Alabama arrival

 

Whimsical docked at the Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores.

      After twelve days aboard Whimsical, we have arrived in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  We actually should have made it a LOT further than this by now, but we've suffered all sorts of delays beyond our control.

Tent in the cockpit.  Took some engineering
to get it set up.

      The biggest delay was the weather.  On Thursday, we got slammed by a frontal system that totally drenched us.  We pulled into a cove and deployed a previously unused tent-like camping shelter, right there in the cockpit.  We fortified it with a blue tarp to help keep out the rain and the bugs, but we still suffered a very wet, sleepless night.

Wind gauge showing 26 knots.
It was like this for 3 days!

      Once the rain moved on, we had a new problem:  high winds.  We were at the point where the ICW enters the Gulf of Mexico near the water known as the Rigolets, which connect Mississippi Sound to Lake Pontchartrain.  The wind was howling at between 20 and 30 knots, which kicks up waves too big for Whimsical.  We anchored into a small cove for a full day-and-a-half, waiting for the winds to abate. 

We stayed anchored in this tiny cove
for a day-and-a-half

      When it seemed like the winds had died down enough, we pulled up the anchor and gave it a try.  But still, the open waters of Mississippi Sound were just too rough.  After a mere ten miles, we had to duck into an inlet called Clear Point.  There, at the end of a canal, was a business establishment called "Pincers".  They sold gasoline and diesel to shrimp boats, and fresh seafood to anybody.  The staff there was friendly and accommodating as can be.  We filled up on diesel, of course, but they also refilled our water, gave us a ton of ice, and even had one of their guys give us a ride to a grocery store.  People you meet on the water are amazing! 

Canal leading to "Pincers".  Lots of 
shrimp boats come here.

      While at Clear Point, we tied up at a nearby dock and wasted yet ANOTHER full day, waiting for the wind to die.

Stocking up on provisions

In the locks, tied up 
alongside a barge.

      And then there were delays at the @#$%& locks in New Orleans.  Using the ICW for our route, we had no choice but traverse a pair of level-changing locks to get us up to, and back down from, the Mississippi River.  The problem was that the barges and tugs had priority over vessels such as ours.  We easily consumed nearly a full day getting thru the bloody contraptions. 

This is "Change of Plans", in the locks with us.
We traveled together for a while.

Rigolets, Louisiana to Gulf Shores, Alabama

     It would be several days later, on Sunday, before we could avoid more delays and finally get in a full day of traveling and put some miles behind us.

heading into Mississippi Sound at sunrise

      Our route took us thru the body of water known as Mississippi Sound.  Averaging about ten miles wide, it's bordered on the north by the Mississippi coast, and on the south by a row of barrier islands.  It was a smidge calmer than the open Gulf, so the ICW ran smack down the middle of it.  The northern shore featured beach communities, marshlands, shipyards, bridges, condos, and industrial plants.  Barge traffic here was very light. 

      Although the wind speed had died, wind direction was never any help.  It seemed like, no matter which direction we headed, the wind was ALWAYS dead on our nose, so we had to depend 100% on Whimsical's twin diesels.  This is a SAILBOAT, for gosh sakes - Oh how I want to unfurl those sails and use Mother Nature's free, abundant, silent propulsion source, instead of those noisy, fume-spewing, fuel-guzzling beasts!

bridge to Dauphin Island

      The eastern-most barrier island on Mississippi Sound is Dauphin Island.  It's located across the state line in Alabama, and is a popular vacation spot, mostly due to its white sand beaches.  A tall, graceful bridge connects the island to the mainland.  Once you pass the bridge, you're in Mobile Bay.  Twenty-two miles later, on the eastern bank, the ICW once again becomes a narrow canal.  Only here, it's like a gazillion times more picturesque than its Louisiananian counterpart, due to the endless row of majestic waterfront homes lining its bank.  (Unfortunately, it was now dark, and my attempts at photography fell short.)

      A few miles further, we pulled into the Homeport Marina for the night.  It's the only marina we've stayed at since we left Kemah.  Here, I treated myself to my first shower in nearly two weeks.  (It was time.) 

      Then we did a crew swap:  Another friend of Paul's flew down and came onto Whimsical as crew; I caught a flight back to Houston.  I regret that I won't be aboard to crew Whimsical as she traverses the gorgeous white-sand beaches of western Florida.

Paul down in the engine compartment

       Whimsical is a fine vessel.  No, she's not really a blue-water boat that can handle big oceans, but that's not Paul's intention.  We only had a smidgeon of technical problems, and they were all manageable.  One day, the engine overheat alarm came on.  We opened up the spacious engine compartment, climbed in, disassembled the raw water intake, and poked a long screwdriver into the through-hull.  Evidently, something was stuck down in the hole, as the engine ran fine afterwards.  On another occasion, one of the batteries ran dead in the middle of the night.  We identified the devices that were causing the electrical overload, and successfully jump-started the engine using our portable generator. 

this guy was waiting for us at Clear Point

      I don't know what exciting sailing adventures await around the corner, but when they do happen, I will certainly blog away.  So as always:  stay tuned!

our buddy boat "Change of Plans"

"Whimsical" skipper & first mate