First of all, this will be my 100 post to our blog. I hope you all have enjoyed our adventures and there will be more to come this year while we explore Tennessee.
Well we finally made it to our new home for the next 7 months, and here is how we got there.
We left Orange Beach Marina on April 24th. We had checked the weather and the wind on Mobile bay. Looked like smooth sailing for the next week. We said “goodbye” to Orange Beach and the really cool big house at the end of our road
House at Orange Beach
We had smooth waters sailing to Dog River, our first stop. When we got there we filled up at $3.13 a gallon and took our free night dockage. We heard that a big storm was coming tomorrow night and the water levels were pretty high on the Tenn-Tom so we decided to stay and not leave till Sunday A.M. All morning on Saturday we watched sail boats leave the harbor. Apparently there were 130 boats sailing in a Regatta that day. Looked like a beautiful day until about 4:30 when it started to get dark. The storm was coming. Luckily Gary had put out some extra lines because there were 60 to 70 MPH winds. Our boat was being pushed sideways by the wind and the rain was whipping. Unfortunately we didn’t put up the Bimini, we watched as the tubing collapsed back on the radar arch and the Bimini flapped around in the wind
Holy Crap! We were keeping our fingers crossed it didn’t tear off. We listened on the marine band radio as people were calling to the coast guard for assistance. We listened as one boat reported they found a dead body. The storm was pretty bad, when all was said and done there were 2 deaths and 5 missing plus 4 dozen boats in distress. We still don’t understand why people went out in that weather. At least we were lucky, Gary checked the Bimini after the storm was over and there were no tears in the cloth and only one bar was slightly bent. That was a close one and lesson learned, take the Bimini down in a storm. Kind of ironic too because we installed a chart plotter on the fly bridge so we could sit up there while we drove to Chattanooga and now we don’t have a Bimini to sit under anymore. Best laid plans.
We watched as sail boats were towed into the marina
Sail boat being towed in
This one didn’t have any gas, apparently they go with little to no gas so they can sail faster, I guess that’s why his sails got ripped to shreds
Ragged sails
Well we enjoyed the beautiful sunset that night
Beautiful Sunset
Touch of Class 
Beautiful Sunset indeed! A blessing following a horrendous storm. Glad the Captain is so diligent about checking weather and you chose to stay in safe harbor. Well Done! Great photos!
Can’t wait to hear about Dollywood and that area!
Yes, good to hear you stayed put.
Sad to hear people died because they didn’t take head of the forecast.
We couldn’t figure out whey they even had the event. There were some pretty inexperienced people out there. Apparently there was a guy who had never raced before and he took his wife who had never even been on the boat. She at least wore her life jacket, he did not. When their boat overturned, she was able to swim under the boat to get him a throwable that he could hang onto until they were rescued by the Coast Guard. Crazy! Gary knows not to take me out in nasty weather if he can help it. I don’t like it at all 🙂
We got our land yacht (the Scamp travel trailer) Bimini blown off a few years ago. It was perfectly calm outside and a huge wind gust pulled the legs out of the ground and flung it over the roof. About a thousand $ damage. Thank goodness for insurance.
I wondered if the sailors liked getting towed in my a stink boat. LOL. I love sailing and plan to buy a hybrid sailboat when we move out to WA near the Canada border. It is a bit foolish to sail with empty fuel tanks, IMO. I can understand wanting to win a race but safety is more important. We still wear our life jackets when on the boat, especially when I am alone. It also keeps us warm in this cold MN weather. It is 38 degrees here now. I was surprised to see fuel prices so low. $2.32 a gallon! Take care and glad you guys and had no other damage.
38 degrees! Brrrrrr! Luckily Gary just fixed the bimini so it won’t cost us anything on repairs. Besides, with a 2% deductible on the insurance, we would of had to pay for it ourselves anyway. When you go sailing, just make sure you watch the weather 😉
We have been going up to Superior a lot kayaking or fishing with the boat. I like the hybrid sailboat because it will get up to 20+ mph on plane and can be beached. Nice to get ahead of the weather or tuck into a swallow back cove where deep keel boats can not go. I like Superior since you can see the storms heading your direction in the distance, most of the time. LOL. Take care.
Here is a funny video when we got caught in a oncoming storm on the Snake River heading back to Duluth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHxX131qf7U
Nice video! Sounded like it was really windy. Superior was always cool to boat on, the clear water, the views but yes, you really have to watch the weather as the storms come quick and they are fears.
Kayaking huh? Gary wants to do it, I can just see myself more in the water than out of the water with that kind of boat. I could never get on those blow up rafts when I was a kid and don’t expect I am any better at it now that I am an adult :).