Matt’s hands are raw and tingling at their core from puppeteering Kaleo’s lines as she sailed hard across an agitated and arctic Mobile Bay.
Spot Tracker plot of our route from Moss Point, MS to Orange Beach, AL
The day began when we pushed off from the dock a little after 5:30 this morning and made our way back down the Pascagoula River to the mouth of the Mississippi Sound, before sunrise, to resume our route across the Gulf Coast. From there, we set course for Dauphin Island Bridge, the west entrance to the bay.
Kaleo sliced through the remaining Mississippi Sound and with winds building, we began our march toward Mobile Bay with a little trepidation about the conditions that would await us. The metal steering wheel was ice in Matt’s hands with air temperature at its high of 40°, the wind meter reading about 20 knots (23 mph) and with sea water breaking over the bow. But we had come this far and Kaleo was sailing admirably, so we pressed on. Gusts of 25 knots became the norm and then wind continued to build with it blowing up to 27 knots. To meet the ICW entrance on the other side of the bay, we had to change course and the waves starting rolling on the beam (perpendicular to the boat). To ensure that we didn’t have too much sail up for the wind conditions, Matt added a second reef to the main and rolled up the jib completely and she was still cruising along at 7 to 7.5 knots (that’s mighty fast for our sailboat). With a little prayer that the winds hold steady or subside, we sailed on with Matt rotating between checking our course at the wheel and staying out of the wind and sea spray under the dodger.
Midway through the bay we were greeted by dolphins swimming alongside and jumping out of the water just off the port beam. Around 3:30, we sailed into the ICW, the wind dropped and we motored toward our berth for the night at The Marina on the Wharf in Orange Beach, AL. Since we spent most of the day freezing and with temps forecast to be in the low 20’s, we decided to treat ourselves to some shore power heat and a movie at the Wharf theater. This area has been newly built with tons of little shops, bakeries, bars, restaurants and even a gigantic Ferris wheel and movie theater making it quite the treat to walk around.
Other than numb hands and windburned cheeks, Matt said he really enjoying getting to sail Kaleo in those conditions. We look forward to getting a warm night’s rest and crossing into Florida tomorrow!
N 30° 16.76 / W 87° 41.00
Sounds like so much fun!