03/12/2011 - Mobile River

Launch: Shirley's (US Hwy 90 across from battleship USS Alabama)
Launch Cost: Free
Destination: Mobile River by Downtown Mobile
Distance: 9.4 miles (round trip)
Paddle time: 2-1/2 hours
Weather: Clear, winds calm. Air temp 55 degrees. Tide was low. Current in Mobile River about 1.5 mph. Water temp 55 degrees.

Header Image

1) Kayaking and sunrises together are one of my favorites things to experience in life.

2) Soon as it started getting light, the birds became active.

3) Notice the blurry right edge in this sunrise photo? It's fog.

4) There was no fog when I started kayaking, but a fog bank formed quickly. This is why I never go on a kayak trip without a GPS and spare batteries. Happily, the fog disappeared as quickly as it formed so I didn't have to make changes in the route.

5) A tugboat about seven stories tall.

6) The Mobile skyline. Paddle conditions on Mobile River were excellent.

7) The Carnival Cruise Ship company pulls out of Mobile leaving Mobile with an empty 20+ million dollar terminal that costs a fortune every year because it was purchased on credit. Apparently the city leaders didn't think a contract was necessary to make sure Carnival stayed at the Mobile terminal which was built for them. Are you serious? Who makes a 20+ million dollar deal without getting something in writing to protect your investment?

8) As I was headed south in Mobile River, tugboats turned around a huge ship and were guiding it to the Mobile Container Terminal for unloading. Containers were stacked about 6-7 high.

9) When is the last time you visited the USS Alabama? Lots of new things to see...

10) When I got to Mobile River, I reached for the VHF radio to turn it on and couldn't find it. I felt naked without a VHF radio on the river. When I got back to the launch site, the VHF radio was laying in the sand on the edge of the water. It must have accidentally fell overboard undetected during the launch in the dark. What a lucky day to be gone for about 3 hours. The radio was still there. Had I launched at a regular boat ramp, it would have been gone...