09/02/2011 - Mobile River Oil Spill Containment Failure

Launch: Shirley's (US Hwy 90 across from battleship USS Alabama)
Launch Cost: Free
Destination: Mobile River to look for birds or wildlife that may have been affected by the recent Oil Spill. The oil spill happened at Gulf Coast Asphalt Company.
Distance: 7.5 miles (round trip)
Paddle time: 2 hours
Weather: Temp about 78 degrees, Winds 0-10 mph out of the east. Cloudy. Low tide. Current 0-1 mph. Except for a little gentle rain, tropical storm Lee did not affect this paddle at all.

Header Image - a motorboat goes blazing by the Coast Guard cutter "Stingray" while a barge moves northward in the river. The Coast Guard wasn't doing too well controlling boat wakes.

A little south of the Battleship I stopped for a moment to chat with the Alabama Marine Police who said Mobile River was still closed to river traffic. They said I couldn't miss the Coast Guard who were controlling the Mobile River shut down.

As I rounded the Choctaw Pass corner, two tugboats were docking the CMA CGM White Shark container ship. No sign of any river closure yet.

Now heading north in Mobile River, the Coast Guard cutter "Stingray" was seen anchored in the middle of the river. Also visible was oil sheen (a small trail seen in this photo) in the middle of the river. What was NOT visible was any sign of oil containment booms. That's odd. I thought the closure of Mobile River was because an oil boom was to be deployed across Mobile River to contain the oil spill from going into Mobile Bay. Guess not.

I talked to personnel on the Coast Guard ship who advised me that I did not have permission to go any further up the river. I told them I'm a river watch monitor and was there to look for any birds or wildlife that may be affected by the Oil Spill, which was the truth. The Stingray called Coast Guard Sector Mobile for me to ask for permission. A few minutes later the Stingray advised me that for my safety, they still could not allow me to proceed up river. Okay, can't argue with that.

So, I pedaled around near the Coast Guard cutter, through oil sheens, and watched in confusion. Here a motorboat is seen hauling ass down river while a tugboat is moving up river. Huh? Isn't the river closed to all boat traffic?

On the east side of the river I watched as large oil sheens floated down toward Mobile Bay. Why isn't there any oil boom deployed? Why are there ships going up and down the river while I am not allowed to? Guess they don't want me kayaking through the oil. Oops, too late...

So I monitored VHF radio communications to hear what was going on while looking for birds that might be affected by the oil spill, without going any further up river. A second Coast Guard vessel was escorting river traffic between the Cochane-Africatown USA Bridge and Choctaw Pass to make sure they did not leave wakes or carry oil sheens with them. So, why did I watch oil sheens flowing freely downstream while a Coast Guard Boat a few hundred yards away was doing nothing about it? Why is it that every vessel that asked the Coast Guard for permission to go upstream or downstream was granted permission, but this kayaker who asked for permission was denied access to use the River? That was not fair. If the Coast Guard was slowing down boat traffic so they would not leave a wake, that means for a kayaker, Mobile River would have been safer than ever. So, the concern of the Coast Guard for my safety was ill-advised. No need to worry about a kayak leaving a big wake...

Here are two tugs moving freely up river and in the distance, a tugboat pushing a load of barges was moving downstream. How can one Coast Guard boat monitor and escort 3 moving vessels in different locations at the same time? No wonder why oil was all over the river. Mobile River was not shut down to river traffic at all - it was just a blockade to kayakers who care about the environment. In terms of containment of this oil spill, so far it is failing. At the time of this kayak trip, oil was flowing freely into Mobile Bay.

07/04/2011 - Mobile Fireworks Paddle

Header Image is a photo of an exploding fireworks shot.

1) The sun sets behind a bank of thunderstorms. The distant severe storms generated some wind which kicked up the waves enough to kayak surf which is what I did while waiting for dark. There were very few motor boats out on the water.

2) Early birds got a good seat on the bank of Mobile Bay just north of the Battleship to watch the fireworks.

3) The fireworks barge was placed near the USS Alabama. Geese came out to watch all the activity.

4) At dark, I paddled over to a sandy beach south of the Battleship and got out to watch the fireworks. The reverberation of the firework booms were wonderful.

5) Yes, I was patriotic enough to put a flag on the light mast pole.

6) One of the fireworks blew up way too low sending hot embers shooting into the water.

7) Great fireworks show.

8) Rather than rushing right back to get in the traffic jam, I did a loop around the causeway and enjoyed the lights reflecting off the water. Paddling at night is sure more pleasant than padding during the heat of the day.

06/05/2011 - Mobile River Loop

Header Image. A reflection on the water of the Convention Center and the RSA Tower.

1) I pedaled up Spanish River in the dark to avoid the heat of the day on this 5-1/2 hour trip and watched the beautiful sunrise next to Twelve Mile Island. Mosquitos were swarming and biting during the launch in the dark.

2) If you are going to be paddling in Mobile River, boats like this can easily leave a three foot wake. Got spray skirt? How quick can you put it on?

3) There are always plenty of birds at the junction of Mobile River and Spanish River. This is a seagull taking a morning bath.

4) I did the Mobile River Loop today to see the USS William P. Lawrence which was commissioned yesterday. The Navy ship was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in nearby Pascagoula, MS, it has some serious armament and it is part of the Destroyer Squadron 23. This Logo is on the side of the ship.

5) Security was tight around the USS William P. Lawrence. If you look closely to the right of the ships control room windows on the overhang, you can see a guard with a rifle keeping an eye on me.

6) The ship was also patrolled by a small boat. The security people were cordial and did not intimidate, so my compliments to them for their professionalism with this kayaker.

7) The Banda Sea is a double decker rail vessel that sails between Mobile and Veracruz Mexico loaded with 115 rail cars, which are filled with products, such as wood, chemicals and metals.

8) The Vliet Trader is a ship out of the Netherlands. Winschoten is a town in the Netherlands.

9) At 9:00 in the morning the temperatures were already approaching 90 degrees and with no breeze, it was hot and humid.

10) Saw lots on minnows on this trip and they liked to go in circles while it looked like they were gasping for air.

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...

02/28/2011 - Around Pinto Island

Launch: Shirley's (US Hwy 90 across from battleship USS Alabama)
Launch Cost: Free
Destination: Mobile River going south around Pinto Island. You can't get all the way around Pinto Island because the upper side is blocked by vegetation.
Distance: 12 miles (round trip)
Paddle time: 3-1/2 hours
Weather: Cloudy, 70 degrees, winds 10-20 mph. Tide rising and current about 1 mph.
GPS Track: To view or download the GPS track of this trip, Click Here.

Header Image

1) Today's destination was over near those buildings on the skyline.

2) Down around the corner of Pinto Island are some massive cranes that move a lot of bulk steel using powerful magnets. The steel is probably headed up Mobile River by barge to the steel plant ThyssenKrupp.

3) When current and wind are going in the same direction, the waves are smaller than if they were opposite. Even though winds were gusting up to 20 mph and there was a small craft advisory, conditions were fine for kayaking in Mobile River.

4) The USS Alabama. Despite its tourist attraction, kayaking around the Battleship north to just past the Hwy 90 bridge can be unusually choppy, rough, and unpredictable. I consider it one of the more dangerous places to kayak in this area.

5) If you have every tried to buy a plane ticket for a flight that leaves out of the Mobile Airport, then you know if you fly from Mobile, you will get definitely get "Poor Faster." This is a takeoff on the Mo Faster ad.

6) For you poor people with snow on the ground, good news - spring green is on the way.

7) A different perspective on the roads used to drive across Mobile Bay.

8) Bet that bird will be in for a surprise when a maintenance person lowers the light housing to replace a bulb.

9) A rather cloudy sunset.

10) Conditions did deteriorate between the Battleship and the Hwy 90 bridge where the wild confused waves with the current stir up a froth. Plus, waves hitting the Battleship bulkhead also cause froth. This is the incoming current froth line.

11) I mentioned a few possibly dangerous areas that can throw you surprises when kayaking the Mobile River loop. Thought a graphic of the approximate location of those areas, shown in red, might help. This is the track from this trip.

There have been times that I paddled all day in wonderful conditions only to approach the above areas in red and was thankful just to get past them without capsizing. It may look like I go kayaking where ever I want when ever I want. This is not true. I do not go kayaking without checking a half dozen different forecasts. I time trips so I pass potentially difficult areas at optimal times.  What is checked are tides, current wind from buoy locations, forecast wind speed and direction from the Aviation forecast, water temperature, marine forecast, current forecast for max ebb and max flood, upstream water levels, and if going into the Gulf, I look at swell forecast. Hope this helps new kayakers. Be safe - wear your life jacket and have both plan A and plan B in case there are problems.