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Captain Hondo on the phone. Imagine that!

Bashi Creek. Thursday night anchorage

Thursday's scenes from the river

Enjoying the December sun from The Bridge

Bashi Creek

Yesterday's entry is tardy because we did not have cell service at last night's anchorage. We have service now so I'll try to get up to date. We left Demopolis Yacht Harbor Marina (MM 216) at first light which was 6:30AM. We arrived at the Demopolis Lock (MM 213.2) at 6:45. We had a 45 minute delay waiting for a northbound tow to lock through. We entered the lock at 7:30 with two other pleasure craft,"Got The Fever" from Knoxville,TN,a 46' trawler and "Shirley Ruth",a 42' trawler from New Jersey. We exited at 7:47.
We traveled all day with the two other boats.We were strung out over ten miles because we all run at different speeds. With a good current we were running almost 9.5 mph most of the day. The two faster boats were going to overnight at Bobby's Fish Camp (MM 118.9). We stopped at our anchorage at Bashi Creek at 3:00PM. We could have run for another hour but there are no good anchorages between Bashi Creek and Bobby's. We had a relaxing evening. It was so dark that we could actually see the Milky Way. The stars were beautiful.We traveled 71 miles in 8 hrs 30 mins.

First Mate swabbing the deck.

Views from the river

Demolpolis, AL

We left our anchorage at Sumter Landing (MM 270) at 7:00 AM this morning. We arrived at Heflin Lock (MM 266.1) at 7:30 AM. We were delayed 25 minutes waiting for a northbound tow to go through the lock. We entered the lock at 7:55 and exited at 8:13. The rest of the day was uneventful. We made 9 miles an hour most of the day. We reached the halfway point on our 450 mile journey at (MM225) at 12:40 PM.
We arrived at today's destination at 1:40 PM. We are staying at Demopolis Yacht Basin Marina in Demopolis,AL. We topped off the fuel tanks for the rest of the trip. We did some boat chores and took the courtesy car into town to fill the propane tank and get some supplies at Walmart. We are grilling steaks for dinner on Randy's new grill. Tomorrow is our longest day. We need to get an early start. Today we traveled 54 miles in 6 hrs and 50 mins.

Captain Hondo in the galley

Sumter Landing Anchorage

Houses below Stennis Lock

Sumter Landing

This morning began with a drizzly departure from Columbus Marina (MM 335) at 7:30AM. The Stennis Lock (MM 334.7) is adjacent to the marina. We had almost a 30 minute delay while the dock master checked our documentation. We entered the lock at 7:52 PM and exited at 8:14. The river is more natural below the Stennis Lock. More houses and docks and much more barge traffic. The rain lasted most of the morning but at least it is mild. The temperature is in the mid 60's. Our next and only other lock today was Bevill Lock (MM 306.8). We entered without delay at 11:23 AM and exited at 11:41 AM. The rest of the day was spent heading down river and encountering several more huge barges. Our home tonight is a small cove off the river at (MM 270) called Sumter Landing. The cove is well protected from wind and current. We arrived at 4:00 PM and were anchored by 4:20 PM. There is a boat ramp that is part a Army Corp of Engineers recreational area. We are near the town of Gainesville, AL. Tonight's dinner is a pot roast that we cooked in the crockpot.
We had a good day on the river.
Randy and Mark

First Day of Travel

Departed Aqua Harbor Marina (MM 448.7) at 7:15 AM. It is a beautiful morning. Temp around 50 degrees. We saw only two boats all morning,an oil barge and a pleasure craft. We arrived at Whitten Lock (MM 411.9) (first of three for the day and 12 for the entire trip) at 11:30 AM. We exited the lock at 12:05 PM. We were lowered over 85 feet.The operation of the locks is very impressive. As we continued down river we saw only two local fishermen all day. We arrived at Montgomery Lock (MM 406.7) at 12:40 PM.We exited at 1:05 PM. We were lowered 30 feet this time.We entered Rankin Lock (MM 398.4) at 1:55 PM. We exited at 2:10 PM. We were lowered 30 feet this lock. We traveled only 4 more miles to Midway Marina in Fulton,MS (MM 394.0). This is our home for tonight. We arrived at 2:50 PM. Midway is a small marina with nice people and nice shower facilities. We met a very nice couple from Knoxville on their way to the Bahamas for the winter. They are traveling on a 40 motor sailing yacht. They have traveled the Tenn Tom several times. They spent over an hour with us going over the charts and marking anchorages they have used. This local info will be very helpful during the rest of our journey. We borrowed the marina's courtesy van to go into Fulton for dinner. We ate at a local Mexican restaurant. It was surprisingly good.
When we returned to the marina all of the Christmas lights were on the buildings as well as the boats. Very festive. We had a good first day. We traveled 55 miles in 7 hrs 35 mins. We have pictures to post when we get a better Internet connection. Lights out 9:35 PM.
Randy and Mark

Getting Ready

We slept well on our first night. This morning we are off early to return the rental car in Florence AL. The marina loaned us a pickup truck for the day to use after we dropped off the rental car. We went to Walmart to buy groceries. Knowing that we would only be at marinas the first two nights of our trip,we bought enough to cook for several nights. The week's menu will include steak,chicken,chili and pot roast. Cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. We should eat well all week.   We spent most of the afternoon at the boat with Rick Rogers from Rogers Marine Surveyors. Rick went over all of the boat's systems and operations. He was incredibly knowledgeable and very helpful.We both learned a lot. When we finished our work we went back to Cactus Jack's to watch the Alabama/Georgia game. Jeff the owner was very friendly. We met some very nice football fans.Everyone is very helpful. Tomorrow we start our journey down the Tenn Tom to Mobile. We will travel over 450 miles in the next eight days. Lights out 9:00PM.
Randy and Mark

Columbus Marina

We departed Midway Marina (MM 394) at 6:50 AM. The weather was sunny and mid 50's. Arrived Fulton Lock (MM 391) at 7:05. We had a short delay while the lock was filled. We entered the lock at 7:25 and exited at 7:35. Our next lock was Wilkins Lock (376.3).We arrived at 9:18 and exited at 9:36. Next was Amory Lock (MM 371.1). We arrived at 10.10 and exited at 10:24. At this lock we were greeted by a beagle walking the lock wall. We wondered if he belonged to the dock master or was just a stray looking for handouts. Our last lock for the day was Aberdeen Lock (MM 357.6). We entered at 12:10 and exited at 12:35. Except for one tow barge below Aberdeen Lock,we had the river to ourselves all afternoon. It was very rural and peaceful. We arrived at today's destination, Columbus Marina in Columbus,MS.(MM 335) at 2:50 PM. Once again, the people at the marina were very helpful and had lots of good advice for us for the rest of our journey down the Tenn Tom to Mobile, AL. Today we traveled 59 miles in 8 hours. We had a good day on the river. Lights out at 9:00 PM.

Whitten Lock

Pantry and fridge stocked and ready to go.

Iuka, MS

We met at the Nashville airport and drove approximately 3 hrs to Aqua Harbor Marina in Iuka,MS, arriving around 1:30 PM. We spent the afternoon stowing our gear and getting acquainted with The Loon. What a beautiful boat! The weather was clear and in the 60's. We had dinner at a local sports bar named Cactus Jack's in nearby Counce,TN. The sun set around 5 PM. Lights out at 9:00 PM.
Randy and Mark