Mobile to Ingram Bayou

It is exactly four months to the day of our arrival in Mobile, Alabama that we cast our lines and shoved off for the next chapter of this adventure, The Great Loop. It was hard saying goodbye. Our neighbor, Gary from Canada, left before us with Chrissy Dog. He is traveling on his sailboat Ariel however he chose to leave his mast behind. They are headed East toward Florida, just as we are. I think we'll have to keep an eye on them!

Gary waving Goodbye

Gary and Chrissy aboard Ariel leave Turner Marine

Beth waving goodbye
photo by the Millers
on Bright Angel

Mystic leaving Turner Marine
Photo by the Millers
on Bright Angel

One of our favorite Marina friends, Jerry, stopped by to chat with us then asked if he could help with our lines. He stood at our dock, quietly watching us go. I waved heartily and took photos of him. Jerry is 91 and wants to go cruising in his beautiful Oceanus 37. He just bought this new to him Beneteau and plans to rename her Marie L after the love of his life! We will miss our daily chats with Jerry!

Dave and Jerry

Jerry and Beth

We so loved getting to know this man!

Jerry watching from Mystic's slip #16

Marie L, Jerry's new Beneteau

We were delighted to see Cynthia and Byron Miller on Bright Angel waving us off and taking photos of our departure. We first met them in Columbus, Mississippi and have really enjoyed getting to know them in Mobile. Cynthia made me a beautiful dish towel for Mystic. She calls the towels “Good Lil’s” because they are good little dryers! I know she expects me to use it but it’s so pretty I may just want to hang it as a work of art!

Cynthia & Byron waving farewell

Cynthia Lyn-Gray Miller

Byron Miller

Beautiful work by Cynthia Lyn-Gray Miller "Good Lil' dishcloth"

Marsha, aboard Faith, stepped up into the cockpit as we passed! I could picture her looking out Faith's porthole and noticing Mystic moving out of her slip. She popped up with hand in the air, waving farewell. My heart filled with emotion! We loved chatting with Tom and Marsha!

Marsha aboard Faith

We heard hollering from the dock and saw the Germans, Uver and Eva, waving wildly and yelling “Goodbye, Good luck!” They are traveling aboard a beautiful converted fishing boat that they picked up in Nova Scotia. It is bright red! We enjoyed sharing stories with them during their short stay at Turner Marine.

Uver and Eva's boat

Nova Scotia Trawler

We’d already said farewell to Joe and Nana (short for Norma) last night. This lovely couple are restoring a sailboat that they purchased for $500. Joe is a welder and has taken on work at Turner Marine which will help them stay aboard their boat while they make it their own. We sure are going to miss each and every one of our marina friends!

Nana & Joe

Jerry passed the last dock line to me at Turner Marine around 9:00 am. We headed next door to Dog River Marina to get fuel. The fuel dock manager was quite the character and kept us there chatting about old boats for a half hour. We finally peeled ourselves away and headed out into Mobile Bay.

Mystic approaching the Dog River Bridge

The last time we were on Mobile bay we got our butts kicked with five foot waves hitting us broadside. Today would be different with calm seas and little wind; but you don’t just forget those bad experiences. We entered the bay with trepidation but it turned out to be an easy day as far as weather and bay conditions go. There was far more boat traffic than we are used to, but that is only going to get worse as we make our way down the Florida Gulf Coast.

Fishing trawler in Mobile Bay

Obstruction

Moving along the bay, we were fascinated by the Pelicans diving completely underwater to catch fish. At one point, we were surrounded by three or four dozen pelicans, terns and gulls that were in a feeding frenzy! It was amazing to watch. These interludes from nature fill our days and fill us with excitement and joy. It’s very cool to be a part of the big picture. We spend about 95% of our day outside and try to soak in everything we can.

We made it to our anchorage at Ingram Bayou in six and a half hours, traveling 44.9 miles. The anchorage is lovely and quiet.  Boaters seem to come here to catch their breath, relax and enjoy being on the water, just off of the ICW. When we first arrived, we could hear loud music coming from the beach side. It quieted after dark!

View at our Ingram Bayou anchorage, sunken barge

Ingram Bayou view facing ICW

The boat handled well except for a tinny vibration coming from the engine. Dave figured it to be the grounding brush bar that had vibrated loose. He tightened it down and the noise went away. We had no indication that we’d be in a different situation with the engine the next day. Of course, that’s how life is when you are cruising. If it can break...it eventually will!

We got our feet wet today. It felt great to be moving on to new places and new experiences. Onward we go!

A special shout out to my dear uncles Fred Dailey and Ron Smith. We will miss you two more than words can convey. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the time you shared with us. We enjoyed every minute!

Our beloved Uncles Ron & Fred

Dauphins Restaurant

Dauphins is a restaurant that sits on the 34th floor of the Trustmark Building in downtown Mobile, Alabama. Originally called the Bienville Club, it boasts panoramic views of Mobile Bay. The fabulous menu is filled with Caribbean and French Creole flair. We went for the view and for the $12 lunch we'd heard about from several other boaters at Turner Marine.

Dauphins offers the option of dining at the captain's table in the kitchen in the company of Executive Chef and Sommelier Steve Zucker. You can enjoy this treat with up to six friends for a unique dining experience at no extra charge!

Dauphins lunch menu has nine delicious choices which include a main dish and two sides. I ordered the Shrimp Etouffee which is usually a special only on Fridays but was added to the daily menu after the Chef recently won a Creole cookoff with the recipe. It came over white rice so I only chose one side, Black Beans over Coconut Rice. Dave had the Shrimp Creole, Uncle Ron the Wednesday special, two Smothered Pork Chops, and Uncle Fred had the Creole Beef Daube. The food was fabulous and the view outstanding! They offer a variety of desserts as well. Not only do they package them to go, they offer a mini version of the Key Lime Pie for those who have only a little room after lunch. Unfortunately, we were too stuffed for dessert. The staff was friendly and helpful without being invasive. We'll definitely eat here again and highly recommend it to everyone visiting Mobile!

Visit Dauphins Website

Dauphins Art - View Facing North

Mobile River View, We came South through here

Northwest View

West View

Table Tray

Table Art

Table Art

View Southeast

View East - Eye Level

View Southeast

View East Past Austal Shipbuilding

View of the Convention Center where we docked Mystic

Coral on Baby Grand

School of Fish

Horse Sculpture

Boat Projects

It's almost time for us to leave our safe little community here at Turner Marine in Mobile, Alabama. We've had a whole lot of fun over the last four months. We've also been working on boat projects whenever time allowed. Dave's list was very long.

Installing the track for our new Storm Trysail was an easy place for him to start. Dave began the work to mount the sail track before we raised our mast but he ran out of time. He was able to complete the work but it required going up the mast in the bosun chair. He rigged a second security line in case the line I was using to lift him failed. It worked perfectly! He was high above me, eye level with the spreaders when our friend Dave from S/V Veritas walked by. He noticed me standing by the mast with a halyard in hand and offered to help me get Dave down. With newly found confidence, I said I could handle it. I wasn't sure how the descent would go but I proudly brought my captain to the deck slowly and safely. That safety line was key to my success.

Beth looking up at Dave in bosun chair

Dave has been working on hooking up the solar panels. This required connecting wires from the solar panels to the charge controller, through the shutoff switch and on to the batteries. It went smoothly but included a bit of drilling holes to run the wires and contortionist movements to reach the hatch pathways. It was not easy work.

We purchased a  new vhf radio with AIS reception from Defender Marine. Dave installed it with ease but we are still working on the cable connection to our 17 inch laptop. The software is installed but we haven't gotten the hardware bugs out. We still need to get it to work with our navigation program Open CPN.

Dave mounted hull zinc anodes. Mystic has never had anodes before because she has always been in fresh water where it's not critical to use them. Aluminum anodes are used in fresh water, zinc in salt water. They protect the metals in the boat from galvanic corrosion. Most boats have a donut shaped zinc added to the shaft of the propeller. We pulled Mystic out of the water only to learn that our shaft is too short to add the donut. We also had the option of adding a prop cap zinc. Since our prop is inside a pocket of our rudder, there isn't enough room to add this either so we added them to the hull in two places. The sacrificial zincs get eaten away before damage can be done to the bronze and stainless steel of our boat. The zinc is usually replaced every twelve months. 

No room for prop shaft zinc
Photo by Scott Joiner

During our Marine Survey in 2013 we learned that Mystic did not have a galvanic isolator which keeps stray shore power voltage from frying our boats bronze and stainless steel. Dave installed a galvanic isolator, hiding it back in the ground system of the shore electric power.

The mechanic at Turner Marine recommended that Dave clean the heat exchanger in our Kubota Nani Diesel engine. He explained what needed to be done and Dave was able to do the work with ease. We now have a clean heat exchanger with new gaskets and seals. Dave replaced the water pump impeller too. It is one of the scheduled maintenance items on his annual list.

Dave designed lazy jacks for Mystic. Basically, they are a spider web of ropes that start at the mast spreaders and run under the boom creating a net that collects the mainsail when it's dropped. Without them, the yards of canvas drop randomly and create a mess on the deck. The lazy jacks will be a wonderful addition to our sailing experience.

Our tiller rudder arm had a stress fracture. This is safety issue. If the rudder arm broke while under way or in rough weather, we'd be screwed. Dave took the rudder arm to several welding businesses including our new friend Joe here at Turner Marine. Everyone told him to buy a new rudder arm. Dave decided to build a reinforcement with stainless steel gussets instead of repairing what we have. The new rudder arm is not pretty but it sure isn't going to fail.

My list of projects is much shorter. I'm diligently working on sanding and varnishing the teak. It's a tedious, time consuming and never ending job; a task that I love, but I hate. Once I get that first coat of varnish on I realize why we do it! It just looks so good! My work is starting to get compliments and requests to do neighboring boats bright work! My response to these requests, "Yeah, no thanks!"

Before

After

I've also been sewing on my "free table" sewing machine. It's small and not very powerful but I've been able to use it for repairs to our AGLCA flag and clothes. I made a hanging bag for holding our binoculars, vhf radio and GPS while underway. It hangs from our hand rail by a strap with a quick snap. Dave is excited to have the equipment stored but available during travel.