Day 32: Tensaw River anchorage to Mobile

Just a lazy 50 miles today, down through the heart of the Port of Mobile to Alligator Bayou and the Grand Mariner Marina for a couple of nights.

It's anchor aweigh at 0730, and--with the morning mist on a crackerjack day lifting languidly off the river--we're soon pushing back out into the Mobile River for a run, with the ebbing tide, down toward the Bay. Area couple of GFBGS boats have snuck into our anchorage overnight, and they soon pass us, heading downstream to a gas station somewhere. Preston gets me to snap a quick photo of the one with 4 outboards... "Graeme'll like that one," he says.

We catch up with a downbound barge tow and slow down to let them meet an upbound tow, after which we sneak past on his 'Two', 30 ft off the bank and with 10 ft depth... but it's all done safely and we only see 10 ft for a few feet. We've been watching numerous flamingos diving and catching fish, and as we get closer to Mobile we begin to see alligators up on the muddy riverbanks, getting their cold reptilian blood warmed up. Pity they're all some distance from us, and we can only get distant shots on our phones. It's about slack water now, and those muddy banks will soon disappear.

The Mobile River brings us directly into and through the Port of Mobile, but we continue past the city and out into Mobile Bay. We're heading for a narrow inlet leading to a large estuary called Dog River. We follow the main shipping channel for a while, then cut across to our right via a side channel. The Grand Mariners Marina is just inside the inlet, and we're secured there by 1400. Preston thinks we'll have missed a golden opportunity to experience the famous culinary delights of Dauphin St if we don't go into the city for dinner. But Rosie and I decide that neither of us feels like walking the length of the street to view what restaurants have to offer, and we decide that I'll BBQ some hamburger and we'll warm some buns up and construct some 'burgers-with-the-lot', using up bits-and-pieces in the fridge. We may still get to see Dauphin St later.

We settle down to a beautifully calm and mild evening. Tomorrow will not require a departure at 'sparrow's'...Leggi altro