Day 47, 48, 49 – 11/19-21/23

Starting location: Mobile Convention Center rock wall, AL

Weather: Sunday – 49 am. Mid 70s pm. Sunny. Monday – 55 am. Partly cloudy to cloudy. Mid 70s pm. Muggy, overcast, some rain in pm. Winds picked up overnight (max 40mph gusts). Tuesday – 60 am. 70 pm. Muggier. Hard rain, tapered off.

Ending location: Fairhope Docks Marina, Fairhope, AL. In East Mobile Bay.

Statute miles: Approximately 15, then 0 for 2 days

General summary: Not great sleep while tied up to rock wall in Mobile due to wake repeatedly hitting sideways from passing vessels. This waterway never rests, apparently. Usual breakfast then lifted Cocoa up (only a few feet as tide had risen) for a walk. Large (at least 8 stories) Carnival ship had docked just South of the convention center. Felt minuscule in comparison. The Acadia, another Looper vessel, had also tied up right behind us last night. Very friendly people and we coordinated moving on across Mobile Bay to Fairhope in the morning. Will be spending 3 nights there at municipal marina so we can receive the new anchor and rode (ordered – a bit less than a boat buck as it turns out) then mark depths on it and install. Also had placed an Amazon order for some other necessities. One silver lining to the cloud of yesterday – we have been thinking we needed more rope for dock lines and fender ties. Now we have almost 250 feet of extra rope (no longer “rode” as anchor and chain are not attached) to use at no extra cost. Enjoyed flat calm on the bay during the trip across! 🎉 Somewhat difficult slip to maneuver into on arrival at marina, but nice to be in a protected spot for a few days. All packages arrived, including our new boat cards. Now we can greet other Loopers properly – trading cards on introduction is more important than a handshake in this community. Walked 3 miles into lovely Fairhope. Lots of good restaurants, stores, and a small French Quarter. Great ice cream stop (Mr. Gene’s Beans). Nice choice of grocery stores. Did usual boat restock in preparation for moving on. Bought 2 pounds of freshly caught shrimp from a working boat in the marina for dinner. 😋 Big storm blew over Louisiana and Western Mississippi causing some thunderstorms and tornadoes but we were just East of it and got only wind and rain.

What was fixed: 12 volt water heater. Just a loose connection.

Boater information: Make sure to get the motoring instructions by contacting the Fairhope Marina before you head there from Mobile or the West Bay. Most of the East Bay is quite shallow and there is a very specific route that is not on usual charts. To walk to the Fairhope Yacht Club or into the city of Fairhope from the municipal docks you have to go a mile in the opposite direction in order to cross over Fly Creek Channel. It looks like a 5 minute walk or 2 minute swim and is directly across the small channel between the marinas, but not so. There is no dinghy dock.