Day 77 – 84
Friday, 11/27/20, through Friday, 12/04/20, was a week of boat chores. Steve spent multiple days trying to get our water-maker running again, and was finally successful after speaking with a technician with the manufacturer of the unit. Yea! We wanted to start making water once we’re out of the river systems and into the gulf. This unit purifies so well that the water we get through it will be better filtered than that we fill the tanks with from the marina taps. Plus, it can make up to 25 gallons per hour, so we shouldn’t run out! Since our internet access at The Wharf was so good, I spent a lot of time downloading pictures from my phone to our blog and trying to get caught up on the text.
On Sunday evening, 11/29/20, the already windy and rainy weather turned serious when Steve and I both received emergency weather alerts on our phones that a tornado warning had been issued for the exact county where Orange Beach and our marina was located! We looked at each other, then decided that staying aboard a boat probably wasn’t the safest place to be during severe weather. I grabbed my purse and we headed up to the boater’s lounge which is on the ground floor of a multi-story building. We turned the TV in the lounge to a local weather station and learned that rotation had been detected in Miflin, AL, which was about 15 miles northeast of our marina and was moving to the northeast, which was a good thing. About that time, another couple and their two large dogs joined us in the boater’s lounge, with the same intention that inside a building would be safer than aboard their boat. Kelly and Steve Brandt, aboard their trawler, Spontaneity, have a home in the St. Louis, MO, area but bring their boat south and stay on it for the winters. Steve has scaled back to just part-time work, but Kelly is still working full-time, so they always stay at marinas with dependable wifi access for that reason. They usually stay in the Sarasota, FL, area, but chose The Wharf for this year. Both of their dogs come with them on the boat, though Kelly admits they are not the most comfortable aboard, fearing the sound of the engine when underway, and being uneasy with the instability of the boat. We had seen Steve out early every morning, and multiple times throughout the day, walking the dogs along the maze of dock fingers in the marina to grassy areas so they could exercise and do their business. After about 45 minutes, the weather seemed to calm down outside and the cloud rotation had reportedly moved even further northeast of our area, so we went back to our respective boats with plans to meet up for dinner one evening to get better acquainted.
One day Steve Ubered to Great Clips for a haircut up in Foley, AL, just north of Orange Beach. The next day the weather was nice and relatively warm so I spent several hours walking all around The Wharf, discovering it had much more to offer than just the condos, shopping area, restaurants and marina. Also on the grounds is a large miniature golf course, zip-lining towers, and a giant outdoor amphitheater that looks like a small stadium. As I walked around, I saw even more evidence of Hurricane Sally and the havoc she’d wreaked on the area. Large, mature pine and oak trees had been either snapped completely off, or pushed all the way over with root balls still intact. Most of the grounds had been cleaned up/repaired, but some of the wooded areas still appeared devastated in places. I noticed that the large gates into the amphitheater were closed and chained shut with padlocks. At first I assumed it was closed due to hurricane damage awaiting repair, but then it dawned on me the place had probably been closed and chained up like that ever since last March, when Covid hit. 🙁 Seeing that large venue so completely empty and deserted was upsetting to me, especially when I realize this very thing has happened all over our country, causing so much loss and heartache.
When I arrived back to our boat, I smelled a strong, unpleasant odor before I even boarded Legacy. When I walked into the salon, that same odor almost knocked me down. GAG! I called out for Steve, who was down in the bilge underneath the galley working. Seems he had been making some adjustments to the valves in the forward head. Sadly, a Y-valve got turned the wrong way, which caused the holding tank to open and spill some of its contents right into the bilge! NOT GOOD! Steve had gotten the valve closed off, but was now in the process of cleaning the offending matter out of the bilge. I pushed the salon door completely open and then ran around the boat opening every window and hatch I could to help release the foul air from our boat. The temps were chilly outside, but that did not matter to me! Steve was grossed-out and embarrassed and went to jump in the shower once the mess was cleaned up. Disgusting!! (Incidentally, he now knows for certain how that valve needs to be turned from here on out…)
On 12/04/20, we enjoyed a late lunch at Marker 158, another nice restaurant located in The Wharf. I then called my dad for his 91st birthday and we talked for several hours, while Steve Ubered to pick-up our rental car – a Chevy Malibu this time.
Position: N 30° 17.699, W 87° 37.816
Marina Nights: 69