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In a world of constant change, this crew of family and friends has an epic boat run to look forward to every year.
"It started out as a bucket list for my grandfather, but it's become more like a tradition for all of us," says BoatUS Member Brad Lang of Alabama, explaining the nearly annual family (and friends) boat trip that began in 1996 and shows no sign of stopping.
When Lang's grandmother passed away, his grandfather upgraded his old AristoCraft to a new Bayliner 2002 Trophy walkaround so he could fulfill his dream of navigating the Alabama River waterways about 350 miles from Tuscaloosa to Mobile Bay, then into Perdido Bay via Portage Creek. The inaugural run would be an epic two-day trip without the benefit of online resources or even an electronic chartplotter. Lang's dad, grandfather, and brother navigated with paper charts and learned the procedures for passing through the three locks and dams en route. They also had to familiarize themselves with the Mobile River and Bay, which opens like a V into the Gulf of Mexico and can deliver erratic sea conditions.
Since that first year, the trip became a bonding experience for the guys, who then trailer the boat back. Lang missed the first trip but has made all 17 since. The coronavirus canceled last year's trip, but they're determined to make another run in September.
Today, the trip begins on the Warrior River in Tuscaloosa, and Lang and crew cruise (more like run, since they average about 28 mph) some 130 miles to the Demopolis Yacht Basin (mile marker 216.7 on the Tenn-Tom River), where they pick up his brother and his father, who just turned 75. The full crew then runs about 100 miles to Bobby's Fish Camp in Bladen Springs, where they spend the night and finish off the trip from there the next day. “We meet people from all over and talk about where they've been and heading," says Lang. “And of course we talk about Alabama football."
After Coffeeville Lock and Dam on the Tombigbee River — the last lock down and the first one back upriver — Lang says it's all downhill, with a stretch that features an abundance of wildlife including ducks, hogs, an occasional alligator, and several bald eagles. Coffeeville is where they decide which of three directions from which they must choose to enter the bay. The Tensaw River scenic route? The Middle River route? Or stay on the Mobile River and traverse the shipping channel? There's no captain. Joint decisions are made, and after so many years together, they each have a job to do, says Lang. “We trust each other."
Mobile Bay is a wildcard and always the most challenging part of the trip. Weather and tides play into the conditions, and it has proven either brutal or as smooth as glass. One year, the 3-foot chop on the bay put an abrupt end to the run, forcing them to turn back. But typically, the 90-minute trek across the bay is the pinnacle of the trip. They've found the shallow places by trial and error, says Lang. “As boating often reminds you, to learn you have to mess up sometimes," he says.
Lang says the trip is much more about boating and scenery: It's a chance for two days together with family and friends who have busy lives. It's about camaraderie. Over the years it's been a time to celebrate marriages and babies, a time to reconnect and commiserate over job disappointments and divorces. Lang's father once received a call while on the trip from his doctor telling him his cancer was in remission. It's a constant in a world of change and something to look forward to every year, says Lang, and they begin planning the next trip as soon as they return home. They changed boats in 2019 to Lang's 22-foot Cobia center-console. Every trip has a story, he says.
“We've had uneventful trips and some trips riddled with problems. We've stared down hurricanes, run out of fuel in the bay, spun props, got delayed, traversed the bay at night, and got lost in the dark," says Lang. “But there's nothing I'd trade for each trip we've taken and time we've spent with each other."