November 22, 2009 Bates Lake to Mobile

November 22, 2009

Bates Lake to Dog River in Mobile

We made it to Mobile!!!!!!

We were so excited today because we knew we were finally going to make it to big water. We had approximately 80 miles to go – part winding river and part marshland. We had rain, low clouds, but very little wind. We decided to stay at Turner Marina as recommended by Queen Ann’s Revenge in order to get some mechanical help with our inverter and starter switch.

The Mobile Harbor was very interesting, and fortunately it was not as busy as reported in our books. Hank from Queen Ann’s Revenge was our tour guide – he had been here last year. We were very excited to view the Navy’s newest ship utilizing stealth technology. Hank told us that there are only 35 crew members. We were curious about the red, white and blue super structure and what it did. The pictures tell the rest of our story.

After settling in, we went out to dinner with Linda, Fred, Hank and Ann. We have come to the land of great seafood. We will be here for a couple of days and then we plan to go east to Eastern Shore Marina in Fairhope. A couple who live in Fairhope have invited any “Loopers” to their house for Thanksgiving. It’s not the same as family, but it will be interesting and fun.

November 21, 2009 Old Lock #1 to Bates Lake

November 21, 2009

Old Lock #1 Park to Bates Lake

We can’t make it to Mobile Bay because it is over 100 miles away so we will again travel with Queen Ann’s Revenge and Young America to Bates Lake. Millennium Seas will try to go a little further so tomorrow won’t be such a long day. We traveled about 55 miles to another setting that during normal water levels may have been difficult for us to get in and out of.

We arrived at Bates Lake around 12:30. Lakes here are kind of small, but Bates was considerably bigger with the high water. One side of the lake was bordered with cottages on stilts and most landings were private. We were looking for a landing to use when going to shore with Port. We traveled the entire length of the lake past the cottages to a small point encircled by trees when we got a bit of a scare.

We were carefully turning around when unexpectedly we lost reverse on our port side. Mark was doing a lot of frantic shifting, I was doing a lot of frantic yelling as Grateful parked herself in the woods. Grateful was wedged into the trees all the way to our wooden sidedoors and we were still in forward. Mark moved so fast to the upper station with no luck with the shift levers, then he tore up the carpet and the hatch to the engine room. He was able to put Grateful into reverse from there and I realized that I needed to drive and shifted starboard into reverse so we could back out straight. Mark raced up to the controls because I was panicking again. He shut down the port engine and somehow managed to get us between the cottages on either side of the lake into a wider area. There we anchored and began to take stock of our damages.

We were strewn with leaves, Spanish moss, ants, spiders from the trees. The windshield on the upper drive station was in pieces, the portside gate bracket was gone and there were some minor scuffs on the port side. Young America had stayed close and after surveying the hull said we looked OK. What incredible good fortune.

Mark diagnosed the difficulty as a screw working itself free of the shift linkage disabling both upper and lower stations. While he repaired the damage, I busied myself with sweeping all the leaves off the boat and picking up the windshield. Once that was done we were finally able to talk about it and again realized how lucky we were. If this had happened anytime sooner we might have parked our pulpit in somebody’s livingroom. If the water hadn’t been so high we might have damaged props, shafts or other parts of the hull. The windshield was old, checked and we were considering replacing it at some point anyway. We were also able to talk about things we could have done differently, and maybe most importantly we were able to laugh about some of the crazy things we did.

The Bates Lake anchorage was peaceful in spite of all our excitement. The folks were friendly on shore – Port and I enjoyed our long walk. It rained until midnight, but our anchor held.

November 20, 2009 Bashi Creek to Old Lock #1 Park

November 20, 2009

Bashi Creek (mm145) to Old Lock #1 (mm100)

Mark and I had originally intended to start out very early and get as far we could, but our plans were foiled again by fog. So four out of the five boats that spent the night in Bashi Creek decided to stay together and stop at mile marker (mm) 100.0 at the Old Lock #1 Park. Mark and I are always trying to find a place with boat launches so that we can get Port to shore more easily and lessen the chances of encountering alligators.

Today we locked through the Coffeeville Lock & Dam and all cheered – it was our last one on the river system. The lock master let us know that the water level was still about 14-15 feet above normal pool. We also passed Bobby’s Fish Camp – it is the last stop for fuel so many cruisers stop there. Fuel is available, but the dock is for tie-up only. There have been times when boats are rafted together three deep. As we meandered down the waterway, we could see how high the water had been – silt clung to trees and shrubs. One of our travel companions commented that according to his calculations, the winding waterway added about 100 miles to our downstream journey to Mobile.

It was an easy travel day and we arrived at the Old Lock #1 Park at about 2:00. We were greeted by the “park host”. He said that a few days ago we would not have been able to tie up to the old lock wall because the water was too high. And at normal pool, the water is too low. It was a great place and Porter and I were able to walk ashore and play Frisbee for awhile. The Spanish moss in the trees was eerie.

Later in the afternoon, we all gathered on Young America (boat behind Grateful) for a celebration of our last lock and dam. We are traveling with Young America (Fred & Linda), Queen Ann’s Revenge (Hank & Ann), Millennium Seas (Ken & Cheryl). Lots of stories and laughter.

November 19, 2009

November 19, 2009

Demopolis to Bashi Creek

Waiting, waiting, waiting…. We are ready, but the fog was heavy. We all got started late and it was interesting to watch 9 boats leave the marina and head for the lock and dam. There were 10 boats in the Demopolis Lock & Dam including Island Girl from LaCrosse, WI (80 ft long).

Bashi Creek is about 70 miles downstream. In fact there are no marinas from Demopolis to Mobile so we were out for adventure. The waterway here is mostly river and so has twists and turns. It is chewing away at the banks and constantly changing. Often we would see people try to stall the erosion with rock and even tires cabled together. the waterway is still at least 8 feet above normal pool here.

A group of five boats arrived at Bashi Creek at 4:00 and settled in. Just as I was getting in the kayak to go ashore with Port, the fellow behind us warned me about alligators – No REALLY?????? Sure hope they aren’t hungry.

November 18, 2009

November 18, 2009

Demopolis, AL

We spent a couple of more days here as we were waiting for a part – a starter switch for our port engine. So we found out that the water had gotten quite high from Ida. In fact the water was just below the floor of the restaurant at its highest point. Also Demopolis is a place where the towboats get fuel. I watched two tows come in at once and was amazed at the skill displayed.

November 16, 2009

November 16, 2009

Sumter Recreational area to Demopolis, AL

What a crazy morning!! We were up early and I was in trying to get attention deficit Port to do his chores at 6:15 when I saw Biddi & the Beast (BB) leaving the anchorage. I knew it wasn’t 7:00 – the planned departure time – but knew I needed to hurry. Mark explained that BB had called ahead to the Heflin Lock & Dam and found out that the lock master would take us down if we could get there by 7:15. There was a tow waiting below the dam and one was coming from the north behind us. YIKES!

We got the kayak back on the boat and tied down, both anchors up, motored through the shallow harbor entrance, and traveled the five miles by 7:20. We were out by 7:45 with no more locks to deal with until Demopolis. The trip was uneventful other than dodging floaters/debris. We didn’t miss them all but seem to be OK still.

There were many areas where we saw trees clinging to the bank or ready to fall into the waterway. Also, many buoys were on the wrong side of the river. The water had been quite high here during tropical storm Ida. There were many lovely homes along this stretch, and a few precarious ones. The white cliffs of Epes was a highlight.

Our biggest decision was whether or not to continue to Demopolis. Both Magnolia and Biddi & the Beast had called ahead and been told that there was no room for us. I was opting for another night at anchorage upstream rather than get to Demopolis and have no place to stay. Both marinas and anchorages are few and far between at this point of the waterway. Demopolis is the last full service marina until Mobile Bay. We intended to get fuel here and we needed a pumpout. All three of decided we would come on down and see what panned out. Good fortune was with us and Grateful got the last slip for which we were very grateful.

A fun surprise as we pulled in - Steve & Liz from Shingebiss were here. We had dinner with them in the marina restaurant – good food and good company.

November 15, 2009

November 15, 2009

Columbus, MS (mm 335) to Sumter Recreation Anchorage (mm 270)

Happy Birthday, Joe!

We were up and out of the marina at 6:50 – GOOD MORNING!!! We had been monitoring the working channel for the lock & dam and knew that they would be ready for us at 7:00 as we were the second group of boats to leave the marina. We were secure in the Stennis Lock & Dam and then waited. Eventually five more boats joined us – in fact the gates were closed once, but one more boat called the lock before the pumps started. Anyway, we finally got out of the lock at 8:00. This is one of the locks where they collect registration numbers, starting and ending ports, length and width of the boat.

We are traveling in a convoy and three of us hope to get to Sumter Recreational area by 3:00. This is a well-protected anchorage, but has been reported to have silted in at the entrance. The water is still above normal pool so we are hoping we can get in and that the water doesn’t drop too much. We traveled at an easy 8.5 knots, slowed for working barges, fishing boats, and for taking pictures of eagles and cormorants. The Bevill Lock & Dam was ready and waiting on us so we were in and out in a half hour. Because of that we arrived at our anchorage a little ahead of time and were settled by 3:00.

We were fortunate and our anchor caught right away and then we set a stern anchor. Magnolia and Biddi & the Beast had a bit more trouble so Mark got in the kayak and went over to both boats and offered to help set their second anchors. What a guy. Magnolia’s second anchor was so big and heavy that I was poised to take Mark’s picture thinking he might take a spill. But he managed just fine and then went exploring. By that time Port was wondering where he was going in the kayak without him.

I have to tell y’all that I was nearly the one to take a spill in the kayak today. After Mark returned, Port and I got into the kayak and made our way to the boat ramp that also had a small cement dock off to the side. Oh good – a place to let Port off without having muddy feet to contend with. I brought the kayak up to the cement dock that was about a foot higher than the kayak and grabbed a cleat. Port was off and into the bushes. Then it was my turn to get off. Yep – you guessed it. I still had hold of the cleat and managed to get one leg on the dock and then things got a little funky. (I thought I could get out on the dock like Mark gets out on the swim platform). WRONG! Before I knew it, I had right leg and arm on the dock and left leg and arm in the kayak trying to keep the kayak from flipping and my BUTT was in the water. Words cannot explain how silly this must have looked. I really didn’t want to get any more wet so somehow I managed to pull the kayak back in under my backside. After regrouping, I was able to disembark without further incident.