Friday, April 22, 2011
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| Aqua Yacht to Mobile |
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| Niagara Prince tour boat |
Cruising south on Pickwick Lake, we soon entered the Tenn-Tom Waterway. Built between 1971 and 1985 by the US Army Corps of Engineers to connect the Tennessee and Tombigbee Rivers, the Waterway has an interesting history for those so inclined. We saw little traffic on our first afternoon, so passing this tour boat was a welcome diversion.
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| Jamie Whitten Lock |
Soon we were at the first of today's three locks. We quickly got the hang of "locking down". Here we are exiting the Jamie Whitten Lock after an 84' drop.
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| Creek junction |
These impressive structures are common along the Waterway. They appear to prevent turbulence where streams merge with the main channel. They also trap debris, although this one was clean. As you can see, a lot of water is moving downstream due to recent heavy rains. A 3-knot current allowed us to throttle back and still maintain 10 mph.
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| Sunset at Midway Marina |
Two more locks, 30' drop each, and we ease into Midway Marina in time to tie up and enjoy a nice sunset. Hey, we could get used to this lifestyle!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
We're off early the next morning to transit 4 locks en route to Columbus MS. After exiting Amory Lock, we encountered lots of storm runoff debris in the water. We slowly picked our way through the debris and swift current, then eased into Columbus Marina. Below Columbus the Tenn-Tom Waterway merges with the Tombigbee River.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
After another early departure and 2 more locks, we are now in Alabama, having left Mississippi behind for the remainder of the trip.
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| Warsaw Cutoff |
We stopped late in the day at a lovely anchorage, Warsaw Cutoff. The strong current and opposing strong wind made for a challenging first anchorage, but we finally got settled in just before dark. The wind and current and approaching darkness made us decide not to launch the dinghy to take our dog ashore. Did I mention we are traveling with a dog?
Monday, April 25, 2011
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| Boka and Robert on watch in lock |
Boka is a 5-year-old Boykin Spaniel and this is her first extended boating adventure. She loves playing at the beach and swimming and has even been offshore fishing, but she has never had to do her "business" on the boat. When we opened the door and she saw only water, she was NOT pleased! So when the engines were started the next day, she refused to eat or drink and proceeded to sleep all day. She did run out on the deck at every lock - she was fascinated by them. (Are we there yet?) It's going to be a long week! Fortunately we have a short day with 1 lock and an early arrival at Demopolis Yacht Basin.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
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| Demopolis Yacht Basin |
We decided to stay put in Demopolis AL today to wait for storms to pass. This turned out to be a wise decision as some strong thunderstorms and heavy rain passed through both Monday and Tuesday nights. While docked at the marina's fuel dock, also a commercial fuel dock, we saw a procession of large and larger push boats dock to refuel and take on provisions.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Demopolis is the location of the aptly named Demopolis Lock and Dam. This was the start of above normal water levels, with Demopolis several feet above normal (above the dam) and much higher water below this dam and the next at Coffeeville. Marina staff and lock tender Steve tried to talk us into waiting for water levels to fall before proceeding south. We felt stopping here would greatly complicate our schedule to get to Mobile, so we decided to proceed south anyway. As we locked down, Steve walked out to the lock to chat with us and gave us some great advice - very helpful and much appreciated!
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| Push boat with barges |
We are starting to see a lot more commercial traffic as we get closer to Mobile. We are also seeing more industrial sites along the river.
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| Boka at Bobby's Fish Camp |
The infamous Bobby's Fish Camp was a welcome sight after a long day on the river. This is the only fuel stop between Demopolis and Mobile, about 230 miles, so it is a popular stop for boats that carry less fuel than we do. Unfortunately we did not get to sample Bobby's renowned catfish, as the restaurant was closed on Wednesday.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
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| Flooding below Coffeeville Dam |
An early start, a short distance to Coffeeville Lock, and lots of high water below the dam! What should have been a 34' drop was only about 6'. Wow! All buoys marking shoaling were gone - either submerged or washed away. Not that water depth is a concern, but we don't want to run over a submerged buoy, especially if it has snagged a tree!
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| Jackson Railroad Lift Bridge |
We should have easily passed under the Jackson Railroad Bridge, with a 25' clearance at normal water levels. Today, there was about 6' of clearance so we had to wait for the bridge to be raised.
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| "Dolly Parton" bridge |
We have now transitioned to the Mobile River. Signs of civilization: the "Dolly Parton" bridge, where Interstate 65 crosses the river.
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| Briar Creek at sunrise |
Our last overnight anchorage was at Briar Creek between the Mobile and Tensaw Rivers. This beautiful spot was protected and isolated, despite being just 12 miles from the Port of Mobile. No wonder this is the local "hurricane hole", where many large commercial and pleasure vessels are anchored to ride out storms.
Friday, April 29, 2011
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| I 10 Bridge and Mobile |
Our final morning on the river, we are soon at the Interstate 10 bridge and the entrance to the Port of Mobile. A busy port, we had some anxious moments dodging tugs moving large container ships near our path. Despite numerous conversations on the VHF radio with the tug captains, we were too close for comfort more than once.
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| Downtown Mobile |
After passing downtown Mobile AL, we soon enter Mobile Bay. Only 12 miles to our turn toward Dog River and a slip at Dog River Marina for the next few weeks.
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