The Next Chapter

This morning at 7:36 am we said 'see you later' to our friends on the dock as we departed from Pointe Cadet Marina.  A shout out to those of you on the dock that help us cast off and took pictures.  We know we'll see you again.   

The night before departure was not without its challenges.  As Bert said:  "there is always some unexpected repair the night before you go."  A routine check of the oil level lead to the discovery of a diesel leak under the Starboard engine that required attention before departure.  The leak was corrected, but consumed an entire evening and left the boat and Bert smelling of diesel.  Fortunately nothing a last minute load of laundry and a shower couldn't fix. 

The boat performed beautifully today even though she hasn't been run since September.   About half our day was an uncomfortable rolly polly day with 3-4 footers coming from the port side.  Beam seas make for a rough ride and Turner (aka Fatty) was very unhappy with his ride.  Happily we have conquered the first challenge of the trip.  Mobile Bay is behind us!

We arrived at our anchorage for this evening which is Ingram's Bayou at around 5:15 p.m.  Two attempts to anchor and we are settled in for the night and dinner is in the oven.   On the ICWW (Intercoastal Water Way) Ingram's Bayou is mile 164.  By car I guess you'd say we are in Gulf Shores, AL.   We traveled just over 80 miles today.  At 8 mph that's a 10 hour day.   It is a beautiful anchorage and we arrived right at dark.  Only one other sailboat at anchor here tonight. 

It was too dark to take any pictures of the anchorage tonight but it is quiet and calm.  To the south we can see high rise condo's but they are far off in the distance.  The pictures posted are of our departure this morning and also of Lu Lu's HomePort Marina in Gulf Shores.  Lu Lu's is a favorite stop for us and it was bittersweet to just motor on past late this afternoon.

The red tide definitely impacted dolphin sightings today.   We didn't see any until right when we reached the bridge that goes to Dauphin Island marking our entrance to Mobile bay at about 1:30 this afternoon.

Leaving Pointe Cadet Marina

Heading out from Pointe Cadet - No looking back now!

Lu Lu's Marina.  A recommended stop by boat or by car.