Causeway to Mobile River
Saturday, July 3, 2004 brint.adams@us.army.mil
Rob and I left the Causeway at the Exxon promptly at 2:00PM and headed west under the Interstate bridges and turned north up into Delvan Bay. There were a couple of gators who greeted us as we left. The skies were threatening in the West, while it was sunny, hot and humid overhead. We passed many osprey, both adults and young who were hanging around several nests along the way.
We continued north up the Spanish River and stopped at a fish camp for 15 minutes at about 5.5 miles to assess the storm front off to the West. We decided to continue with our plan and continued north around the high electrical line towers and turned south down the Mobile River. At this point, the river had about a 3 mph current down river, so we were able to make good time. We passed under the high bridge, and around many parked barges in the industrial section. It began to rain and the temperature cooled down considerably. The storm included an incredible light show of huge bolts of lightening off to the near west. However, none came any closer as the storm appeared to head south and really stopped when it got to downtown Mobile. We passed a Navy destroyer and another Navy boat, with the armed sailors watching us closely as we skirted widely around them.
As we came to the downtown area and over the tunnels, we paddled to the west side of the river near the Convention Center, park, new cruise line terminal under construction and the shipyards. When we got down to the end of Mobile River, we turned east and out into the bay and headed back north past the USS Alabama and back to the Interstate bridges and the Exxon station.
The last section in the bay surprised us with a following wind from the south which created some nice rollers, which we surfed all the way back in. Our total paddle time was 3:30 over a distance of 18.5 miles.
Rob and I left the Causeway at the Exxon promptly at 2:00PM and headed west under the Interstate bridges and turned north up into Delvan Bay. There were a couple of gators who greeted us as we left. The skies were threatening in the West, while it was sunny, hot and humid overhead. We passed many osprey, both adults and young who were hanging around several nests along the way.
We continued north up the Spanish River and stopped at a fish camp for 15 minutes at about 5.5 miles to assess the storm front off to the West. We decided to continue with our plan and continued north around the high electrical line towers and turned south down the Mobile River. At this point, the river had about a 3 mph current down river, so we were able to make good time. We passed under the high bridge, and around many parked barges in the industrial section. It began to rain and the temperature cooled down considerably. The storm included an incredible light show of huge bolts of lightening off to the near west. However, none came any closer as the storm appeared to head south and really stopped when it got to downtown Mobile. We passed a Navy destroyer and another Navy boat, with the armed sailors watching us closely as we skirted widely around them.
As we came to the downtown area and over the tunnels, we paddled to the west side of the river near the Convention Center, park, new cruise line terminal under construction and the shipyards. When we got down to the end of Mobile River, we turned east and out into the bay and headed back north past the USS Alabama and back to the Interstate bridges and the Exxon station.
The last section in the bay surprised us with a following wind from the south which created some nice rollers, which we surfed all the way back in. Our total paddle time was 3:30 over a distance of 18.5 miles.
posted by brint @ 10:02 PM
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