Near the midway point of the canal there are two pontoon swing highway bridges. Bns. 91 to 121 (91, 95, 105, and 119 lighted).-These beacons mark the route across the north end of Oyster Bay and out the Bon Secours River into Bon Secours Bay. Pass 30 to 50 yards north and east of (west of, from Bn. 113 to Bn. 121) these beacons, being careful to avoid shoal ground off Bns. 107 and 109. Lights 12 and 14 mark the U turn in the Bon Secours River channel. Pass 50-60 yards south of these beacons, about midway between them and the black beacons on the opposite side of the channel. Bns. 123 to 223 (123 and 223 lighted) mark a straight east and west channel across Bon Secours Bay into Mobile Bay. These beacons are spaced about 1,000 feet apart and should be passed about 50-60 yards to the northward. The westward course is 270° true (W. 2 S. mag.) and the eastward course is 90° true (E. 1⁄2 N. mag.). The distance is 814 miles. From Light 223 to Mobile Light 8. Direct course, 281° true (W. 12 N. mag.). For information regarding the Intracoastal Waterway from Mobile Bay to New Orleans see page 211. 22. MOBILE BAY AND MOBILE (Chart 1266) Mobile Bay lies 40 miles westward of Pensacola Bay entrance and 90 miles northeastward of the South Pass of the Mississippi River. It is the approach to the city of Mobile and to the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers, the two most important streams in the State of Alabama. The lower part of the bay is a good anchorage and harbor of refuge and is easy of access either day or night when the sea is not breaking on the bar. The entrance to the bay has a width of 234 miles between Mobile Point on the east and the eastern extremity of Dauphin Island on the west, but it is largely filled with shoals extending 4 miles offshore. Air photo compilations are available for the coastal area between Apalachee Bay and Mobile Bay; see page 2. Main Ship Channel, with a depth of 36 feet (11.0 m), leads between Southeast Shoal and Mobile Point on the east, and Sand Island Shoal and West Bank on the west, up to the lower anchorage. Across the bar it has a depth of 21 feet (6.4 m) or more in a natural channel width of one-half mile, and a depth of 36 feet (11.0 m) in a dredged channel 450 feet wide. Inside the bar the depths in the channel increase to as much as 60 feet in places, with a least width of one-fourth mile between the shoals which rise abruptly from the deep water of the channel. The channel is marked by Mobile Entrance Lighted Whistle Buoy, by four lighted buoys and Mobile Point Lighted Range across the bar, by Sand Island Lighthouse and by additional buoys (lighted and unlighted) into Mobile Bay Channel. From westward, small boats drawing up to 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) can enter Mobile Bay through Pelican Passage. This channel passes north of a spit off Pelican Island, then south of a spit off Dauphin Island just east of Pelican Island and then around a small spit off Fort Gaines but inside the larger Dauphin Island Spit. From the eastward only about 4 feet (1.2 m) can be taken across Southeast Shoal around Mobile Point. It is necessary to pass very close to shore and should only be attempted under most favorable weather conditions and with local knowledge. These channels shift frequently and are unmarked. Sand Island Lighthouse (Lat. 30°11.2'; Long. 88°03.1') is a black conical tower on the west side of the southern part of the Main Ship Channel. The light is occulting white (light 5 sec., eclipse 5 sec.), 131 feet (39.9 m) above the water and visible 18 miles. There is a radiobeacon at the lighthouse-see Light List or H. O. Publication No. 205. Storm warnings (day only) are displayed at the lighthouse. Middle Ground, a tongue-shaped shoal with a least depth of about 12 feet (3.7 m) extends into the channel from eastward at a point 112 miles northward of Fort Morgan. Anchorage. The best anchorage in the lower bay for deep draft vessels is found northward and northwestward from Fort Morgan (on Mobile Point) and southward from the Middle Ground, where the depth ranges from 30 to 45 feet (9.1 to 13.8 m) and the holding ground is excellent. This anchorage is secure, but during a norther a short heavy choppy sea is raised which may be uncomfortable for small vessels. Mobile Bay Channel etxends from the lower anchorage to the mouth of the Mobile River. The project dimensions are for a channel 32 feet (9.8 m) deep by 300 feet wide. The channel is subject to shoaling, but the project depth is generally maintained, and in February 1936 the controlling depth was 32 feet (9.8 m). This channel is marked by lights (square houses painted red on pile foundations) along the eastern side at intervals of about 114 miles and by black spar buoys along the western side. The northern end of the channel is marked by Mobile Channel Lighted Range on the south end of Pinto Island. There is practically a continuous spoil bank along either side of the channel, from Middle Ground Lighted Buoy 16 to the mouth of the river. Through these spoil banks, there are the following several openings for passage to various points about Mobile Bay: Just south of Light 38; to eastern shore points. Opposite Light 36; to Dog River. Just south of Light 26; eastward to Point Clear and westward to Dog River and Fowl River. Opposite Light 22; to Pass Aux Herons. Opposite Light 12; to Pass Aux Herons. Just south of Light 8; the Intracoastal Waterway crosses the channel. Boats bound eastward into the Intracoastal Waterway can leave the ship channel at the opening just south of Light 26 and shape a course across Bon Secours Bay into the waterway. Prominent features.-The general appearance of the land is a guide to finding the entrance to Mobile Bay. For a distance of 40 miles eastward of the entrance, the shore, although low, is wodded and unbroken. For 50 miles westward of the entrance there is a chain of islands which, although wooded in places, are generally low and bare. In approaching the entrance, the most conspicuous objects are the Sand Island Lighthouse and the radio towers and a tall water tank on Mobile Point. From Mobile Bay, the main objects of prominence are the water tanks at Fairhope and at the northeast corner of the bay opposite the Blakeley River. A private white light is displayed from the top of the Fairhope tank. Approaching Mobile, the water tower at the south end of town is easily identified. There are numerous tall buildings in Mobile close to the waterfront; of these the most prominent is the one with the skeleton mast from which the aero light is displayed. Mobile and its port facilities are described on page 186. Just inside Mobile Point (Rear) Light, there is a small wharf with about 12 feet (3.7 m) at the end. The old Fort Morgan wharf is in poor condition, only small boats drawing not over 3 feet (0.9 m) being able to land about halfway in along the dock. The old quarantine dock is more or less in ruins. The offshore area to the north and east is sometimes used for anchorage but several rock piles (old ballast) are reported in this locality; two such spots (8 feet 2.4 m and 11 feet 3.3 m) are shown on the chart. Bon Secours Bay is a large indentation of Mobile Bay, extending 14 miles eastward from inside Mobile entrance. It has an average depth of 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3.0 m) and is the western entrance to the Intracoastal Waterway connecting Mobile and Pensacola Bays. This waterway crosses Oyster Bay into a canal cut and in 1935 had a controlling depth of 9 feet (2.7 m). Bon Secours River empties into the bay at the eastern end; the river has a depth of about 5 feet (1.5 m) and mud bottom. The town of Bon Secours is located on the north bank of the river, about one-half mile inside the mouth. There is a post office and general store here, and gasoline, fresh water, and provisions can be obtained. A mail and passenger boat makes weekly trips to Mobile. A small marine ways capable of hauling out boats up to 5 feet draft is located on the bayou leading to Oyster Bay. Weeks Bay has an average depth of 2 to 5 feet (0.6 to 1.5 m). A staked channel with a depth of about 5 feet (1.5 m) leads through the entrance and across the bay to Fish River (north mouth). About the same depth can be carried into Fish River (south mouth). Small boats can go to Marlow on Fish River (north mouth) and to Magnolia Springs on Fish River (south mouth). The village of Bayside is located on the east shore of the bay between the mouths of Fish River. Gasoline, fresh water, and provisions can be obtained here, and there is weekly boat service from here to Mobile. Pulpwood is cut on both rivers and carried to Mobile by barges. Fairhope (population 1,549 by the 1930 census) is a small town on the east shore of Mobile Bay. It is a single-tax colony and the principal summer resort on the bay. There are highway connections and daily boat service to Mobile. There is a depth of 9 feet (2.7 m) at the end of the principal wharf. Provisions, fresh water, and some small-boat supplies can be obtained. Small boats up to about 70 feet long and 4 feet (1.2 m) draft can be hauled out and repaired. Gasoline, distillate, etc., can be obtained at a bulk-oil plant. A bright white light on a tall tank at Fairhope is visible from all points in Mobile Bay. Point Clear, Battles Wharf, Montrose, and Daphne are summer resorts along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. They all have highway connections and occasional boat service to Mobile. There are numerous boat landings along this shore but many are in ruins and constitute possible dangers to small-boat navigation. North of Fairhope there is only one serviceable landing, this being the one at Daphne. Great Point Clear Light marks the outer edge of the shoal area extending off this shore. Dog River, emptying into the western side of Mobile Bay is used considerably by yachts and small boats. There is a depth of about 5 feet (1.5 m) leading southwestward through the spoil bank from Light 36 on the Mobile Channel and this depth can be taken through the entrance to the river and up the river for about 7 miles to a fixed railroad bridge. The south entrance point is marked by a light. There is a swing highway bridge just inside the entrance with a horizontal clearance of 60 feet and a vertical clearance of 10 feet at mean low water. There is an aerial cable crossing at the bridge; the towers are 100 feet (30.5 m) but the vertical clearance is not known. Small boats can secure gasoline, oil, and water just inside the bridge. There is a sawmill on the upper river and there is some commerce in logs and pulpwood. Along shore to the northward of Dog River, and to a less extent to the southward, there are numerous small boat landings. Many of these are in ruins and constitute possible danger to small-boat navigation. Fowl River is a shallow stream of little importance. Mobile River Channel extends from the mouth of the river, where it joins the Mobile Bay Channel, for 41⁄2 miles up the river to the highway bridge to the north of Mobile. The channel has a project depth of 32 feet (9.8 m) to the highway bridge, with a width of 500 feet to the State Docks about 11⁄2 miles below the highway bridge and a width of 300 feet for the remaining distance to the bridge. In September 1935 the controlling depth in the channel was 32 feet (9.8 m). The wharves and piers of Mobile extend along the west bank of the channel and there are some similar facilities along the east bank. The highway bridge at the north end of the channel is a vertical lift type with 300 feet horizontal clearance and 135 feet (41.1 m) vertical clearance above high water. Mobile (population 68,202 by the 1930 census) is one of the largest and most important cities on the Gulf of Mexico. It is served by five trunk-line railroads, two of which maintain terminals and general facilities for foreign and coastwise trade. The Alabama State Docks provide an ocean terminal with modern facilities. The principal exports are naval stores, cotton, lumber, coal and oil (bunker), iron and steel products, and fertilizer, while the principal imports are chemicals, ores, bananas, and molasses. The coastwise trade consists mainly of petroleum products, lumber, iron and steel products, chemicals, and food products. There are inland waterway transportation facilities, handling iron and steel products, ore, sugar, and coal, and serving the Warrior, Tombigbee, and Alabama River system with connections with the Mississippi River. Most of the piers and wharves extend along the west bank of the Mobile River and have depth of 17 to 30 feet (5.2 to 9.1 m) alongside. Fourteen feet (4.3 m) can be taken into the Industrial Canal at the (22) TERMINAL FACILITIES 187 upper end of the harbor; the entrance is through Three Mile Creek, over which there are two railroad swing bridges with a minimum horizontal clearance of 56 feet and a vertical clearance of 5.7 feet at low water. Industrial sites are available along the canal. There is a depth of about 18 feet (5.5 m) into Chicksaw Creek, 42 miles above the mouth of Mobile River; the railroad drawbridge at the mouth of the creek has a horizontal clearance of 82 feet. The Alabama State Dock Commission has jurisdiction over Mobile Harbor as well as Mobile Bay and all tributary streams. It has supervision over pilotage, wharves, and shipping, and authority in all matters relating to the arrival, departure, loading, and discharging of all vessels. Most routine functions are administered through the harbormaster. Terminal Facilities.-The Alabama State Docks constitute a modern port terminal, open to all users alike. The facilities include: (a) Three piers, each 1,600 feet long with fireproof shipside transit sheds; there is a total of 10,565 lineal feet of concrete wharves for vessels of 30-foot draft; (b) a shipside bonded cotton warehouse; (c) coal and bulk handling plants; (d) a terminal railroad connecting with all railroads entering Mobile; and (e) an industrial canal and basin with sites for private industries, reached via Three Mile Creek. Exclusive of the State Docks, there are 15 wharves and piers located along the western shore of the Mobile River, on deep water and with rail and highway connections. There is berthing space in excess of 14,000 lineal feet and a floor space of 1 million square feet in covered warehouses and sheds. Most of these belong to the railroads and include a grain elevator and special fruit-handling facilities. There is a municipal wharf, 1,500 feet long, centrally located on the water front; it is used by bay and river vessels, inland barges, and other craft. Anchorages. With the extensive berthing space available about Mobile, there is little need for anchoring in the harbor. Vessels may anchor abreast the city to the eastward of the dredged channel but suitable arrangement must be made to maintain position parallel to the channel and there cannot be more than one vessel abreast. The principal anchorage is in the lower bay and there is a quarantine anchorage opposite the quarantine station. Pilots and Pilotage.-Pilotage is compulsory for vessels in foreign trade but not for vessels in coastwise trade having on board a licensed pilot. The rates of pilotage are as follows: Pilotage rates are one-half on all vessels entering the port for the purpose of drydocking and repairing or for bunkering. 57738°-36-13 |