Mike and Brenda on "Velsignet"

"Velsignet" is docked securely in the safe harbor of Kingfisher Bay Marina in Demopolis, Alabama. In the parking lot sits our Suburu and enclosed trailer with furnishings to include or swap out of our boat.  We'll be driving towards Minnesota tomorrow morning via Noblesville, Indiana to spend the night with Mike's sister, JoAnn, and her husband, Scott.  After traveling at an average speed of 7 mph for the past 2 weeks on our boat, will it feel strange to cruise at 70 mph again in our car? Harbormaster Anna-Marie welcomed us on Saturday evening and helped us into our covered A-3 slip. We have paperwork completed for the marina office, a hurricane plan submitted to our insurance carrier, and preparations made for Puget Sound Mobile Wash's payroll this Wednesday.  Besides these things, our tasks are focused on making "Velsignet" our own and preparing to leave it until we return.  Making our space comfortable, creating storage space, installing adequate li...

Brenda’s cell phone alarm clock sounded at 5:30 am this morning.   We have 93 river miles to reach our destination, Kingfisher Marina in Demopolis, AL.   This slow-moving trawler averages 8 mph and we have another lock to get through on the way.   It’ll take at least 11.5 hours to get there.   Let’s go! Our morning routine goes like this:   First, make coffee.   Second, go through a checklist (weather, engine, generator, batteries, pilot systems) .   Third, pull up the anchors and set sail (our route and destination were charted the previous evening).   Breakfast and anything else occur while we cruise.   Most of our time is spent together on the flybridge where visibility is best and we can easily take turns at the helm.   With internet connectivity through our cell phones, we have access to radio, podcasts, our favorite music, and Youtube videos to keep us up-to-date and entertained. Yesterday and today, however, we’ve felt m...

“Velsignet” was directly under the lift of 14-Mile Railroad Bridge when 5 loud signals blasted above us.   Brenda upped the speed to hurry us out from underneath it.   Minutes later, looking back where we’d just been, the lift was fully lowered and available for trains to cross over the Mobile/Tombigbee River.   We’d radioed ahead to the bridge master and received no response.   Had he been waiting for us to pass under?   What did the horn signals mean?   Were we doing something wrong?   Better communication would’ve been a nice thing! Entering into the ship canal on the Mobile Bay, it seemed we were on a collision course with a huge container ship.   We slowed the speed of “Velsignet” to signal to the ship’s captain we intended to enter in to his stern (behind); the captain, in turn, slowed his speed to reduce his imposing wake.   The captain could’ve hailed us by radio, but our visual signals apparently clearly communicated our i...

Minnesotans love to talk about the weather.  Being born and raised a Minnesotan, it seems natural that I share that last evening involved an impressive thunderstorm followed by cool evening winds.  Today held cloudy skies, off and on rain throughout the day, temps in the higher 70s (Yes!), and light winds (4-8 mph) from the southeast.  We expected our Wednesday to entail leisurely exploration of the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach waters.  The weather, however, changed our plans. Mobile Bay is quite a shallow bay and much of it is less than 10 feet deep.  It is also a very large body of water (31 miles long by 24 miles wide) that is exposed to the Gulf of Mexico.  Our research says that winds 15 mph or higher make the bay a dangerous place for boats.  It also mentions that one should never cross it with a wind that has a direction that includes an "N." Just as we needed a "weather window" to cross the Gulf, we need a window to get through Mobile Bay.  ...