Kim Jo IV: 10/28/12

Saturday, November 3, 2012

November 2 and 3, 2012, The Wharf Marina, Orange Beach, AL

Friday: We ate at the Mobile Yacht Club last night as each of us received a $50 gift certificate from Dog River Marina and Boat Works. We had a very nice meal and the Yacht club was within walking distance.

We waited for Roy El to get his bill and were on our way by 08:30. It was a beautiful day and Mobile Bay was smooth as glass. We turned off the shipping channel at Red Marker 60 and set our way point for the GIWW, Green Marker 119. We got to our marina, The Wharf, Orange Beach, AL, by 13:30. We were met by Roy and Elvie’s friend, Jerry, at the dock. Jerry and his wife have a condo at the marina. We had an enjoyable evening of docktails and dinner on the Roy El.

Saturday: We stayed a second day in Orange Beach. Jerry drove us around the area and we did some shopping.

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CO's comments: Another marine. I am having a good time. Looking forward to meeting one more of Roy's marine friends tomorrow at Fort Walton Beach. You would think Roy was a marine he has so many marine friends.

The more I operate this motor yacht, the more I like it. It seems to be much easier to handle and more maneuverable than the Sea Ray. You would think a bigger boat would be harder. It might be that after a few thousand miles that I am getting better. Just like being a pilot, the more hours you fly, the more proficient you get.

Roy El on Mobile Bay leaving Dog River on 11-2-2012

View of the marina from Jerry's balcony; front boat unknown, then Kim Jo IV, and Roy El on other side of us

Kim Jo IV tied up at The Wharf Marina

Lunch at Lambert's. A very unique restaurant. Besides your meal, they serve hot rolls, which they throw to you, fried potatoes, fried okra, and a number of other items. Very large portions and way too much to eat but good.

Jerry and Keith are fellow marines; can you tell which condo is Jerry's.

Keith has his USMC flag also. Took this picture from up at the bar area and thought it looked cool with his flag flying.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

October 31, 2012, Still at Dog River Marina, Mobile, AL

Wednesday: In the past few days the winds have died down some and it was in the 80's with lots of sun shine. The marina has been working on both Roy El and Kim Jo IV and they should finish Roy El Thursday and they finished ours today. So, if all goes well, we should leave here Friday morning and head for Orange Beach, FL, to the Marina at the Wharf where Roy and Elvie have good friends. Actually, they have good friends almost every stop because they have been cruising for so many years.

We are very happy with the work that Dog River Marina and Boat Works did for us. Their people were very thorough, friendly, and took the time to explain things and they also got things done in a timely manner. We would definitely recommend having your boat work done here. They have a loaner car and it is fairly close to a Super Walmart and Lowell's. Also, there is a West Marine on the premises. Today it has been 4 years since I retired. Amazing how fast time goes.

CO's comments: We found our why our generator didn't work. When the batteries were replaced, the interface was not reset for the new batteries. Therefore, they were not being charged properly. When one reached full charge, it shut off and the other 3 did not completely charge and we were not getting enough voltage to run any thing. The whole system is now set and working properly.

Got up this morning and the tide had changed and the XO could not get off the boat without help. We are in tidal waters again.

Monday, October 29, 2012

October 27, 28, and 29, 2012

Saturday, October 27, 2012:
We were woke up at 04:05 by the boat rafted to us; he turned on his generator so by 04:20 we got up. It was a mess trying to leave at 05:45. It was still dark and the wind was blowing and the two boats rafting left first, the Roy El, and we were last. The 65 footer would not let anyone raft up to him because he said he was leaving by 05:30. When we left there was no one awake on their boat. All 4 boats were secured in the lock and this guy calls and asks the Lock Master to wait for him so we waited for over a half an hour. By then, a sail boat also entered the lock. So much for an early start. Then when the lock opened the 65 footer tried to pass the other boats and get out ahead of the group; very inconsiderate, someone should teach him "boat educate".

Anchored at Alabama River Cut-off, very windy and not much swing room. We tried anchoring first and the wind blew us into the trees on our starboard side. It scratched our railing and left a little tree on the back deck. We pulled up our anchor and went back out into the channel and waited for Roy El to get there. He went in an anchored as he is about 8 feet shorter than we are, then we pulled in an tied up to his starboard side. We had drinks on Roy El and we were on our own for dinner, we all had left overs. We have a problem with our generator, it says "Low Battery". It would run but did not produce enough voltage to run any thing. Frustrating. So, we ate and went to bed about 08:00. Very cold night, put on an extra blanket.

Sunday, October 28, 2012:
Got a later start and we were just going to go as far a Mile 12.0 and anchor in Briar Creek but after underway we decided to go for it and go all the way into Dog River Marina for a total of 69 miles. When we got into Mobile Bay the winds picked up but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The worst part was turning off the shipping channel to the small channel into Dog River Marina. After that, the waves calmed some and we both got here with out incident. Thank goodness for small favors. We knew or had met just about everyone that was tied up at the marina. There were 12 people at Roy El’s for docktails and after Greg and Elvie made steaks for the 6 of us; Roy, Elvie, Greg, Carl, and Keith and me. It was Greg and Carl’s last night on the boat and we had a good evening.

Monday, October 29, 2012: This was a non travel day. We got caught up on things around the boat and talked with Dog River mechanic about what has to be done on the boat. We went out to eat with Roy and Elvie and some friends that we had met 2 years ago at Bay Hill Marina on the Tennessee. We had a very enjoyable evening and it was good to see Dave and Joy again.

CO's comments: The boat that rafted to us on the outside Friday night stated that they would leave with us in at 06:30 the morning so I said OK to raft. Then at 04:30 he said he would just as soon wait until noon to leave. We all left by 06:00.