The big day

It's Wednesday. The day. Today we are going back across Mobile Bay. On this boat, it is also known as the "washing machine"!

 However, it appears our plan is going to work. We have been watching the forecast closely and the wind for today is supposed to be the least for the next several days. Even though it meant heading back a couple of days earlier than planned, it will be worth if we can cross in light wind.

I was up at 6:00 am to check on the forecast. When I walked outside it was dead still. The gnats loved it. I quickly retreated inside. The forecast was for light and variable winds until mid afternoon. Perfect. Down to the engine room for engine and generator checks. Make sure everything is secured. Just in case. Then a beach run for Duke, and back to the boat. Crank the engines, reel in the anchor (while the gnats made breakfast out of me), and we are underway for 7:30 am.

We eased past the well known Lulu's Restaurant (Jimmy Buffet's sister) long before they were open for lunch. Tacky Jack's, their competition, is located almost directly across the waterway.

Lulu's Restaurant and fuel dock.

Tacky Jack's      

An hour after getting underway we entered Mobile Bay. This was a far different experience than when we came across almost two weeks ago. These are the conditions we hope and pray for when crossing this bay. It was calm enough that I was actually able to snooze in my hammock on the flying bridge while Paula kept an eye on things. Even Duke enjoyed the calm and snoozed on the bow, enjoying the sun.

 

As you can see in the photo below, this is about as flat calm as water gets. I love it! The pelican does not seem to care.

It was an uneventful, even boring, trip across the bay. Boring is GOOD! We did have one sport fisher blast past us, but I saw him coming from a long way off. I did not rely on him slowing down, and had plenty of time and space to get well off the channel before he blew past me.

We were passing behind Dauphin Island by 1:00 pm, and decided we were not ready to stop for the day yet. So we pressed on to Petit Bois Island. A sailboat arrived shortly before we did, and was headed for the anchorage we prefer when staying here. But he ended up stopping about 300 yards away, so we had plenty of room to drop the hook where we usually do. We were anchored and having sundowners by 4:00 pm.

We spent a couple of hours on the beach before sunset. It must have been feeding time, because there were dozens of stingrays all along the beach, coming up in water about 6-12" deep. Paula had quite an eye for them, and was able to pick them out. They do a good job of camouflaging themselves in the sand. I could only see them when they were moving. There were also hundreds of small, perfectly preserved, horseshoe crab shells along the beach. We have found their shells before, but never with the entire skeletal structure as preserved as this.  Paula found a much larger shell, which now resides with her other sea shell collections.

Sunglasses are for size purposes

Back to the boat in time to watch the sunset. On the way we had a special treat. The dolphins had come in to feed and were all around us. I turned off the motor and just let the dinghy drift. There were dozens of dolphins, of all sizes, splashing and herding fish into the shallows. Then they would rush in and feed on them. Sometimes, they would throw the fish in the air as if to play with it. They came right up to the dinghy to check us out. We thought of reaching out to touch them, but did not want to frighten them away. Duke was fascinated by them, and watched them intently until they finally moved on. All in all, we had them around us for about 20 minutes. It was awesome. Unfortunately, I was so enthralled I completely forgot to get my phone out to get video. Drat!

Then it was time for dinner; grilled chicken breasts, risotto with porcini mushrooms and shaved Parmesan Reggiano cheese, and Paula's famous homemade spicy cole slaw. Yum. Then retire to the top deck for a cigar and a whiskey. Life is good!