Sunflower Cutoff to Dog River Marina, Mobile Bay

October 15, 2015

There was mist on the river in the morning, but by the time we got back from our walk, it appeared to be clearing.  It is about 94 miles from Sunflower Cutoff to Dog River Marina, so we had a 9-10 hour day ahead since we planned to cruise at around 9-9.5 mph.  Rob had looked at the wind and wave forecast for Mobile Bay and had seen that there were only supposed to be around 1 ft waves or less for today and Friday.  After that, the waves would be 3-4 ft and higher, so we definitely wanted to be in Mobile Bay with the smallest waves and least wind possible.  Donadee and Wayne of Always Home had planned to be at Dog River Marina by Friday for the same reason, but they decided to do the long day with us and get there a day sooner.  It’s always nice to have company when you are facing a challenge.

Early morning fog

We did run into a fog bank since the river made a couple of ox bow turns, which are apparently conducive to fog formation and trapping.  Once again, we extended our radar and slowed down.  Because there were some tight turns coming up, we also radioed our position every several miles.  Two tow captains radioed back their positions, and the closest tow to us was already past us headed upriver and the next closest tow was 20 miles away.  After about 5 miles, the fog finally lifted, and the rest of the day was sunny and beautiful.

The lower ox bow is where we ran into the fog

We didn’t see any more alligators until we got closer to Mobile.  I’m sure they were around somewhere though, because the navigation programs showed swampy area beyond the riverbanks.

Egret and alligator

Alligator on the move

Finally, around MM 8, we began to see the Mobile, AL skyline!.  The narrow river channel gave way to an industrial waterway lined with large ocean-going ships, barges, loading platforms, and shipyards.

Heading into Mobile!

Very industrial

We saw big cargo ships with lifeboats like the one in the movie, “Captain Phillips”, and estimated that the drop to the water was at least 60 feet!

Huge cargo ship

Look how high the lifeboat is off of the water!

Near one of the ships, a small tow was pushing against its hull to help position it.  We weren’t paying as close attention as we should have, because we were talking to a passing tow, and we got too close to the small tow’s propeller wash.  Although we expected some push to port, we were distracted and not really ready for it when it came.  Suddenly, our bow was headed at the other tow that we were passing!  Fortunately, we got the helm turned hard to starboard and the bow came back around.  We radioed back to Always Home to be ready for it, and Wayne told us it really helped him out.  We share this lesson we learned in the hopes that others will avoid the same error.

We had heard that there was a military shipyard along our route and did get to see a number of military ships that were either being constructed or re-fit.

Military vessels being built or re-fitted

As we got nearer to the opening into the bay, we saw huge loading platforms.

Huge loading platform at entrance to the Bay

And then we were out in Mobile Bay, our first experience with a large body of saltwater with wave action!  Fortunately the waves were as small as was forecasted, but we were still a bit nervous about possibly passing close to large ships on the move.  The “big ship channel” was well marked with numbered red and green day markers since Mobile Bay is a relatively shallow bay.

Markers for the Big Ship Channel

Always Home on Mobile Bay

We passed a dredge working in the channel and were advised to pass it on the “1” but inside its anchor marker.

The dredge, Missouri

About the same time, a shrimp boat was also getting ready to pass going in the opposite direction, so suddenly the fairly wide channel seemed a bit narrow.  When we passed them, the shrimp boat crew was going about their business and didn’t seem to take much notice of us, while we were looking around anxiously at everything.  That’s just the difference between something being new and the same something being routine to someone else.

Shrimp boat

Business as usual for the crew

There was a tow ahead of us going in the same direction.  We counted the markers and felt confident that we would make our turn into the channel for the marina before we caught up with it.  As we got closer to it, we noticed pelicans diving into the water disturbed by its wake.  Maybe it helps to stir up fish for them?  We also saw a few dolphins, but they were there and then gone too quickly for us to get pictures.

Pelican diving

Splash down!

Ready for the next go round

Then we noticed that there was a cargo ship beyond the tow, headed in our direction, and it soon became apparent that we would be passing it before our turn.  Fortunately, the tow and cargo ship worked out how they would pass each other, so we just made sure we were on the same side as the tow.  We didn’t even notice any wake or disturbance in the water when the big ship passed us.

Cargo ship approaching in the distance

Looks bigger and bigger all the time

Always more room than it looks at first

Too soon it was time for the turn into the channel leading to Dog River Marina.  I say too soon because our charts indicated a narrow, 100 ft channel with a depth of 6-8 feet at mean low tide.  We had heard that some parts of Mobile Bay are very shallow, so we were concerned about straying too far out of the narrow channel.  Bob and Barbie of The Bar B had told us to be sure to look back at markers we had passed to help us stay in narrow channels.  Since we don’t really trust that our chartplotters show our true position 100% of the time, we used the old but tried and true method of line of sight positioning to keep ourselves on course.

When we turned into the Dog River Channel, our depth quickly dropped to 4-5 ft under our keel, probably the least amount of water we had seen since Bashi Creek.  We slowed down just a bit since the waves were mostly hitting us almost broadside and both the wind and waves tended to push us to starboard.  Almost Home stayed right behind us, so we had extra incentive to do our best to stay in good water.  Rob kept checking the markers forward and astern and let me know if I needed to correct to port or starboard.  We never had less than 3.8 ft under our keel and mostly had 4.5-5.2 ft.  Since it was later in the afternoon, once we made the turn where the channel heads pretty much straight west, the markers – and almost everything ahead of us – became harder to see due to the glare of the sun.  As we neared the bridge which marks the entrance into Dog River, the markers became closer together which made seeing them and staying between them much easier.  Sasha was a trooper through it all, although she didn't really seem very relaxed.

Sasha on the couch in the salon

Finally, we passed under the bridge and into the calm waters of Dog River.  We pulled into the fuel dock since we had arrived early enough to get fuel before docking.  Rob got to try out his fuel collection device and it worked pretty well, although the suction cup did come loose once.  Once we were done fueling, however, the port engine once again would not start.  Fortunately, only Almost Home was left needing to get fuel and there was room behind us for them to pull in to the dock.

We had talked about getting the starter looked at here anyways, since the marine service department here has a very good reputation for great service and is the only Detroit Diesel specialist in the region.  When we had asked our PO ‘s who we should have work on our boat in this area, they told us without hesitation, “Dog River Marine Service”.  This is the highest recommendation we could have in our book. 

Since we need the work done and the wind and waves are predicted to pick up for the next week, we may end up spending as much as a week here.  If it’s a simple fix that can be done tomorrow morning, we may decide to go ahead and leave for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GICW) tomorrow.  Either way, we couldn’t have picked a better place to be if something needs fixing.