Our concern about Three Rivers Lake was that other boats would already be there, but fortunately we were the first to arrive. Serendipity arrived a couple of hours later and before dark, four more boats joined us. There was adequate room for all of us, and we were well protected by trees on all sides. Three Rivers Lake is about 50 miles north of Mobile as the crow flies. We were happy to have cell phone service, and our good friend from Summerland, Melanie Zanini, kept us posted on everything about Ida, which was wonderful. Mel has helped us on many occasions since we left home the end of May, and words can't begin to express our appreciation to her.
Nov. 9 - Ida was expected to come ashore near Mobile during the night. We made sure everything was secure, tied the bimini top down, etc. and waited. We stayed up most of the night keeping watch on the effects of the approaching tropical storm, making sure our anchor was holding. Ida slowed down and diminshed in intensity before coming ashore at Dauphin Island south of Mobile around sunrise. Had lots of rain, but the wind was minimal. Obviously the trees protected us, which was great.
Nov. 10 - It was windier after Ida came ashore and moved to the east very slowly. The current coming into the lake from the river was very strong and created a whirlpool right about where we were anchored. As a result, Omega circled round and round on our anchor all day and throughout the following night. The seas offshore from Mobile were tremendously high (at least 15 feet ) and Mobile Bay had small craft warnings posted for several days, so all we could do was try to be patient and wait. Hard to do when you're so anxious to get home.
Nov. 11 - We decided to move down the river closer to Mobile Bay so we could get to Dog River Marina in Mobile early the next day. Tensaw River Cutoff was our destination which was 12.2 miles north of Mobile Bay. There has been a tremendous amount of flooding farther north on the river so we expected to have even more debris in the water than we had before. Much to our surprise, there was none. There was quite a bit of current, so we cruised along at about 11 mph.
Nov. 12 - The Captain called for the anchor to come up just after sunrise, and we headed for Mobile Bay and Dog River Marina. Cruising past the shipyard docks in Mobile is always interesting. The bay was a little choppy, but not bad. After docking and getting situated at the marina, we met Gene and Kathy Johnson from White Bear Lake, MN aboard Front Page. We told them about our long-time dear friend, Marge Hager, who lives in Ormond Beach, FL. Marge grew up in White Bear Lake, and we have heard many stories about the town, her family, and her experiences there, so it was delightful to learn more about the community from the Johnsons. They own and publish the local newspaper as well as several other newspapers in the area. What fun it was to pass along news of White Bear Lake to Marge by telephone! We went to the Mobile Yacht Club with the Johnsons for dinner.
Nov. 13-14 - The boatyard at Dog River Marina is a large comprehensive operation. Bill talked to the owner, Sonny Middleton, about one of his concerns about Omega. Much to our dismay, the outcome was that we needed to haul out again and take care of it. Unfortunately, it was Friday and they don't work on weekends. In this case, TGIF was not advantageous!! Gene and Kathy on Front Page invited us over for Happy Hour that evening, and they departed the next morning.
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