The wind picked up over night and we swung all the way around with the tide change. At about 0400, the anchor alarm started blaring and we jumped up to check everything. Fortunately, everything was fine and I just didn't account for the swing when I set the alarm. We went back to bed until … Continue reading Shell Island to Apalachicola: Swamp Carnage

As you might remember, we had to fix our fresh water pump a while ago. I managed to rebuild one with spare parts on board. Well... it lasted until this week. The water pump was pressurized, but then tripping the breaker. I changed the breaker hoping to get lucky, but no. It was the pump. … Continue reading Pump Fun

After spending 22 days at the Dog River Marina, we were read to get moving. Well, WE had been moving, but the boat had not. We spent the time traveling to Texas and Wisconsin for some college reunion fun and Thanksgiving with the family. We drove over 3,000 miles, but the boat moved about 200 … Continue reading Dog River to Ft. McRee Cove: Dolphins!

Since Our Dash is swimming in salt water for the first time, we needed to replace the anodes. We decided to have it pulled out so that we could also get a peek at the bottom. After over 1,800 miles down the Inland Rivers, through a couple of shallow areas, and perhaps over a log … Continue reading A Peek Under the Water Line

Thanks to the confluence of getting a little work done on Our Dash, weather, work, and the Thanksgiving Holiday, we are hunkered down in Dog River for longer than we had originally hoped. On the bright side, we were not about to let the opportunity to explore go to waste. With Veterans Day on our … Continue reading Exploring Mobile

We woke up at 0600 like usual to prepare for a dawn departure on the final 56 miles of the Inland Water segment of the Great Loop. It was a very peaceful night. The twinkling of the eight other anchor lights off our bow looked like grounded stars. It was cloudy and 48 degrees with … Continue reading Tensaw River, AL, to Mobile, AL: Well, that was different

According to the plan we hatched the previous evening, we rose at 0545 to be ready to listen to channel 17 at 0615 for our orders. Our commodore for the day, Sam from Here's to Us, had called the Demopolis Lock for instructions. Same came on the radio as scheduled, did a roll call, gave … Continue reading Demopolis, AL, to Turkey Creek, AL: Tight Quarters

We've decided that anchoring is awesome. At least, it's awesome when the weather is perfect. We awoke to the blaring alarm - thankfully not the anchor alarm - in the pre-dawn. I made some coffee and stepped onto the back deck to see the first rays of the sun creeping to reclaim the sky from … Continue reading Windham Landing Cutoff, AL, to Demopolis, AL: Southbound

We were planning to push through from Pickwick Lake to Mobile, AL in one stretch. Well, multiple days, but contiguous days. We have thoroughly enjoyed the Inland Rivers section of the Loop, but we are ready to move into the Gulf. We have read different sample itineraries that have the trip taking from five to … Continue reading Aqua Harbor, MS, to Midway Marina, MS: A Good Start to the Week

Getting from the rendezvous back down the river was no easy feat. With 40 or so Loopers looking to lock through Wheeler and Wilson Locks, and with Wilson Lock taking longer due to the recent wall collapse, it took some coordination. Planning took place on Wednesday afternoon. Wendy attended on behalf of our vessel. We … Continue reading Joe Wheeler to Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina: Flotilla in the Mist