Nearing the end of his trip. Today, Captain Bill crossed Florida’s Big Bend and re-entered the ICW. As expected, we didn’t have much internet coverage as he was offshore.

Captain Bill and crew took the day off in Destin on day 13 to pace their arrival in Carabelle for the crossing of Florida’s Big Bend.

Captain Bill arrived in Mobile, Alabama at the end of the day to end the river portion of his trip and start the coastal leg to Marco Island. The day had it’s moments with a collision encounter with unseen debris in the lower Tenn-Tom. Be sure to read Bill’s daily comments on our main trip page for the full story.

We had good coverage from early morning till about 2pm.

Notes for the day:
Rolled out of Clifton at 6:45AM and headed down the Tennessee River toward the beginning of the Tenn – Tom Waterway.

I swear it just gets prettier as we go along. And some of the homes were amazing as well. Built right on the edge of the cliffs with long stairways down to their docks, and in some cases boats, on the river.

While I’m very happy I got this job, I really wish I had time to stop and enjoy all the beautiful coves and bays we had to pass by today. We did get to take a swim while waiting for the lock at Jamie Whitten Lock. This was doubly nice, because not only did we have a bit of a wait at the lock but it was real hot and still today up until this evening as well.

Speaking of waits, we had a total of 4 hours and 15 minutes of wait and lock through time at the three locks we went through today. This is where any scheduling goes out the window. You never know how long the lock throughs can take. You can call ahead, and most of the lock masters did this for us, and find out how busy the next lock is. And while that helps a little, in the end it is what it is. And you have to be flexible.

Tonight we stopped at Midway Marina, notorious for calling the police and having captains arrested at the next lock passed the marina if they do not slow down while going passed. At least according to Skipper Bob’s Cruising Guide. We slowed and stopped. J
The place was closed when we got here so we will fuel up in the morning and be on our way.

Some of you may be wondering why I haven’t been running later and anchoring out. While I love anchoring out, and we did it once so far, the main reason we haven’t been doing it more on this trip is the owner’s insurance company was adamant about the fact that they did not want me to run at night on the rivers. And while the chances are slim that I’d have too, anchoring increases the likelihood that I might need to for some reason.

Now when it comes time to cross the Gulf I may have to get that changed.