Day 12 - Thursday, November 8th, 2007

Barnacle II Cruise Day 12 – Thursday, November 8th, 2007
Leaving Point Cadet Marina, Biloxi, MS

Everyone was up and drinking coffee by 6:30…that is, except me. The coffee smelled wonderful, but I didn’t want to chance it first thing. So I had a granola bar and water while everyone else had Krispy Kremes.

The morning routine of oil checks, engine checks, etc. went without a hitch. Because of some of the trash we’ve seen in the port fuel tank, Barney & Kenn decided to replace the fuel filter on the generator. It hasn’t hiccupped at all, but it would be a good thing to make sure it does keep running well.

We backed up to the fuel dock and refueled. We found a beautiful old boat that looks a lot like what J-Mar’s should when he gets done with his. We thought it was an Egg Harbor since it had the plywood superstructure, but it was a Norseman. I hadn’t thought about those boats for years. This one was freshly painted with an aqua hull and deeper blue ‘fish hook’ painted insets on the sides. I made pictures in case he wants to drool.

We were underway and back out to the ship channel by 9:00 AM, on our way back out into the big water to pick up the ICW again. It will turn back inland between the mainland and barrier islands at Mobile Bay. Our plan is to at least get to Lulu’s and Homeport Marina in Foley/Gulf Shores, AL. That’s where Kenn and I consider our second home, and we’re familiar with the water from there to Pensacola, since we try to vacation there at least once a year. And Lulu’s has the best key lime pie this side of Key West.

If daylight allows us, we may go on another 10 miles to Bear Point Marina in Orange Beach. With the slowdown in the narrower channel, I think we will be pushing it to try to make it that far before dark.

Kenn went down in the engine room to check everything out after running for awhile. He came back to the helm with this big grin on his face. He said, “You’re not going to believe it, but we’ve got minnows swimming in the sea-strainers.” I wanted to get a picture but they were moving too fast to do it. They were just small enough to get sucked into the water inlet under the boat, but the strainer traps them from going into the engine cooling system.

As we were navigating back into the ICW, we were overtaking a tow boat and barges out of Little Rock, AR, the Rachel Marie. He’s a long way from home.

1:00 – Coming into Mobile Bay behind Dauphin Island, we had several pods of dolphin come to meet us and play in our wake. We could almost orchestrate their moves and jumps by waving at them, or at least we could anticipate their actions. When they would sidle up next to the back of the boat, they would turn to one side and start watching us. When Kenn would raise his hand, they would start breaking the surface. Then they would dive deep, come up and jump out of the water. We had three adults and one juvenile that followed the boat and played with us for at least 15 minutes.

Thank God for digital cameras. I was only burning up space on my card and my battery pack, but I shot over 100 frames. In previewing them, only half a dozen or so turned out the way I wanted.

We’re now seeing some familiar landmarks. Fort Morgan on the west end of the barrier island that contains Gulf Shores and Orange Beach on its east end. We’ll go into the enclosed ICW on the south side of Plash Island where some friends own some property.

At 2:30, we saw another pod of dolphins. They came up and played off the port stern this time. One of the guys looked like he had been in a bar fight. He had a notch out of the top of his dorsal fin and the back edge of it looked a little chewed up. So it was probably a bull that had been in a couple of territorial fights. Again, if you waved at them, they saw it and hammed it up for us even more. I had almost forgotten how playful they are.

We got to Homeport Marina at Gulf Shores at 4:15; we were secured in our slip for the night at 5:30, and over at Lulu’s (Lucy Buffett’s restaurant) by 6:00. Wonderful food, including key lime pie, and great music. The marina has full floating slips, so we don’t have to adjust our lines for tides. It’s good to be back in our home territory, and Barney and Vickie seem to like it as well. It’s been another wonderful day of boating.