Great Loop Day 073 Nov 9, 2016, Pirates Marina Cove to Tombigbee Oxbow Anchorage
Pirates Marina Cove to Tombigbee Oxbow Anchorage
“A dream is like a river ever-changing as it flows and a dreamer’s just a vessel that must follow where it goes.” – Garth Brooks
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DAY 73 Wednesday, Nov 9, 2016. Pirates Marina Cove to Tombigbee Oxbow Anchorage. 41.6 miles. One more night on the hook and I will be in Demopolis. I got an early start today, leaving at 7 am, getting through the Thomas Bevill Lock and Dam (Mile Marker 306.8), and on the river by 7:30 am. Two more locks to go through before getting to tonight’s anchorage.
Modified my locking line technique. With just a single wrap around the deck cleat, I can quickly undo it should I need to release it. This setup centers the ship in the middle and remains balanced all the way down in the lock.
The downriver gates at the top of the lock.
Why should the other boats have all the notoriety?
Behind me, the lock is ready to take on any upbound boats or barges.
I enjoy traveling the rivers in the early mornings. The tranquility is quite soothing to the nerves. The air is brisk and the sun is not high enough to be burdensome. The midmorning winds are still asleep. The river is calm, not a ripple to be seen. The Sea Marie glides through this water creating small wakes at the bow that floats gently to slap on the shore. An eagle flies low in front of my bow. With its signature white head and white tail feathers, it tells me it's an adult. It spots a tree across the river and slows to land on a branch looking back at me to say you may pass.
The silence is broken by the steady sound of the exhaust created by the internal combustion of the outboard motor. The spray from the cooling outlet splashes next to the outboard and if you listen carefully it sounds like the water fountain I have back home on the backyard pond.
A little over a quarter throttle is all that's needed to propel us at 6.2 mph. At that speed, we could get to our destination in 7 hours or less with enough daylight to secure an anchorage. We move on.
The shoreline is periodically pockmarked with industrial barges taking on cargo.
The Tombigbee is a winding river. Some sections have been dredged to straighten her out and oxbows have been created. Creating islands along her sides. But not all of the river. She still rolls to the east then rolls across to the west creating bends one hopes not to see a working barge heading your way. I usually check with the lockmasters to tell if there are any barges upbound ahead of me. But none today. I have the river to myself. I find I can save time and gas by navigating close to the inside bends then slowly sliding across to the other bank and cutting inside the next bend. I’m always on the lookout for small fishing boats but very few are out today.
By late morning I spot a white speck on the water behind me then another behind the first. Cruisers coming downriver. Most likely other loopers traveling to the coast. I lose sight of them when going around the bend but each time they appear they are closer to me. Within an hour a third cruiser joins them and they are just behind me. A voice breaks through the VHF marine radio. Hailing me to say they are going to slow down and pass me on my port. I acknowledge their call with “Roger”. As they pass I get a photo of them on my cell phone. At some point downriver there is a good possibility we can exchange boat cards and send our photos via text. It's always nice to see what you look like from other travelers.
The Howell Heflin Lock and Dam. (Mile 266) is the second as I join motor vessel Over Ice on the ride down.
I wonder if anybody will notice?
There is a bolt sticking out on the 2 x 4 holding up my inflatable dinghy. As long as there is sufficient tension on that end it will hold.
At the bottom with the lower gate opening.
One more lock before the anchorage. The Howell Heflin Lock and Dam. (Mile Marker 266). The two cruisers passed me a while back. One of them radios back to ask if I was going through the lock. “Roger on that”, I replied. They said they would ask the lockmaster to hold open the gate if it was open. I round the last bend and see the lock ahead but it is a good 2 miles. The radio crackles with the lockmaster trying to reach me. I respond. He'll keep the gate open for me. I speed up the outboard to full throttle. 6 mph, 6.2, 6.4, I feel Sea Marie responding to the thrust. 6.6, 6.8, 7.0 mph and she holds steady. In less than 10 minutes I enter the upriver gate. Looking for floating bollards. The lockmaster radioed use any but not on the port side. The boat already in the lock has radioed he is secured on the floater on the starboard side. There's one behind the cruiser Over Ice. I have one chance to lasso this bollard or suffer devastating humiliation if I hit his stern should I miss it. I slow Sea Marie down to idle, then neutral. I'm coming in too hot. A stiff breeze at my back picked up and added to my forward speed. Need to slow down to 0.5 mph or less. The GPS is showing 2mph. The stern of the cruiser is in full sight and right in front of me. Can't throw out the anchor it's 49 ft deep here. One thing left to do. Throw the motor in reverse. I shift in reverse gear then throttle up. The outboard roars into action. Like hitting the emergency brake the Sea Marie comes to a full stop right next to my target bollard, Captain Ron, eat your heart out. Catch the bollard on the first toss, and ease the boat next to the wall with fenders in place, I radioed the lockmaster, "The Sea Marie is secured".
The gates slowly close behind us, the lock siren sounds, and you can feel the boat drop little by little as the bollard starts to sing its descending song of groans and squeals. While holding the line in one hand I take a few pics on the phone camera with the other. The most beautiful sight in the lock is watching these giant downriver gates start to separate. There's a small ribbon of light down the center of the gate that glows stronger as the gates open to let in the sunshine. Then like an unveiling of a masterpiece work of art, the gates reveal the full splendor of the river before your very eyes. Our vessels remain in position until the sound of the lock horn.
The all-clear signal sounded. Now the lines can come off the floaters and engines engage to exit out of the chamber to the wonders that lie ahead. We each in turn radio the lockmaster. We have exited the lock and all of the boaters give verbal praises for a job well done. And far we did not need to go. Just past the lock, we take turns going to starboard into this side cut as we have reached the anchorage for the night.
A voice booms over the radio, captain of the vessel Irish Lady Two. They arrived earlier and secured an anchorage. He warned us the anchors are not taking hold of the bottom. They were dragging their anchor after several attempts until they got lucky at their present position, near the opening to this channel. The other cruiser moves cautiously up the channel. It's wide enough for several boats and goes up this waterway about half a mile. There's a small concrete boat launch ramp on my starboard. It's mentioned in Skipper Bob's guidebook. The other cruiser tries his luck a little further upstream and finds his anchor holds.
One of the features of my Lowrance fish finder is it can tell you if there's rock or softer mud. I watch the monitor closely. A soft layer of mud on top of flat rock.
The guidebook said there should be a small current. I pull up close to shore and see the mud layer gets thicker, good holding. Slowing to stop I drop the bow's claw anchor and let out 50 ft of rode in 9ft and reverse in idle. Anchor is not catching. Luckily, I don't see any trees or logs on my monitor. I didn't have time to set up my trip line on the anchor. This will be a big mistake. This spot's not good. I raise the anchor and move in the channel further past everyone. This channel is deep, 20- 28ft deep. I find a 10 ft depth and drop again, reverse gear, and the anchor is slipping again. Repeat a little further up and closer to shore. Got it to grab but I am not confident it'll hold. I get out my backup Danforth anchor from inside the anchor locker on the bow. I toss it into the deeper part of the channel, no grab. The cruiser Over Ice sees me having difficulty. Comes over in his dinghy named Ice Cube. Offers to help. I accept and give him the Danforth to motor out deep. Taking almost 100 feet of my anchor rode he drops it in the water. I bring in the slack and now I get a good grab. I thank him as he heads back to his mother ship. Good, now the stern 4 lbs claw lunch anchor gets tossed and after several tries it takes hold. The forecast is for light winds no storms, and slight current I feel comfortable with all three anchors out. The last thing I want is for the anchors to slip and smash into the other cruisers in the middle of the night. Three anchors will give me peace of mind tonight.
Settling in for the evening after the vessel Over Ice behind me helped me out with adding another bow anchor. Irish Lady Too is way in the background.
Hard to believe the anchors would not grab in this channel. Eventually, it did.
Set the anchor alarm app and I am anticipating a get a good night's sleep. Dinner tonight is spaghetti on the alcohol stove, mixed fruit, Italian bread from Walmart that smells like pizza, and a hot cup of coffee. Mickey gets a can of cat food. All are happy campers for the night. Till tomorrow, fair winds and gentle seas.
Comments from 2016:
Sandy Courey, I love following your adventures. God keep you safe!
Henry Krzemien RN And I love that you love to follow my adventures, Sandy!