On the road again - leaving Dog River Marina Finally 12-2-12

 We have been at Dog River Marina since Saturday November 17, 2012. They pulled us out of the water on Tuesday November 27, ten days later. We were scheduled for Monday afternoon but a storm came up quickly and ruined the afternoon so we had to wait till Tuesday.

Big storm on Monday 11/26/12

It was kind of traumatic to see the boat finally come out of the water. Each person on the Dog River team had a role to play.

Glenn, second from left, coordinated all our service

Rusty checking it all out

Into the travel lift and down the road

Down the road past the big work building



We sit next to Sareanna in the yard



Kermit checking out the props - they look good

They put us right next to Sareanna, although Dick and Deanna were still on the road following Thanksgiving. It was weird to be living on the boat while it is on the hard. The marina folks were so nice to us. They loaned us a heater because it was cold and we couldn’t use our water cooled ac/heating system.

They found a set of metal stairs especially for Rusty.  The stairs were a tiny bit too short (about 2 feet) so Rusty had to jump.  To avoid peril we put Rusty in his life jacket so he knew he could only go down with us. Then Kermit could use the handle to sort of lift Rusty up and down the big jump and guide him down the stairs. It worked!

Stairs to access the boat while on the hard



Rusty hanging out

Then Rusty spent the entire day wandering around the marina with his Dog River dog pals. The old guy complained about the gravel hurting his feet but he forgot the pain when the pals were around to play, scooting around like a puppy.

Rusty hanging out with Diesel, a really big dog

There are lots of people waiting for work to be done at Dog River Marina. Good karma came our way once more. We got all our work done except welding the rail. Work included:

·         New line spurs to cut off crab and fish lines
·         4 new AGM batteries
·         All new belts and idler pulleys
·         New impellers
·         First service for generator – new oil and filters
·         Repair water leaks on generator – that causing the generator to overheat
·         Oil change on engines – royal purple is worth every penny; new advice from RP next change in 300 hours when running like we are
·         Engines in 240 hours burned 1 pint of oil each – that’s all – very good
·         New overboard discharge thru hull macerator pump installed so we can go to the bathroom in the Bahamas – sorry fishies – because there are no pump out stations where we are going in the Bahamas
·         High pressure oil lines installed – the old ones were starting to leak
·         Rebuilt the front head – twice till it works

We had a great crew from Dog River Marina. Glenn coordinated our service, assigning folks and making sure we were on target. A huge shout out to Sully who can fit into the tightest spots on the boat. He is really dedicated and talented mechanic. He even came on Saturday morning for a sea trial on his own time.

This is the only part of Sully we regularly saw

He checked a few things and found a few things to fix. Then we mentioned that we had the front head rebuilt but it still sounded funny. Before rebuilt it sounded like a garbage disposal and not in a good way. After being rebuilt it sounded better but was not drawing sea water to flush smoothly.

Sully rolled up his sleeves and tried all sorts of things to make it better. He crawled in and under the deck, he replaced hosing, he used soap and oil to smooth it out. We heard a steady stream of comments about marine engineers who design boats without any consideration for those who fix boats! Ultimately we did not take a sea trial. We made Sully leave at about 1:30pm with a plate of homemade cookies as a thank you. What a great guy! He has a strong work ethic and takes great pride in making things right.

Sully put in a call to Bryson, the plumbing expert. Bryson showed up, again on his own time, at about 4:30pm. Really! Can you imagine Venetian Marina responding like that? Ever? Never. Bryson also rolled up his sleeves and in about an hour figured out that the gasket was the wrong size. The suction couldn’t work right because air was seeping in. With the right gasket the head works perfectly!!

This is Chopper handling the outside portion of the waste thru hull

Life on the hard is hard. We have our house around us but people come and go all day long. At night we clean up as best we can but everything gets ripped up and messed up. The mechanics so their best – they straighten up and wear booties but the mess is unavoidable. It is quite disconcerting. It is also noisy. All day there is pounding, sanding, and buffers making. This is not Venetian’s work crew. It is a real work yard with professionals. So they are always moving around and always doing something.

crawling in to handle belts and generator repair work

then another fellow finishing the fiberglass work around the new thru hull



Kermit hung around all the time - this is breakfast on the run

Kermit hung around all the time figuring out the best way to get attention to our needs while still being his charming self. Sometimes I just had to escape. I did a lot of shopping and a bit of sightseeing.  Here is some of what I saw:

Katherine tryiing on the queen dress

Mardi Gras Museum – Awesome and strange. I went with Mary from Bama Belle who is from Mobile. She is active in a Mardi Gras social club. 

Mary on the float

There about about a dozen or so clubs, each with their own personalities, including one for blacks, one that tells bad jokes, one for men who dress up in drag, a bunch for women only, and I don’t know what all else. Lots of clubs.


This room is dedicated to the club for men in drag

They have parties and floats where they throw candy and beads and stuffed animals at the cheering crowds. It looks like a lot of fun. Mary says the Mobile Mardi Gras is one of the biggest and oldest. The museum has a real float with movement under it so it feels like it is moving.

Signs from the club that tells bad jokes

The best part for me and the part I understood the least are the costumes for the kings and queens. Each club has a king and queen and then there is a king and queen elected for the entire Mardi Gras out of those club kings and queens. Fun Fact: Every king is called King Felix I have no idea why.

The gowns are shown on maniquins - kind of creepy

It is quite an honor that involves designing and purchasing specially designed gowns and outfits with these huge trains, fur, and “jewels”. It is an awesome display of ostentatiousness. They have at least 100 outfits displayed, each one different from the last.

The best families in Mobile are usually kings and queens, probably because they are the only ones that can afford these costumes. I love this picture of three generations of queens from 1906, 1936, and 1958. It is a big deal. I don’t really get it but then I am  not from Mobile. I’d love to come back and go to Mardi Gras with Mary!

Three generations of queens in one famiy

Mary checking out the gowns for queens

Oakleigh and the AnteBellum neighborhood in old Mobile: Mobile has been in existence for a long time under 5 different flags: Spanish, French, English, Confederate, and US. There are some really old homes from before the Civil War. Oakleigh is a huge home with lage grounds right in downtown Mobile. It is surrounded by beautiful old homes, some large, some small, in a great neighborhoods being redeveloped by some of the wealthy young people. Mary says a lot of lawyers live there. We tried to go to Oakleigh but it closed early so we missed it. We walked around the outside instead.


Oakleigh Mansion - Mobile

The live oaks at Oakleigh Mansion

 

Fort Conde, the Mobile Museum, and Royal Street: Fort Conde was closed too but we visited the Mobile Museum to  learn about local history. Fascinating. The museum itself is in the old court building, a beautiful white antebellum building.
 

Fort Conde

From the museum we drove the path Mardi Gras takes around some parks, some old buildings, and onto Royal Street, the main historical street. It is all lit up with Christmas lights. You can see the French influence with the balconies and wrought iron – a lot like New Orleans which is only a few hours drive away.

Mobile Museum Courtyard

Royal street in Mobile

The park off Royal Street in mobile

We stopped for fabulous fresh roasted peanuts at The Peanut Shoppe, a little store that has been in that spot for many, many years. It is sort of like the original Garretts Popcorn in Chicago – a hole in the wall with great smells!

Great food! We spent a lot of time with Charlie Crawford and Mary. They took us to some amazing restaurants. All the fresh seafood you could even imagine. Charlie kept trying to find crawfish but we never did. I am kind of relieved we didn’t find any. I am not sure what I think about crawfish. We ate red shrimp and BBQ baked potato (a local specialty) at R&R. We ate oysters and shrimp at Oysters and at Ed’s Seafood Shake, alligator and fish at The Compleat Angler, junk food at Bomhouwer’s where we watched the Alabama Auburn game, and grouper with crab at the Mobile Yacht Club. Don’t forget about Waffle House for some comfort food one evening. So much good food, so little time. We also cooked on board plenty of time including steaks, pork chops, and of course the turkey on Thanksgiving. It is time for a diet or something.

Red shrimp at R&R in Mobile

Kermit and Katherine at R&R in Mobile

Then back in the water! We went back in the water on Friday.

All in all, we got a lot of work completed in a relatively short period of time. There are folks stacked up in Dog River for weeks and weeks. One boat, Satisfaction, has been there since 11/8 getting bottom paint, shaft seals, and full boat wax. They are leaving with us today to cross the Bay, having been at Dog River Marina for three weeks.

Here we go

We have to wait for Laura and Ross to move that car visible on the far right

Kermit supervising the travel lift

into the water we go

It floats!!

Back to the transient dock

 

The inside is a mess - this will take some time

 

When the sea trial didn’t happen on Saturday we got a treat by having a great seat for the annual Christmas boat parade!! About 10 to 15 boats of all sizes decorated with lights, throwing candy and beads to shouting crowds! It was a real treat. Dick and Deanna from Sareanna returned Saturday so they joined us on the boat to watch the parade along with Ross and Laura from The Zone, and Rick and Ann from Assisted Living. They are crazy! We had a great time!!



Dick Shepard

Deanna and Ross - notice the beads?

 

 

 We left Sunday morning at about 9am after a thorough pump out. The water is flat as a millpond, it is about 75 degrees, and the dolphins are escorting us to the next phase of this trip. We plan to meet One September this evening near Pensacola. First we will have lunch at LuLu’s Restaurant at SR 59 at Mile 155 on the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway. More on the next part later.

NOTE: we just went fast in Mobile Bay to double check the work (sort of a live sea trial) and we traeled 25 mph and used 21 gallons of gas to travel about 30 minutes. We usually use 21 gallons of gas in 4 hours