Cruising with Stevedore

The Gold Burgee on a Well-Used Dingy!

It’s official.  We bought our boat in Houston in 2003 traveled to Annapolis to get the hull repaired and painted, then cruised up and down the intracoastal waterway for five years between Florida and Virgina.  After eight years of dreaming and planning we took the plunge.  We purchased upgraded safety systems, loaded the boat with food and paper supplies, medicines, dog food and enough oil for two changes.  With parents and three dogs in tow we took off for the Chesapeake Bay.   Everyday was and remains a new adventure on Stevedore.  We love our Kadey Krogen, she is tremendously seaworthy and proved quite comfortable for four adults.  It’s hard to condense the trip but here goes:

The Chesapeake Bay offers islands and harbors enough for years of exploring and it is lovely.  Just watch out for crab pots!

Cape May is picturesque, we love Miss Chris’ and the Lobster House was a delight – three meals worth.

NewYork Harbor brings you to tears especially when you think of those who entered into our nation for the first time through the harbor.

The Hudson and Erie are full of history and we loved Waterford’s waterfront farmers market.

The Oswego canal was sentimental as we travelled with close friends and saw their childhood homes.

Canada was great, first the collection bowl passed on a boat hook, then the handcranked and lift locks which were so much fun.

Gerogian Bay and the North Channel simply take your breath away they are so beautiful.

Lake Michigan’s charming towns all the way down.

Chicago – I’ll never forget the “freshly ironed” waterway and the early morning sun shining on the buildings as we entered the Chicago river lock.

The excitment of the “Carp Barrier” and the Coast Guard passing us directions in the bottle were classic.

The Big Muddy and our poodle who took a dip.  Wonderful tug boat captains.

The ongoing challenge of relieving dogs along the rivers.

Our parent’s sad departure in Paducah.

The Cumberland river and the gracious people of Clarksville, TN.

The beauty of the Tennessee and the “Grand Canyon of the East.”

The roaring waterways following IDA.

The complete exhaustion we’ve known day after day while travelling the swollen rivers.

My still-talked-about successful locking in the Coffeeville Lock.

The stars you see when in a quiet anchorage.

The gracious people you meet along the way.

Diamonds on the water.

The extraordinary blessing of being able to travel this beautiful country by water.

God Bless America.

PS: The blog will continue following Thanksgiving, when we’ll take you around Florida.

Littoral 2 Trial Run

 

Carnival Ship

After the Littoral 2 was turned and heading toward Mobile Bay a ship burst forth in the fog – a Carnivale cruise ship.  We laughed at the sublime and the ridiculous – you can pick which was which. 

Since it was foggy I walked to a nearby bakery for bread with another couple only to learn they didn’t have any so we walked an additional 2 and 1/2 miles for bread.  About then the captain was calling wondering where I was because the debris field was so great he wanted out of the river.  A nice lady in the bakery heard how far we walked and offered to return us by car which we did and were on the water within 10 minutes of my arrival. 

Today was the day -sun shining, shrimpers on the horizon, 70 degrees, dad on the phone and we crossed our wake.  I’ve been asked to summarize the trip so will attempt that tomorrow.    We’re exhausted but are going out for a little celebration tonight.

Coming into Mobile

The Stevedore is docked next to the Alabama State Port Authority tonight and only 12 miles from crossing our wake!  We started out at 09:30 after waiting for the fog to burn off.  It was a beautiful day with lots of flotsam keeping us on our tired toes all day.  We’ll be rocking all night with barges going by.  This past week has been stressful with the flooding rivers and all the debris they carry.  We’ve had fun though with two other boats keeping one another company and calling out log locations on the river.  We’re looking forward to staying put for a few days of shopping, eating out, haircuts and other niceties you miss along the way.

Tomorrow is the big day!

We’re 63.8 miles North of Mobile and 75 miles North of our Gold Burgee.  We waited until 09:30 this morning to depart our crowded dock due to the fog.  Before departure, I enjoyed a nice country walk with the dogs and learned why we were seeing hunters on the shore line – they hunt turkey and wild hogs.  Some hunters had built a bonfire on shore in preparation for the long day of hunting which smelled great.  We had a flotilla of boats gathered -by plan- to lock through together.  We were the next to last boat to pull away and fit into the oncoming boats from an anchorage two miles up.  We no sooner pulled out into the fast moving river than we noticed we were heeling several degrees to port.  We had snagged a large branch from a down-bound tree on our stabilizer.  We turned a few circles in the river and finally eased it off.  This made us boat eight of nine coming into a 10 bollard lock.  With each curve in the river and lock and dam, there is increased levels of flotsam and today it was especially true. 

Coffeeville Lock and Dam was our last lock of 148 on the Loop (I think) and it was a good thing.  If the first locks had been a similar experience I would have chickened out on the others.  So let’s paint this picture.  A sharp curve with opposing logs at the turn just before entering the lock, seven boats already tied with another behind us.  I called the lock master seeking direction on which side -port or starboard- he wanted us to catch the bollard.  First he said, “port” so, Stephen got the fenders secured on the port.  The lock master called back and said, “Stevedore take a starboard side tie-up.”  Stephen untied the fenders and moved them over to the starboard side.  He asked for our Coast Guard Documentation number then told us to, ” tie up on the port side on the first bollard.”  Remember seven boats are already secured in the lock all of which are twin engines and we are a “single-screw.”  For those of you non-boaters, this requires more skill due to reduced maneuverabilty.  I took a deep breath and went forward cursing the twin engines that hadn’t pulled to the front when they came in.  With boats on both sides and huge logs loose in the lock we moved in going from forward thrust to neutral so that we didn’t produce a wake to unsettle the other boats.  We edged up to the front lightly thrusted over to port, through Stevedore into reverse to stop her and caught the bollard between the front boat and lock doors like we knew what we were doing.  I was so nervous but glad and when I turned the engine off I stepped out of the pilot house and curtsied to the other boaters! 

All the captains sent their kudos and my husband well, he’s proud.   It took a while to return to a normal heart rate.  The river is so high we only dropped five feet in the 34′ lock.  The waterway was fast and full of debris so we were turning the wheel non-stop the rest of the day.  Channel markers were lost in shrubs on-shore, hiding under the surface or missing all together.  No naps today.  Securing our anchor tonight feels like we’ve earned the gold.  Tomorrow we’ll tie-up in downtown Mobile then cross our wake, Monday on my birthday!

Tied up at Bobby's Fish Camp

We’re at Bobby’s Fish Camp and it’s the real thing.  The trees are ladden with Spanish Moss, the sweet tea is thick enough for your pancakes and the accents are so heavy they drip. 

The water was a ride today with lots of debris and nearly three knots current.  We arrived at the camp at 10:30 CST but there was a disabled vessel at the gas dock causing one of the three boats in our flotilla to anchor downstream until it was repaired.  While setting his anchor he picked up debris causing problems under his keel.  He got the debris off and then brought his 49′ boat up to the remaining 40′ on the dock.  Our three boats are too long for the dock and too heavy.  When the third boat came on the dock it started to buckle!  One of the shore lines holding the dock had come off.  In the meantime another boat came in for fuel and when trying to make his turn to head downstream he backed over the submerged boat launch scraping his props.  When the disabled boat got free the dock flatened a bit.  By the time all of us were secure on the docks it was 13:30.  A few tense moments for some but, we’re good and had the parts the disabled boat needed to get his boat running again.

We’re dining on fresh caught cat fish and hush puppies tonight.

We got up at 04:45 CST, hauled anchor at 05:30, scraped mud off the anchor down the channel, and were in the Demopolis lock at 06:15.  The 40′ lock took all of 20 minutes and there were five boats in there.  We only dropped about 20+ feet due to the river being two feet above flood stage.  The dam flow was exciting, full of turbulence and whirlpools for the departing boats – nice ride!  Debris in the firstfew miles of the river down from the dam was substantial but not something you couldn’t navigate around.  We actually had many miles of normal debris levels.  Several corners we came around required us to power-up to navigate the turbulence, other than that we stayed at 1500 rpms and traveled 10-11 statute miles per hour.  Tonight we’re in Bashi Creek at mile 145 on the Black Warrior – Tombigbee Waterway.  There is an eddy as you enter and it was collecting  limbs so it was an exciting entry.  I thought we should have gone further South to the only dockside tie-up after Demopolis, but we’re travelling with others so stayed our course.  This is an isolated anchorage with lots of “logators” and trees all around us.  We have a bow and stern anchor out to keep us out of the bushes.  I wish readers could join us just to experience the quiet and the stars.   The only man-made light around is from anchor lights – too cool.

After Ida

We had a short but beautiful sunset last night so we knew we would have sun this morning.  We took the dingy to shore and walked with the dogs.  Sitting on a 42′ trawler with limited options of things to do gets old fast.  We’ve got at least five more days before we’re tied up to a dock with water and electricity.  This is a good test for us.  The waterway hasn’t stopped flooding yet – it’s gone up four feet since we dropped anchor.  There’s a boat party/meeting tonight when we decide whether we can get underway tomorrow.  Still swinging but now in the sun.

When we went to bed last night they were calling for up to four inches – this morning it turned into seven.  Ida slowed down allowing her to dump more rain on lower Alabama.  We’re about to go nuts waiting out this storm and all that it entails.  It poured all day in sheets of rain with gusts of wind up to 30+ knots.  We’ve been notified to expect eight knots of current tomorrow with all the debris that comes along.  Remember in Nashville that entailed a 12 foot upside down fishing boat not to mention lawn chairs, coolers and all those logs.  Coffeeville lock has been lowered to let the water out and there may be an announcement on the Demopolis dam.  If so, we’ll be swinging again tomorrow.  If the sun shines we can go to shore for a walk.  The weather has made it nearly impossible to maintain connectivity on line or on the phone.  Once we get underway we’re expecting to anchor all the way to Mobile four more nights.  We’re conserving our water.  Too bad all the good snacks are gone…

PS: We’re happy to report that Max our poodle finally used the pad on board today!  He got lots of praise and treats.

We’re in Foscue Creek tonight prepared/preparing to wait out IDA.  We came here because there is a Coast Guard Station so we’re hoping if we need anything they can help us.  There are four other loopers holed up with us.  We’re hoping we’ve made the right decision.  It’s good to not be alone when there is a storm brewing.  We had a hell of a time getting our anchor to set.  Here we are 216 miles from completing the loop and we can’t get the anchor to grab and of course everyone is watching-very soft mud.  Dad  would be proud that I just “plowed” ahead through a two foot spot to find a desirable anchorage.   Should have had some seed corn   If you try to find us locate Demopolis on the Alabama map and we’re two miles downstream just above the lock and dam.  We travelled 55 nautical miles today going past the lovely Epes Cliffs - tired.