Ports #32 through #40: The Tenn-Tom and the Dirty Dozen...

Great Loop II Date: 10/23/2014

The days are becoming noticeably shorter. Early morning starts are a habit. The routine is…routine.

What does change is the scenery, meeting new folks at marinas and renewing friendships from ports visited previously. Each port becomes busier with docktails, trips to restock OB and catching up chores around the boat. Time underway is spent watching for markers and helping in navigation.

This part of the Loop resembles our first Loop Adventure in 2010. Blogging becomes difficult to keep up with. In an effort to catch up, lumping together a group of ports is a necessity, especially as we prepare for the Big Bend crossing.

Day # 69 (10/08/2014-Wednesday): 66 miles (1856 total miles)
Locks: 1 (13 total locks)
Port #32: Counce, TN
Marina: Grand Harbor

Counce, TN was where we would part from the Tennessee River and begin moving south through the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, the Tombigbee River and the Black Warrior River. In 2010, this part of the trip took us 10 days moving every single day.

We picked up anchor in Double Island on another beautiful, calm fall morning. Our trip to the Pickwick Lock took about 6 hours. We slowed our pace to 5 mph when the lockmaster told us it would be about 3 ½ hours before we could lock through. Even at that slow speed we were there in about 2 hours. The lockmaster was able to get us into the auxiliary lock fairly shortly and had us on our way in less than 45 minutes.

Leaving double Island

The fall colors were coming through a little more.

Nice house in the woods on top of the cliff.

A new development along the Tennessee River.

Winter storage.

Another stored pontoon boat. 

More barges.

Unstable land for building an expensive home.

A better place to build!

A mansion often mistaken for Cherry Mansion.

Next door is Cherry Mansion where Grant stayed during the battle of Shiloh.  They also took the wounded from BOTH the Union and the Confederate Armies there. 

Charlie maintaining watch.

Pittsburgh Landing at Shiloh National Battlesite.

Pickwick Lock.  There's a barge in the lock, a barge waiting at the lock and the auxiliary lock on the left that we were able to go through.

The approach sign at Pickwick Lock...we were going 2 mph backward while sitting at idle here.

Charlie was worried after reading the sign.

Pickwick Lake and the beautiful homes there.

Freddie T's Restaurant.

Grand Harbor...that's OB right in the middle of the picture.

OB was greeted at Grand Harbor Marina by many Loopers. This was their stop before going to Joe Wheeler State Park and the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous. It was our last stop before our run down the Tenn-Tom Waterway to Mobile Bay in Alabama.

Day # 72 (10/12/2014-Sunday): 56 miles (1912 total miles)
Locks: 3 (16 total locks)
Port #33: Fulton, MS
Marina: Midway Marina

During our Loop in 2010, we stopped at Bay Springs, MS before the Tenn-Tom Dirty Dozen began. Those are the 12 Locks we would transit before arriving at Mobile Bay. The locks themselves aren’t bad. It’s the wait time for barges coming through the locks that can destroy a day when daylight is a premium.

Grounded for the winter.

The Cut...Tenn-Tom Waterway is a 234 mile man-made waterway started in 1972 and finished in 1984.

Spillways appear along the dike in the upper Tenn-Tom.

Holcut was a whole town that was demolished and the population moved because it was in the way of the waterway.

We arrived at Bay Springs early in the day and barge traffic seemed very light. I called the first lock and it was empty and waiting for us. We decided to try to make the next marina at Fulton, MS. We knew there was a line of severe weather working its way across the USA and wanted to get as far as we could before another weather delay would slow our progress.

Passing a barge going slower than OB.

Oncoming barge.

The Jamie Whitten Lock...the first lock of the Dirty Dozen and the biggest drop for us during this Loop.

This is where my bollard (or pin, as the lockmasters called them) started.

This is where it ended up 84 feet later.  That's a look up the bollard shaft.

My view of the lock doors opening.

Leaving the lock and looking back.  As big as they are and as ominous as they look, the ride is very smooth and easier to manage than the Welland Locks we will take next June. 

More of the Tenn-Tom Cut.

Lands flooded for the Tenn-Tom Waterway.

Our trip was fairly easy with few barges along the way. Each of the next two locks were waiting for us with their doors open. We arrived at Midway Marina mid-afternoon and set in for an extra day to wait out the weather.

Midway Marina (click on the picture to see how the area was flooded for the waterway and nothing but dead trees and stumps are left.  Remember to click the X in the upper right hand corner to come back to the blog where you left off).

The incoming storm the next day.  It spawned numerous tornadoes all around us but we were spared.  We did get 2 1/2 inches of rain...and every leak that OB has spewed water.

Charlie worrying out the storm.

OB's home at Midway Marina.

Nice little park at the entrance to Midway Marina on the land side.

Day # 74 (10/14/2014-Tuesday): 60 miles (1972 total miles)
Locks: 4 (20 total locks)
Port #34: Columbus, MS
Marina: Columbus Marina

Another day of making good time led the crew on OB to add just one more lock to the day. The three previous locks had been fairly quick with no waiting.

The fourth lock proved to be the anchor in our day. The lockmaster told us he had a barge approaching northbound and he had emptied the lock to accommodate it. Todd looked at the AIS that tells us where the barges are and found this barge was 3 ½ miles from the lock. It would take the barge 1 ½ hours to get to the lock. The lockmaster had time to fill the lock, take us as well as another waiting boat down in the chamber and still be ready for the incoming barge long before it got there. However, this particular lockmaster decided to slow our progress for reasons unknown to us. We tooled around in circles for the 1½ hours.

More of THE CUT with a little of the weather leftover from the day before.

The last lock for today...the Aberdeen Lock.  See all that wood floating in the water before the lock?

Someone's favorite swimming spot.

Another bridge to nowhere.

The Columbus Marina was new to us. We did not stay here in 2010. The dockmaster brought us into the fuel dock and tied us up there. Since we were only staying overnight, it wasn’t a problem for us or the marina.

Day # 75 (10/15/2014-Wednesday): 65 miles (2037 total miles)
Locks: 2 (22 total locks)
Port #35: Gainsville, AL
Anchorage: Sumpter Landing

The Columbus Lock was situated directly in front of the channel leading to Columbus Marina. We called the lock at daybreak. The lockmaster said he’d have the lock ready in 15 minutes. We dropped our lines and made way to the lock.

As our luck would have it, on the approach into the lock we heard a loud thump. I looked behind us and up popped a deadhead. We alerted the lockmaster about the deadhead however he didn’t sound very interested.

Our trip was full of barge traffic. We must have passed 4 or 5 barges. Passing them doesn’t slow us down but it can slow our progress with the locks.

OB's dock at Columbus Marina.

Flaming sunrise.

Big house and big houseboat.  We wondered what might go in the little covered dock...that was obviously flooded.

One of the many barges today....we passed this one on the 'two' (our starboard to his port).

One of the pretty spots along the way.

One of the older camps.

And their neighbors.

The neighbors had a spirit tree.  We've got to start one of these down in the Cape!

This phone booth was out in the middle of nowhere!  We saw it in 2010 as well.

The Snagboat Montgomery located at the Tom Bevill Visitor Center in Pickensville, AL.  She was the last of the steam powered stern wheelers to clean snags and debris from the Tenn-Tom and surrounding rivers.  She was retired in 1982.

We anchored in a nice little cove off of the Tombigbee River near a state park campground and boat ramp. This was familiar to OB. We had anchored here in 2010 with 7 other boats. This night we were by ourselves except for one campsite with some fishermen and a lone johnboat that was tied off on shore.

Entering Sumpter Landing anchorage.

It's a great little spot for a quiet night's rest off the waterway.

Day # 76 (10/16/2014-Thursday): 54 miles (2091 total miles)
Locks: 1 (23 total locks)
Port #36: Demopolis, AL
Marina: Kingfisher Marina

The nights got colder and the river water was still warm. That led to mornings with an increased chance of fog. We had been very lucky not to have the fog that delayed us in 2010. However once we entered the river on this morning, a dense mist was rising from the water. At this point in the trip, most of our travel is southbound and the sun was directly in our eyes. The sun and the mist made navigation a little tricky. Again, all our electronics made even this situation safer with our radar, chart plotters, and AIS.

Sunrise at Sumpter Landing.

Approaching the Heflin Lock...thickening mist bank.

Low lying mist on the water combined with the sun.

Suddenly the White Cliffs of Epes appeared.  They are part of the Selma Chalk Formation dating back to prehistoric times.  The formation actually stretches through Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.  It was laid down about the same time as the famous White Cliffs of Dover in England.

The added beauty was the fall colors beginning to show against the stark white chalk.

The open face cliffs only appear for about a mile.  They disappeared as abruptly as they appeared.

The scenery was still impressive.

This area demonstrated the chalk mixed with grey clay.

Just a quiet little fishing spot.

We were looking forward to our next port. We knew two Looper couples from our first Loop were staying in Demopolis. We hadn’t seen Jim and Sharon (Blue Angel) or Bobbie and Keith (Kim Jo IV) since 2011. We all have kept in touch through Facebook but it's always a treat to visit with friends in person.

Jim met us at the dock. We had a wonderful visit with both couples once we had OB settled in. Both couples were preparing their boats to come into the Gulf for the winter.  We look forward to catching up with them both in the Cape Coral area as well as the Bahamas.

Day # 78 (10/18/2014-Saturday): 97 miles (2188 total miles)
Locks: 1 (24 total locks)
Port #37: Silas, AL
Marina: Bobby’s Fish Camp

The Demopolis Yacht Basin is another marina just above the lock. At daybreak I called the lock and the lockmaster was locking a barge through. He said it was going to be a very busy day and we’d need to come as soon as he called us on the VHF radio. That call came 15 minutes later. As soon as we started our engines and began to move from the dock, not only our neighboring boat came with us as planned, three other boats we didn’t expect came out as well. It wasn’t a problem until we realized one of the boats did not have a radio or AIS.

As we traveled throughout the day, the boat without the radio proved to be a nuisance as well as a danger to navigation. He was ahead of us by about three quarters of a mile so the barges would spot him on their radar. They would see us on their AIS and equate to two as one. Worse yet, this part of the river system is very narrow and very winding. The barges would call for us and alert us to pass on the one whistle (portside) or the two whistle (starboard). Todd or I would have to call back and alert them that they were seeing a boat with no radio and that we, in fact, were still quite a distance from the problem boat. More often than not the radioless boat would pass on the wrong side of the barge! It proved to be a very stressful day as we tried to stay back and out of harms way.

Daybreak at Demopolis...waiting for the call from the Demopolis Lock.

Two of the four boats that entered the lock with us on their way to their destinations for the day.

Spanish moss began to appear in the trees along the way.

Sand beaches replaced the dense scrubs that came up to the waterline.

More evidence of flooding...there's a dock there somewhere.  See the flag and the solar lights?

Once we arrived at Bobby’s Fish Camp, we met two of the three men from the problem boat. They said their radio didn’t work so they just left it off. We asked if they were receiving transmissions on the radio. They said they thought they were. We mentioned they might want to leave the radio on since the tow captains were talking to them and telling them which side they wanted them to pass on. Then they mentioned their captain was crippled and in a wheelchair. We were dumbfounded.

After this conversation, Todd and I and the crew from another boat met at Bobby’s for their famous catfish. Bobby’s has changed since we were there in 2010. The catfish is better and they use real plates now. The restaurant seems cleaner, too. The maitre’d (Suzanne) was very welcoming, their staff was happy and came out to visit with the patrons once the cooking was done.

Day # 79 (10/19/2014-Saturday): 83 miles (2271 total miles)
Locks: 1 (25 total locks)
Port #38: Mt. Vernon, AL
Anchorage: Tensas (Tensaw) River

OB was rafted off the boat that we had visited with at dinner. Neither of us wanted to be near the radioless boat and hoped they’d stay put until we were well down river. We arose at our normal early hour, I called the lock and the lockmaster had the lock ready for us. We casted off, as did our buddy boat and headed for the lock. All seemed quiet on the problem boat.

Daybreak with the radioless boat ahead of us at the dock.

Once in the lock, we waited for what seemed an eternity before the lockmaster closed the doors and started our lock down. We all breathed a sigh of relief. We’d never leave a boat in trouble. However, the crew of the radioless boat had merely laughed off our concern about their situation and the problem they had presented to the barges as well as us. Their intention was to continue on their way without a radio.

The lock doors opened, we waved goodbye to the other boat we knew would go much faster than us and said goodbye to our last lock until we are well up the East Coast in late May.

Lover's Leap...but no one was leaping today.  It was a beautiful, clear, warm, sunny day!

Todd wound OB through the twists and turns of the Tombigbee until we reached the Mobile River.  Shortly after that we turned into our anchorage in the Tensas River. Some charts and maps list it as the Tensaw River. At any rate, it was a peaceful anchorage for our last night in the rivers heading south.

OB in the twists and turns of the Tombigbee River.  The top line of numbers is statute miles.

The Coastal Explorer shows the charted course along with the narrow channel we had to navigate.  The numbers in gold are the points Todd has plotted in the program (not miles).

What the coarse looks like from the bridge.

Recycled steel being downloaded from the barges for transport to a steel mill nearby.

The huge downloader makes the truck look like a Tonka Toy.  In reality, this is one of those CAT trucks we saw in Peoria at the Museum.

The whole downloading operation was basically an assembly line on the water.  The steel plant is in the background.

Opportunists looking for their dinner.

Finally seeing cabbage palms...a sign we were SOUTH!

Our anchorage in the Tensas (Tensaw) River.

Day # 80 (10/20/2014-Sunday): 55 miles (2326 total miles)
Locks: 0 (25 total locks)
Port #39: Mobile, AL
Marina: Dog River Marina

Todd and I were excited to get this day under our belt. It wasn’t a bad day, it was just exciting to know we were about to be back in saltwater and closer to our home in Cape Coral. All our planning now would be our movement along the Panhandle region of Alabama and Florida to our Big Bend crossing from Carabelle to Tarpon Springs.

A beautiful daybreak with both the sun and the sliver of moon rising.

Dense fog delayed us by an hour.

As the day progressed, the area began to have more saltwater scrub trees and palm trees. Coming down the Mobile River into Mobile Bay is not very pretty with all the freighters and barges being loaded and downloaded. There is a major ship builder that assembles Littoral Combat Ships for the Navy. Two of those ships were in the water outside of the dry dock. The city of Mobile sits in the background of all the clutter in the shipping channel.

More steel being downloaded just after our entrance back into the Mobile River.

More cabbage palms...and coming to the last of the rural beauty on the rivers.

The Dolly Parton Bridge...I-65.

We saw more eagles in the last three days.  This was the last sighting.

Coming into Mobile...and the Shipping Channel.  That's the Cochrane Bridge.

More steel waiting to go up river.

The Mobile Skyline against the shipping port.

The only peek at the downtown skyline void of the business of the Shipping Port.

Two Littoral Combat Ships being outfitted at Austal Yard...the PCU Jackson and PCU Montgomery due to be commissioned in 2015.

A Navy Supply Ship in the repair yard.

The Cragside...another Navy Ship being ready to carry 200 troops and helicopters.  It's top secret...although I found an abundance of information on it in a Google search.

Many freighters drydocked for repairs.

As well as freighters being downloaded...

...this looked like huge steel plates.

The training ship USS Shadwell...it was here in 2010, too.

Last but not least, a huge coal loader just before the entrance to the Bay.

Suddenly an Army Corps boat zipped in front of us.  We were close to the area where a tow and dredge had sunk the week before.  We didn't see any real evidence of it.

After we were in Mobile Bay, dolphins were dancing at OB’s bow and alongside. It was exciting to see dolphins again. Before long we were taking our course into the channel that would take us to Dog River and our marina for the next few days.

Of course, one last barge for the day...

...with a bunch of freeloaders.

Our first brown pelican sighting...we're finally really in the saltwater environment.  Die spiders, die!!!

Dog River Marina has a good maintenance facility. Once again we were in need of work on OB. Her alternators were not charging the batteries during our last two days. The maintenance folks tested the alternators and found no output. They sent them to be rebuilt. The turnaround was 48 hours. We were amazed and happy.

The transient dock at Dog River Marina...

...there's OB, hiding behind Young at Heart!

Day # 83 (10/23/2014-Thursday): 52 miles (2378 total miles)
Locks: 0 (25 total locks)
Port #40: Orange Beach, AL
Marina: Orange Beach Marina

Our next leg of the trip would take us right to the Florida State Line where we would wait until we could find out from the insurance company if we could have a few days grace period on our insurance guidelines. We aren’t supposed to take OB into Florida waters until November 1st, the official end of hurricane season (although hurricanes can occur well into November). We decided to go to Orange Beach, AL since we’d never been there.

Mobile Bay was a little choppy when we crossed it however as we came into the lee of the east shore, the chop smoothed into a comfortable ride. Once we entered the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway, the beautiful white sands appeared along with palm trees and a lot of new homes since we were last here.

The shrimp boats were busy working Mobile Bay at the entrance to the GIWW.

Charlie was hard at work and on duty.

White crystal sand...ahhhhhhhhhhhh!  It's said the white crystal sand comes all the way from the quartz in the Appalacian Mountains washed down the rivers to the Gulf Coast.

This abandoned marina looked no different than when we passed it in 2010.  It was to become Bob Secour Village, a 900-acre planned community complete with a Jack Nicklaus Golf Course.  The development started in 2003 and died.  The bank took it over in 2009.

Snowbirds in Gulf Shores...just down the road from Lulu's.

We stopped at Lulu’s in Gulfshores, AL for lunch. Lucy B. Goode is Jimmy Buffet’s sister. She started a small diner in the 70’s. Eventually the state of Alabama refused to renew her lease on the land where her little restaurant stood. She found land on the GIWW and she with some friends loaded the restaurant lock, stock and barrel onto a barge and moved it to its present location. Her reputation grew and so did the restaurant.

Lulu's...the docks in front are being renovated so...

...OB had to take a slip alongside while we ate lunch.

As we approached Lulu’s, Gina from Island Time came running out waving her arms. It’s so much fun running into our Looper friends. Gina and Steve are from Cape Coral. We met them last year when she and another Looper friend (Kitty) put together a docktails in the Cape for Loopers and Looper-Wanabees. It took forever for us to finally catch up with them.  Our first meeting was at Grafton, IL. Since then we’ve been chasing them and it probably will continue that way until we get to the Cape!

We had lunch with them and fine conversation. We’re all anxious to get back to our Florida home stomping grounds.

After lunch, Todd and I made way with OB to Orange Beach Marina where we will sit until we get an okay from the insurance company or November 1st. At this point, we are seven ports away from putting OB in her dock behind our house in Cape Coral. She will enjoy basking in the sun there, with a few side trips, until March when we will close up our house and head for the Bahamas. At least that’s the plan.

Shrimper heading for Mobile Bay.

Beautiful homes along Bayou St. John on Ono Island.  The condos in the background are on Perdido Key.

That is a little island with no name located just south of Robinson Island in Bayou St. John.  We passed it as we headed to Orange Beach Marina.

The next day we came back to that little island for some sun time and to watch the boats and the dolphins in the channel.

Are we happy yet????

OB's digs along the canal at Orange Beach Marina...

...not bad digs while we wait for Nov.1st.

As we make our run through the Panhandle of Florida and down the GIWW on the West Coast of Florida, I will try to keep the blog somewhat caught up. You may see more grouping of ports together. Stay tuned…there’s more adventure ahead!