Day 126: Anchoring in Joe Wheeler State Park Marina

Day 126: November 21: Although a storm, packed with rain and 50 mph gusts was predicted on last night's evening news, we fared well tied to the wall at Ingalls Harbor. It did rain, actually poured for awhile, but the wind did not blow nearly as hard as the weather folks warned of. Either way, we were happy to have been securely tied to a wall and not on anchor somewhere. 

Since we were only planning on traveling a short 20 NM or so to Joe Wheeler State Park Marina we waited until the rain subsided before getting UW; about 10:00 a.m. We are stopping at the marina to meet up with gold Loopers Nancy and Marvin Wehl to pick up a AC/DC Dometic refrigerator freezer and some high quality stackable pots and pans we are buying from them. They had posted a few items for sale on the AGLCA Classified section after they finished their loop and sold their boat. It just so happened our fridge went on the blink; the timing was perfect. 

Ready to leave the dock, John noticed the dinghy was full of water so first things first, bailing need to be done. Given the amount of water, it had definitely rained a lot last night.

We then pulled away from the wall under overcast skies. It was chilly at barely 50 degrees, drizzly and dreary. How quickly things can change. Yesterday we cruised along for about 47 NM along a river that could not have been more calm; today it's quite riled up with wind against the current (there is no tide here). The sun teased us for the entire trip which took just over 3 hours; but it never managed to break out of the ever present cloud cover. What was a cruise filled with breathtaking views and fellow travelers just a week or so ago became a trip less interesting and certainly not inspiring. Clouds, chill, drizzle and loss of color all came together, intensifying the negative aspects of a stormy day. The vision of rows of power-lines standing alone in the dark sky emphasized this lonely day on the river. 

The entrance to the marina was about a mile past the one leading to the anchorage we planned on pulling into at the state park. Being a not so pleasant day, our plans were to pick up the items and then stop for the day. 

We pulled in and tied up at the fuel dock, which was basically like a floating platform. The docks were filled with boats, mostly sail, but there wasn't a soul around and it was obvious the marina was closed. I quickly made lunch before Nancy and Marvin were scheduled to arrive. John was just about finished with his sandwich when I noticed a car pull up; two people carrying bags were headed our way. The transaction was made! 

We had a great conversation about looping. They had started theirs in 2019 but were forced to halt their travels when COVID hit. Once the threat of COVID had passed, they completed their journey in their beautiful red Ranger Tug named Crimson Tug. Sad to say they have since sold their boat with no intentions of purchasing another one (for now anyway). 

Hearing we were planning on anchoring for the night, Marvin suggested we not go back to the inlet we passed, rather just drop the hook in this one. He noted this one has more wind protection than the other that is upriver about a mile. Taking his advice, we pulled off the dock and found a perfect spot in about 7 feet of water along a wooded shoreline. We did see at least two deadheads in the area so will be extra careful when we leave tomorrow. 

We got busy setting up the new fridge so we could unpack the one we borrowed from David. The freezer needed to be defrosted so we put all the frozen food into David's fridge and shut off the freezer; I hope it will be defrosted by morning so we can repack the frozen food. In the meantime, the new fridge was able to take all of the food that was in David's plus a few items we had stored in a small Canyon Cooler. This will work out perfectly! 


Salmon, brown rice and asparagus for dinner! John is so lucky to have a personal chef on board. 

Dusk turned to night and then silence! 









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ABOUT US

Image
We are John and Bonny Gifford from Westport, MA. We have been married for 43 years and have two grown sons, Seth and AJ who are both married with children.  Westport is a small coastal town that boasts farm land, stone walls and the lovely Noquochoke River which lies between Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay. As life long residents of Westport our family has enjoyed the river and beaches tremendously.  Now that we are both retired, we are anxious to get underway on the Great Loop on Slàinte Mhath (Slanj-ja-va), our GB 42 CL. Slàinte Mhath comes from the Gaelic and translates into good health. It’s a traditional Scottish and Irish toast that we became aware of many years ago while enjoying a Guiness in the Settle Inn in Stirling, Scotland. Our bartender (George) greeted us with this hearty cheer, inspiring us to name a future boat with this hearty salute!  About 10 years ago we did end up purchasing that “future” boat, choosing the stately Grand Banks Classic. We got a tas...
Read more

Day 53 Continued: Covered Portage Cove to Snug Harbour

Image
 Day 53 Continued: September 9: The trip to Snug Harbour took about an hour as it was just over 6 miles southwest of us. Once again the water was calm. Along the way we noticed what looked like a gravel pit on the shore to our port and what looked liked a sandy beach on the starboard; something we haven't seen yet on this trip.  We carefully made our way into the small cove as the chart-plotter was showing very shallow depths, Reviews that have been written about this spot report that is a great anchorage that is protected from all winds. The cove is very deep especially in the middle, with great depths ranging from 30 to 45 feet. Entering the opening to the cove, we saw we had to watch for the shoals on the starboard side. The shelf comes over halfway across the entrance which is very narrow. We cruised through the cove, noting the incredibly clear water, The shallows that line the shore are turquoise and you can see right to the bottom, especially when the sun is shining. J...
Read more

Day 49, 50 & 51: Travel to Bad River Channel & Beaverstone Bay

Image
Day 49: September 5: We were pretty sure we were anchored on granite here on Bustard Island so we kept checking our position. Our anchor is held by all chain; putting out 75 feet in 16 feet of water under pristine conditions most certainly provides secure holding as long as the anchor has something to sink into. But you can never take anything for granted. Luckily, there must have been just enough mud for the anchor to grab hold but the chain did continue sliding on the granite throughout the night, creating a haunting sound. The anchor alarm went off at one point during the night alerting us that we had swung out beyond the boundary settings. Being that the anchorage is narrow, there wasn't any room for error so John had set the parameters tightly. When the boat moves beyond that limit, the alarm notifies us of the change. Tight quarters are always more challenging if you are concerned about the possibility of dragging.  It was a lovely morning. The bright sunshine and gentle bre...
Read more