Back to where I started from

Almost Done!

Orange Beach to Demopolis

Today was a great day.  It started with a 30+ rough ride up Mobile Bay. I topped off all of my tanks and headed north into the flooded Tombigbee Waterway.  The river was full of debris (trash, leafs, small sticks, large sticks, logs, entire trees, and an old waterheater.)  On top of that I was fighting a 4 mph current all day.  I had to keep my speed under 40 to save fuel so I had no trouble navigating through the almost constant debris.   At one point I got some trash stuck in my intake and I lost power and had a bad vibration.  Once I cleared the intake  the Waverunner was back to top running  condition until I got to the fuel dock at Bobbys Fish Camp.... 
The first lock of the day was the quickest I've been in the whole trip.  The river was flooded enough that the lock only raised me up about 4 feet.  Two miles up  from the lock was the fuel dock at Bobbys Fish camp. I filled the tanks and walked up to pay.  While I was off the ski,  a 5 foot tree branch lodged itself in my jet pump.  When I started up to go again an engine warning light came on and a warning buzzer went off.  It took me a few nerve racking minutes to find the problem  but it was an easy fix.  A few hours later I arived  at the Demopolis Yacht Basin.  After securing the  ski I spotted my first alligator of the trip.  I was shocked to see one this far up the river this early in the year.
Sorry i can't upload pictures today.  My phone is having water related issues and it was off most of the day.  I did get most of the day recorded on the Gopro so I will have new videos up in a few days.
Last day tomorrow!   Only 165 miles to go.
Scott

Mobile Bay

Halfway through the Mobile Bay! This is the last of the large bays before reaching home. 

http://scott.followmyboat.net/

Back across the panhandle.

http://scott.followmyboat.net/

Best weather  of the whole trip! 
I traveled  200 miles through the calm foggy backwaters of Apalachicola, across the emerald waters of Destin, and finishing up the day crossing back into Alabama at Orange Beach. 
The weather today started out a little  cool but it turned into a absolutely beautifull afternoon.   The waters were so calm that I had time to enjoy a great lunch at the Florabama Yacht Club (my favorite spot to get off the water for food and a cold drink.)
Now I'll get some rest so I will be ready for a 270 mile run tomorrow. 
I should make it to Demopolis tomorrow night and finish my trip at Franklin Ferry Marina Wednesday.
Scott

I'm back!

I am rested and feeling refreshed.  Due to my gps issue,   I had to trailer it across the open water section and now I'm in apalachacola. 
Today's section is about 200 miles to Orange beach.
More later
Scott

Taking a few days off.

Just a quick update.    I'm taking a couple days  off to get some  minor issues  resolved.  I should be back on the move  soon. 
Scott

Cabbage Key

I regret to say that I have made a decision to start heading back tomorrow.    I have ridden 1000 miles from the middle of Alabama  to Cabbage Key Florida. This was not an easy decision  but for me it is the  best option.    I will start my 1000 mile return trip in the morning  and ( if I finally get some good weather) I will be home in about a week.   
Scott

Day 6 - I see the sun

The sun has finally come out and the weather looks great. All I had to do was to offer Neptune a can of Dr. Pepper. I wish I would have thought of that two days ago. 

I have no idea how far I will make it today. My family is in Key West so I am pointing myself in that directions and going. 

http://scott.followmyboat.net/

Happy Easter

Day 5 or is it 6, not sure anymore...   I woke up this morning before the sun came up and stepped out the door of my hotel room, Hard rain.  The fishing village of Carabelle seems extra quite on this Stormy Easter morning.  The good news is that my layover has given me time to fix a few small  issues with my storage containers. Now I will be ready to make the gulf crossing and head south as soon as the weather clears.
Scott

Day 5 - On the move again

Bad weather is still headed this way but he is trying to make it to Carrabelle. Then we will decide if he can make the open water crossing....

http://scott.followmyboat.net/

Day 4. Inclement weather day.

Well...   thanks to mother nature,  I am forced to stay ashore today.  I will use this extra time to rest and recover from the first quarter of the trip (a little over 600 miles so far).  I will try to upload some videos this afternoon.
Scott.

Day Three - The Florida Panhandle

Stops for the day include San Destin Marina, Panama City Marina, Appalachicola Marina and finally The Moorings of Carrabelle. 

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=08Vm6KK9TAB1H8HzAzeKsF9Wpg6qBUYu2

Day Two

He made it to Orange Beach. "Sore and tired" is all he had to say. I didn't even get any pictures from him.  Today was the longest day... Tomorrow will be much better! 

Ryan and I leave after school tomorrow to meet up with him in Carabelle. We are ready to be on the coast! 

Editing this post because I just received this awesome text from Scott. 

"Riding across mobile bay is like doing squats nonstop for an hour while a madman hits you on the butt with a plastic bat."

Day Two Mid-Day - Still on the River

Today has been a little slower. It is the longest day on the trip with 263 miles and he is only halfway through it.  There have been a some pretty long delays at the locks. Barges get priority so he had to sit and wait his turn. The goal is to make it to the boat close to Orange Beach before dark. He is behind schedule but it is still doable. 

Here is the link to follow him again: 

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=08Vm6KK9TAB1H8HzAzeKsF9Wpg6qBUYu2

The exciting part of today so far was getting to have a tug boat in with him as he went through the first lock. 

He had enough time at the second lock to stretch his legs and walk around the park.

Done with Day One

He arrived in Demopolis around 4:10. That is an hour and twenty minutes before we estimated he would. Over two hours were spent in the locks. Tomorrow is going to be he longest day at 280 miles and roughly 12 hours of travel. He is estimated to be at our boat that is docked in Barbers Marina close to Orange Beach around 6:30. 

Here are some pictures from today

Launched

Scott has launched and is on the move! You can follow his progress here:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=08Vm6KK9TAB1H8HzAzeKsF9Wpg6qBUYu2

Tomorrow is the day!

The journey starts tomorrow... The crazy thing is, we were in California this morning! We spent the weekend in Orange County at a family wedding. I did get some hiking in to condition my legs for the trip.

Flying back into Birminghmam took us right over the marina which I am launching from tomorrow. You can see the marina to the right of the bridge. It was strange flying over it and looking down on it. 

We are home now and finishing the final prep work. Which includes making sure I have the wetsuit handy for in the morning. Here is the forcast for when I launch. 

Other than not being excited about the cold, I am mentally ready to go. This has been a long time coming and it is finally here... 

Today's fortune.

You can't make this up.

The route!

I finalized the details of my route today. Google maps has been a very useful tool. I have used it to find a route that will be easy to navigate (and keep me closer to shore on the open water stretches.) As of tonight, my route will take me approximately 2480 miles round trip.  
This makes my route 13 miles less than the distance from the parking lot at Disneyland in Los Angeles Ca. to the parking lot of Walt Disney World in Orlando Fl (2493 miles).

16 days

16 days....

16 days, a little over two weeks, 384 hours. The list have been made and remade. Bags have been packed and repacked. Every detail is being scrutinized. Much pacing and pondering has happened. There is still so much more to do. 

Recent purchases for the trip include a Columbia rain jacket and a melon baller. The rain jacket makes perfect sense. The melon baller, well, ask any of the Housey's that survived the great Mississippi River voyage of 1988. 

The greatest concern now is the weather. Temperatures can be adjusted for but the seas can't. We are just watching and waiting...

Learning to blog?

The Albino Hummingbird is pleased to announce that this will be my first blog post.    In the coming months I will write all about my exciting adventures.
Stay tuned!

Cap'n Scott