Fairhope to Dog River Double Crossing
Sunday, July 25, 2004 brint.adams@us.army.mil
Sunday at 7:30 AM started out at 84 degrees and by noon was up to 96 degrees with cloudy skies and what seemed like pretty high humidity. High tide was at 7:00 AM, so there was no current, the wind was calm and the water was pretty flat.
I started out from the Fairhope Yacht Club beach at a pretty good pace of around 5.3 mph, continually watching my GPS since the visibility was about 2-3 miles. Once I crossed the ship channel, the Mobile shoreline was visible, so I was able to locate the Dog River Bridge without being very far off course. I reached the Mobile shore after paddling the 10.6 miles in 2:06. After a short 5 min. rest and a long drink of water, I started back. The sun came out, the temperature rose quickly and I slowed the tempo down somewhat. I saw a dolphin surface on the way back as well as the usual assortment of sea birds out fishing on a beautiful morning.
The last few miles turned out to be a death march as I somehow left a couple of water bottles in the car and was low on water. So, my return time was 2:20 for a total of 4:26 for the roundtrip of 21.2 miles. This was my first trip across the bay, let alone a double crossing, since I don't really count the crossing from Dauphin Island to Ft. Morgan. So, this was a good gut check for where I am in training for the Mississippi race. I think it is going well, and I should be ready to go in October!
Sunday at 7:30 AM started out at 84 degrees and by noon was up to 96 degrees with cloudy skies and what seemed like pretty high humidity. High tide was at 7:00 AM, so there was no current, the wind was calm and the water was pretty flat.
I started out from the Fairhope Yacht Club beach at a pretty good pace of around 5.3 mph, continually watching my GPS since the visibility was about 2-3 miles. Once I crossed the ship channel, the Mobile shoreline was visible, so I was able to locate the Dog River Bridge without being very far off course. I reached the Mobile shore after paddling the 10.6 miles in 2:06. After a short 5 min. rest and a long drink of water, I started back. The sun came out, the temperature rose quickly and I slowed the tempo down somewhat. I saw a dolphin surface on the way back as well as the usual assortment of sea birds out fishing on a beautiful morning.
The last few miles turned out to be a death march as I somehow left a couple of water bottles in the car and was low on water. So, my return time was 2:20 for a total of 4:26 for the roundtrip of 21.2 miles. This was my first trip across the bay, let alone a double crossing, since I don't really count the crossing from Dauphin Island to Ft. Morgan. So, this was a good gut check for where I am in training for the Mississippi race. I think it is going well, and I should be ready to go in October!
posted by brint @ 9:19 PM
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