Heading down the TennTom Waterway

The TennTom Waterway connects the Tennessee River at Pickwick Lake to the Tombigbee River at Demopolis, AL. Then from Demopolis to Mobile, it is called the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway.  Most just refer to the whole stretch and all 12 locks as the TennTom. Originally proposed in the late 1700’s by the French as a way of connecting these two navigable rivers, construction began in 1972, and it was completed in 1985. This was a huge project that moved more earth than was moved in the construction of the Panama Canal. The waterway shortened the trip for vessels by as much as 720 miles (avoiding a long trip and swift currents up the Mississippi River).  It is a commercial waterway, so tows get priority in the locks.

Monday, 21 October – Counce, TN to Iuka, MS – 3 mi., 4476 cum mi.

Fog, 52 degrees. Our plan was to change the oil and fuel filters, then proceed down the TennTom to Bay Springs Marina (just before the first set of locks).

Fog delayed us for at least an hour. Then it took longer than expected to get service at Lee Spry Marine. Several boats were lined up for service, and one needed to be hauled out. We had the expert service of Lee himself, but he was interrupted a few times to deal with other matters. We did get the engine and generator oil changed, and we got the engine and generator fuel filters changed, and Lee added fluid to the trim tab motor, but it was too late to make the trip to Bay Springs before closing. We took a dinghy ride, cooked some supper, and went to bed.

Tuesday, 22 October – Iuka, MS to Fulton, MS – 53 mi., 4529 cum mi.

Rainy, cloudy, 56 degrees. With no fog, a few rain drops did not stop us from getting an early start

down river. We encountered tows going both up and down river, but they were smaller – 2-4 barges – than those on the bigger rivers.
The sunshine overtook the clouds as the day progressed. Most of this part of the TennTom is called the Divide Cut – a canal dug to connect two water systems. Although we started out alone, soon we were overtaken by Masterplan, a huge boat that docked next to us at Joe Wheeler the day before we left. Later Second Wind and Golden Hawk caught up to us as we approached the Whitten Lock (down 84 ft). We locked through together through Whitten, Montgomery (down 30 ft), and Rankin (down 30 ft). Masterplan continued
down stream, while we joined Second Wind and
Golden Hawk into the Midway Marina. The hot tub was a welcome respite. I hurt my back (somehow – don’t know how), and the hot water eliminated any and all pain, albeit temporarily.

Wednesday, 23 October – Fulton, MS to Columbus, MS – 60 mi., 4589 cum mi.

Clear sky, 50 degrees. We left at sunrise in a four boat procession – Second Wind, Always 5 O’Clock, Golden Hawk, and Lumiere. We locked down four locks: Fulton (26 ft), Wilkins (25 ft), Amory (25 ft), and Aberdeen (28 ft), with only a 20 minute wait at Aberdeen. This is the canal section – mostly straight. Second Wind and Golden Hawk are bigger boats and have bigger engines, normally cruising at
10-11 knots. We kept up, but our Yanmars were working hard. We saw several fighter jets and later learned that Columbus has an Air Force base where they train pilots – in fact Columbus was once home to the B52 bomber. Columbus is the largest city on the TennTom, and they claim to have held the first Memorial Day ceremony in 1866. (When we lived in PA, we were told Boalsburg held the first.) We docked at Columbus Marina where we caught up with Reunion. After fueling, we found we burned just under a gallon per mile. Good to know, since we will need to know our fuel consumption for the Gulf crossing in a few weeks.

Thursday, 24 October – Columbus, MS to Pickinsville, AL – 28 mi., 4617 cum mi.

Blue sky, 71 degrees. Second Wind and Golden Hawk left early for another 60 mile run to an anchorage. Charli and Carol borrowed the courtesy van for a trip into town for provisions. We left with Reunion about midday through Stennis Lock (27 ft down) and downriver towards Pirates Marina Cove. On our way out, Summer Recess was pulling in. We traveled at about 8 mph, so when we refuel, we’ll be able to compute our fuel burn rate at the lower speed.  This begins the river
section – where the TennTom mainly follows the existing rivers, and it has the nicest scenery. Pirates Marina Cove gave loopers a 10% discount for dockage – nice. And using the marina’s courtesy van, we explored the Bevill Lock Visitors Center just before they closed. Turns out
that Tom Bevill was an Alabama Congressman. When the US Army Corps of Engineers first built the locks, they named them A, B, C, D, etc. Congress later renamed the locks after their own members, usually selecting local representatives for each lock. The visitors center had a model of the TennTom

waterway, with an interactive display of the locks and recreational areas by the water. Docked at the center was a refurbished snag boat – the Montgomery – a paddle wheeler with a crane to clear the debris
from the waterway. Although we did not get a chance to visit it, we are told that in nearby Aliceville there was a camp where 6000 German POWs were held during WW2.

Friday, 25 October – Pickinsville to Sumter Landing, AL – 37 mi., 4654 cum mi.

Cold, but clear, 46 degrees. After calling the Bevil Lock requesting passage, we left early with
Reunion. Al, Charli, and Eli all took turns at the helm on the flybridge, with frequent trips downstairs to warm up. It was a beautiful day, but chilly. Lots of egrets and other birds near shore. Scenery is pretty, and it has not changed much for the last 100 miles of this river section. We anchored at the Sumter Park landing near the boat ramp. A short dinghy ride around the basin and then to shore and a walk around the recreation area was fun. We met Mike, a local who was fishing and pulling his bass boat out of the water at the boat ramp. Three more looper boats pulled in to anchor: Journey (cat), Harmony, and Daisy Mae. They are also headed to Demopolis Yacht Basin in the morning, so we will lock through the next lock together.

Saturday, 26 October – Sumter Landing to Demopolis, AL – 54 mi., 4708 cum mi.

Cold, foggy, 47 degrees.  We awoke to heavy fog and gobs of floating hydrangea that filled the basin. the fog provided a beautiful sunrise.  Even the Heflin lockmaster said he couldn’t see the highway bridge next to the lock through the fog. So we waited for the fog to lift, and all five boats left the anchorage and went through Heflin Lock (down 32 ft) together.  We fueled up, since this is the last clean fuel stop until Mobile Bay. We docked at Kingfisher Bay, a relatively new marina connected to and managed by the Demopolis Yacht Basin. This is also the last marina until Mobile. We stayed two nights to relax and get ready for upcoming anchorages. We set up a trip line to mark anchor location and to be able to free the anchor if it got stuck. We also set up a stern line and anchor, in case we encountered shifting currents or narrow creeks. And we fixed our anchor light (loose bulbs). The marina had several golf carts, free to borrow to get to the ships store at Demopolis Yacht Basin. The locals hosted a pot luck happy hour

(and costume party). Nice to meet local boaters – and learn about their favorite anchorages. We also took advantage of the free courtesy truck and went to the Red Barn for dinner. Summer Recess pulled in – good to see them again. They’ve been traveling about a day behind us.
The highlight of this section of the TennTom is Epes where we saw beautiful white cliffs. Part of the Selma Chalk formations, these were deposited about the same time as England’s white cliffs of Dover. Demopolis marks the end of the TennTom Waterway.

11-19 October – AGLCA Rendezvous – Joe Wheeler State Park Lodge and Marina

11-13 October - The Rendezvous doesn't kick off officially until Monday, but you'd never know it from the activity in the marina. More Loopers arriving daily.  This popular Rendezvous is sold out -- the marina is full, the lodge is full, and folks are overflowing into the campground, cabins and even the Economy Inn in nearby Rogersville. And every afternoon there is a lively docktail gathering on the pool deck.

We even had the opportunity to watch a real Alabama country wedding (the lodge is a popular wedding destination), right from our flybridge, overlooking the lodge patio. Everyone in the wedding party wore cowboy boots, even the flower girls.  The couple walked down the aisle to country music.  We added the horn blasts when the bride and groom
marched out to "I met her at a Truckstop". 

Pretty awesome.

Monday, 14 October - The 2013 Fall Rendezvous officially kicked off today, and what a wonderful day it was. It began with a beautiful sunrise on the lake, with all of the  landlubbers in the lodge sipping their coffee on balconies, watching the boaters in the marina wiping off the dew, walking the dogs and doing all those quiet early morning things that boaters do. By mid-afternoon, the staff and volunteers had the ship's store set up, the registration bags filled and sponsors' banners hung. Just like that, the Rendezvous was underway. First up on the agenda was the introduction of the loopers-in-progress, a
perfect way to start the show. It is always fun and inspirational to hear the stories of those fortunate folks who are currently living the dream. We heard from Loopers who started their Loop thirteen years ago, and others who started just five days ago. The evening's program started with an outdoor cocktail party sponsored by Turner Marine, and dinner sponsored by Curtis Stokes & Associates.
Tom and Patsy Conrad did a great job as our masters of ceremonies and kept us on schedule with only a few blasts of Tom's whistle. After introductions and some salty tales from the Gold Loopers in attendance, the evening closed with the ever-popular door prizes.

Tuesday, 15 October - We enjoyed a big breakfast generously provided by our friends and sponsors Dog River Marina (great free t-shirts, too!), and the daily seminars began.
We attended the seminars on the TennTom to Mobile, Mobile to Tarpin Springs, and Crossing the Gulf. There was a life raft demonstration by Capt. Henry Marx, vessel safety checks, and “looper crawls” (where loopers tour other boats) and a flare firing exercise.  At dinner, they introduced the newbies – those who were still planning to do the loop (some for quite a while).

Wednesday, 16 October - Well, the predicted rain finally showed up today, but did not dampen the spirits of this gathering of happy Loopers. And after another full day of excellent seminars and presentations (Tarpon Springs to Key West, Okeechobee, and Key West to Jacksonville), the rain paused just in time for the optional excursion to downtown Rogersville. Buses provided by the
Chamber of Commerce picked up Loopers at Joe Wheeler and shuttled them into town for an afternoon of shopping and exploring. The big event of the day was the concert at Longing for Home Bed & Breakfast. Audrey Stehle organized this wonderful outing for the past five years and it never fails to please. She has been reassuring us all week that we shouldn't worry about a little rain, and she was right. By the time we all arrived at the B & B, the rain had stopped, the temperature had warmed up, and it turned out to be a practically
perfect evening for an outdoor concert. The first act was Appleton Road, a darling duo of 13-year-old twins Katie and Lindsey Konig who sang and played bass and mandolin. Just charming! They were followed by KGB -- the Kerry Gilbert Band. They are not only great musicians, but also very funny guys and they kept us laughing and dancing along all night.  But the big surprise came from one of our own, Jim on Sea Fever, who joined the band on keyboard for one set and just brought the house down. We all know that Loopers are multi-talented, but Jim raised the bar to new heights! He closed out the night with his signature version of Amazing Grace and it was amazing indeed!

Thursday, 17 October – Today’s seminars covered Jacksonville to Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach to Norfolk, and side trips up the St John’s River and up the Tennessee River to Chattanooga. The afternoon was highlighted by the many gracious Loopers who opened their boats for the Looper Crawl, and by the immensely entertaining blindfolded dinghy races. We were so surprised by a visit from Rita and John, a Lithuanian couple who we met two years ago who were in the area and decided to see if they knew anyone at the Rendezvous. So nice to see them again!

The evening program was fun but also poignant. As always at the closing dinner, it was a time to acknowledge those who give exceptional dedication to the Looper community all throughout the year. The Harbor Host of the Year award was given to Jerry and Jenny Reves, Harbor Hosts for Charleston, SC. Jerry accepted for both of them, as Jenny was caring for their daughter who has recently undergone surgery. The Skipper Bob award went to Claiborne Young, who was not present, having very recently lost his wife, Karen. Our thoughts and prayers go to Claiborne and Jerry and Jenny and their families, but we also give our gratitude for all they have done and continue to do for the cruising community. And we honored Hank (traveling on Journey) as being the oldest looper, a veteran of WW2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and the most interesting guy we ever met.

It has become a tradition for the Rendezvous to close with a musical

gathering led by Ron and Eva Stob, joined by any other musicians in the group who choose to participate. The rest of us sing or tap our feet or whatever. This year we were fortunate to have the addition of Jim Emshoff on Sea Fever, the "surprise" keyboardist from last night's Rogersville concert.  Singing those old river songs just feels right.

Friday, 18 October – Dense fog delayed, but did not stop about 25 boats from moving to their next destinations, some heading down river towards the TennTom, some heading up river to Chattanooga. After casting off dock lines, wishing each other smooth sailing, and looking forward to meeting again along the waterways, we got a rental car and picked up our grandson Eli at the Huntsville

International Airport.

Saturday, 19 October – While 15 more boats were leaving this morning, we went to the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. This is the only space center that has a full-
scale upright mockup of the Saturn V rocket. Quite impressive. There’s also a real, horizontal Saturn V inside the huge complex.  There is a famous picture of Wernher von Braun standing next to the engines he designed. Saturn I was outside in the rocket garden, next to the upright Saturn V. Also
in the rocket garden, there is a display of Redstone rockets- Eli expressed surprise at their relatively small size.

Sunday, 20 October – Rogersville, AL to Counce, TN – 62 mi., 4473 cum mi.

Dense fog, 53 degrees. We planned to leave early with Reunion, but the fog and three tows locking through Wheeler Lock delayed our planned early departure, so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast buffet at the lodge. Soon the
fog lifted, and the Wheeler lockmaster cleared the way for us to lock down 52 ft. In another 15 mi., we were locking down 93 ft. through the Wilson Lock – what a ride – and, I believe, the biggest of all the locks Eli ever experienced. The cruise down the Tennessee River was beautiful. Blue sky, nice scenery, no wind…just a blue bird day.

We arrived at Grand Harbor Marina near closing time, along with several other boats, so docking was a boat shuffle. We borrowed the courtesy van and met Perfect Day at Freddy T’s restaurant. Nice to see them again. They were still dealing with some repairs at a neighboring marina.