On Tuesday, June 22th, my son, Seth, and I rented a van and drove from Smarr, Georgia, to Ruskin, Florida. The next day, we made a provision run to the local Publix, changed the home port on Lollipop to Forsyth, GA, and returned the rental. On Thursday, June 24, at 7 am ET, we set out with Bronson, the previous owner, for the long trip to Guntersville, Alabama. After a 4 hour trip across Tampa Bay, we topped the fuel tanks at Gulfport Marina, and by noon we were in the Gulf of Mexico headed for Mobile Bay. For the first 5 hours or so, everything was great; Lollipop was cruising at six mph. Then, along towards evening, thunderstorms developed off our port side, and the waves picked up from one foot to three or four feet, which being a coastal trawler, Lollipop did not like, but not near as much as me. In short order, I was seasick and stayed that way for the next couple of days. Seth had a brief bout of feeling bad but recovered quickly. On the other hand, Bronson was in his element, being an old Coast Guard guy from Alaska.
Before daylight on Saturday morning, June 26, I made the command decision to head to Panama City, Florida. Still, Lollipop had a different idea, as the beam seas had her rocking and rolling. A slight change of course towards Destin put the waves on the stern quarter and provided a much better ride. About noon on Saturday, we went under the bridge at Destin to be greeted by well over one hundred boats. Some kind of concert was happening on a sand bar, and it was shore-to-shore boats with Lollipop just purring along like a floating island as all the other boats dodged us, as we were the slowest. By this time, I had recovered and was driving and having a great time in all the traffic. We joined the GICW, Gulf Intercoastal Waterway, heading West to the Santa Rosa Yacht club at Pensacola, docking at the fuel dock at 6:45 pm CT. After securing the boat, Seth and I caught an Uber over to Flounder’s Chowder House for a great dinner.
On Sunday morning, June 27th, Bronson and I said goodbye to Seth, who flew home, and we continued to Turner Marine on the Dog River in Mobile Bay. At 4:30 pm CT, we arrived to be greeted by Steve and Carol of JADIP (Just Another Day In Paradise). After settling in, all four of us were off to celebrate Lollipop’s ocean crossing at a local steakhouse.
JADIP had been stuck in Mobile for several weeks waiting for the Mobile River to recede from flood stage. During this time, Carol talked to the lockmaster at the Coffeeville Lock, who recommended we wait until Tuesday, June 29th, before heading up the river. So we used Monday, June 28th, to catch up on some sleep, wash the salt off the boat, do routine household chores, and watch some TV for the first time in a week. Now, my thoughts are focused on the river ahead, anchoring out and the locks.
