Adventures of Boreas: Day 131 – Eastern Shore Marine to Orange Beach Marina, Orange Beach, AL

We headed off this morning at 7:00am. We decided we wanted to stay at a marina where we could walk or ride our bikes to the beach and the short term weather forecast indicated that it was depart today or stay put for three or four days. The wind was light when we departed and Mobile Bay was relatively calm. It was different to be off a river and on a wider body of water – almost like being back on Saginaw Bay. Then before we knew it, we were in the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway (GIWW) – where we saw our first dolphins! I wish I had pictures, but the dolphins are just too quick. All I would have caught on camera was the splash of water as they disappeared from sight. Although the dolphins didn’t swim along beside the boat like we have heard they sometimes do, we did see them a number of times just in front of the boat. I don’t think I will ever get tired of seeing them; they are so beautiful and graceful.

The bays and bayous here are tricky to navigate. The water is quite shallow and there are lots of areas where there is shoaling. The channels are well marked, but you do need to pay attention to the markers. You also need to pay attention to the type of channel you are traveling in – is it a GIWW channel or a channel out to the ocean or into a bay or bayou – are you traveling in or out – are you traveling east or west. You must know all this information to know how you should be passing the marks.

Orange Beach Marina is beautiful and we are happy to be here. We will be staying for a few days while we wait for our friends Bill and Margo to arrive. They will be staying with us on Boreas and perhaps traveling with us further east on the GIWW.

Miles: 46.5 Bridges: 2 Locks: 0