Tensas River, Al to Marco Island, FL

Total Miles Traveled 1208

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Overall, we’ve had excellent weather traveling from Alabama to southwest Florida.  Hurricanes avoided Florida this year, and above normal temperatures with little rain were perfect for cruising.

We departed our anchorage at the Tensas River on November 3^rd and traveled 29 miles to an anchorage at Big Briar Creek.  This anchorage allows us to cruise through Mobile Bay to Gulf Shores, Alabama in about 7 hours. 

Serious fishing on the Tensas River

Held up at the RR Bridge 12 miles from Mobile, AL

Our marine insurance provider required us to have a condition and valuation survey by a certified marine surveyor, and a boat haul out to inspect the running gear and hull.  Although we made the reservation with the Saunders Yacht Works and a surveyor in August, when we arrived, Saunders informed us they didn’t have room for our boat.   Luckily another marina within a mile had room for us, and the surveyor agreed to do part of the in-water survey at this marina, then travel to Saunders with us for the haul out.

Entering Mobile ship channel and harbor.

Homeport Marina, Gulf Shores, AL.  Home of LuLu's restaurant, owned by Jimmy Buffets sister.

Our friends Kenneth and Susan on m/v CraSea Horse, also heading to Saunders Yacht Works.

Our survey went very well, we're always glad to be safely back in the water.

We departed Saunders Yacht Works after a successful survey on November 5^th and traveled 24 miles to an anchorage at Fort McRree.  This was a historic military site, with a fort built to defend Pensacola and its natural harbor, but today it provides a well-protected anchorage between the Gulf of America and the harbor.  The Blue Angels are stationed at Pensacola, and they fly directly over this anchorage during practice, an awesome experience.

We originally planned to anchor at Destin Harbor for a few days,  but an approaching cold front with high winds were a few days away so we decided to travel 71 miles to an anchorage near Niceville, Fl on November 6th, then 45 miles to an anchorage at Panama City Beach on the 7th.  We anchored there for 4 days protected from 25 mph wind gusts.

 Anchored near US 331 bridge near Niceville, FL

Anchored at Pearl Bayou

On November 11^th we traveled 51 miles to Saul Creek anchorage, then on the 12^th arrived at C-Quarters marina at Carrabelle, Fl.  We always stop here to top off our fuel tanks and reprovision before crossing the Gulf.  The local grocery store is less than a block away, so we decided to take our folding cart.  We purchased this cart in 2015, and it’s came in handy quite a few times, looks like the salt air and sun have taken its toll on the plastic wheel hubs.  We only made it about 100 feet from the boat when the front wheels collapsed. We were fortunate it happened going to the store, instead of on the return full of groceries.

Saul Creek

Nice size gator

On November 14^th we had a perfect weather forecast for crossing the Gulf of America and arriving at an anchorage at Clearwater Beach, Florida on the 15^th, we traveled 176 miles, a little over 21 hours.  We have a planned route and run on auto pilot, radar, and AIS (automatic identification systems) to see other boats in our area of cruising.  We alternate watching the instruments and taking a nap during our overnight cruises. 

 We always look for the infamous Green Flash at sunset,  not this time. 

Using 40 lb test line, I hooked something big in about 60 ft of water.  My drag was screaming even though it was at maximum tension, Moni slowed the boat down to idle and one engine, and I started cranking it in between drag releases.  It never broke the surface, and I couldn't crank it without the drag releasing.  We took the boat out of gear so I could crank it in and as soon as we did the line went slack and the fish was off.  I should have waited to wear it out, lessons learned.

Night watch, listening to Sirius XM Radio.

About 4 a.m. Moni asked what the orange dot was in the southeastern sky, I assumed it was a planet as the sun would be coming up in a couple of hours.  The orange dot became larger and larger then produced a long red tail.  It lasted about 15 seconds slowly turning white and disappearing.   We have never seen a shooting star so vivid, and last as long.  When we anchored, I searched the internet to see if anyone had reported any sightings.  I found the Leonid shower, peaking November 16-17^th observed in Florida, is known for producing larger, brighter explosions of light known as fireballs that persist longer than a typical meteor streak.  According to NASA these meteors earned their nickname because they have long and colorful tails that streak closer to the horizon.  Unfortunately by the time we realized what it was, there was no time to grab the camera.

Anchored in the concrete jungle, Clearwater Beach, FL

We weighed anchor on November 17^th and cruised 57 miles, anchoring at the causeway bridge at Sarasota, Fl then on the 18^th we traveled 53 miles and anchored at our favorite anchorage at Punta Blanca Island, part of the Cayo Costa State Park between the Gulf of America and Charlotte Harbor.  We anchored here for 7 days, fishing, exploring in the dinghy, and eating a cheeseburger in paradise at Cabbage Key.  We have been visiting Cabbage Key when anchored here for several years, but after paying over $27 for a hamburger, this may have been our last visit.

Ringling Causeway Bridge

Anchored at Punta Blanca Island

Anchor alarm, gray area indicates where our boat has moved within a 100 ft radius of our anchor.

Cabbage Key Restaurant

Moni caught a Pufferfish, known for their ability to inflate their bodies as a defense mechanism.   They are toxic if not prepared correctly.  They also have human like teeth.

Our friends Kevin and Jill (m/v Chasing 80) invited us to spend Thanksgiving at their house with family and friends at Ft Myers, so we traveled 31 miles on November 26^th to Snook Bight Marina at Ft Myers Beach, FL. 

The first time we've had smoked Turkey, very moist and delicious. 

We departed Snook Bight Marina November 30^th, and traveled 44 miles to an anchorage at Marco Island, FL.  We caught a couple of Spanish Mackerel along the way, but didn’t keep them.  

Grand Rivers, KY to Tensas River, AL

Total Miles Traveled 611

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We had a very busy summer this year.  After cruising almost 20 months since 2023, we had quite a “to do” list to tackle, plus a graduation, annual medical and dental appointments, traded vehicles, visiting with family and friends, and squeezed in a few days at anchor.

We also experienced some nasty weather in May, with a few tornados’ touching down in the area and large hail.  Luckily, we avoided any damage at the marina.

We attended our granddaughter Sophie’s high school graduation and had a great opportunity to meet family and friends at the graduation party, its hard to believe our youngest grandchild graduated from high school and is starting college.

 

Great visit with family during our visit back home.

I won’t bore you with all of the items, but here are a few of our summer projects.

Replaced 200 feet of chain and 50 feet of rope, cleaned and painted chain locker.  Disassembled and lubricated windless.

Replaced tach on port engine.

Removed and cleaned heat exchangers on both engines, and replaced coolant in engines and generator.  All new zincs, rebuilt raw water pumps.  Installed new drive belts.

The week before our family visited, a hot water line to the transom shower came loose and emptied about 75 gallons of hot water in our lazarette.  It soaked everything we had stored in it and the carpeting.  Just like a house, there’s always something.

We had a great visit with the kids, Brad, Nikki, Jayden, and Sophie on the lake.  We celebrated Jayden and Sophie’s birthday's that week, and our traditional dinner at Pattie’s.

Patti's Settlement in Grand Rivers is well known for their 2" Pork Chop

Our son Brian and grandson Eyan were able to get away from work a few days and spend time with us on the lake.  We had a great time as always!

Blowing the conch at sunset

We didn’t plan to leave Grand Rivers until late September or early October, but we learned that the largest lock on the Tenn-Tom Waterway was closing for 30 days for maintenance September 3^rd.  We did not want to take a chance of a delay longer than 30 days, so we departed Grand Rivers August 15^th and traveled 20 miles to Ken Lake Marina.  We met our friends Steve and Jan on m/v Forever Young for lunch, and our last visit with them before heading south.

On August 16^th we traveled 54 miles to Pebble Isle Marina, they have the best fuel price on Kentucky Lake, and all the way to Demopolis, AL.  They also bring hot cinnamon rolls to your boat every morning….certainly worth the stop. 

We stop at Pebble Isle every year but never took the time to visit the area.  The marina is located near the Johnsonville Historic Park.  The park commemorates the Battle of Johnsonville, fought in 1864 during the Civil War and was flooded by the creation of Kentucky Lake in the 1940’s.  We rode our scooters all around the park, then a couple of miles to the visitors’ center.  A nice facility with great reviews……unfortunately they were closed when we arrived at the center.

We traveled 62 miles to our next favorite stop at Clifton Marina on the 18^th, then 48 miles to the Pickwick Landing Marina on Pickwick Lake in Tennessee on 19^th and 20^th.  The State Lodge has a free shuttle to visit the lodge for lunch, or dinner.

We departed the marina on the 21^st traveling 45 miles, and anchored on Bay Springs reservoir, our favorite body of water traveling in this area.  On the 24^th we only traveled 3 miles to anchor close to the lock for an early opening.

We then traveled 66 miles and locked through 6 locks on the 25^th, anchoring at McKinley Creek on the Tenn-Tom Waterway.

Whitten Lock, 84 foot drop, closed for maintenance September 3rd through October 3rd.

A tow captain allowed us to lock through one of the locks with him, that doesn't happen very often.

We didn’t complete our “to do” list at Grand Rivers, so we decided to stay at the Columbus Marina in Mississippi for a month to tackle a few more time-consuming boat projects.  We ended up staying 58 days!  Columbus is a great marina with covered slips, a courtesy car, several restaurants, grocery stores, Lowes, and great marina staff.

 Our first project was sanding and applying two coats of varnish on our teak, we do this every year.

After spending last summer on the Chesapeake, the lower portion of our flybridge enclosure failed due to the high temperatures from sun exposure and the lack of ventilation.  We were scheduled to have the canvas shop at Grand Rivers remove the failed portion, and eliminate the failed material, but they couldn't get to us in time before our departure.  With our limited skills of canvas work, and our trusty 50 year old Kenmore sewing machine, we decided to tackle the project ourselves.   

Before

After

We also cleaned and polished all of the stainless railings, waxed the exterior of the boat, and general boat cleaning.  We're ready to play this winter.

Our good friends Larry and Linda on m/v Lila Blue have been here all summer, so we have enjoyed visiting with them during our stay.

They had a bass tournament at the marina during our stay, pretty interesting. 

We departed the Columbus Marina on October 24^th traveling 70 miles, passing through 3 locks, and anchoring near the Helflin lock.  We traveled 50 miles on the 25^th to the Kingfisher Bay Marina.  Several storms with heavy rain are in the forecast, so we stayed at the marina for 4 days.  The river was predicted to rise 6 ft but turned out to be only 1 foot.  We topped off all four fuel tanks.....Ouch!!

On October 29^th we traveled 95 miles through the Demopolis lock to an anchorage at Turkey Creek.  There are no marinas and very few anchorages from Demopolis to the Coffeeville lock (the last lock on the rivers to Mobile, AL). 

The second wild hog we've seen along the shores of Alabama this trip.

We weighed anchor on October 30^th traveling 84 miles through the Coffeeville lock to an anchorage at the Tensas River, about 40 miles from Mobile Bay.  We are now in tidal waters and as far south as we can travel.  Our marine insurance requires us not to be south of latitude 31 Deg north, until November 2^nd.  We’re ready to rest up a few days after the long days of cruising anyway.

Morning of October 31, 43 degrees!  We're ready for Florida.

I will start posting a new blog on the first of each month during our travels.