12/27/2009 - Mobile River

Launch: Causeway Boat Ramp (just west of Oysterella's restaurant)

 Header Image

1) Sunrise across Delvan Bay. I always enjoy kayaking this Mobile River Loop.

2) Conditions were perfect for kayaking this morning. Currents were strong as expected due to upstream flooding.

3) Reflections today were marvelous thanks to almost no wind.

4) White pelicans in the industrialized Mobile River.

5) Train bridge at Chickasaw Creek being rotated.

6) Cochrane Africatown USA Bridge.

7) About half a dozen Black-crowned night herons.

8) Trash in Three-Mile Creek (Mobile).

9) It started to rain. Nice thing about a pedal kayak is you can hold an umbrella while continuing the trip. Note the trash along the shoreline in Three Mile Creek.

10) Saw 5 different trains today. This one was at Three Mile Creek.

11) The Glenn Edwards which is the largest trailing suction hopper dredge in the United States was doing its thing in Mobile River.

12) The SAGA Frontier is a Norwegian vessel specializing in transporting Forestry products.

13) The DMT Emerald and the DMT Sapphire seen moored here are some sophisticated deep sea marine vessels. Watch the computer animation movie at the DMT Emerald link to see what the ship does.

14) Moisture laden clouds.

15) The Mobile Skyline.

16) The Littoral Combat Ship Independence (LCS 2) is to be commissioned on January 16, 2010. It will be the first time a Navy ship has been commissioned in Mobile since 1945. I'd really hate to be off shore and see this coming at me. Ignoramus Patty Murray would be stunned to know what Alabamians build.

17) Dredging in Choctaw Pass.

18) The decommissioned USS Shadwell is used for training and is regularly set on fire.