Cruising with "Best Mate": Roberts Bayou, AL to Demopolis, AL

Total Miles Traveled 3030

After a relaxing anchorage at Roberts Bayou, we set course for Mobile Alabama April 29^th and arrived at the Dog River Marina. We met our friends Charlie and Robin on “The Lower Place” and also met our other looper friends , Byron and Cynthia on “Bright Angel”.

We took the dinghy to the Turner Marina and met Tom and Marsha West on “Faith”. I met Tom several years ago when he was building his 60 foot, 35 ton, sailboat on his tennis court in Poland, Indiana. Yes, he built this sailboat almost single handed from scratch. A feat in itself, but Tom also cut timber from his land and made the cabinetry for the boat. We were lucky to catch them as Tom and Marsha were packing to go home the next day. They gave us the grand tour, what an amazing accomplishment! When I saw this boat last, the outside structure was almost finished but the inside was just a shell. If you Google Tom West Sailboat, there are several stories about “Faith”

We left the Dog River Marina April 30^th with “The Lower Place” and planned to visit Fairhope, Alabama across Mobile Bay for a couple of days. We had a mix up in communication as we were both going to the city marina and had called ahead for reservations. We found that Fairhope has two marinas operated by the city, we went to one and The Lower Place went to the other. I could not get a response from the marina by radio or phone when we arrived and saw two sunken boats in slips. The Lower Place arrived at the other marina and the dock attendant couldn’t say how deep the water would be in the slip they tied to. The sailboat next to him said he would be sitting on the bottom the next morning. We decided to cancel the Fairhope visit and continued north to a dock at the Mobile Convention Center.

When crossing Mobile Bay we were approached by a low flying plane, it appeared the Coast Guard was practicing supply parachute drops to targets in the bay.

Entering Mobile harbor

We always see unique vessels here.

Our plan to leave the next morning May 1^st was delayed by fog. We planned to leave at 7 a.m. and at 6:15 we had clear skies, 30 minutes later we were fogged in. Fortunately it cleared out about as fast as it came in and we were on our way by 8.

Rain up north has caused the inland rivers to exceed flood stage in some areas during the past few weeks. The levels have returned to below flood stage but are still higher than normal. We have been monitoring the pool levels, and flow discharge rates from the upstream locks before heading up the river system. The biggest problem that we have encountered is floating debris. We may travel a mile or so with very little, and then hit an area that has several pieces.

This is the one that can ruin your day, floating just under the surface.

We have encountered a few long days, not because we are in a hurry, but anchorages from Mobile to Demopolis are far and few between. There are no marinas, fuel, or docks between Mobile and the first lock at Coffeeville, Alabama about 117 miles. From Coffeeville to Demopolis is another 100 miles without services. Since passing through the Coffeeville lock, we are now in fresh water. The first thing I noticed was my hands are not sticky from salt water after pulling up and cleaning the anchor and chain.

Our entourage after leaving Coffeeville Lock, "The Lower Place", "Bright Angel", and "Huckster"

Boat-tails anchored in Bashi Creek, pretty much the middle of nowhere. Cell phone and television signals are non-existent except for an occasional text that will make it through.

I sure like the AIS I installed before leaving on our loop in 2015 (Automatic Identification System). We are a couple of miles from a southbound tow, both of us heading into a bend in the river with hills and trees between us. I can see him on the chart plotter and he can see me on his and he tells me which side of the river he would like for me to be on when we pass. He tells me by radio that he would like to see me on the two, which means two whistles, passing starboard to starboard.