08/02/2012 - Mobile River Blues

Header Image is a photo of a ship with an interesting name.

On the way to Mobile River some Manatees surprised me in Spanish River.

One of the Manatees went under the kayak. Awesome.

Besides Manatees, people swim and fish in Mobile River.

Isn't this a cute little rodent? Looks like a politician to me - a RAT. A 14 Trillion Dollar debt and a population of only 315 million Americans means your share of politician sanctioned debt is about $50,000. Pay up. Hahaha.

An increasing trend in river bank pollution is Oil Booms which are installed to protect the environment. Abandoned boom ends up being the pollution. The canvas is quick to deteriorate exposing the Styrofoam.

Mobile River tends to attract large pieces of garbage. Or, wait, could this be Mobile's new cruise ship?

Companies along Mobile River often try to stabilize the bank of their property using garbage. See the sunglasses?

Someone grading their property pushed soil into the river - no biggie - the Corps of Engineers keep Mobile River dredged. What is in those pipes?

Five different petroleum slicks seen today. I feel so bad for Manatees surfacing to breathe through second hand fuel. 

Two of the small sheens I think are related to the oil and grease on the railroad bridges at Chickasaw Creek and Three Mile Creek. None of the petroleum sheens were big enough to investigate further and report.

Question: What do you get when cross a gung-ho Forever Wild supporter with a gun and an important sign? Answer: Hey, it was orange so the high school dropout redneck shot at it. Vote NO for acquiring any more Forever Wild Land unless it is set aside as a wildlife refuge where hunting will be prohibited, Forever.

Question: What will GulfQuest Museum visitors see when looking across Mobile River? Answer: Look at this photo - lovely view for visitors eh?

Question: What is the difference between Mobile leaders and Mobile waterways? Answer: All Mobile leaders do is Hope for more Cash and all Mobile waterways do is Cope with more Trash.

There will be unintended consequences to poor leadership because once you let the people do whatever they want, you can't reverse it without anarchy. Once respect for the law is gone, there is no law.

06/11/2011 - Presley's Lake and Escatawpa River

Launch: Presley's Lake
Launch Cost: $5.00
Destination: Up Escatawpa River about 4-5 miles and return.
Distance: 9.4 miles (round trip)
Paddle time: 3-1/2 hours
Weather: Sunny, almost no wind, and hot!
GPS Track: To view or download the GPS track of this trip, Click here.

Header image. Presley's Outing has a nice firm sandy beach to launch your kayak on.

1) Presley's Lake beach and kayak launch area.

2) Maggie with the Mobile Bay Canoe and Kayak Club led a group paddle up the Escatawpa River and the paddle was to end with self rescue practice. Paddlers from left to right are Richard, Maggie, Linda and Jerry.

3) We had to be watchful for large wasp nests in the limbs along the river. This is Jerry in his Current Designs kayak.

4) Not only did we have to watch for wasp nests in the tree limbs, but also people in trees. Do you see the young girl about to jump out of the tree?

5) The water sure looked inviting. Maggie and Linda chat while leisurely making their way up river. The current was negligible in the wider portion of the Escatawpa but when it narrowed down, current was running about one mile an hour.

6) Not only did we have to watch out for people in trees, people including infants could also be found in the middle of the river.

7) Linda is paddling by some yellow pond lilies and floating heart aquatic plants that float on the surface of the water.

8) A close up shot of a floating heart flower (Nymphoides aquatica or cordata).

9) With temperatures in the 90 degree range, the water provided a very pleasant cooling experience. A short lunch ensued.

10) Maggie and Linda swapped kayaks for testing purposes.

11) According to the owner, this dog was fishing. I suspect it was trying to stay cool.

12) A small turtle wanted the opposite - to get warmed up by the sun.

13) Going downstream did not require much paddling effort. Notice no one has paddle in the water... What is a trip on the Escatawpa near Presley's lake without the hassle of boaters and beer? While many boaters were courteous, some were not. 
The word Redneck comes to mind.

14) In the case of this knee-boarder, the word A$$hole comes to mind. On purpose, he completely swamped my kayak with water on his second attempt to get me wet. Little did he know I had the camera in front of me and was ready this time. This picture is worth one word. Busted! The rest of the kayakers in the group are lined up along the edge of the river, ready to ride out the boat wakes. I'd like to hear him trying to talk his way out of this with the marine authorities who now have a copy of the photos, including one with their boat registration number. Idiots like this can get someone hurt, including himself. He might not appreciate a paddle upside his head as he glides by two feet from my kayak. There is absolutely no reason for a speeding boat or water skier going full speed to be within a paddle reach of a kayak.

Sidenote: Maggie encouraged everyone to practice self-rescue after the trip. Thank you Maggie! I had not tried to do a self rescue (get back into the kayak after a capsize) with this kayak since I bought it over a year ago. Oh heck, I practiced self rescues 6 years ago. It's like riding a bicycle, right? This experienced kayaker did not know how to remove the air from the paddle float. It was a new paddle float that I'd never used before. Have you ever tried to get a paddle float off your paddle while it is inflated? Have you ever tried to paddle with a paddle float stuck on the end of your paddle? Maggie came to the rescue and showed me the trick to deflate the paddle float. Do YOU know how to use YOUR gear? I didn't. (Head hanging shamefully low.)

When water temperatures are cold, you can quickly lose the use of your limbs. Knowing how to get back in a kayak quickly is important. If you have not practiced self rescue in your current kayak and using your current gear, I encourage you to do so while the water temperatures are warm. It may not be as easy as you think. Some kayaks are definitely easier to re-enter than others and the process of getting back in can be physically exhausting after a dozen attempts or practices. (You'll probably experience a few bruises on your legs a few days later...)

04/02/2006 – Sand Island

Launch: Southeast end of Dauphin Island by the rock jetties. Launch Cost: Free. Route: South to the far end of Sand Island, then northwest along the north side of Sand Island to the pier, then back down Sand Island, then back up Sand Island, then east along the south side of Dauphin Island back to the rock jetties. Distance: 14.7 miles. Average Speed: 2.5 mph. Time: Approx 6 hrs. Pace: Leisurely. Weather: Sunny, temp 70 degrees, 90 percent humidity; winds 10-15 mph out of the south; normal current and tides making this a perfect open water kayaking day. Type kayak: Pedal. I like using a stable pedal kayak in open waters.

(1) Above left. After about an hour of pedaling I arrived at the southeast end of Sand Island where the shore birds are bountiful. I interrupted all but one from their slothful morning rest. (2) Above right. This is the DUKE, a 44 foot long educational boat. Today the education looked like it was fishing. Kayakers around Dauphin Island can now look forward to seeing tour boat operators in the area. I did not see any shrimp boats or dolphin today.

(3) Above left. Two different groups of people decided to swim from Dauphin Island to Sand Island. Swimming that distance is not as easy as it looks. I quickly got the kayak launched and stood by for rescues. It looked like it was a struggle for some of them as they fought the minimal current (high tide), but they all got across without assistance. (4) Above right. These are some of the young kids that swam across from Dauphin Island. When that condo under construction in the background is filled to capacity, I wonder if Dauphin Island prepared to deal with the population explosion.

(5) Above left. This is the southeast end of Sand Island. The waters are getting clear enough to see fish and stingrays. (6) Above right. According to Jerry LaBella’s web site, little stingrays like this are way more dangerous than any alligator. About 5,000 people are stung each year by stingrays. There is a good story about what happens to someone who gets stung here.

(7) Above left. Here are some gull darn jokes! Question: What do you call a man with a seagull on his head? Answer: Cliff. Question: Why do seagulls live near the sea? Answer: Because if they lived near the bay, they would be called bagels. (8) Above right. Look closely on the bottom of the royal terns behind their legs and you will see a bulge. This looks like a pair of expecting royal terns. Speaking of terns, “Did you hear about the butcher that fell in love with one the royal terns in the pet store? The butcher had no cash so the pet store owner agreed to give the butcher the royal tern in exchange for some of his delicious German sausage. The deal was made. It seems the butcher took a tern for the wurst. Heeheehee. Well, at least a two of the birds laughed at the jokes…

(9) Above left. I once thought it might be possible to put stairs on the end of the Dauphin Island Pier to Sand Island. Where there was sand at the end of the pier two months ago is now water so that idea won’t work because the sand keeps shifting significantly in this area. (10) Above right. There is much to be said for being able to take a walk among the birds on a remote island. I hope Sand Island and Dauphin Island never come together because it will ruin the remoteness of Sand Island that is so alluring.