Day 51 – November 9 – Dog River Marina in Mobile Bay

We awoke excited that this day would be our last day on the water for this leg of the journey. The plan is that we would leave the boat at Dog River Marina for approximately six weeks and return home to Indiana for the holidays. Big Bayou Canot is sixteen miles north of Mobile Harbor and Dog River is 15 miles into Mobile Bay which is south of Mobile Harbor. This meant that the day ahead was not a particularly long day but it was one filled with contradictory emotions. We would be seeing civilization again for the first time in six days, there were concerns about crossing Mobile Bay which can be rough at times and we most definitely had mixed feelings about this being our last day on the water. The three other boats with us at Big Bayou Canot were also going to either Dog River or one of the other marinas located in that general area. As Heart’s Desire has made this trip several times, we all lagged behind so that they would become the leader.


Our first sign of civilization was “14 mile Railroad Bridge”. This is the first swing bridge that I have seen that was operational. All of the swing bridges in Chicago no longer swing, so it was fun to watch how it operates. As luck would have it, a pusher with eight barges was coming through as we approached the bridge so it was already open. We only had to wait for the towboat to pass and then we got to go through. Since we were the last boat in the caravan, we had the best vantage point to watch the bridge return to its normal configuration.




Almost immediately after the bridge, the river again changes. Marsh and grassy areas comprise the shore rather than true river banks as seen earlier. We spot our first brown and brown/white pelicans eagerly swooping down to catch fish. I found it most interesting that we saw very few fowl along the Tenn-Tom Waterway and it was indeed a treat to see the pelicans. This area is known as the Mobile Delta. It covers an area 25 miles wide and 40 miles long. It is rich in plant and animal diversity and within its borders one can find Alabama’s only black bear population. Try as hard as I might, I could not find a single bear…black or otherwise.

Slowly we started to see evidence of people, places and things as we approached Mobile Harbor. It was so exciting to see the Mobile skyline and to know that we were getting closer to our destination.




What we were not prepared for was the size of Mobile Harbor and the number of ocean-going freighters. While we have seen ocean-going ships in Chicago, we had never seen this many ships in one single location before. Some were loading, some were being repaired in dry dock and several were entering the harbor from the Gulf. We even had the crew of a Chinese freighter waving to us as we passed.





Upon leaving Mobile Harbor one enters Mobile Bay. Here I saw my first shrimp boat. I have been waiting all trip to see Bubba Gump and there he was…Between bouy markers 63 and 65, we turned starboard to enter the long channel into Dog River Marina.


We had heard such nice things about Dog River and we were excited to arrive. We docked at the fuel dock, pumped out and checked in to receive our slip assignment. The area was totally hustle-bustle but very well organized. After checking in, Mark headed to our slip assignment. We passed it up and then had to turn around and come back. As testament to Mark’s captaining abilities, he just turned the Lolligag around on a dime and headed back in the proper direction without so much as a minute’s hesitation or panic. We found our slip and I was immediately freaked out for several reasons. Unlike the long piers between boats that I am used to seeing in the Midwest, these piers were only about six feet long. This meant that I had to wait until we were within six feet of the head of the slip before I could get off the boat to secure the line. THEN, when I did get off, I could not find the cleats…there were no cleats…how am I supposed to secure the line? Dumbfounded I just stood there holding the line, not knowing what to do with it…finally it dawned on me that I needed to wrap it around the piling. Eventually I figured out that there were no cleats due to the tide – oh, silly me. If the boat was secured to cleats then it would not be able to raise and lower in the tidal waters. As I was having a very minor hissy (I say minor, Mark says major) fit, Mark was able to assist me at this point with securing the rest of the lines.

As soon as we got settled in we encountered many of our new friends that we have met in our adventures. Dog River and the surrounding marinas are excellent places to leave one’s boat for an extended period or at the least rest for a couple of days before venturing on.

Hours on the water: 4
Nautical miles traveled: 31
Number of locks: 0
Time spent waiting at locks: 0
Tomorrow's Destination: Indiana
What we're listening to: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
What we watched: 0
Lesson for the day: These 51 days sure passed quickly !!
Obligatory knitting report: Mittens for Wunder Kids