Day 150 & 151 November 17 - 18, 2022

 Day 150 Thursday, November 17, 2022

Orange Beach Marina MM167 to Fort Walton Anchorage

48 degrees at 5:30am.  Arion, The Grand Wazoo and Eric's Inheritance left Orange Beach Marina at 6:15 once we had enough daylight.  The inlet markers had been tricky to follow and the water was pretty shallow so it was best not to try it in the dark.  Tug Bussle planned to stay another day.  Great sunrise at the bridge and a dolphin escort to the bay! 

     

This is NOT a hotel.  It is a private home with a huge boat and boat house!  

We had a naval "air show" as we passed Forts Pickens and McKee.  Two F-35s flew by together, split apart, and then rejoined.  We watched other planes do touch and goes.   Travel today included narrow marked channels  and large bays also marked with channels.  The bays are natural, not like those created by the locks and dams of the inland rivers.  

Even though the bays are large the marked waterway may not be.  That may help explain so many abandoned boats.  Free boat!  Zoom in......

 

We stopped at Two George's Marina for fuel at 2:30.  One boat at a time, it seemed like forever.  I calculated 2.81 gallons/hour.  Not too bad. 

   Seeing white sands now and watching for alligators.

Our plan was to anchor in the bay near the marina at Fort Walton.  Arion scouted out the situation and felt that it wasn't a good option.   We continued on for another hour to Boggy Bayou and then Tom's Bayou near Fishing Pier Point.  By this time (6:15) it was definitely getting dark.  We rafted with The Grand Wazoo while Arion rafted with Phil-N-Wild. 

Jerry grilled hamburgers wearing a headlamp.  It was cold; I had tea with dinner.  Hot chocolate for desert and early bed.  So cold and no heat at anchor; it was a 3 blanket night.

Day 151 Friday, November 18, 2022

Anchorage at Tom's Bayou to Point South Marina, Bay Point FL MM289 EHL

Man is it COLD!! 31 DEGREES at 5:30am.  It was a restful night; the boat didn't move at all.  It was a 3 dog night but we had to settle for 3 blankets...  Sixty-three miles to go to a warm marina.  We left our anchorage driving from below enjoying the relative warmth from inside.

 

Arion and Phil-N-Wild                                                        Al pulling anchor

  

Joe pulling anchor                                            Laura at the helm

  Sunrise as we started our day

The engines have been idling more smoothly since the fuel filters were changed but seem to be rougher at higher speeds.  Jerry took the opportunity and revved them to higher speeds in the open water.  We actually got up to 15.1 knots!  Blowing out the turbos really helped; the engines are running much smoother.   We met the tow Miss Desty at the Chocktawhatchee Bridge. We needed to speed up to overtake it before the bridge; we didn't want to be stuck behind it in the narrows for several miles ahead.

   Miss Desty now behind us   

 

This boat may not be abandoned.  It is securely tied to shore and with lawn chairs on land may actually be someone's home.  We have seen soo many abandoned and wrecked boats.

We saw lots of dolphins playing in the 1-2 foot seas.  No pics though since we were still inside the boat.  We arrived at the marina around 2pm.  Point South Marina is all new in a resort community and golf course.  The marina has been rebuilt after a hurricane wiped it out.  The fixed docks are wide with pilings to tie off to.  Although the marina isn't officially reopened it is quite full.  There was already 11 looper boats with our arrival and 8 more expected tomorrow.   No Wi-Fi yet but they do have in slip pump out and free laundry!

So much salt on the boat.  Jerry rinsed it off but it will need a good scrub when it gets warmer.  Abbreviated docktails due to the cold, we ate grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and tomato soup then went to Phil-N-Wild for warm cookies and games.