Gulf Shores, AL

Hello all,

Yesterday (Friday) we departed Biloxi early so that we could make it across Mobile Bay before the WX change forecast for this weekend.  We were right into the wind and chop which provided us with plenty of salt spray again.  That continued until we were into Mobile Bay where the wind and choppy seas subsided and we had a good ride.  Later in the afternoon it warmed up enough to be up on the fly bridge with heavy jackets.  Mobile Bay had quite a few active oil rigs which we passed close enough to get a close look.  These rigs were not as big as the ones we saw in repair yards back in Louisiana that were used out in the Gulf of Mexico.   And again, the water in both bays is very shallow and it is imperative that we stay in the confines of the ICW which is dredged mostly for the barge traffic.

During the day we were passed by two other trawlers, one of which was headed for Homeport Marina where we are now.  Another interesting couple.  The boat is a 42' Roughwater Trawler which Larry and Brenda used for years along the west coast from Alaska to Mexico. They had the boat trucked from Ventura, CA to Rockport, TX to begin their way around the east coast to do the great loop - or maybe the Bahamas.....  Larry had says his boat is a hundred feet long because from a hundred feet away it looks good.  When you get closed it's obvious they are more interested in function not appearance.  We will be getting together with them latter today for happy hour on our boat.  Tomorrow (Sunday) while we wait out the WX  passage we are going to Lu Lu's restaurant with them for a show and possibly dinner.  Lu Lu's is adjacent to the marina and Lu Lu's claim to fame is that she is Jimmy Buffet's sister.  The other boat that passed us is the one that was with us at the dock in Houma, LA

You may wonder why we were passed by two other trawlers both of which were pushing a big bow wave.  Well first we are not in a hurry and be keeping the speed back we only sip fuel - and it's a long way back to CT.  Pushing the power up a few hundred RPM's  dramatically increases consumption and the gain may be one MPH.  Did I mention that mileage on the ICW is expressed in statute miles. We are at the 155 SMEHL mile mark east of the Harvey Canal.  We started at 556 SMWHL for a total of 711 SM on the Gulf Coast ICW plus side trips.

We will be here through Monday because we had our mail forwarded here.  It's been a week and a half since we received mail and I'm sure there will be some bills that have to be paid.  Colby will be headed back to Harrisonburg Wednesday.  He has a disk jockey gig for New Year's eve and then will be headed home to CT for the remainder of his semester break.

It's now 2 PM and the wind is starting to howl.

I hope Santa treated you well.  Y'all stay vertical,

Capt John and first mate Sue
and Colby, too.