Sailing Last Mango

There may be eight million stories in the naked city but there are at least as many with the Sailor / Looper crowd. In my opinion people have been probably the most memorable and interesting part of the trip. We’ve met couples who have retired at 50 like Karen and I and people who have rushed the trip due to illnesses. It was good to hear “Young at Heart” tell us that it was the best move he and his wife made. They don’t regret it at all. Countless couples have told us how glad they are to see us retire early and do what we want, they’ve wished they did the same. We’ve also heard stories of people who waited too long and could no longer do the trip due to poor health. Even worse we people who passed away before being able to start enjoying retired life. The crowd is made up of doctors, accountants, dentists, mechanics, engineers, Canadian Mounties, nurses, firemen and school teachers. Lots of school teachers and nurses. The main thing that I’ve come to appreciate is people. ...

10-13    This week Last Mango and crew are tied to a dock at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama. The weather has been wonderful the last few weeks with warm temperatures and mostly clear skies. Well, today that has changed. It appears to be a good time to be attending the seminars and organized events through the AGLCA rendezvous. We spent most of the day and evening in the lodge listening to various speakers and presenters. As the afternoon and evening wore on the tornado warnings kept everyone in the storm shelter. The campground was evacuated to the storm shelter area with us. As it turns out nothing too bad at the marina some wind and lots of rain. The rivers downstream of us are very high and some near flood stage. Baring any further rain the rivers should be back to normal by the time we leave on Friday. Even the Cootie wants in Last Mango Many of the days looked like this 10-14    ...

10/10    We arrived at Joe Wheeler State Park marina at about noon just in time for the rain that had been coming all morning. We took our time and the showers had passed before we docked Last Mango. We checked in with the marina and another shower had come and gone. Last Mango was all wet and we decided to give her a much needed bath since she was wet already. Our timing had been great since yesterday, making the Wilson Lock to leaving our anchorage in Six Mile Creek to timing the Joe Wheeler Lock. I have to admit that both Karen and I are happy to be in one place (Joe Wheeler State Park Marina) for several days. No early mornings hoping to get through locks before nightfall, no hoping water levels permit us anchoring and no anchor alarms in the middle of the night. Prime rib dinner buffet at the Wheeler State Park Lodge for $17.95. Can’t beat it. It was Mark from Blue Willows 63 rd birthday today and several of us enjoyed his company at dinner. Then Karen and I had a...

10/3     We arrived at the Panther Bay anchorage off Kentucky Lake at roughly 2 pm today. Karen and I set our hook and I dropped the dinghy in the water. We went to shore to take a walk around. Panther Bay in nestled in a Kentucky State Forest and it’s a beautiful spot. We’re here with a Looper boat De-De. Henry and Diane aboard De-De are from Virginia and they built their boat. In my opinion it’s about the perfect looper boat. Not too big to worry about finding anchorages, or hitting bottom and appears to be easy to handle. Not too small to be tripping over yourself or your partner either.   Anyhow after our walk Karen and I read for a while and I tried cleaning some of the ground in dirt off the side of Last Mango. The fenders really did some grinding while at Hoppies. I think I got one layer off and pulled the dinghy up on the davits. Karen was starting to make dinner (Shrimp Scampi and a salad). I finished with the dinghy and put the full enclosure on pre...