We spent a lovely 20 days in Mobile, AL sightseeing and repairing our engine exhaust. Though we did enjoy our time there, we definitely felt a strong urge to move on. We left our safe harbor of the marina and started our journey east on a chilly and gusty Saturday, January 28. We were excited, and notably anxious, about officially “restarting” our trip toward Florida. Since we’re not in a big hurry to get anywhere and since our timetable is dictated by wind and repair needs, we decided to take the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) for this 1st leg: Mobile Bay to Pensacola, FL
Our first stop was roughly 30 miles across the Mobile Bay and into the ICW to Homeport Marina, Gulf Shores, AL. This was a cool and relatively inexpensive stop which is also directly behind Lulu’s which is a Lucy Buffett, Jimmy Buffett’s sister, restaurant. We were also docked next to a replica of the Pinta, on of Columbus’ ships that sailed across the Atlantic in 1492. It was mostly foggy and rainy during our time here but we were still able to get on our e-bikes to hit the local brewery, eateries and, of course, the beach. We We did end up extending our time there by a few days so that we could tend to a few leaky issues, mainly one that was leaking onto our bed in the v-berth. We just have to remind ourselves, moving forward, that owning a boat means doing boat work in exotic locations.
We wanted to explore a bit more of Orange Beach and take our time moving down the ICW so we went about 10 nautical miles further east, to Bear Point Harbor Marina. Here, we toured the area via our dinghy, Lady. We didn’t have much beach access due to not being able to pull the dinghy up on the local beaches but were able to find quite a few local favorites for food and beverages. As soon as we had the boat all tied up and safe, we took off on the dinghy to Flora-Bama to celebrate a safe arrival to our new location. We also enjoyed the laid back vibe of Pirates Cove to put us in the mood to ride out a cold front. We ended up staying an extra night here as we waited out the storm at the marina.
To complete our journey through the ICW, we headed to Pensacola, another 10-ish nautical miles to stop at the Southwind Marina. Since we’re staying a bit outside of town, we toured the area by Uber, e-bike and dinghy. We Ubered into town to pick up my nephew, Zane who’s currently at Navy A School in Pensacola , to enjoy brunch, a couple of breweries, an epic chess battle, and a Mardi Paws parade and festival which just happened to be going on downtown. By dinghy, we ate some amazing food at the local restaurants on the water with Hub Stacey’s being our favorite. We were also able to wander around Pensacola Beach and its boardwalk and shopping areas. Peg Leg Pete’s is a must if you’re in the area, a bit off the boardwalk but worth it. Also, by dingy, we were able to pull up onto the beach on the Johnson Beach National Seashore which was directly across from our marina.
By chance, at a local brunch spot, we ran into a retired Navy Pilot, and his wife, who offered to give us a personal tour of the Naval Aviation Museum as he works there as a volunteer. Of course we took him up on it. Since the museum is on a closed base, we convinced Zane to join us as we needed an active service member to get on us base. We had a fun 12-hour day full of airplanes, breweries and good conversation. One of the hardest parts of this lifestyle is leaving behind all the wonderful people you meet along the way.
We had just weathered a cold front and with another one heading our way, I started seriously looking for a weather window to head south to warmer weather. The cold fronts had been coming through every 7-10 days and the forecasts had started to be unreliable as to when they would hit. Cold fronts also meant that we’re at marina, instead of at anchor, as we like to have electricity to be able to run our heater when it gets below 50° or so. With the unpredictable storms and having to be close to a marina, we felt that we didn’t have the freedom to relocate or explore as much as we would like. This means that we’re going to bypass the rest of the Florida Panhandle and head straight down to the Tampa Bay area. We used Walmart delivery to restock the boat with food and engine necessities, put the dinghy back on the bow of the boat, untied the lines and headed back out into the Gulf. We estimated a good 3 days to Clearwater Beach, FL and warmer weather!
DRINK HEAVILY WITH LOCALS WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
– ANTHONY BOURDAIN
