Short & Sweet

Finished up the trip today. It was just a quick 67 miles from Coinjock to Salt Ponds Marina in Hampton. Everything went well and there were no issues. It was nice to finish the day around noon. I did get a bonus today. I got to see Clair Neamand on his Meridian 341 Opus 4 on the water coming out of Norfolk around 10:30 this morning. It is a small world. Clair, it was great to speak with you on the radio today. I hope your trip up the Bay was not too bumpy.


Sun rises on the water never get old.


Coming into Great Bridge, VA today.

It's a Dog's Life

Well, the boat was not as fast as advertised. Boat cruised between 21 and 22 kts; 23 to 25 mph (still not too bad and plenty fast). I covered 215 miles today over 10 hours. I stopped in Beaufort, NC for fuel at Jarrett Bay Marina where fuel was just $2.39/gallon. That is the best I've seen on the ICW in years. Tonight in Coinjock the fuel was $2.70/gallon. Still not too bad. I got a good break today coming out of the Neuse River. The winds were south at 12kts and the river was calm. I figured the Pamlico Sound would be calm too, so decided to run up the sound instead of battling the sailboats and trawlers moving north on the ICW. It was a good call as the sound was pretty good with seas about 2-3 feet and on the stern. The Sea Ray handled very well in the following sea and I made good time without having to slow down at all. I got into Coinjock at 5:30 tonight. After fuel, pump out and wash down it was to dinner for some prime rib... as good as always. I should make Hampton, VA tomorrow around 1:00pm if all goes as planned. Just a few pictures from the day.


A nice start to the day running down the ICW.


I passed this sailboat about 8:30am. This dog had it made. He was sitting on the side-deck in the sun and just loving life. He was living the dream!


The "Office" today.


All settled in Coinjock.

Sea Ray 48 (Evolution) to Hampton, VA

Back on the waterway again. Tonight I jumped aboard a 2007 48-foot Sea Ray Sundancer named Evolution that is going from Hampstead, NC to Salt Pond Marina & Resort in Hampton, VA. This will be a quick 2 day trip up the ICW. The boat has a pair of Cummins QSC 540hp engines and should cruise around 27 knots. The SPOT will be on tomorrow and I should finish the day up in Coinjock, NC.

Not All the way Home

The day started off great, but it went to hell very quickly. We left at 6:10am, before sunrise, so we could get in early and try to make a flight home tonight. Well, we didn't even come close. After about 15 minutes and getting ready to arrive at the first of 3 locks all very close together, we were informed a barge with hazardous material was in front of us and we could not lock through with them. So we waited. No big deal. But the situation compounded as the day went on.

Yesterday we did not see another boat, let alone a barge. Well today, we made up for it. Barges coming out of our every freek'n creek, passage, and bayou between here and there. We got hung up for two hours at the Montgomery Lock. Then we get stuck waiting at the Whitten lock for 3 hours and 15 minutes. If I had a gun, I would have blown my head off. We traveled a whopping 16 miles in 8 freek'n hours. Crap !!!!

So much for getting in early and catching a flight home tonight. We finally made it to Lee Spry Marina tonight at 6:15 pm. We were hoping to get in no later than 1:00pm today. We were only 5 hours and 15 minutes late. So, life goes on. Now we have flights early in the morning. All part of the fun. Just a few last pictures from our day. We covered over 1200 miles from Miami to Iuka, MS and use 1800 gallons of fuel. Dan will jump on here once the repairs are completed and finish the two and half day trip home to Grafton, IL.


It certainly looked like a nice enough start to the day.


Had to take a picture of Mackey's Creek


This was the tow, Bafin Bay, who was transporting Benzine. He was the cause of our delay all day. Commercial traffic takes priority and we were at the back of the line all day.


Finally, we get in and see the doors of the Whitten Lock close behind us after a 3 hour and 15 minutes delay.


Long & Large tied up at Lee Spry Boatyard waiting for her haul out and transmission to be repaired.


Trip covered 1,288 miles from Miami to Iuka, MS at the end of the Tenn-Tom.  Dan will have about 485 miles to finish the trip home to Grafton, IL.

Alabama to Mississippi

I first need to give a shout out to Eric Haubert for reminding me of a very basic fact: The journey is the destination. Thank you Eric for setting me straight and getting me back in the game. Well done.

Had a great day today on the water. It started on the very wet side as we had bad thunderstorms and lighting for about an hour as we left Pickensville. Jeff didn't care much for the lightening and neither did I, but needed to keep it moving and according to radar, the major storm was a good bit north of us. It rained off and on until about noon. The rain did finally stop and it was overcast for the rest of the day. But we were counting our blessings since each lock we went through, the rained seemed to stop long enough for us to go tend to lines and get going again. So it all turned out well. We passed exactly one boat all day today. Otherwise we had the waterway to ourselves.

Not a ton of scenery on the ride today, but it was still very enjoyable. The navigation is extremely easy so the day in general was very low stress. Getting in and out of the locks on one engine with some wind was a challenge, but it all went very well. We traveled just over 11 hours today, went through 5 locks and covered 88 miles. We are tied up in Fulton, MS at Midway Marina. Tomorrow we continue on to Lee Spry Boat Yard, about 60 miles north, to have the transmission repaired. Just a few pictures from the day.


The one boat we passed all day heading south.


The chartplotter shows "Long & Large" going past the Buttahatchee River


Getting ready for the doors to close behind us in the Aberdeen Lock


A very, very large house boat on the river.


The chocolate brown water we traveled in almost all day.


Lots of debris floating down the river.


The front doors of the Aberdeen Lock

Transmission Trouble

Not every day is peaches and cream. We took off this morning at 6:45 and planned on another big day. The boating gods saw it a bit differently. About 9:30 this morning we lost the starboard transmission. Boat had been running great and all the fluids were fine. We limped in on one engine 90 miles and pulled into a small marina in Pickensville, AL and had a local transmission tech come take a look. Unfortunately, he has diagnosed the issue as a rubber hub/coupler has gone bad, most likely due to a bad bearing. So now we will need to travel about 140 miles north to Iuka, MS where there is a travel lift large enough to haul out the boat and repair the transmission.

Obviously everyone involved is very disappointed, but it is all part of boating. 



White Rock Bluffs


The luxurious Pirate Marina Cove


The Clubhouse at Pirate Marina Cove in Pickensville, AL. Folks here have been very friendly and helpful.

On to the metropolis of Demopolis

Well, we had an exciting day. Have I mentioned I hate fog....

We had buckets of heavy, dense fog today. My nemesis. Pulled off the dock this morning at 6:35. Ran out to the first set of markers and thought we might not be able to get back to the dock. I have never seen fog roll in that quickly and heavy. WOW! We got back to the dock and tied up and waited another 20 minutes or so. Fog lifted a bit and we headed out at 7:00. Ran up to the top of Mobile Bay, about 16 miles, where we were again stopped by thick fog. We go to a working dock and had to stay about 100 yards off to keep a point of reference. At one point, the fog was so thick we couldn't see the dock about 100 feet away.

After an hour and half of just idling next to the dock, the fog lifted at 9:30 and we finally got moving. After the fog was gone, the day was about perfect. It was bright and sunny and the temperature while moving was delightful. We ran the first 117 miles to Coffeeville Lock and arrived at 2:00pm. We only had about a 15 minute wait at the lock before they put us through. We keep the boat moving really well the rest of the day. We arrived at the Demopolis Lock at 6:15pm. Once through the lock we tied up at the Demopolis, AL Yacht Basin. We covered 233 miles today. Fuel at the marina was $2.69 a gallon and the dockmaster let us borrow his car to run to dinner at the Red Barn Lounge where we had a great meal. Got back to the boat just before 10:00pm. We are both looking forward to a good nights sleep.

The Black Warrior River and the Tenn-Tom have been great. Very easy to navigate, deep water and, much easier than the ICW. Here are some pics from the day.


That tug and barge were only 100 yards away.


Now that is some thick fog. Couldn't even see the tug and barge.


The fog finally lifted and that is downtown Mobile.


The lock doors of the Coffeeville Lock as they close behind our boat.


Jeff has the boat tied to the bollard.




Getting ready to enter the Lock


A beautiful ride up the river today.


We are preparing to enter the Demopolis Lock after the tow goes in and gets settled.