PIrates Cove, Alabama

We've been at Pirates Cove for a week now and have accomplished a few things.  First and most important at this point was that we FINALLY created a website for our "Little Cruise Aid for a Sustainable Florida."  It can be found at www.shipofimagination.com.  It is a good beginning and we will continue to work on it as we go along.

The weather is starting to warm up and we are focusing on some of the outdoor work needing attention.  Yesterday the boat got scrubbed from the panels on down to the gunwales.  Today, the free boards.  We are tucked in behind an L shaped peninsula giving us relief from most of the winds.

Radar likes to help Carter with the anchor duties.  The entire process seems to fascinate him.

The marina is behind this building.

And there's a tiki bar off to the side.

I love the artwork!

Pirates Cove is actually Robert's Bayou located in Josephine, Alabama.

I took these pictures of our anchorage this morning when there is very little boat traffic.  There is a boat launch just around the corner to the right which means we have quite a bit of traffic throughout the day, but it's mostly just small fishing boats and is not a problem for us.

This beauty anchored for the night last night right beside us. They were in the process of leaving when I snapped this shot early this morning.

This is a state park that I take Radar for his shore leave.  All in all, Pirates Cove is a very nice place to get some quiet time in.  Although all shopping is approximately 15 miles away in Foley and Elberta, there are some generous folks in the marina willing to loan us their vehicle.  We've got a couple more projects to accomplish here and then it will be time to move on towards Tallahassee.

Florida / Alabama State Line

Our anchorage in Pensacola was a little unprotected from the winds so we were up early and got back on the road.  It was only a short distance to the Florida / Alabama state line and only took a couple hours to complete.  Again, it was cold and windy in our face all day.

More strange structures as we left Pensacola.

This shows just how windy and choppy the water was. 

As we entered the Mobile, Alabama area, we spotted a vessel flying across the bay coming directly toward us.  As it got closer we realized it was the Alabama Marine Resources Enforcement!  We were like, "Quick, hide the Rum". We thought we were going to get our first boarding by law enforcement!

Welcome to ALABAMA!

They came right up beside us started asking questions about the boat. Turns out they where just curious and wanted to check out the Arc. 

 

They must have had a sale at the boat dealership because over half the boats at this particular condo marina where the same make and color. It was a little bizzaar.

I thought this was nice.  Most all the homes along the ICW in this area have their own docks.  This house had a matching boat dock!  Nice!

The Mobile skyline as you first enter the bay.

We continued along until we finally found a marina that had an achorage with some protection from the wind.  On the chart it's called Roberts Bayou but locally it's known as Pirates Cove.  Yep, sounds like our kind of  place. We have decided to stay here for a week or so and complete some work on the boat, catch up on paperwork, and just plain take a rest from the hard traveling we just completed.

Radar is in heaven here because this place is seriously dog friendly!  All dogs roam free ... leashes are frowned upon.  I had reservations about letting Radar loose but when in Rome...  he's done very well minding his manners and behaving.

This is the resident "Big Dog". She just finished getting her belly rubbed. Can you see her big smile?

Here the dogs are running along the beach beside us.  This dog actually swam out to our boat to visit Radar.  I'm sure Radar would have like to jump in and joined them.  But he didn't.

On Sunday, March 24th we had made arrangement to meet up with Joan, a friend of mine from high school, at Lulu's Restaurant.   We were just about to weigh anchor when we were approached yet again by Alabama's finest!  This time the Sgt. asked permission to come aboard and check out the solar / electric motor system!  Carter commented that technically, he didn't have to ask but welcome aboard. He wasn't going say no and was happy to take the time to show and explain the system to him.  The other guys told me that the Sgt. was interested in applying solar/electric to his fishing boat.  Radar, of course had to check out our visitors and boarded their boat and went all through it.  When he was done he came back on the Arc.  The guys said "We must have passed inspection!"  LOL

As we were leaving Pirate's Cove for our lunch date we were surprised to discover what a happening place it is on the weekend!

Notice the dog?

Taking pictures of them as they are taking pictures of us!

 My friend Joan took pictures of our arrival at Lulu's.

 Lulu is Jimmy Buffet's sister and we had our first "Cheeseburger in Paradise". Carter and I both agreed it was a pretty decent burger. 

Till we meet again!

Back to Pirate's Cove.

Ft. Walton Beach - Pensacola

The Power Up Energy Expo is over and we have departed Fort Walton Beach...finally.  Our departure was delayed one day due to a barge carrying a couple very tall cranes hit and damaged the bridge we needed to pass under to continue on our way up the GCICW.  We were tied to a dock at a local park right beside this bridge when it happened.  I heard the noise of metal scratching, scaping and bending but I couldn't see anything.  It wasn't until an hour or so later, when a crowd developed at the park, that I learned what the noise was.

You can see the waterfall from the broken water main that spanned the bridge on the right and the cranes on the left side of this picture.

As we were leaving the next morning, I was able to get better shots of the barge and the tug that was brought in to move the barge.

If you zoom in on this picture you can see the damage done to the bridge.

This law enforcement officer came over to us and talked about the electric propulsion system as we passed by.  The Archimedes creates quite a bit of interest from LOTS of folks.

We couldn't resist checking out the museum for Billy Bowlegs, a local pirate.

Tourists!  Finally!

We proceeded on the GCICW towards Pensacola.  We were hoping to make it to the west side of town but due to our late departure and some strong currents and headwinds we only just barely made it to Pensacola at all. 

I couldn't believe the guys on the SUPs dressed like it was summertime! I was cold with a couple of layers of clothing on!

Some strange structures in Pensacola.  We are guessing that this has something to do with the Pensacola Naval Flight School

We didn't know there was light house in Pensacola.  We found it at sunset...it's operational.

We anchored out just past this bridge on the east side of town.

LOL!  Are you comfy Radar?  LOL