Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Back in Salt Water


Since leaving Midway Marina we have been moving down the last of the rivers. The crew enjoyed several days at Columbus Marina in Columbus, Mississippi, a beautiful town. Then on to Kingfisher Bay Marina in Demopolis, Alabama a very large and growing marina. Dylan and Dee Dee took daily walks on the docks at both places soaking up the attention.

We got to "experience" Bobby's Fish Camp in Silas, Alabama were we had to raft up to another boat to fit at the tiny dock. Dylan and Dee Dee liked that there were two dogs on the other boat as well. They managed to be entertained even though they couldn't get off the boat. In between our stops we anchored at a variety of places both lovely and dicey. That's part of the "experience" as well.

As we came through our final lock in Coffeeville, Alabama and approached Mobile Bay, we once again entered saltwater, something our hull hadn't felt since the Hudson River in New York. To Dee Dee saltwater is something new. Dylan immediately ran to the bow looking port and starboard for dolphins. I can only guess he knew the smell of the saltwater. Unfortunately, I think we need to venture a bit closer to the Gulf to find his buddies. But Dee Dee ran with great excitement sure that Dylan had something fun to show her. Patience, little girl.

We have settled for a bit at Dog River Marina in Mobile, Alabama. It's a high end boatyard with lots of docks and places to wander. We even found a field beside the yacht club where the crew can romp.


Somehow with all of the planning and traveling and visiting Jeff was able to complete the new ActiveCaptain Companion and get it ready for release tomorrow. Of course, it probably helped that he had his cracker-jack crew at hand.

5 comments:

Rick, Deb and Izzy aboard M/V Broulee said...

We have been thru this area at least 13 Times. Check out Grand Mariner Marina. We have switched sides after some bad experiences at Dog River Marina. You will love Betty the office manager. She Also switched sides of the River.

Unknown said...

A note from Sonny At Dog River Marina:

Mr. Smith,

We are sory that you had a bad experience with us. What can we do to make it right so you would choose to come back.

By the way, Ms. Cannon passed awhile back and the marina is under new management.

Sonny

MV Red Head said...

We have been here for several days and have had an excellent experience. Everyone has been helpful and friendly and very knowledgeable. I was surprised to see that Sonny had responded to your comment already but shouldn't have been. He is just that sort of person who would really care that a customer had a bad experience. I would encourage you to call him and let him know where you were let down.

On another note, Dylan and Dee Dee are really hoping to meet Izzy!!!

Karen

Paul Goodspeed said...

We may be making the trip down the Tombigbee ourselves in a month or two. I've only made the trip up the river once and that was with longer days in early June. One small concern I have is making the run from Bobby's Fish Camp to Dog River and having enough daylight to do it. How long did it take you guys to make the run?

On a side note, I've been enjoying your blog on and off for awhile and never realized until now that you are the founders of Active Captain. Nice job!

MV Red Head said...

Paul, at 8 knots, going from Bobby's Fish Camp to Dog River was too far to be fun for us. There's the Coffeeville lock too that can add extra delay. We anchored at what's labeled as the Tensas anchorage in ActiveCaptain. It's a fantastic place plenty deep and wide enough. Then it's an easy run from there to Dog River.