Pensacola was the jumping off point for a short cruise to Orange Beach, Alabama on a cloudy Memorial Day. We had fought a stalled weather front all weekend and the best thing I can say about that is the salty coating was washed away on an hourly basis. The Sarasota radio station called for an update of the Tour and our good friend from New Orleans WWL Radio-AM870, Garland Robinette, had us on as his Memorial Day story. Garland is a wetlands warrior who has been sounding the alarm for years about the pending tragedy facing Louisiana and the nation due to coastal erosion. Our talk centered on a primary question, “Why don’t we see more projects building ground after all of these years sending out warning flares. My view is that the numerous projects in the cue for restoring the coast are in various stages of progress, many having not been funded yet by Congress after authorization. And then there is the primary issue that is really the elephant in the room. There must be a comprehensive solution to divert the Mississippi River, so that the nutrients and sediments that give life to the wetlands can return after being walled off with levees along the Mississippi since 1927. It is not an issue that the nation can avoid for much longer, as the heavy build up of nitrates from run off along the upper Mississippi is flowing right past the place that desperately needs them, a place that is experiencing the greatest land loss on the planet in coastal Louisiana. The result is that America’s WETLAND is dying, a massive dead or hypoxia zone in the Gulf of Mexico is growing and threatening marine life and as the Mississippi Delta dies, the health of the River is not far removed from the consequences. This is a dirty and sticky national issue that leaders and citizens from the State of Louisiana have tried to elevate to a national priority. A week from Memorial Day is the first day of the Atlantic Hurricane season and with or without a storm ravaging the Gulf Coast, the future of America’s WETLAND hangs in the balance and the problem cries out for a national solution so that this generation’s legacy will be stewardship of our valuable natural resources.
Monday’s weather was a bit more welcoming, as we set out in a light chop to move back into the Intracoastal Waterway heading West. As we leave Florida, more military bases dot the route and the barrier islands keep the Gulf waves at bay, so the holiday recreational boaters could enjoy calmer waters inside. It is hard to imagine that this stretch of waterway was recently a low populated zone, as the high rises now dot the islandscape of these once sleepy fishing communities. Tonight was a stop at one of the newest developments called The Wharf, complete with ferris wheel, floating pools, full marina, shops and eateries. The place rises from the shore of the ICWW and the festive atmosphere seems to be a magnet for kids. The day ended with the hoots and howls from the happy families wrapping up their holiday weekend. Happy Sails!
Leaving Pensacola, FL
Storming, AGAIN, as we leave Pensacola Beach behind
Sunset at The Wharf Marina
