Weather forecast for November 22, 2016:
Turner Marine, Dog River, Mobile, Alabama
Clear, low 43 high 73.
East winds 8 to 13 knots becoming southeast. Light chop.
Captain’s Log: November 19 - 21, 2016
We headed over to Pensacola on Saturday in the early afternoon. We took our time and drove back roads to get a feel for the area. Our route took us through Gulf Shores and Orange Beach (Alabama) and Perdido Key (Florida). We stopped at a really cool place called ‘The Gulf’ on route 182 for an early dinner. The Gulf is located on Alabama Point right on the water at the Perdido Pass; it is a very interesting concept, it reminded me of ‘The Captain’s Quarters’ in Louisville but much more cool. For those of you who know CQ you can imagine what The Gulf is like - incredible view of pure white sand beaches, the blue Gulf of Mexico and big sport fishers and yachts coming and going through the pass.
After dinner we drove to our friend Jeff’s place. Jeff is on sabbatical for the next year and is currently in Lake Tahoe working as a ski instructor. We met Jeff in Cincinnati a few days before he left for Tahoe and we left for Mobile. He gave us the keys to his place and asked us to use it as much as we wanted because he wanted it to look like people were staying there while he was out west.
Jeff’s place is under renovation and is a little rough but the setting is beautiful; the Intra-coastal Waterway (ICW) is right across the street. After a late meal at a local dive called ‘Trigger’ we climbed in bed and passed out.
We slept in a bit on Sunday, stopped at Waffle House for a big, cheap breakfast and then headed back to Mobile. We took the tourist route through Foley, Alabama and stopped at Lowe’s, Target and World Market picking up needed items and looking for certain others.
Anticipating dinner, we stopped at DIP Seafood on Dauphin Island Parkway (DIP) and bought two pounds of fresh shrimp. We got back to the boat in mid-afternoon and got back to work. We had grilled shrimp and cheese grits for dinner.
After dinner we headed over to the marina restrooms to clean up before bed. While we were there we met Nancy and James. This thirty-something Canadian couple is cruising the Great Loop with their two pre-teen sons on a Catalina 27. They just arrived from their passage across Lake Michigan, through Chicago and the Illinois River, down the Mississippi River, up the Ohio River, down the Tombigbee Waterway and across Mobile Bay to Turner Marine. They leave on Tuesday morning for points east and south. Four people on a 27ft sailboat – quite an adventure! We will meet the most interesting and daring people on our way, I am sure.
On Sunday night the temperature fell into the low 40s. Besides no toilets and no running water, Perfect Love has no heat and no insulation; it was chilly so we fired up the electric space heater, climbed under several layers of blankets and watched a movie (we do have two flat screen TVs on board now).
I pealed layer after layer of clothing off on Monday as it climbed into the high 60s by noon. Our rather long list of tasks is slowly but surely slimming down as Shirley continues to organize below deck and I continue to work above and below deck installing cabinet doors, TV mounting brackets, the anchor roller, the binnacle compass and electronics pod, etc., etc., etc.
It is almost ‘lights out’.
Until next time, may your tomorrow bring fair winds and following seas!