Ahoy All: Well, the weather gods are against us right now. Forcast is for strong winds and low temps for the next 5 days or so. Won't head into Mobile Bay until the forcast of rough seas out there change. We passed a Choy Lee trawler (about 42'?) yesterday coming down to Mobile. They plan to go directly from here to the Dry Tortugas, west of Key West. Three nights crossing the Gulf of Mexico if all goes well. When we left Demopolis on Friday we went down through the Demopolis Lock and cruised 62 nautical miles (around 75 statute miles) to an anchorage at Bashi Creek, mile 145 on the chart. Quite protected and the water depth was comfortable at least 100 yards in. It might be my imagination, but it seemed that a lot of the local residents from Aberdeen area on down along the Tombigbee River seem to use the river banks as garbage dumps. Old vehicles, appliances, cans, tires, and on and on are on the banks and just above them. Some are rusted, but most are shiny so they haven't been there for ages. Saturday morning we pulled anchor and had our longest cruise since leaving the Mississippi River - to mile 63.8 at Three Rivers anchorage. The chartbook and one or two of the cruising guides say to enter south of the small island at the entrance. Well, there isn't any island there anymore; the northern entrance has silted in. Again, the anchorage was a good one. We finally went through the last lock, Coffeeville, of our Great Loop Cruise. From here on back to New Bern NC we won't be locking through any more. I radioed the lockmaster when we were about 4 miles out to request an opening. He replied that there would be a 30-45 minute wait. When we arrived at the lock the green light was on, but the gates were shut. The lockmaster didn't/wouldn't respond to my radio calls. One and a half hours after my original call I had Susie call the lockmaster. He immediately responded. I took the mic and asked him for instructions. No response. Eventually the lock opened and we went through. The delay caused us to reach the anchorage just after sunset, but with some light left. Not the most comfortable way to anchor in a strange location. Yesterday (Sunday) warmed up as the day went on and we were able to cruise with the curtains open on the fly bridge while the crew was dressed in t-shirts. We passed the anchorage about mile 9.8 where the Amtrak train derailed ten or so years ago and continued down to mile 00 in Mobile Harbor. There is a free dock at the Convention Center but be warned that your boat will be hit by every wake, there is a tide to consider and there are no electric or water hook-ups. We had to sign a release offered by the (very friendly) security guards before being allowed to stay. Skipper Bob's book "Chicago to Mobile" has the number to call. We're docked just forward (north) of the dinner-cruise ship Grandpa Woo II. Lots of spring lines and fenders. When the weather calms down (strong winds) we plan to cruise down to Fairhope, then on to Florida. Wade Ehlen Albin 36 Miss Happ __________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - Make it your home page! http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs