Ship’s Log: Days 31-35
October 2 - 6, 1999
Saturday, Oct. 2
Another cool, foggy morning. I was underway by 8:15 A.M. and immediately approached the Aberdeen Lock. The chamber was being refilled so I had to wait a bit and locked through by 9:15 A.M. This was a pretty boring day. The weather was great but there was little activity on the waterway. I met only one tow barge. I’m now onto the section that basically follows the old Tombigbee River Channel so it winds a bit but it is flat here. I’m down to 136 feet above sea level and still have over 300 miles to go to get to the sea. At mile mark 350 I saw my first Palmetto Palm bushes, a sign that I’m below the winter freeze line.
I had two locks today both with a 30-foot drop, the second being the John C. Stennis Lock. The lockmaster at Stennis is originally from Eldarado, KS so he came out to say hi while we were being lowered in the lock. It was a bit unusual setting on Telesis looking straight up about 50 feet and having a conversation. Nice guy. Most of the lockmasters have been.
I anchored behind a small island off the main channel near mile mark 314 at 5:00 P.M. I didn’t quite clear the barrier bar below the island when I turned in and skipped the bottom pretty good but didn’t stick hard, a little excitement at the end of the day. I’m right on the Mississippi and Alabama border. First thing tomorrow I will be in Alabama. I made 45 miles and two locks today in just about nine hours.
Sunday, Oct. 3
Today, I’m confronted with the problem of traveling the Tenn-Tom Waterway. I’m only seven miles above the Tom Bevill Lock and Dam yet I need to stop at Marina Cove to fuel. Once I pass through the lock, I’ve got a long run before I can safely anchor off channel out of harms way from the towboats that run at night. Hey, I have time, so I decide to make a short day of it and make the run tomorrow. Tonight I’ll take a slip at Marina Cove and get an early start in the morning.
I arise later than usual, fix a BIG breakfast of ham, fried potatoes and eggs. After that, I do some work on Telesis and clean the main cabin and head. At 11:00 A.M. I pull anchor and make the seven miles to Marina Cove, add fuel and am in a slip by 1:00 P.M. The marina can hook me up to e-mail so I upload logs and download e-mail. I go to work on Telesis, first unclogging the troublesome heat pump and get the AC running because it is hot and humid. Then I change the engine oil on the faithful old Atomic 4 engine.
Now with the cabin comfortably air conditioned, I set about reading and returning e-mail messages. I return to the marina office and transmit e-mail and call Nancy as I’m in cell phone exile. It is late evening and I talk with other transient boaters on the docks. It is an interesting mix. The two retired couples traveling aboard a Bayliner 30 named Freeloader, which one of the couples purchased in Iowa and is now transporting to their home in Texas. Two fellows, Durwood and Butch that are aboard an open 26-foot sport fisher called Tailgunner with twin 200 HP outboard engines. They are taking her from Minnesota to Sarasota, FL.
Of course the most interesting boat and crew are aboard the sailing vessel Mariner’s Belle out of West Burlington, Iowa, on their way to Tampa Bay. They are father and son, Dick and Matt Logan. Dick, the father, spent 22 years building this boat in his back yard and she is beautiful. She is a Bruce Roberts’ design, 44 feet long, steel, hard chinned, ketch rigged and displaces 17 tons. I’ve hop-scotched with them since Kentucky Lake, but this is the first time I’ve talked with them. What a feat to build such a fine sailing machine!
Durwood and Butch invite me to a buffet aboard their boat: sardines, crackers, cheese and beer. Well at least tonight we get around to eating something as well as drinking cocktails and visiting. As I set on Tailgunner swatting biting insets of all description, I realize the two of them will be sleeping out in this, so I invite them to sleep aboard Telesis and they accept.
Just after dark the big boats arrive. BIG POWER YACHTS headed south, all with delivery captains and paid crew: Journey – 57 feet, Illusion – 85 feet, Ana Maria – 90 feet, and Avante – 130 feet. We watched them all dock with huge twin engines rumbling and bow thrusters blasting. The consensus was that $10,000,000 worth of boats arrived all at once. But I’m happy with my own little hole in the water – I can’t even image what that would be like.
Mariner’s Bell departs Marina Cove, her mainmast on deck.
Monday, Oct. 4
The big boats were out early and most of the smaller powerboats ran out to catch the early lock with them. It was a mass exodus at 7:00 A.M. The powerboaters talk about doing the Tenn-Tom in hours and days. We sailors talk about days and weeks. I had breakfast, then Mariner’s Belle and Telesis left at 8:00 A.M. to lock down. By 9:00 A.M. we had cleared Tom Bevill Lock. It was another uneventful day. The waterway wanders more as it follows the river channel. I met two tows and passed one. At mile mark 270 I dropped anchor – it was 2:30 P.M., having made 37 miles. I’ve again the problem of being just above Howell Heflin Lock and Dam. If I continue, I’ll have many miles to run before I can safely anchor, so I pull up early. Mariner’s Belle is already at anchor here and later a sailing catamaran also comes into anchor. We have an all-sailboat anchorage.
The most notable feature of the day is the floating hydrangea plants. In some places they nearly completely cover the surface of the river. Imagine being in 40 feet of water depth with plants growing on the surface, it just doesn’t look as if you can pass safely. Once the plants slowed the engine by clogging the prop. The local fisherman say some wealthy people had big houses built on the river and brought the plants in from Florida and now they are out of control. They do seem out of control. Local fisherman don’t have a lot of love for the wealthy big house owners or the wealthy big boat owners who come down the Tenn-Tom throwing a huge wake that swamps fishing boats.
With time in the afternoon, I shaved, showered and then prepared a nice dinner of rare, grilled strip steak, okra, tomatoes with onion and a bottle of wine. In fact, it was the wine Gary and Nancy Templeton gave us as a bon-voyage gift. All this in celebration of having made more than 1,000 miles on the rivers. The entire river route is just over 1300 miles and with only 270 miles to cover before Mobile, I’m past the 1,000-mile mark.
The local NPR station has a great jazz program (imagine that here near Muscle Shoals, Alabama) to which I am listening while I write this log on my laptop computer. Life on the river is not so bad.
Tuesday, Oct. 5
The evening before, the three of us (sailboats) anchored together decided to leave together to lock down Howell Heflin Lock. I was up early and did my engine checks, then fired up Telesis. Well the fuel system on Telesis’ old Atomic 4 engine must have been feeling neglected, as I had not had the carburetor off for cleaning in a month. It coughed and sputtered to let me know it expected to be attended to. Well, I’m an expert at this and had it off, cleaned and running in a flat 26 minutes. We pulled anchor at 7:45 A.M. and went directly to the lock.
Upon approaching the lock we encountered a floating island of hydrangea plants. It was so thick it slowed Telesis and Mariner’s Belle and I could hear and feel Telesis’ prop chopping it to pieces. The catamaran had a terrible time as it collected between his hulls. Anyway, we cleared the “garden lock” by 8:15 A.M. I actually backed in a circle to clear the vegetation from Telesis’ underbody.
Howell Hefbin Lock full of hydrangea plants as Telesis enters.
Today I observed cypress trees along the river waterway, complete with the knees protruding from the water. Another sign that I’m getting farther south. Very quiet day, Mariner’s Belle is faster than Telesis under power and Telesis was faster than the catamaran, which surprised me. Anyway, we separated in the bends of the river and each traveled alone. It was a cool, sunny morning and pleasant sunny afternoon.
At about 4:00 P.M. I was at the place the Black Warrior River joined the Tombigbee River. At that point the Tenn-Tomm Waterway ends. My transport on another waterway system was completed. Directly below the confluence I pulled into the Demopolis, AL, Yacht Basin for fuel and took a slip for the night. I had made 53 miles and one lock in about 8 ½ hours
I was delighted to see a restaurant on the docks with neon beer signs. I inquired with the fuel attendant and, yes the restaurant was open, no more of this dry county stuff…or so I thought. I secured Telesis in her slip, put away gear and requested to use the marinas courtesy car. It would be available after 7:00; it was now 5:45 time for a beer and dinner. Dick and Mat Logan of Mariner’s Belle joined me…but no beer, or drink of any kind. The restaurant had let their alcohol license expire last week and it is being renewed next week. I just can’t get a set down drink on this trip!!!! We ate anyway, I got the car, went to town and bought a few supplies, cold beer included, and returned to Telesis and the berth for some reading before sleep.
Howell Hefbin Lock full of hydrangea plants as Telesis enters.
Wednesday, Oct. 6
I was up early, again, although I didn’t sleep well. I laid awake much of the night with my brain scolding my body for not sleeping and my body reminding my brain that it controlled such things. I’m not sure if it was the broiled catfish WITHOUT BEER or concern about the next leg of the trip. Today I had to make a long run. The Tombigbee River from Demopolis to Mobile has few protected places to anchor and few marinas and carries somewhat heavy barge traffic. I don’t run at night and I don’t want to anchor on the river channel. Therefore I need to clear Demopolis Lock and get to mile mark 145 to a small-protected anchorage on Bashi Creek. That is a distance of 72 miles. Traveling at 6 to 7 mph with a lock to clear means a very full day. I pulled out of the marina at 7:15 A.M. in moderate fog.
I quickly cleared Demopolis Lock by 8:15 and was on the river. Below the lock the river actually has a modest current of maybe 1mph or so, but I’ll take any help I can get. It is another sunny yet cool morning. The Lower Tombigbee has a lot more commerce than the newer waterway up stream. The most prevalent industry is wood and wood products. Saw mills; chip mills for particleboard or mulch and paper mills line the banks below Demopolis. Lumber is big around here.
A bit of a surprise today. I called a northbound towboat, the Josiah Stephen, to confirm to which side I should pass and a female voice responded. I presumed there would be female boat captains, I just didn’t expect to speak to one. I’m not sure why, but I was pleased that part of her boat’s name I shared.
I also begin to see Spanish moss in the trees along the banks. Another indicator that I am farther south. I was also struck by the variety and numbers of birds I see along this part of the river, most of which I have no idea as to what they are. After a damp, foggy night like last night they set in the early sunshine, backs to the sun, wings spread to dry.
During the afternoon, again the fuel system on the Atomic 4 engine acts up like a spoiled child. The engine shuts down – out of gas. I think we have another clogged inline fuel filter although I just changed it, so I put another clean one on. The A4 starts but sputters a few times, then dies again. I look it over, see nothing and then it starts again. It runs for about an hour, then begins to sputter. Frustrated, I actually spoke to the engine. “Look, we don’t have time for this. We’ve got a long way to go today. If you keep this up we’ll end up out here after dark and we’ll be lucky if we don’t get ran down in the night by one of those big barge tows. Is that what you want?” It must have worked. It settled down and ran just fine for the next three hours. Now, when will it act up again? I just need to be firm. A4’s need tough love.
At 6:15 P.M., I drop anchor bow and stern in Bashi Creek. It is small but protected. 11 full hours to make 72 miles and one lock. I speak for a while with a fisherman and his son. Nice folks. Boaters in marinas are like me, from lots of different places up north. The locals I’ve been able to talk with have been fishermen. That’s who’s on the river. When the fisherman and his son leave, I quickly dive below behind the safety of Telesis’ screens. Another indication I’m south is the bugs along the rivers. It will be a light dinner and early to bed. I hope my brain and body have made up. Besides, my butt hurts. After several days of traveling all day, setting at the wheel all those hours begins to become uncomfortable.