Alabama River Cut to Mobile

If I thought it was going to be a quiet day at anchorage Thursday, I was dreaming.  Boats continued to come into the cut, as it is one of the few good anchorages anywhere nearby for boats that draft more than about three feet, which is most all of us Loopers.  Besides Joysea and Bavarian Cream, who we had already invited for cocktails that night, six or seven more boats came in.  Since I was in first and had explored quite a ways up the cut in my dinghy (the one with the working depth finder), I felt obliged to pass on the local knowledge and lend a hand.  That’s another blog that my First Mate says she wants to write.  Let’s just say, we were busy right up till about 4 PM anchoring boats!  The Admiral and I took quick showers and then I got back into the dinghy to round up our guests for cocktails.

Dave and Joyce on Joysea are from Indiana.  They had never boated before buying thier 39' Mainship a couple of years ago.  They boated from Maine where they purchased it down along the east coast to Florida, and then decided to do the loop.  If you think Carrie’s broken toe and thumb were tough, Joyce suffered a broken hip in Canada.  Dave had guests aboard to help him from there down to Joe Wheeler, Alabama, where Joyce rejoined him after a few months of recovery at home.  They have been married for 50 years, so naturally took this as just a minor little setback.  They will complete the loop in Marathon, Florida.  I hope we are there to celebrate with them.

The Bavarian Cream crew, Larry and Sandy are a hoot.  I knew someone told me I had to meet them, and after talking with them for a while, I realized it had to be Doug and Judy of Moonstruck or Ron and Jan from Jolly Tolly.  Larry is originally from Ohio, but they live now in Sandy’s hometown of New Orleans.  They are completely nuts, so we hit it off quite nicely.  Their boat is a German made 40' Cytra Bavaria.  On the back of their boat card (business cards we all carry to identify boats and crews), they printed the recipe for Bavarian Cream, a dish they had planned to make their signiature dessert on board.  Trouble was, they said it was just too damn hard to make!  They will complete the loop in just a few days as they reach the southern part of Mobile Bay.  Unfortunately for us, they will turn west for Louisiana and we must go east to Florida.  I hope our paths cross again somewhere.

Anyway, on this chilly night in the Alabama River Cut off the Tenn-Tom, the six of us yucked it up for about two hours on Once Around.  Everyone brought more munchies than we could eat and more cocktails than we oughta drink, but we put a good dent in both.  By seven or so, the party broke up and I somehow managed to get the four of them back to their boats without losing anyone in the river…but it was touch and go at times.

Friday morning the misty fog cleared early and everyone began lifting anchors.  Of course, the anchors on Once Around that I had so much trouble getting to set two days before now decided that they had “become one” with the river bottom.  And, half the river bottom came up with them when, panting, cold and exhausted we finally got them unstuck.  Remember, Boating is Fun!

We had about 50 miles more river to cover before we would reach Mobile Bay, then another 17 miles or so till we would reach Dog River Marina in Mobile, Alabama.  Piece of cake, right?  Everything went fine, right up to the 14 mile bridge.  It had been closed all day Wednesday for repairs.  We had heard it had been closed for a couple of hours on Thursday for the finishing touches.  Oops, seems not.  We were held up above it for about an hour and a half.  When it finally opened we were the first boat through, and it looked like a boat parade from there to Mobile Bay.

Looks like this barge is being pushed by Papa Tow and Baby Tow, huh?

And the scenery became less "forest" and more "bayou"

the farther south we travelled.

The challenge of the day...a long wait for the bridge to open

And the "boat parade" after the bridge opening

It was weird being out in open water of the bay after the past few months on the rivers.  However, much of Mobile Bay is shallow, too shallow, so you have to be very careful to stay in the channels.  We did, and let a few other boats into Dog River just an hour or so before sundown. 

 

Entering Mobile Harbor through the river

A fisherman on Mobile Bay

When we reached Dog River Marina, the Admiral and I tied off, cleaned up and walked across the highway to the Mobile Yacht Club for dinner.  We were back and tucked in by 8:30.  We slept in (7:30) on Saturday.  Nothing to hurry about, we will be here for a while.  I am going to get that depth finder fixed before I go another mile, and there is always a list of other stuff for both the boat yard and me to do.  Work starts on Monday and I hope to have it done by Thursday.  Carrie is flying to San Francisco on Thursday and returning on Sunday.  Seems the girls are doing wedding dress shopping with Carla.  Me, I’m thinking about driving over to New Orleans for the weekend…OUCH, I just got hit…I mean, I’m going to sit around Dog River and do boat chores…really…

Bobby's Fish Camp, Alabama River Cut

Using good judgment and staying an extra day at Demopolis Yacht Basin proved to be kind of a waste of time.  I was on the phone to the boatyard there at 8:00 AM, but the foreman was out and about and I was told would call me back.  When I hadn’t heard from him by 10:00, I took a run over there in one of the golf carts the marina provides for transients.  The gal got him on a cell phone and he assured her he would stop by the dock and see me “in a bit”. 

When I returned to the boat, I found my First Mate had already gotten out the hose, boat soap, brushes, etc. and had started washing the boat!  She had already done the fly bridge and most of the deck.  I helped her complete the deck wash hoping that might be it, but the Admiral decided the blue hull looked a bit drab, so we spent another couple of hours washing that as well.  Boaters are funny.  Once we got started washing our boat, hoses started appearing all over the dock as it seemed all of a sudden everyone felt guilty or something.

Once we were done with that, we continued down the Admiral’s chore list.  We finally got a chance to mark our anchor chain with paint so we can be sure exactly how much we have let out when we anchor.  That is something we have been putting off for, oh…six months.  Then off to the laundry where my First Mate got a marriage proposal from one of the boaters who had seen her out washing the deck by herself;  I told him I saw her first.  Another complimented me (in front of her) about what a great First Mate I had.  I told him to quiet down or she’d ask me for a raise (or a bobble!).

Meanwhile the boatyard foreman never did show up.  By noon I decided they didn’t need my business anyway.  So, if we need a depth sounder in shallow conditions in the anchorages between here and Mobile, we will have to launch the dinghy.  Yes, I have a depth sounder in it, too.  It is another of those “silly expenses” the Admiral gave me hell about when I bought it that now makes me brilliant.  Ok, maybe not brilliant…

After dinner at the marina restaurant Monday night, we had a Looper gathering of about sixteen folks to surprise Pat from Glory Days for her birthday.  Her husband Joe had somehow managed to sneak off to Walmart for a birthday cake without her knowing it and had arranged for all of us to be there at 7:30 to celebrate.  Pat was totally surprised and beamed at Joe.  Bet Glory Days was rockin’ later that night!

On the way to dinner the Admiral noticed this guy

Tuesday we all left Demopolis together (eight of us I think), and headed down what, at Demopolis, becomes the Lower  Black Warrior River – Tombigbee Waterway  (BWTB), but only a few of us made it all the way to Bobby’s Fish Camp (20 Buck$, cbay and Once Around).  That was a long 97 mile run.  There we joined Joysea, Bavarian Crème and Irony who had left Demopolis a day earlier.  Along the way, however, we again passed Lolligag.  I swear, these folks must be running 24/7, because they go only about 4 or 5 knots, yet I have passed them five times since first meeting them in New York!  Maybe this is another turtle, as in tortoise and hare?

Lolligag...again!

Bobby’s Fish Camp should probably be a blog post all its’ own.  Suffice it to say, it is a bit rustic.  Everything from the docks, the signage, the boat ramp and the alligator heads for sale in the office/restaurant, screamed back woods Alabama.  Also, to fit all the boats we had there, we had to raft cbay and 20 Buck$ outside of Once Around.  The restaurant at Bobby’s was closed, although the lady there said she would open it if there were enough takers.  Most, like us, had already made other plans to eat in as we had been pre-warned they would not be open.  Too bad, I understand the catfish there is excellent.  But, I whipped out a chicken cacciatore over rice for the Admiral and I and all regrets at missing the catfish were soon forgotten.  The Cabernet Franc might have helped, too.  We were lights out by 8:30!

Huh?

The Office, Ship Store, and Restaurant at Bobby's Fish Camp

But, what the heck, where else can you pay $1.50 per foot to raft up?

Wednesday we made another 66 miles down the BWTB to a nice safe anchorage at the Alabama River Cutoff.  Carrie and I were the first to arrive, and we dropped the hook and a stern anchor to keep the channel clear for the remaining boats to come.  Boy, did I make that sound easy!  I have never had more trouble getting an anchor to hold in my life.  And, my First Mate and I have not worked together on the whole stern anchor thing very often.  Glad nobody was there to witness it.  By the time the other four Looper boats that had left Bobby’s with us arrived, we were lookin’ good and sippin’ cocktails.  The Admiral has informed me that stern anchoring drills will be practiced at the next possible opportunity.  Oh goody.

Some Black Warrior river bluffs along the way...

Now, after some 400 plus miles of Tenn-Tom, I'm not going to say we were getting bored...but, Carrie and I began to notice the herons more often.  They seemed pretty evenly spaced, as if somehow each had been assigned his particular mile of river to patrol.  I began to notice (or imagine?) they often appeared right at a mile marker on my chart.  A year or two ago in Ventura with our friends on Poseidon, Linda's brother had remarked that he noticed the homeless folks were strategically placed around town (with the same signs he had seen in another homeless guy's hands on a different corner the day before).  He theorized that maybe there was a hobo pimp who nightly gave out corner assignments and distributed signs.  Carrie and I began to wonder if there was a heron pimp out there who assigned mile markers...I told you, we've been on this river one or two days too long.  We're starting to lose it!

The "mile marker" heron at mile 45

My Galley Slave had prepared a crock pot meal early that day, and when we were ready to eat dinner, we enjoyed pork ribs in sauerkraut (with lots of garlic and drizzled with olive oil) served over potatoes.  It proved to be comfort food on this cold rainy night.  After dinner, we enjoyed one of our favorite old movies (redone in Blue Ray that I had purchased).  Tied up here in the trees on the Alabama River, Carrie and I felt a bit of kinship with Bogie and Kathryn Hepburn on the “African Queen”.  But, we’re a lot dryer, a lot warmer on Once Around, and nobody has dumped all our booze in the river!

We had originally planned on leaving the anchorage this morning (Thursday), and go all the way to Dog River Marina on Mobile Bay, a distance of about 70 miles.  But, there is a small craft advisory and very rough sea conditions on the bay, which is the last 17 miles or so of the run.  The small craft advisory is predicted to last through Friday morning.  There are a couple of anchorages just prior to Mobile Bay on the BWTB, but we think there may be plenty of boats holed up there due to the rough conditions on the bay.  Once Around decided to sit tight today and see what the weather gods do.  20 Buck$ and cbay moved out, but it looks like Bavarian Crème and Joysea are staying here as well.  I imagine we’ll see some of the others who left Demopolis with us pull in here this afternoon as well. 

Cocktails at 5:00 anyone?



Peehead Johnson

My friend Tom from Florida just called.  He knew I was in or near Demopolis and he wanted to share a little local color with me.  It seems one of Tom’s many good friends (he’s just that kind of guy) is a lawyer who now lives in Sarasota, Florida, but hails from Demopolis, Alabama.   Apparently every once in a while after a few drinks, the lawyer friend liked to tell this tale of his youth in Demopolis:

Back in grammar school in Demopolis there was a kid named “Peehead Johnson”.  Seemed everybody knew old Peehead.  Now, old Peehead wasn’t given that name by his parents.  No sir, he earned it.  Seems that Peehead could pee completely over the top of a Cadillac Coupe DeVille, from one end to the other, bumper to bumper…honest.

Tom said when he pulled into the fuel dock here, he was met by the dock master who asked Tom if he’d ever been to Demopolis.  Tom said not only had he not been here, but he only knew one thing about Demopolis.  Curious, the dock master asked what that might be.  Tom, (unsure how true the story was) said, “Well, I know the story of Peehead Johnson.”  The dockmaster’s jaw dropped, and he replied, “Well, y'all know, that feller could pee right over an intire Cadillac Coupe DeVille from one endta' thuther…”  Then the dockmaster said that poor old Peehead wasn’t doing too well, “he’s a been suffrin’ from kidney problems.”  Imagine that.

Tom has a theory.  He says every city has something that it is famous for, like Chicago (the windy city) or New York (big apple).  Sacramento calls itself the city of trees.  Tom figures the best that the folks in Demopolis could come up with was the story of old Peehead.  Tom wants me to drop the name here in town.  We’ll see…somehow I think my buddy is setting me up!

Note:  One of my dad’s best buddies growing up in the small town of Sutter Creek, California was a guy named “Peckerhead” Nelson.  Dad never told me the origin of that name...probably for the best...

Peckerhead is on the left.  Dad is on the right. 

Sutter Creek, CA, Circa 1943