MBCKC Paddle Reports

Ingram's Bayou
February 17, 2006
by Tina Murphy

As you will recall, this weekday trip was planned in an effort to see Ingram’s Bayou in its pristine state, to look for wintering snowbirds of the avian variety, and to hopefully see mother/baby dolphins. Here is how the trip played out.

Friday morning started off cloudy and gray as we milled around the Exxon Station in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in southern Alabama. In the short time it took to drive from the Exxon to the put-in, Bob Andrews (the trip leader), must have been doing some heavy-duty praying. Like Noah parting the Red Sea, God parted the clouds and let the sun shine about the time we reached the put-in. God usually smiles on Bob’s trips, it seems. Ingram’s Bayou was still pristine – most of the downed trees we saw were due to natural causes – namely, hurricanes. While searching the waterway for dolphins, we came upon a pair of wintering snowbirds onboard a trawler named “Ballou.” They hailed from the northern latitudes of our country (Wisconsin) and were passing a good time in the Florida waters, living aboard their Ballou of a Boat. As if Florida was not paradise enough for one wintering season, they were heading out soon to the Bahamas and then Quebec. The captain assured us he had two very large paddles aboard to put his house-sized boat in motion. Sure! His first mate told us she saw the dolphins recently in the bayou. But apparently, like George Bush’s administration, we have a leak in our organization, for someone let the word out that a contingent of the Mobile Bay Canoe & Kayak Club, along with the West Florida Canoe and Kayak Club were sending 19 of their best paddlers to search for small cetaceans (Bottlenose Dolphins.) And what would a momma dolphin do in that situation? Like any other mammal momma – they skoodaddled.

Meanwhile, the sun was still shining and the temperature hovered at 70 degrees. Not bad for the middle of February. And we paddled on… Joan Grey swept across the water in a “real” kayak (we like her Keowee too); Susan Sasser, practiced refining her paddling technique in her new fashionable lime-green (this year’s hottest color) Necky Zoar Sport LV along with her mother, Sue Sasser, who got did a great job of playing caboose. Sandra and Oren Castille set the upper limit of paddling style with their fancy beaded seats they found in the automotive section of the Nameless Big Box Store. Thanks goes to Nancy Burner who was home babysitting her and Larry’s grandson, Rhen. Larry (granddad) was able to bring along their daughter, Kerry Burner & her husband, Kenny Reeves. Next time maybe Rhen can join us with a toddler-sized paddle and his pint size love of the water.

We gladly welcomed new West Florida members Margaret Haynes (Pensacola) and Mickie Fox (Lillian, AL) along with their friend, Candee Abercrombie to the sport of kayaking. And we were happy to meet Tony, a former Alabamian and a new member of the Mobile Club. He has just retired and moved permanently to Fairhope, AL from somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Ohio – one of those snow-covered states in the northern reaches of our continent. Welcome back to the Great South, Tony. Another snowbird, Adrian Denhaan, a retired engineer from the Deerborn, Michigan, Ford Motor Company, left his kayaks back home to hibernate in the snow and brought his Boston Whaler to the condo for the winter. We bet he brings the yaks and the Whaler next trip.

As most of you have heard, our dear friend Susan Guttman has returned to the hallowed halls of law and is making her contribution to society as a full-time public defender. We have missed her greatly on these weekday paddles. So to ease the pain, she sent her personal representatives and neighbors, Dave & Lindy Kirkpatrick. Dave performed a valuable service by staking out and valiantly guarding the only beach available for a lunch spot. On behalf of the 19 hungry paddlers, we grant Dave the Community Service Award for Hunger Prevention. Susan will be proud!

While we are handing out awards, we must give one to Sara Williamson, who maintained her honor and dignity through sheer grit and willpower. You see, Bob Williamson, stripped down to his shorts at the put-in and treated all the women to some of the sexiest male legs that this club has ever seen. How Sara can control her desire in the midst of this display, we will never know.

Pulling into the take-out, as if on cue, God closed the heavens and let the clouds connect, blocking out the sun. But Bob had asked for one more favor – and the rains held.

Though we did not see dolphins, Bob had already made each person a winner when he handed out the new issue of Southern Tide and Trail magazine to all participants, as we arrived that morning.

Upon bidding our good-byes and farewells, we wished Sandra & Oren a safe trip as they set off to join Frances Stone in her Step-Up Florida Mission in Marianna. Oren promised to help George Russell stock up on a year’s supply of Chipola River Miracle Mud while they paddle the Chipola on Saturday.

Good trip and many thanks to Bob Andrews for a great Friday in the South.