Another very early start yesterday and through the final winding miles of the Alabama River. As we approached Mobile, at the north end of Mobile Bay, we were anticipating much heavier tow traffic (and we were right). Mobile is a very busy commercial port with large barges and sea-going vessels as well as shipbuilders turning out some very unique military vessels. Oh, and then Catan arrives on the scene among the chaos!
We were thankful to have a relatively easy cruise through the hub-bub and out into the main shipping channel without much fuss. The channel was very well marked and our destination was about 1/3 of the way down the east coast of the bay. Mobile Bay is incredibly shallow (2 - 8 feet), so when we left the shipping channel to head east, we had to be very careful of the depths.
We arrived at the Fairhope Municipal Marina around 3:30 only to get our bow temporarily 'stuck' in the sand right in front of the marina entrance. The marina failed to tell us that we needed to 'hug' the pylon as we entered the marina due to very shallow depth (and we are now dealing with tides as well). Not to worry, - we were soon off the sand bar and proceeded into the small marina facing heavy winds.
There were no finger docks, only pylons in the water (to which we loop our lines over so that the lines move up and down with the tide). It was a really tough docking - battling wind, waves and tide, but we did it! With no finger docks to jump out onto, we resorted to employing our 'plank' off of the back platform which reached the main pier. Beau was hesitant at first, but followed Eric off with the promise of a long walk ahead. ** Thanks to Dave York for providing the plank when we last saw them in Victoria Harbour in August!
Fairhope is a beautiful, affluent town with very nice restaurants, shops and a scenic main street. We enjoyed a nice walk this morning and decided to head out around noon. Weather & winds were looking good for the last leg down Mobile Bay and onto the inner coastal waterway.
As we entered the ICW, we were greeted by several dolphins who surfaced and swam along side our vessel - almost like a welcoming committee! Such a beautiful sight!
We reached the Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, AL at 4:30. www.alwharf.com It is quite a complex with shops, restaurants etc. and a very nice marina. We will likely be here for a couple of days. We also ran into our Thunder Bay friends again on Sandy Gal and are looking forward to connecting for dinner. The Christmas decor is quite incredible here!
All in all, a very uneventful day on the bay (thankfully), and we're safely docked at the Wharf.
