Finishing Five Months At Sea
With Captains Wade Barrett and wife Taylor Mann-Barrett at the wheel, the Fairhope-based sailing vessel Indigo is captured in Mobile Bay JUL 30 2025, finishing a maiden voyage that lasted more than five months and covered over 1,950 nautical miles.
Taylor and Wade, who run the sailing service Eastern Shore Charter, left Fairhope FEB 24th, along with Lewy, their cat.
First sailing to Carrabelle in the FL panhandle east of Apalachicola, they cross Florida’s Big Bend to Clearwater and then sail south to Fort Myers Beach and on to the Keys. From the Keys, their voyage continues to the Bahamas, back to the Keys, then to the Dry Tortugas and back to Fort Myers Beach before returning to Fairhope. “So, basically all the way to the Bahamas, Dry Tortugas and back again,” Taylor says. “It’s been an adventure for sure.”
Most memorable moments
Wade: Sailing to Hoffman’s Cay and swimming with sea turtles right off the boat
Taylor: Sailing to the Bahamas or crossing the Big Bend. “This was the trip that Wade taught me to sail, so that was incredibly cool to be able to do that on my first time.”
Taylor knows who’s happiest to be home. “Lewy is probably gonna get off this boat, give us the finger and only come home for dinner!”
“One hundred fifty six days later, here we are!”
Grateful thanks are extended to Point Clear resident Boyd Douglas, whose offer of a boat ride out to meet Indigo in Mobile Bay made these pictures possible. Photos shot using a Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-500mm telephoto lens…