton, Minnesota. We're starting to feel part of the "cruiser community" as we meet people and then see them again later in the journey. This is a photo of the restaurant. At the crest of the high water last week, the water was up to the floor of the building. As you can see, it's receded almost back to normal, so our plans are to take off tomorrow morning and begin the final section of the "river segment" of the Loop.

Pirates Marina Cove

We're still here at Pirates Marina Cove, a funky, fun small marina with about 5 other loop boats. One of the great Looper Traditions is to have a Social Hour every evening. With 6 boats contributing the snacks have been outstanding and we've gotten to meet more looper couples and trade stories with them. Yesterday we rode our bikes to the Tom Beville Visitors Center about a mile away. Built in 1982, the antebellum style mansion is impressive and the exhibits tell the story of the TennTom Waterway. Also on site is the retired and permanently moored Snagboat Montgomery. She was the last steam powered sternwheeler to ply the inland waterways of the south. From 1926 to 1982, she worked for the Army Corps of Engineers as a snagboat pulling trees, logs and other obstructions to navigation. Steve liked touring the boat more than the mansion, go figure. We went aboard and saw the massive steam boilers, crew quarters, engine room and pilot house. Today, we went back by dinghy and took this picture of her from the water. That's about the only tourist attraction around here, so we spent today scrubbing the decks and dinghy and Steve installed the stereo on the flybridge. We've heard that the boats are departing again from Demopolis as the River levels are starting to drop, so current plans are to head out in the morning. Still 300 miles to go until we hit the salt water, but we're starting to think about palm trees and sand beaches.

Aberdeen and Ida Updates

Look behind me at the water on the other side of the lock and you can see how straight the waterway is on the downstream side of the locks on the upper part of the TennTom.

Back home boating friends, Steve and Julie, were our Aberdeen, MS, hosts for the past 2 days. We arrived at the Aberdeen Marina and fueled up at $2.46 a gallon, the cheapest diesel we've seen...plus the marina has some mighty tasty hot wings. Steve and Julie got on the boat to guide us into their neighborhood, a cozy complex of canals with a great variety of homes, docks and boats. Neighbors Ed and Lee were an interesting couple who had started down the Great Loop several years ago. They got as far as the Aberdeen canals, bought a lot, put up their home and haven't left since. They have a great little seawall where Steve had arranged our dockage. We've been looping long enough now to appreciate the value of a free dock, so thanks Ed and Lee !! Steve and Julie gave us the locals' view of Aberdeen and we sampled some good ole southern food and hospitality. It's always great to see folks from back home. I didn't take many pictures, but here's one of the swamp areas we saw right next to the road. You can see the cypress "knees", always a sign you are in the south. We wound our way out of the canals early this morning and put in a good 50 mile travel day, crossing into Alabama where we are at Marina Cove. There are about 5 other looper boats here.

I'm sure the TV weather has already forgotten about Hurricane Ida, but her effects linger here. The Gulf is still rolling so none of the boats waiting to cross the "big bend" can leave the Florida Panhandle. Since those marinas are full, the boats in Mobile Bay can't leave and us loopers who are still up here on the river system....well, you get the picture, we're having a bit of a looper log jam down here. The rumor is that the storm surge and rain caused the river downstream to rise 10-20 feet. With the flood gates open on the dams, the current is reputed to be as fast as 8 knots. While it might be fun to go 16 mph in the Shingebiss, we also heard that some boats who did venture out collided with submerged buoys or one of the trees floating along. The looper web sites are still urging everyone to stay put for a couple of days, and we likely will.

Big Lock on the TennTom

We're at anchor tonight so we'll see how well the AirCard can upload pictures. Yesterday was an easy day of cruising the first section of the TennTom Waterway (TTW). The Divide Cut is a straight and narrow 25 miles of canal where the two rivers are joined. When first completed it was reported to be quite unattractive, but the banks are now covered with trees and we found it enjoyable. It's very pristine, no industry, no houses, no marinas. Easy to navigate and the 70 degrees and sunny added to our pleasure. We found our anchorage by early afternoon and hopped into the dinghy for a ride. (We must really like boating since the first thing we do after a five hour boat ride is get into a different boat and ride some more !!) We went to over to see the TTW Visitors Center, but it was closed on Saturdays. We walked around the grounds and I took this photo from the deck. Our anchorage was right around the corner from the first lock on the Waterway.

The TTW has 12 locks, with a total drop of 412 feet to sea level. The first one, the Jamie Witten Lock is the 9th highest lock in the US at 85'. The dam does not have a gate or spillway and is really more like a huge retaining wall. The lockmaster told us they do not like to lower it too many times in one day because the large amount of water discharged actually raises the water level of the pool below it. The first four locks occur over only 20 miles so they are very close together. This morning we entered the Whitten with 2 small sailboats and a pontoon. This is biggest lock we've been in and it's impressive, as you can see by the height of the doors in front of us. It took about a half an hour to bring the water down. The Lockmasters make you wear your life jacket in the locks. Steve bought me one of those fancy new suspender models before we left home. It's very comfortable and easy to wear, so I've been wearing it for all lockages, anchoring, and dinghy riding.

You can see how tall the lock is by the size of the sailboats leaving the lock. Both of these sailboats were going south to the ocean, and the pontoon had a looper burgee flying. All three are solo travelers with dog aboard. We scooted down to the next lock, only 5 miles away, and the lockmaster decided to wait for one of the sailboats and the pontoon because they had just appeared in the distance. By the time they arrived, the last sailboat, who had told the other sailboat in the lock she traveled at 3mph had appeared, so we waited for her too. There are boats of all shapes and sizes doing long distance cruising on the rivers. By the next 2 locks we were far enough ahead so that we got our own lock through. It continues to be a mellow and scenic area. After each lock, the river narrows and then quickly expands into the next wide pool and the next lock. Pretty much like the river at home. We're in a little cove next to a lock tonight, took the dinghy into a public dock and went for a walk before dinner. Looking forward to Aberdeen tomorrow, it looks really cool on the charts. All engines are running perfectly and Lucy is enjoying the cruise as well.

Pickwick Lake

After leaving the Clifton Marina, we continued down the Tennesee River admiring the riverside homes. I really liked this one. It was a peaceful and interesting ride, there are homes of all shapes and sizes to admire. We experienced the first long wait we've had on the trip at the Pickwick Lock and Dam, which is a huge lock and dam, part of the TVA, not an Army Corp lock, so it generates electricity too. By the time we cleared the lock the sun was going down, so we scooted around the corner to the Pickwick State Park and dropped the hook in a cozy little cove just outside of the marina. The Tennesee State Park System runs the marina and the lodge. The next morning we dinghy'd over to the the lodge dock and went on a "hike", which was about a half mile asphalt trail through the woods. Just enough, but no Superior Hiking Trail, that's for sure. This picture is taken from the deck of the lodge, you can see our little dinghy at the dock and see how big the lake is. Returning to the boat we cooked a big breakfast and ate on the back deck, first time for outdoor dining. The weather this week has been sunny, high 60's with some color left on the trees. Simply perfect. After breakfast we went about 5 miles down Pickwick Lake to another deserted cove and spent the night there. There are lots of huge mansions on the Lake, which I figure must be owned by the country western music stars from Nashville. The next day we went another 5 miles down to the Grand Harbor Marina (www.gograndharbor.com), where we are spending our second night. It's a very "upscale" marina, we've enjoyed walking the docks and looking at the boats. We reunited with Marty and Jerry from Monarch and met new friends Mark and Carol, from Afton, MN on Grateful, their 1978 45' Chris Craft. It was fun to meet someone from MN and we hope to see them again. Both moved on today, while we took the courtesy car to visit Shiloh National Military Park. Alot of the civil war was fought in this part of the country and at Shiloh a 2 day battle killed 24,000. The park is on the site of the battle and a lasting memorial to those who died.

We've also taken a big step in our entertainment options. We bought a Sirius Satellite Radio and got it activated tonight. Now we can listen to those crazy Vikings as they progress to the SuperBowl.

Tomorrow we will start on the TennTom, short for Tennesee Tombigbee Waterway. The TennTom connects the Tennesee River to the Tombigbee River which enters the Gulf in Mobile, AL, but there is 450 miles of river to enjoy before then. The TennTom was man made as a "shortcut" for commercial traffic heading to the Gulf from the Tennesee River. The idea of connecting the two rivers was tossed around for a couple of centuries before it was completed in 1984. Apparently the commercial traffic has never reached the levels hoped for (they still prefer the Mississippi), but recreational boating is flourishing. Most of the loopers are ahead of us and we are getting daily internet updates from them on the conditions downstream. Our plan is to anchor out a couple of nights and then spend a couple days visiting with Steve and Julie, boating friends from MN, who have a winter place along the TennTom.

If you want to know where we are right now, we're where Tennesee, Alabama, and Mississippi meet on the map. The TennTom runs through Mississippi for half of it's length, then crosses over to Alabama. So we're in the south, enjoying lots of southern hospitality and a predicted high of 74 tomorrow. In our fifth week of cruising, we're beyond extended vacation mode and into long term cruiser mode and lovin' it. Sorry not so many pictures this time.

South on the Tennessee

Here's the view leaving Paris Landing bright and early yesterday morning. We didn't realize that daylight savings time had ended until the day was half over. Our cruise down the remainder of Lake Kentucky was beautiful with full sunshine. It's easy to imagine the Lake teaming with boating activities in the summer, but except for the fishermen, we saw few others.

This abandoned dock is one of the landmarks of the Lake. I don't know if it dates from before or after the Lake was created by the dam. We drove for an easy 7 hours and anchored in a little bay on the way into a marina. Had a short dinghy ride and then followed the Viking/Packer game on "game day"...a free internet link that describes each play and statistic as it happens. Not quite the same as the big screen. A beautiful full moon on the bay, a great dinner aboard, and up at sunrise today.

You can see a little fog in this picture of our anchorage, and when we first entered the channel, it was just on the surface. Within 15, minutes, however, we were in "pea soup" and could barely see the front of our own boat. So we slowed down and used the chart plotter to tell us where we were and what heading to set on the autopilot. We kept a close eye on the radar, but no barge traffic appeared. It was pretty cool, a little nervous, but ya gotta "trust your instruments"...and all this before I even had my first cup of coffee. After about an hour the fog lifted. The Tennesee River narrows at this point and we begin to see lots of houses of all shapes and sizes. I really liked this group of houses on a limestone bluff, notice the lighthouse house in the middle. Before noon, it was warm enough to go up on the flybridge. Tonight we are staying at the Clifton Marina, Clifton, TN. We got here by 2 pm, took the bikes into town for a few groceries, had showers and a terrific hamburger at the Marina. This is a great little "mom and pop" type marina, one of our favorites so far. Very friendly. Plan tomorrow is to anchor somewhere near the Pickwick Lock and Dam. After that we enter the Tombigbee Waterway, so stay tuned. High 60's and sunny predicted all week. Yippee !!!