Sumter Landing to Demopolis, AL

Today I wake up a little earlier than normal, like at 2 am.  With the generator off, and the temperature outside  into the 30's, the cabin's temperature lowers to 55 degrees. Cold!  When we left Cincinnati, the temperatures were in the high 70's and we were heading south. In the past, we only used the boat  during mild weather. So we found a  few things aboard  lacking, namely extra blankets and socks.  Last night it was a  three dog night, which will ring familiar with some family members!  But this again, we lack.  We have only two dogs. So we all shivered and added layers of whatever clean clothes we could find.

Brrrr.....

It is extra effort to anchor as we have to take the dogs to shore on our dinghy first thing.  They both shiver but are eager to go out.

Buster taking a ride to Sumter Recreational Area.

We leave around 8 am and meet up with the rest of our cove mates at the next lock, Heflin Lock. There is no wait, so we proceed in and are locked through quickly.  This is our only lock of the day and we travel southbound on the Tenn Tom for about 60 miles. There are some beautiful sights along the way. 

White Cliff of Epes.

Another beautiful day with blue skies.

We make great time and arrive to the Demopols Yacht Basin around 12:30.  We fill up with diesel ($3.81 gallon) and then move over to Kingfisher Marina's transient dock.  Besides the upscale laundry, there is also a super Walmart to which we take the courtesy car and restock some essentials.

upscale laundry room

We end the night with dinner at the marina's restaurant...which was just OK unless your eating catfish; but a nice break from cooking nonetheless.

New Orleans Bar and Grill

Tomorrow will be a long run of over 100 miles and lock number 11 of the dirty dozen.  The temperatures will fall lower than today.  Our destination will be Bobby's Fish Camp, which we expect to be no more than the name suggests.  Goodnight All!

Columbus Marina to Sumter Landing

Today, I wake to a weather report of snowflakes from  my son Evan at OSU.  The weather outside my window shows clear blue sky. Granted, it is chilly, with temperatures in the 40's and a  forecast high of 65 degrees. I have to smile; I also am in Columbus, but Mississippi and not Columbus O-H-I-O!

View off our stern, October 23rd morning, Columbus Marina

We leave around 9:30 but encounter a wait to lock through our next lock, Stennis Lock.  It is windy, the river is choppy, and we need to hold up for an hour idling in these conditions until the lock shows green for go.  Not the greatest start to the day, but we realized yesterday that we could not make the run to Demopolis, Alabama, and will need to anchor along the way. The days are getting shorter and not knowing the waters, we do not want to arrive anywhere in the dark.  The river narrows after this lock and we pass barges along the way. The barge captains are friendlier the further south we travel.

Close pass with barge, Crimson White (I suppose a confirmation we are in Alabama!) We pass on his 1.  Need to learn the lingo quick.

We pass through one more lock, Bevill Lock.  They call these locks on the Tenn Tom the dirty dozen.  We have three more to go. Cannot wait to say goodbye to the dirty dozen. We travel southbound on the Tenn Tom and pull into Sumter Cove.  We have been told this is a safe and nice anchorage.  It is true.  We are off the river and in a nice cove and near a park to which we can dinghy the dogs ashore to find some grassy areas.

Tom bringing an additional stern line ashore to secure to a tree. This will help us not to swing.

We secure the anchor and tie up  for the night with our boat buddy Dulcinea. 

Crazy Eight and Dulcinea

Other boats join us for the night in the cove.

Sumter Cove, Alabama

We invite Dan and Nancy over for steaks and other inventive things, given we have not been to a real grocery since Cincinnati.  Dan brings the wine.  It turned out to be a great dinner, or perhaps we were all just hungry??

Nancy and Dan....cheers!

Tomorrow we head to Kingfisher Marina in Demopolis.  They advertise upscale laundry. I am not sure those two words should ever be used in a sentence, but the sad thing is, I can hardly wait!  Tonight, before bed, we will watch nature's show of a million stars. Goodnight All!!

Midway to Columbus, Marina....Columbus, MS

Today, we wake at 7 am to walk the dogs, fill up with diesel, and get an early start.  Unfortunately, the lock immediately southbound could not accommodate us until 9:30.  So we hang out on the fuel dock, walk the dogs again, and leave around  9am.

View off the fuel dock...a cloudy cool morning.

Us with 3 other pleasure craft and a barge. 

Today's journey took us through four locks. The first two, had no issues.  At the third lock, we passed through with a barge and 3 other pleasure crafts. As instructed by the lockmaster,we, the  pleasure boats, tied up to the starboard side of the lock, away from the barge. We were first in and took the front bollard.  Although there are five starboard bollards, one was inoperable, which is why we are pushed forward.  All was well until we realized that when the doors of the lock  swing open, our pulpit would be smashed and maybe more than that. So, we untie quickly (there was a little shouting at this point), and floated freely in the lock with the barge and  the three other pleasure crafts until the doors opened. We left the chamber promptly.  All ended well, but our blood pressure probably peaked in the process! At the next lock, we choose the second bollard from the front; again locking through with a different barge but the same four pleasure crafts. This lock had all pins operating.

Fishing boat

We journey down the Tenn Tom at a reasonable speed. While we like to cover ground and go 20 mph, this causes huge wake.  So we often have to slow it down to 10 or less, especially when we encounter fishing boats and docks on the Tenn Tom.  It is a narrow waterway, so we proceed with caution.  We also encounter industry, paper mills, that support these local towns. While providing a needed service, we have to admit the smell of the paper mill near Grand Harbor was nauseating.

These were trees at one time....

As we leave Aberdeen Lock, and approach our dock for the night, Columbus Marina, there are various jets flying overhead interrupting the silence of the Tenn Tom.  Nearby is the Columbus Air Force Base. It is the nation's busiest air force base and instructs a third of our air force pilots. Awesome! We hear the jets prior to seeing them.

We also notice, unique to us, water foliage rampant within the waterways.  It is beautiful but we hope it has no effect on our strainers! We are also told stories of 700+ lbs alligators by the marina owners. I guess we have made progress and are now in the south!

Columbus Marina

Crazy Eight tied up for the night. Captain Tom parallelled  park without issue even with a strong breeze. Of course our Four Seasons dock mates would absolutely believe that!

Today's journey has taken us about 7 hours.  We went through 4 locks and traveled 65 miles. At the end of the day, Buster and Bailey are eager to get off the boat and see some grass.  We are happy the day is over. Tomorrow, less locks and probably an anchorage, not at a marina, which will be new to us.  Until then...

Grand Harbor to Midway Marina, Fulton MS

We spent an enjoyable weekend tied up and secure at Grand Harbor Marina. Saturday night we shared dinner at Freddy T's with other boaters, mainly loopers. If anyone is ever in Counce, TN, we highly recommend the catfish (of course). It was interesting to hear the tales of  travels from the great lake states. We are thankful we did not have to navigate the Mississippi.

Two cats in boat across the way....high alert status!

We ventured out into Pickwick Lake on Sunday, after the Bengals win, in our dinghy, but it was COLD!

Tom steering the dinghy out of the harbor

Today, we say goodbye to Grand Harbor and hello to the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway. The Tenn Tom is a man made waterway which connects the Tennessee River to the Intercoastal Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico in Mobile Bay, reducing water travel distances up to 800 miles. It was the largest earth moving project in world history requiring over 100 million dump truck loads, more than the Panama Canal. The waterway was officially opened in 1985, not that long ago. It took 12 years and 2 billion dollars to build. We head into the Tenn Tom and immediately go through the great cut. The Great Cut is a 29 mile channel.  The entire town of Holcot, MS, had to be moved to give way to the Tenn Tom.

Spillway on the Tenn Tom divide cut

After 40 miles we approach Whitten Lock, named for the US House of Representative from Mississippi Jamie Whitten.  It is the fourth highest single lift lock in the US.  It will lower us 85 feet into Bay Springs Lake.

Looking up from where we have dropped.

It actually rains inside the walls, which is kind of creepy.

Bay Springs Lake

We leave Whitten Lock and enter Bay Springs Lake, but have to go through two more locks, Montgomery and Rankin.  These are not as intimidating.  There are areas in which the river is very narrow and we pass barges within close quarters.

One of several barges we pass.

After 60 miles and three locks, we stop for the night at Midway Marina in Fulton, MS, along with our new boating buddy, Dulcinea, a 420 Sundancer from Minneapolis.  We will travel with Dan and Nancy for the next few days, if not further. Their final destination is Sanibel Island.