Day 16 Philly to New Orleans




Captain Shirl (SEGII) coming at you again tonight !!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES !!!

Rough and tumble yesterday to absolute smooth and calm today We left the marina at 6:15am, and unlike yesterday, we found the waters calm and the winds low and warming as the morning melted in to afternoon..

View from the Captain's seat at the helm

             

Here is a small cabin tucked away against the side of the river

We ran the morning running through picturesque small fishing communities which reminded us of greeting cards and pictures of muted colors with the sunlight shining through as painted by the likes of Thomas Kincade.

Unlike the Eastern ICW, the Gulf Intracoastal Water Way (GIWW) was not reflective of Express Cruisers, Sedan Bridges, Aft Cabins, Motor Yachts and other crafts, but rather we saw mostly Trawlers, Sport Fishers, Commercial Outriggers, Small Fishing Boats, Charter Fleets, and other working boats, and Cities, Towns, and Villages whose livelihood depends on the water, fishing, crabbing, shrimping, charter fishing cruises, diving, and other related industries which supply seafood and recreation for the East Coast and many inland Cities of America.

Again we saw hundreds of sea birds, beautiful water filled marshes, seemingly unending forest lands adjacent to the rivers, channels and canals which made up our route. We consistently ran a 25 or 30 miles and hour, and made great time across the lower panhandle of Florida.

This picture is not upside down. The water was

unbelievable calm and mirror smooth.

At one point in one of those channels, we came upon a couple of kids in a small fishing boat, with its engine cover off (a sure sign that they were having engine trouble), John was running the Eagle, and opened the window at the helm and asked the young men “are you having trouble”, one of the boys said “yes, our engine won’t start”. Shirl queried further and found that they would appreciate our towing them a mile or so down the channel to their Village, and that’s what we did !!



Will, who was busy cooking breakfast, felt our stop and heard our discussion with the young men, and leapt to their aid, throwing them a line, and then (as it was obvious they didn’t know how to tie-on the line) tied the line appropriately to the bow eye of their little boat. Slowly, John gradually sped up the Eagle and towed the young men to a small dock down the channel. As luck would have it, the channel was rather narrow at the dock, and faced another dock at our bow, making it difficult for John to maneuver out of the very tight and dangerous position (we didn’t want to ding the props again), but with Will’s assistance on the bow of the Eagle, and my pushing the vessel off the dock with the Eagle’s dock pole/hook, John was able to maneuver the Eagle off the two docks with no damage to the Eagle or the dock. The young men thanked us, and were on their way to get their engine repaired.

After that adventure, we returned to the serenity of our cruise, and found ourselves in a beautiful bay adjacent to Panama City, FL, and motored on to Fort Walton, FL, for a fuel stop for the Eagle and for the Captains. We fueled the Eagle, and then made a quick lunch stop a the marina restaurant, the Crab Shack, for hamburgers which reminded us of our lunch stop in Charleston, SC, at Five guys.



After getting out hamburgers in to-go bags, we ran back to the Eagle and got underway, heading for the Blue Angles Air Show at Pensacola, FL. About an hour and a half later, as we were approaching Pensacola, John woke me from a brief nod-off, to see the Blue Angles in their State-of-the-Art, Blue and Gold F/A-18 Hornets, streaking through the sky out in front of the Eagle, in maneuvers just inches apart, and then rearranging themselves into a single file line, and one by one landing right in front of us. What a sight !!!

As we ran past the Naval Air Station Pensacola, the home of the Blue Angles, we encountered hundreds of boats which had been anchored off the base to watch the air show, and had to work our way through them as we continue our route. Less than forty five minutes later, we arrived at the Bear Point Marina, at Orange Beach, Alabama, tied up the Eagle, ate dinner, and returned to the Eagle to watch a couple of collegiate football games, prep the final route for the trip, prepare this Blog Report, and readied for another and final great nights sleep.

Tomorrow night at this time we will have arrived in Madisonville, LA after a successful 2000 mile journey, moored the Eagle at Marina Del Ray, and be resting in the living-room of my home in Baton Rouge, shortly to ready John and Will for the night, and myself for a Great Nights Sleep in My Own Bed.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES !!!

WHAT A TRIP, WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE BLOG REPORTS, AND WATCH FOR OUR STORY IN SEVERAL NATIONAL AND REGIONAL BOATING MAGAZINES. SEE YOU FOR A FINAL BLOG REPORT TOMORROW NIGHT !!!