• 45NorthAmericas Great LoopTraveler
    1Tensaw River anchorage to Dog River, near Mobile
    Misty morning in the anchorage...Two GFBGS boats have arrived overnightThe GFBGS with four outboards passes and throttles up1The other one passes. Google tells me it's a 'Palm Beach' motor yacht, likely a PB52 or PB55All in a day's work for the captain. He stays cool with a hot coffee...Q: What do you call warn sunlight on a muddy riverbank? A: Gatoraid.Down- and Upbound barge tows pass on the Mobile River1Interstate-65 crosses here on two handsome spans... the General W.K. Wilson Jr. BridgeThis is what you call 'loaded to the gunnels' (gunwales).The CSX Railroad lift-bridge. No trains just now. A barge tow will follow us through.The CSX RR crosses a bayou via a swing bridge. The dish is for their advanced signalling system.Looking down the river, through the port, toward the bayThe Mobile AquariumMobile cruise terminal and aquarium1The S.S. United States being readied for sinking as a dive-site out in the GulfFrom the river we get our first sight of MobileOne for Graeme. Moored behind us at Grand Mariner Marina.Cheeseburgers on the grill, salad doings below, all is well...1Abandoned and derelict opposite the marina at the Dog River inletHere's the Palm Beach motor yacht that blew us away leaving the Tensaw anchorage this morning

    Day 32: Tensaw River anchorage to Mobile

    November 4 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    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'...    Read more