Blog Archives - Beyond Kare'n - Admiral's Log

Florida Panhandle & across the Gulf

11/12/2019

Our next stops included Pensacola, Destin, Apalachicola and Carrabella before we started our Gulf crossing.
In Pensacola we stayed right downtown at the Parafox Pier Marina. They are clearly proud of their military presence and history here. Lots of historic buildings and museums.
The next day we traveled to Baytowne, just east of Destin and met Jim & Joan Potts. They were super hosts and toured us around the area and we got to stick our toes in the sugar white sand and the gulf.
The next long day we traveled 120 miles through the ICW and passed the areas that were hit by the hurricane in 2017. In Panama City, there are no marinas left. They were totaled and we were told they cannot rebuild until they finish cleaning up the basin where boats and docks are still sitting. In the Mexico Beach area, the hardest hit area where there is still lots of debris, we were unlucky enough to connect something underwater.
Apalachicola (we love saying this now that we know how to pronounce it) is an awesome fishing town and the Oyster capital of the US. An artsy and easy going town and tons of fishing. Had a dinner of multiple types of oysters and watched the replays of the Gopher win. Carrabella is 30 miles east of Apalachicola and the departure of many doing the gulf crossing. Another small fishing town with lots of character.
On the Loop our boat is considered a 'fast boat' as opposed to 'slow boats' which include trawlers and other single engine boats. After our latest mishap, we are now a 'slow boat' until we can get some prop work done. Our plans to do a gulf crossing during the day went out the window and we joined the group doing an overnight crossing.
Gulf of Mexico crossing to Tampa/Bradenton area. Weather and wave reports looked decent and we had a group leaving Carabella to various ports. Left at 3 pm with 180 miles to go and plan to arrive mid-day the next day. As it turned out, the winds picked up instead of declining and we had about 20 of the 23 travel hours in real bouncy/rocking conditions (that is not marine terminology but my nice version of the conditions- think twirling fair ride). Once the sun was up, the weather was fabulous and we were glad to tie up in Riviera Dunes Marina. This marina is run by Bill Chamberlain, our friend who originally worked at Lake City Marina in MN. Riviera Dunes is a beautiful resort marina with obvious good management.. Will stay in the Tampa area for a bit.

Pickwick Lake, Tennesse-Tombigbee Waterway to Mobile Bay.

11/12/2019

Nov 2-6tth. 5 days, 465 Miles, 13 locks, flooded rivers with debris and fast current. Had 3 beautiful anchorages during this stretch. You have to find a small cut-off the river to anchor & we got some great spots. Secluded, pristine and calm with the moon overhead. Getting into a couple of these cuts was a little hairy, about as wide as the boat, but so worth it once we got in there. Day 1 of this leg we had a power issue day - generator quit, dead batteries in phones, Ipad, the 'marriage saver' headsets. Luckily, Joe got the generator fixed at anchor which fixed everything else. That generator is pretty important. Had a short stop at Bobby's Fish Camp, a rustic dock along the TomBigbee to wait for a lock. We were glad to go further that day as another 10 boats traveling with us that were going to be rafting there for the night in a swift current. Met lots of Loopers at Demopolis, Kingfisher Bay Marina. Traveled the next few days with Norman and Jody from Miami & hope to see them again along the route.
We were excited to arrive at Mobile Bay. Lots of very interesting industry and lots of open water compared to the last days on the river. The bay is actually very shallow and staying the in the channel was still important. Docked at Fair Hope Yacht Club on the east side of the bay. A very quaint and family orientated town with some nice shops and dining. Sunset drinks with Norman and Jody at the Grand Hotel, quite grand place indeed, then dinner at the Yacht Club with fresh fish!

Muscle Shoals, AL Music Tour

11/4/2019

11.1.19 . Day trip (by car due to bad weather) to Muscle Shoals/Florence with George Liar our tour guide. George had 50 years in the music industry in M.S and was a wealth of knowledge and connections. Saw the recording studios & Music Hall of Fame, then a performance by Peanut Montgomery, one of the original local backup artist. Check out documentaries on Muscle Shoals & its importance to the music industry.