Out of the rivers

After 1,300 miles, 26 locks, and five states, we are mercifully out of the river system. With the exception of the Great Bridge Lock (Virginia) which has a rise of exactly one foot, we are done with the locks.  They were fun - to a point. Toward the end, they were basically roadblocks that had the potential of creating hours-long delays. The final section of the river system was incredibly rural.  We frequently traveled thirty or forty-mile stretches without seeing any form of civilization.  Other than a couple of barges per day, all of the traffic was southbound loopers.  The wildlife was even a little sparse.  There were lots of Egrets and Herons and Roger swears that he saw an alligator, but sadly it was unconfirmed.  Otherwise, not too much wildlife.  There were lots of shallow areas that were easily avoided, but 90% of the navigation buoys had been run over and destroyed by barges. We drove using autopilot but it needed constant adjustment - basically every 50 - 100 yards. Sparse anchorages meant that Chrisy needed to research and plan each day so we could travel 50-60 miles and end in a spot where we could get Millie to shore.  The final 116 miles had exactly zero anchorages where we could get Millie to shore so the poor girl needed to cross her legs for 28 hours.  We thought we had her trained to use a turf mat on board, but she was pretty stubborn.

The inland rivers are a reason that some of our cruising friends say they will never do the Great Loop.  Having them behind us gives us a nice sense of accomplishment, and now we are looking at well-marked channels leading to wide-open bays that are lined with palm trees and orange trees.  The pelicans drop out of the sky on their fishing operation and dolphins play off the stern.   Sadly, there are many reports of alligators also playing off the stern. The sun came out for a few days and temperatures rose to the 70s. It's nice to be back in shorts and t-shirts rather than winter hats, gloves, and jackets.

Happy Thanksgiving! Chrisy has been dying to go to a movie - so off we go, and then it's Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant with fellow cruisers.  Roger will find a way to squeeze in some football because otherwise, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving.

Egret is at the Wharf Marina in Orange Beach,  Alabama, and our plans are to leave her here for a week while we take a 4-day side trip to New Orleans. Our rental car and Airbnb are booked so off we go to the French Quarter and the World War II Museum.  When we return we will work our way along the panhandle of Florida to Carabelle where we will make a decision about crossing the Gulf.  It's either one long jump of 170 miles or three shorter trips.  Either way, it's out in the Gulf - miles offshore - and good weather is required.  

The Tombigbee is a big part of the river system. It snakes all over: east, west, north, and occasionally south.

We were fortunate to be joined by Roger's cousin, Nancy, and her husband Kevin, in Columbus, Miss.  They drove two hours one way to have lunch and share some fun time on Egret. Wonderful to catch up!!

 

Classic Tombigbee scenery

A random telephone booth indicates that you're leaving Mississippi and entering Alabama.

The White Cliffs of Epps -These Selma Chalk formations were deposited around the same time as England's White Cliffs of Dover.

Early morning departure from Kingfisher Marina in Demopolis, AL - pretty cold!

Bobby's Fish Camp was once a thriving hub for cruisers and the fishing community with a nice restaurant - sadly, no longer. They did manage to accommodate 8 loopers on their skinny dock.

Our almost final lock - Coffeeville

Sunrise at our last anchorage - The Tensaw River Cutoff

The final stretch brought us out into Mobile Bay.

Dock yoga usually attracts some spectators.

Epic Fail

When we started to talk about "doing the Loop," Roger made the case that "It's great, you're always in T-shirts."  Leave from Rhode Island in mid-May. Spend the summer in Canada and the Fall on the rivers getting down to the Gulf.  Stay clear of Florida until the hurricane season is over and then hang out in Florida for the winter.  No matter where you start the Loop, that's the basic plan for 95% of the Loopers.  

As you can see from the following national weather map, the best-laid plans don't always come to fruition.  

Our Epic Fail

Actually, we aren't strangers to cruising in cold weather.  When we cruised on our sailboat Sanderling in 1999-2000, we had frost on the cabin top in the Dismal Swamp (Virginia), and we had to stuff our socks in the vents to ward off the cold during late October/early November. But who would have thought that we would encounter 30º temperatures in the middle of the Mississippi in November?     

Chrisy and Millie fighting the elements.  Poor Millie just got her summer cut.

Chrisy on duty in the lock.

The Pickwick Lock tender has a Facebook page and posts pictures of all the boats coming through.  

We are the second boat on the right.

... and the third boat on the left.

The Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway

The Whitten Lock is one of the tallest locks east of the Mississippi - a drop of 84 feet.

Baffles on the creeks that feed the Tombigbee to prevent creeks from "rushing in" and 

they also help to keep the logs out of the river.

The levee portion of the Tombigbee River

The Tenn-Tom Waterway - 253 miles - connects the Tennessee River at Pickwick Lake (gorgeous lake which is located in 3 different states: Tennessee/ Mississippi/Alabama) with the Tombigbee River at Demopolis, Alabama. It joins the Tennessee and the Tombigbee Rivers. Work began on the waterway in 1972 and it took 13 years to complete, spending close to $2 billion. Construction of the canal moved more earth than was moved in the construction of the Panama Canal and is relatively unknown throughout the US to the public. 

Moving southbound, we will lock down 341 feet over 11 locks. We currently are in Columbus, Mississippi, having gone through 7 locks so far on the Tenn-Tom Waterway. Fortunately for us, we have timed the locks well and have not had to wait very long for a lock opening. However, fellow Loopers have had to wait up to 3 hours at times for a lock to be available for them. Timing is everything.

 

We're Back

 After a six-week break to see family, friends, and neighbors - who are also friends,  we returned to the Great Loop.  A nice two-day drive from Philadelphia brought us back to Egret (at the Green Turtle Marina in Grand Rivers, Kentucky on Lake Barkley,) which we found in wonderful condition.  All of our pre-departure preparations paid off, and there was no evidence of mold nor mildew.  However, there were quite a few spiders, and the outside needed plenty of cleaning but generally, the boat was in good shape. We were overjoyed that the 2 fans we had running 24/7 for six weeks didn't overheat and burn down the boat.  We emptied the refrigerators and the freezer before we left, so there was a fair amount of provisioning that needed to be done before we could think about leaving.  

The trip from Chicago down the rivers to Mobile has lots of different personalities.  The Illinois River to the Mississippi River is pretty industrial with a fair amount of barge traffic, but also nice towns and marinas.  The Mississippi River is basically 200 miles of river with massive barges and very few spots to anchor.  The goal is to get on and off the Mississippi as quickly as possible which we achieved in two days thanks to some favorable current. The Ohio and Cumberland Rivers are very pleasant with nice towns and plenty of anchoring opportunities, but also lots of barge traffic.  We are looking forward to the next section of the rivers that appear to have plenty of towns, marinas, and anchorages, but also have scenic sections as well with reduced barge traffic.  

When we left Chicago on September 8th we were in the first 25% of boats down the rivers.  When we left Green Turtle Marina after our six-week break, we were in the last 25%.  We parted company with lots of good friends - many of whom have already "crossed their wake" and have become landlubbers.  

We are well known for our late departures, but our departure from Green Turtle Marina was particularly late.  After stowing most of our provisions, taking showers, and paying our bill, we got underway at the crack of noon.  

The objective of the first day was to get off the dock and get moving.  Chrisy found a nice anchorage about thirty miles down Kentucky Lake - Sugar Bay - that was very peaceful and quiet. A great way to start back on the Great Loop.

We're headed into an area with some notoriously bad cell reception so we might be dark for a little while.

The day after Halloween at Patti's.  They turn things around quickly.

Scenes from Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River