Friday, November 13, 2009

Friday, November 13, 2009

Columbus Marina, Columbus MS

Hi All,

We are still in Columbus, MS, safely tied down in the Columbus Marina. We have heard some pretty crazy stories about what is happening downriver around Demopolis, Alabama, and beyond. For background, the Black Warrior River joins the Waterway around Demopolis. The Black Warrior is one of Alabama’s major rivers that extends eastward toward Birmingham. (In fact Alabama has 77,000 miles of streams that supply water to 18 river basins. Those basins result in Alabama having 1,438 miles of navigable waterways, the most of any state in the nation.) Anyway, eastern Alabama received an extreme amount of rainfall with tropical storm, Ida. The river forecast is predicting that in the Demopolis area the rivers will crest around 30 feet above normal on Sunday, November 15. We have heard of boats trying to leave the Demopolis Marina and having to turn back because they cannot get under the fixed bridges that usually have at least 52 feet of vertical clearance during normal conditions. With Demopolis being our next marina stop (after one night at anchorage), there is no place for us to go. We also heard this morning that a cruiser down by Bobby’s Fish Camp (about halfway between Demopolis and Mobile) ran into debris and took out props and shafts and maybe more because they were trying to get a diver, but no one was going to dive because of an 8 knot current. Also, Bobby’s only has 160 feet of dock and boats were rafting off one another three boats deep. (Last night, boats came into Columbus and had to raft off at the gas dock.)

So long story short we are staying here probably through the weekend with plans to start out on Monday or Tuesday. We are trying to use our time wisely and put in about 2-3 hours of boat labor a day. Today we worked on the upper drive station windshield – we need to sand and stain the teak and then install it to stabilize the windshield. However, we are being forced to relax a bit. I spend time playing and walking with Port, and Mark has finished a book. One guy in the marina said that we will all have the cleanest boats going downstream. No doubt – I washed windows today.

Columbus. Mississippi is the second largest city on the Waterway – Mobile being the largest. The city was founded in 1821. There were so many wounded soldiers, both Confederate and Union, being cared for in the city that it escaped being ravaged during the Civil War. Many of the antebellum homes still exist in the city. We were going to try to see them two days ago after running errands, but the marina courtesy car feels like a “deathtrap” so we just came back to the marina after shopping. Maybe we will try again – after all we have a few more days here.

November 8, 2009

November 8, 2009

Midway Marina (Fulton, MS) to Columbus, MS

Another early morning that started again with fog. Nevertheless, we were off before 7:00 as we had 55 miles with four lock & dams.

We left our mark on Midway as we left. The rudder was in the far right position as we started to pull away. Unfortunately, as Mark put it in forward, we ran right into and rode right up on the post at the end of the transient dock. There was a loud crack and I saw that the post had been pulled away from the dock. Oh Boy, we felt awful…… We continued on our way, but called back to the owners for them to assess the damage and to give us a call. The whole while, I was worried about what the bow of Grateful looked like. By the end of the day, after being tied down in Columbus marina, Mark and I surveyed Grateful, and couldn’t find a mark – how does that happen? Also, the owners from Midway called us and said they believed that they could fix their dock so we owed them nothing. Whew! Another bullet dodged!

Speaking of bullets….. There are stories on the Tenn-Tom Waterway of local folks taking pot shots at passing yachts. This is because they consider big wakes as “downright mean and hateful”. Needless to say, not only were we on the lookout for floating debris, but also for fishing boats and hunting boats along the shore. We certainly didn’t want to find bullet holes in Grateful. Actually, the law enforcement agencies are linked into the lock & dam system, so if you do harm with your wake they will detain you at the next lock & dam and make you pay restitution. As we pulled into the first lock and dam, another boat joined us. They took the lead out of the lock and we were able to follow along at an easy pace. We were able to let Twocandu lead until the third lock & dam. We lead from there as they were going to stop at the Aberdeen Marina and fill with diesel because it was a savings of $.28 per gallon over the cost of diesel in Columbus.

In this part of the Tenn-Tom Waterway, the Army Corps of Engineers used part of the old Tombigbee River and also dug shortcuts across some of the bends. As a result there are many scenic oxbows visible from the Waterway. Also, you can see that the trees that were flooded have nearly decayed away, but have left areas with stumps and growth.

We made it to Columbus at 3:00.

We are safe

Hi All,

Just wanted you all to know that we are safely tied down in the Columbus Marina, Mississippi. We will stay here until the storm, IDA, blows over and the marinas south of here have room. Right now everything is full up to here and maybe even a little north of here.

More later - love you all!

Mark & Carol

November 6 & 7, 2009 Grand Harbor to Midway Marina

November 6 & 7, 2009

Grand Harbor Marina (449.8) to Midway Marina (394.0)

While we waited for fog to clear this morning, we took some time to get wisdom from Chip Lucas, marina manager, ex race car driver, and delivery captain for boats up and down the Tenn-Tom. He thought we could run at 9-10 knots, but watch for boat ramps, fishing boats and boats pulled up on shore in hunting areas. People are seriously held accountable for the damage their wakes do in this 450-mile stretch. If you do accidentally “wake” a boat, go back and apologize – may save a headache later. He thinks Columbus and Bobby’s fish camp are great stops. It’s 98 miles to Bobby’s from Demopolis so he starts before dawn with a call to the lock – if they can get you through right away, then by the time you get out of the lock it is sunrise – plenty of time to make the long run. Mark took our Mobile Bay chart to Chip and got more wisdom. We left the marina at 8:20.

The first part of the Tenn-Tom Waterway is called the Divide Cut and is 24 miles of 280-foot wide channel with rock riprap on the sides. This is the direct line made to connect the Tombigbee with the Tennessee Rivers. When the waterway opened in 1985 it looked pretty desolate, but today it has grown over and now almost has the feel of a park.

Today we traveled through 3 lock and dams. The first one was the Jamie Whitten Lock & Dam with a lift of 83 feet. This is the most we have done so far. Now that we are going downstream again, we are being lowered instead of going up. As we approached the Whitten lock, we were greeted by fourth graders on a field trip to the lock & dam. They cheered as we entered and Mark sounded our horn. Then as we were tied to the floating bollard, they peppered us with questions – “Where are you going?” “What is the name of your dog?” and “What kind of dog is he?” Of course the dog caught their interest. It was really fun for me to see kids and chat with them, and Mark got a kick out of it too. We also saw another wildlife drama play out in front of our eyes. Two bald eagles targeted a group of "coot" (Mark calls them that). They dove repeatedly and finally one eagle came away with dinner. We traveled all day and toward the end of the day, we found ourselves in a narrow channel with a tow. We slowed and gave him the lead and then passed and got to Midway Marina at Fulton, Mississippi.

We did spend Saturday at Midway as well and got some chores done – laundry and shopping at Walmart…….

November 4 & 5, 2009

November 4 & 5, 2009

Grand Harbor Marina, Iuka, MS

We were up and getting fuel early this morning – the fog had dissipated and things were favorable to go. Mark and I had decided to take some time to do a side trip and continue up the Tennessee River – at least to Joe Wheeler State Park, Alabama. We had heard how beautiful it was and we had some extra time.

Unfortunately….. as Mark was fuelling up, the fuel cap with the safety chain fell into the water. Apparently, the size and age of our fuel cap, makes it a hard item to replace. The marinas in the area did not have a cap that would fit, so temporarily, Mark has found a PVC pipe fitting to cap off our starboard side. This took so long that we stayed Wednesday night at Grand Harbor. Then we made arrangements for Chip Lucas to dive under the boat and look for the cap. He said he could do it on Thursday morning around 9:00. We were up and ready, but Chip didn’t dive until 1:00. He searched for a good half hour and after all of that we still had no fuel cap. He found a SeaRay cap and his expensive pair of sunglasses that he had dropped a few days ago. So we will look a little “tacky” until we get to Florida where we hope to pick up a proper cap.

However, we did not waste our time while we were idle. There’s always something to do on a boat. Mark went through the steering hydraulics, replaced the fluids, found and repaired leaks in the system. He is optimistic that we will have better staying power with our steering. I decided that I had time to put another coat of Sikkens on the tow rail, and gloss on the handrails. Six hours later, I was done. I guess it was a little too cool on the port handrail because it is cloudy this morning. Shoot!

A boat, Shingebiss, from Newport, MN came into the harbor and we visited with Steve and Liz. They started out from MN when we did and have had their own set of adventures. I’m sure we will see them again. I don’t mean this in a bad way, but it was nice to talk with people that talk like us.(:-0)

We went to dinner at Freddy T’s after cleaning up. We had deep fried dill pickles with ranch dressing – must have liked them – they were gone in minutes!!

After being delayed for two days we decided that we probably will not go up the Tennessee River. That will have to be a trip for another time. Besides I would want to go all the way to Chattanooga so we could see the “Grand Canyon of Tennessee”.

November 3, 2009 Shiloh National Military Park

This marina is impressive and the service is first rate. We have been treated very well. On Tuesday we used the marina courtesy car to go to Shiloh National Military Park. The marina drew us a map and gave us a CD driving tour through the park. The Shiloh battlefield has been preserved as it was in 1862 and many monuments have been stationed throughout the park commemorating those who fought and those who died there. The battle lasted two days with Confederate forces pushing the Union soldiers back to Pittsburg Landing on the first day, and then the Union with reinforcements reclaiming the land on the second day. The pond in the pictures was called "Bloody Pond". The battle cost both sides a combined total of 23,746 men killed, wounded or missing. Both Confederate and Union soldiers were buried in trenches after the battle because of the weather conditions. Later the Union soldiers were recovered and buried in the National Cemetery while the Confederate soldiers are still in at least 5 different burial trenches. Hallowed ground.

It is fascinating the paths we cross as we travel. Today we met two folks that we had met in July at the Northport Great Loop meeting, and a couple from East Dubuque who had seen our boat at the Midtown Marina (and I had seen their boat, Tourist, in Green Turtle Bay). Also, I spoke with a fellow who arrived late last night in a retired car ferry from Washington Island, Door County, WI. He and his wife plan to remake the ferry into a pirate ship in St. Thomas and work with cruise ship lines as an excursion available to those who visit the island. Then late this afternoon after returning from Shiloh, we were sitting on the dock reviewing our charts when a guy sat down with us. It was Fred Myers, the author of several cruising guides for the Tenn-Tom, Cumberland River, and Tennessee River. He and his wife, Joan, had just returned from the big Great Loop Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park where Fred had been a speaker. He shared information and we got our individualized lesson from a master.

Fred suggested that if we are not on a schedule, we should travel further upstream on the Tennessee as it is a beautiful river, the weather is perfect, and the fall colors are at peak. We may not be able to go as far as Chattanooga, but we think we may go as far as Joe Wheeler State Park. So a little shift in plans – stay tuned!!

November 2, 2009 Clifton to Grand Harbor

November 2 & 3, 2009

Clifton to Grand Harbor, Counce, TN or Iuka, MS

We were up early today because we have an extra hour of morning daylight. However, the fog this morning was heavy – heavy enough that we could not see the river from the marina. After taking Freeport for his morning walk I could see that the fog seemed to be dissipating and one trawler from the marina was venturing out. Mark and I decided that we would go, but as we were getting ready to leave the marina the fog was thick again. Mark also caught sight of a tow that was just crossing in front of the marina. We waited and nosed out into the channel. The tow continued down river and disappeared into the fog as he sounded his fog horn to warn any in his way. We were going the other way and Mark used his radar to help detect anything upstream. After 2-3 slow miles, we were in sunlight and motoring at normal speed.

Again we were charmed by the Tennessee River. The bluffs are beautiful and the houses were interesting. We passed Pittsburg Landing and Shiloh National Military Park at Mile marker 198.0. We collected spider webs that were floating in the wind – gossamer banners. After 6 hours we came to the Pickwick Landing Lock & Dam – the only thing between us and our next marina. Our luck did not hold and we had a wait of 3 hours for a double tow. We anchored, had a snack and relaxed while other boats from the Clifton Marina caught up to us and did the same. We did not get out of the L&D until 5:00 – in time to get a beautiful picture of the moon. The L&Ds here are also used for hydroelectric energy and in the case of Pickwick L&D, there is a highway bridge incorporated into the structure. Unfortunately, with an hour to go before we stopped, we were again forced to travel at night. We managed to get to Grand Harbor, and they stayed late to wait for us and assist us. By 6:00 we were safely tied down and needed a drink.