Day 15 bringing Dusty Weather Home - Thursday June 11, 2015

We left Barber Marina early this morning, about 6:30, to try and beat the thunderstorms that were entering Mobile Bay. By the time we got to Gulf Shores, we realized that there were too many to dodge, so we decided to make a stop at Homeport Marina for fuel. We got there just as they opened, and fueled up quickly, but then had to wait about 20 minutes for the store's computer to decide to boot up. As we entered Mobile Bay, the sorms were building fast, and covered a large portion of the bay. In the last 2 weeks, though, I've learned to appreciate the bulk of Dusty Weather. At 34,000 lbs, she has the weight of about 10 cars, and winds and waves that would have tossed the KnotSoFast around like a dishrag are pretty much unnoticed on Dusty Weather. So we battened down the hatches (literally) and headed across the bay. For about 6 hours we waited for one thunderstorm after another to engulf us, but they would either skirt by us, barely missing us, or they would break apart before reaching us. The worst we got was a little rain!

Entering Mobile via the ship channel is intimidating. The flood of activity, cranes, booms, industrial machinery and docks full of cargo and shipping containers stacked six high can make it a confusing place for someone in a relatively tiny boat. And then there's the ships - massive doesn't really describe the ships that line the port, hailing from all over the world. Then there was Austel Corporation and the military ships they are building. They are unlike anything I've ever seen. They make Star Wars spaceships look like horse and buggies.

After getting through the port and the downtown area, the ride became much more relaxed, and we followed the tow boat Sabine Pass for several miles before overtaking him as he waited on one side of  a bend for a southbound tow to clear the curve.

As we turned into Big Lizard Creek to find anchorage for the night, a mid-sized alligator slid off the bank and stared at us for a moment before sinking underwater. We anchored in Little Lizard Creek, with a bow and stern anchor, so we wouldn't swing across the creek or into the overhanging trees.

Our mileage for the day was 72. 

Glenda says:

We said goodbye to the "lady of the lake" and headed off this morning.  We saw a few lazy dolphin bobbing along but they paid little attention to us.  One of our former neighbors, Teresa, passed by on canal road as we wound through Orange Beach and blew her horn at us.  Once again the weather kept us on our toes, but once again all the worst seem to by pass us.  We saw lots of shrimp boats out, even one of our old favorites the "Nanny Granny".

We passed our old neighborhood and while I miss some of the people I'm ready to start this new adventure.

Da

 It was interesting to see the city of Mobile from the water.

As we got out of the industrial area we began to see more cypress trees.

I did see a large alligator just as we were pulling into our anchorage. The photo is not good but trust me he was big.

We are now anchored out in Little Lizard creek a little to close to the interstate for my liking but hey I'm not driving the boat.  The tree frogs and the traffic noise are competing.  Maybe the tree frogs will win.