Bravo! Adventure
December 7
Mile 78.6
5:30 AM and nature calls. It's clear that I'm not going to sleep until
I do something about it. So I slip down from the bunk as quietly as I can and,
before hitting the head, I climb the four steps to the pilot area. It's still
quite dark and the windows are heavily covered with condensation, but I brush
some aside and see stars! The prospect of blue sky and sunshine is happy. The
overnight temperature was expected to drop into the upper twenties. I do what
needs to be done, climb back into bed, and check my thermometer. 53. When I
hear the generator start, I get up. The generator is powered by a two cylinder
diesel engine and is inside a sound-insulating enclosure which is in the sound-insulated
hold with the main engine, so the noise is not annoying. Doug said that the
galley area was in the upper 40s when he turned on the heating system. Heating
and cooling are through a heat pump that uses the outside water. Similarly,
outside water is brought into a heat exchanger for cooling the engine.
We got up to heavy fog. The clear sky allowed the temperature to fall to the dew point. We could barely see the other two boats. The catamaran departed while the fog was still fairly dense. It was nearly 10:00 AM when we brought up the anchors, which came up clean, and departed. A narrow tree trunk around 15' long had settled on the bow line overnight, being held there by the current, and then moved to the boat, refusing to dislodge until we backed away from it.
Destination for today is an anchorage at Mile 9.8, just north of Mobile. Doug calculated the remaining daylight and distance and suggested to Jules that the speed could be reduced a bit, decreasing fuel use.
Our cabin water is down to about 75 gallons from the 140 we had leaving Columbus. So we have used around half in four days. We're reasonably careful with water use. The shower has a shutoff valve on the showerhead. Standard procedure is to wet, shut off, lather, and rinse. The toilet is an interesting bit of technology. It has a vacuum chamber below and sucks the water from the bowl. It can use as little as one pint of water per flush. I noticed that the sink had a SeaLand label which somehow seemed familiar and upon closer inspection found that it was manufactured in Big Prairie, Ohio, a village just a few miles to the west of PRC when we were in Shreve. Then I saw that the toilet was also from SeaLand.
Mile 45
The Tombigbee River joins the Alabama River and together they
become the Mobile River. This will now carry us into Mobile Bay, but not until
tomorrow.
So it's a glorious day, the first significant sunshine since we left Columbus, MS. We're now keeping an eye open for alligators. Doug says that one was reported spotted just below the Coffeeville Lock which we passed yesterday.
When vessels pass in the waterway, they generally talk in advance so that there is a clear understanding of what will happen. Before radios, however, a system of whistles was in place. A "one whistle" pass meant that the passing boat keeps the other boat on the port side, regardess of relative directions of travel. For a "two whistle" pass, the boat being passed is kept on the starboard side. Now, the radio communication retains the heritage of days gone by. "Thomas McCabe, this is pleasure craft Bravo! off your stern. Will a one whistle work for you?" We get an affirmative reply and proceed to pass, keeping the barge on our left side. Bravo! has a bell to satisfy the requirement of having a noisemaking device on board, but there is no whistle.
Passing the Melanie D. "on a one whistle"
We are seeing cypress trees at the water edge. Also, there is increasing commercial and industrial activity along the way, mostly relating to the loading or unloading of barges. We pass a coal-fired power plant that receives coal by barge.
We pass the E. B. Wallace which is a survey boat operated by the US Army Corp of Engineers. It has a boom off both sides, each with five depth sounders, and two sounders in the hull and is mapping the bottom for the purpose of determining where dredging is needed. We finally catch up with and slowly pass the catamaran. He says not to bother slowing to reduce our wake, a usual consideration for passing, expecially smaller craft. We take pictures of them and they of us and then we exchange email addresses by radio.
Mile 9.8 Big Bayou Canot
Our anchorage for the night is in Big Bayou Canot on the
starboard side of the river. We did 68 miles today. The entry has signs warning
of a low bridge. This happens to be the bridge on which an Amtrak train derailed
in 1994 and 48 people died. We anchor about halfway between the river and the
track. The guidebook warns of noise from the trains, so we don't want to get
too close.
After dropping anchor, we settle in for the traditional happy hour. This is the first time the weather outside on the stern deck was inviting enough to draw us there. We are perhaps 40 yards from the bank and try to identify two large birds. One seems to be a great egret, but the other we can't find in the Florida Audubon book. It looks a bit like a great blue heron, but with shorter legs and neck, and has a big bushy beard.
Happy Hour
Dinner tonight is prepared on the grill. The grill attaches to the rail of the stern deck and is fed by the propane tank that also feeds the stove in the galley.
Jules on the grill
During preparation for dinner we are treated to reflections of the moon and sunset on the calm bayou water. Except for the occasional train, it's totally peaceful.
Nearly full moon rising over Big Bayou Canot
Sunset at Big Bayou Canot
Doug is hoping for an early departure tomorrow, so we can get across Mobile Bay before the winds kick up and create choppy water. We notice trains going by, but only Doug may have an issue with that. Jules and I are very sound sleepers.