12/10/2005 – Bon Secour River

Launch: Bills Seafood at the end of Baldwin County Road 10 in Bon Secour. Launch Cost: $5, but you might get a discount if you point out that boats have motors on them and a kayak doesn’t. Route: Pedal northeast up Bon Secour River to the bridge and back. Distance: 8.6 miles. Average Speed: 2.6 mph. Time: Approx 3 hrs. Pace: Slow. Weather: Partly cloudy, in the 50s, winds calm to variable. Very little tide or current.

(1) Above left. Today I decided to explore Bon Secour River, a place I’d never kayaked in. Choose the Bill’s Seafood launch site. Plenty of room, but for those concerned with little scratches on their kayak, the launch area is full of oyster shells. (2) Above right. Upon starting out, Bon Secour looked a little similar to Bayou La Batre as there were many shrimp boats.

(3) Above left. Guess who has gotten started in the shrimp business? (4) Above right. I enjoyed meeting David, an avid kayak fisherman who is new to the area. It was his first time on Bon Secour River, too.

(5) Above left. Today, the shrimp boat names kept reminding me of someone. (6) Above right. It appeared the boat on the right was being manned by a dog.

(7) Above left. Couldn’t tell if these birds were Cormorants or Anhingas, but one thing for sure, they were very abundant in Bon Secour River and in the trees. (8) Above right. Mallards are very beautiful ducks.

(9) Above left photomerge. On the way up river, the draped rippled clouds were ever changing, which of course, photos are never able to capture the magnitude of the visual delight. Upper Bon Secour river reminded me of Fowl River with its marsh grasses and beautiful homes. (10) Above right photomerge. On the way back, the blue sky gave way to wintry clouds. Would have liked to stuck around for the sunset, but it was time to go home. Thumbs up on Bon Secour. Not only is it pretty clean, it also offers a wide variety of scenery.