Merry Christmas to everyone!
None. The answer to the question of whether we had any breakdowns or difficult situations since 12/23 when we grounded. Must be the luck four leaf clover keychains from Eve and Bill Gribble we received for Christmas! Thank you for that good luck. The luck charms along with plenty of prayers and a good mechanic seem to be making the difference.
 |
| Leaving on 12/23 |
We left you last with our adventure on December 23. We
grounded out then was blown off the dirt by a little center console at
Smithville. Then we went through a lock at dusk and another in the dark then
played blind man’s bluff to get to the anchorage at M366.3 on the Tombigbee
Waterway.
Let’s pick up the story on Christmas Eve, December 24. It
was foggy at dawn. Icey frost covered everything. Kermit wore his life jacket to pull up the anchor because the water was so cold. We were still tense from
yesterday’s adventure. We weren’t saying much. With that much tension, silence
is the better part of valor.  |
| Anchoring at Windham Landing at dusk |
Our goal was an anchorage at M286 called Windham Landing. We
went through 3 locks, Aberdeen at 357.5, Stennis at M334.7 and Bevill at M306.8
for an 80 mile trip. That is a lot of miles and a lot of locks to travel in
about 9 hours. We can only travel during daylight between about 7am and 4pm, so
everything has to run smoothly. Fog was not in the plan.
 |
| Windham Landing anchorage |
We waited as long as we could. We pulled the anchor when we
saw the other side of the shore. We tip toed down the river until the sun burnt
off the fog. We passed fewer tows than usual and made good time.
Rivers look like rivers. Trees on the side, red and green
markers, birds flitting in and out, but very few people. On the rare occasion
we saw a person we waved like crazy people! Not much going on here.
 |
| Pineapple Upside down cake for Christmas dessert |
We passed Columbus, our original target on 12/23 and kept
going until we reached M286. This anchorage is on the Right Descending Bank
which is standard terminology for the west side of the river, on an oxbow, a
place where a side spit of water winds away from the main river around a small
piece of land, creating an island. We dropped anchor as the sun went down.
In the distance, we could hear cows mooing and moving on the
bank. This was a cattle farm!! With a farmhouse at the back of the oxbow!!
After being so alone, it was comforting to know people were nearby even if we
couldn’t see them.
We made a wonder steak dinner and opened a few presents. Marissa gave us the cutest little
waffle maker that makes one waffle at a time! We made waffles the next morning!
Christmas morning, our goal was Demopolis at M216, another
70 mile day with only 1 lock, the Heflin Lock with a 32’ drop. It was a spectacular day for a boat ride - sunny, clear and flat with the most amazing sunlight. 
We pulled into Demopolis around 3pm. This beautiful marina
is called Kingfisher, designed for larger boats. It has floating cement docks
with dockside pump out. Most docks are covered with those big metal roofs to
protect from hot summer sun.
We tried the dockside pump out but couldn't make it work. I know, we took a risk to pass up a pump out but Kermit seems to be able to fix the toilets now. Turns out Don's simple turn of a wrench releases an airlock and the potty's work again!
 |
| Kingfisher Marina at Demopolis |
We got to Demopolis in time for the end of the Christmas
party which gave us a chance to meet a few locals. No food left but nice
conversation. We went back to the boat, opened the rest of our presents then to
bed for an early departure the next morning.
On the way out in the morning we ran into Mike, a Looper
just coming out of the shower. They were stopping for fuel before leaving so we
left for the lock. They are in a Mainship Trawler so they go a little slower
than we do.
Our goal that night was Bobby’s Fish Camp, a gigantic 98
mile journey. We could only make it if we get through the lock promptly. The
Demopolis Lock is just 3 miles down the river. We made it through promptly and
headed down the river.
Two things are interesting as we left the lock.
 |
| Bubbles everywhere - not the best photo |
First, there
was a ton of fluffy cloud like floaters on the water that looked like ice burgs.
A million little ice burgs floating around. We know they couldn’t be ice burgs.
So the other thought was someone poured a bunch of detergent in the water
creating a gazillion tons of bubbles. Odd.
 |
| Swings outside Demospolis Lock |
The other interesting thing was the beautiful vista across
the down side of the lock. There is no dam on the river here. The water
cascades naturally across rocks making a beautiful vista. The community
installed swings on the eastern shore so folks can picnic while watching the
hypnotic water flow.
Bobby’s Fish Camp, our target is the only place to tie up on
a dock between Demopolis and Mobile. Only a few anchorages are noted in that 98
mile stretch. Mike and Brenda from Visignet (the folks we met leaving
Demopolis) anchored at one of those spots but we persevered.
 |
| See our boat coming up on two tows going in opposite directions. We went through the middle. |
The only interesting thing that happened took place around
one of the many curves. When we left Demopolis we were on the Black River. As a result there are a million twists and
turns. That 98 mile distance could actually be much shorter as the crow flies
if the waterway were straightened.
The twists and turns make it fun to meet the
many tows around corners.
 |
| The two tows going in opposite directions! We went through the middle. |
One memorable time we met two tows, one going south and one
going north. They allowed us to move south between them! As we moved between
the tows everyone on both tows came out of the little houses and waved at each
other like crazy people!! So we went out and waved too! They were chatting it
up on the radio to catch up on family and friends. Evidently they feel as
lonely as we do when no one is around for days at a time.
We pulled into Bobby’s Fish Camp at about 3:30pm. It was a
sunny day so we tied up alone and went for a little walk up the hill. No people
visible, anywhere. A fish camp is a southern thing. Imagine a bunch of beat up
cabins and not much else.
 |
| Bobby's Fish Camp |
The guidebook indicated a new bathroom available so we set
off to investigate. We found it. Imagine a brown Rubbermaid shed about 8’ x 6’.
Inside is a shower, a toilet and a sink. There is no way to lock the door. The
only lock is on the outside. I declined.
Kermit grabbed his shower gear to test
it out. Evidently the water comes out of the faucet at the same temperature as
the outside air – 65 degrees, so his shower was brief. You have to run the shower for a while to dislodging
a bunch of bugs unhappy to be so rudely disturbed. He saw an unsettling clump
of fur on the floor.
The electrical set up would have made Paul Bates proud. No
grounding. No GFIs. An electric cord ran to an extension cord cut off to plug
into an outlet. Great!
When you go to out of the shower had to wipe his feet to
remove the dirt before putting on his socks.
The weather looked really crappy. A big storm was coming
across the south. In the morning we decided to stay put another day to wait out
the worst of the storm. Around midday we saw Visignet pass. Kermit suggested they
might consider staying at Bobby’s Fish Camp to wait out the storm.
They elected
to keep going. At the Coffeeville Lock immediately south, the lockmaster
suggested Visignet would be safer if they turned back to Bobby’s because the
storms were supposed to bring flood water, high winds making a downriver anchorage
risky. They turned around and joined us!
We had a few beers and some appetizers at the restaurant. Alabama
health food: fried dill pickles so fried that they disintegrated in our mouths,
fried sweet potatoes, hush puppies and fried onion rings. I have had enough
salt, so much salt even the beer did not wash it away!
 |
| Lunch on the road |
The storm was bad. In the morning the water was much higher.
Coffeeville Lock just south of Bobby’s Fish Camp is the last lock on the river
system. After this, the water is no longer regulated. It is subject to currents
and tides. This lock is supposed to drop us 34’ but it only went down 12’. The
doors opened to really high water and lots of logs and crap floating through.
It made travel difficult as we picked our way through. To make it more fun, the
entire day was foggy. Sometimes full fog and sometimes wisps of fog floating across
the river. We persevered. 
Our target that night was the Tensas River M39. We anchored upstream about a mile in 25 feet of water. The rain stopped but the fog rolled in turning the river from a white cover to a full blanket of fog.
We showed Mike and Brenda how to raft off us then we proceeded to have a wonderful pot luck dinner. More pictures of that later. I haven't pulled them off the camera yet.
These loopers started their loop in when they bought their boat this summer in Dunedin FL. They took the boat to Demopolis for the hurricane season then picked up the boat and traveled upriver to the AGLCA rondevouz on the Tennessee River then traveled to Chattanooga. They are downward bound now just like us.
Today we are traveling to Mobile. As I write this we can see
Mobile in the distance. We are going to Fairhope for a reunion with Charlie and
Mary, Loopers from Bama Belle in our looper year. It will be great to be back
in civilization again with a boat that works!!
We will stay in the Mobile area for a few days. First at Fairhope then on to the Wharf at Orange Beach where we will meet up with Visignet again along with Texas Two Step, the old Good Karma. We are excited to be at places where we can watch football on tv in civilization.
Happy New Year friends!!
