The sun was just breaking through the early morning mist as
we left Columbus marina. A 50’ Hatteras pulled out in front of us, along with
four other fairly big boats so we were the little one bringing up the rear. The
John C. Stennis lock and dam was right around the corner and was open and
waiting for us. After the Tenn-Tom waterway was completed, many of the locks were renamed for various politicians who had worked for the funding and approval to have it built, Senator Stennis was a well-known advocate of bringing this waterway about, especially for the commercial traffic.
This marks our 8th lock out of the 12 on the waterway but the others are a lot farther apart. Around this area of the waterway we found lots of water hyacinth. It is a very invasive plant native to the Amazon that was introduced into the US at the New Orleans Worlds Fair by the Japanese who gave them out as gifts. Within a few years the plants were choking the Louisiana waterways, upsetting the natural habitat and killing the fish.
This marks our 8th lock out of the 12 on the waterway but the others are a lot farther apart. Around this area of the waterway we found lots of water hyacinth. It is a very invasive plant native to the Amazon that was introduced into the US at the New Orleans Worlds Fair by the Japanese who gave them out as gifts. Within a few years the plants were choking the Louisiana waterways, upsetting the natural habitat and killing the fish.
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| Navigating a sea of water hyacinth |
All of the locks have bollards which we tie up to with one line. John made me a helpful addition to my line by adding a piece of flexible plastic tubing which makes it easier to reach out and slip the line over the bollard. We are always amazed when we see someone going through a lock solo because it is sometimes difficult to position the boat close enough and then dash to the side to secure a line. Once the boat is tied it is usually a breeze to drop the 30 or so feet we saw in most locks.
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| Staring at the floating bollard helps it go down faster |
At one spot along the way we saw what looked like a rookery of buzzards or vultures perched on the tower to hold high tension line.
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| Vultures - was it their home or were they migrating? |
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| We rafted up bow to stern with Raydiance - it worked very well |
We stayed in a nice calm anchorage that night and we were introduced to a technique of anchoring with Tom and Linda on Raydiance, that we hadn't used before. Raydiance put out their anchor and then we came alongside in the opposite direction past them and dropped ours. When we pulled back we were able to raft up with them and we didn't swing a bit because of the two anchors...and no wind...and no current. It was a very quiet night.
Captain’s
Log October 26, 2014
Departed: Columbus Marina, MS 7:05 a.m.
Engine hours: 7.7 hrs.
Actual hours: 8 hr. 35 min.
Miles covered: 57.74
Arrived: MM 277 Cook's Cutoff Anchorage 3:50 p.m.
Departed cool, calm – no delay in 1st lock (Stennis) 2nd lock (Tom Bevill) there was a 20 min delay due to gate malfunction.
Wx: departed cool, calm winds and temp warmed up to 80s, skies clear, nice
Monday,
October 27, 2014Engine hours: 7.7 hrs.
Actual hours: 8 hr. 35 min.
Miles covered: 57.74
Arrived: MM 277 Cook's Cutoff Anchorage 3:50 p.m.
Departed cool, calm – no delay in 1st lock (Stennis) 2nd lock (Tom Bevill) there was a 20 min delay due to gate malfunction.
Wx: departed cool, calm winds and temp warmed up to 80s, skies clear, nice
After an early night - it was dark and we were tired - we woke up before daylight at our anchorage. John called the next lock and they were going to hold it open for us even though we were more than an hour away. The sun was just rising as we pulled anchor and it was difficult to see as it was shining in our eyes and the fog grew denser.
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| Sunrise and foggy conditions - about to get worse |
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| At times we could barely see Our Last Boat IX and Bodacious behind us |
On today's journey we passed the white cliffs of Epes. They were very dramatic as we came around a bend, especially with some of the foliage in bright fall colors. They are chalk formations and they create a big bend in the Tombigbee River.
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| M/V Bodacious cruising along the white cliffs |
Captain’s Log: October 27, 2014
Engine hours: 7.9 hr. – 61.43 statute miles
Actual hours: 8 hr. 15 min.
Arrived: Demopolis Yacht Basin, AL 3:30 p.m.
Passed through Heflin lock, no delay –
Wx: Departed early, slight fog – clear, calm sunny & warm wind picked up from west 5-10 mph
Kathy, Guess you are a real pro at locking as you are looking pretty casual tending that lock bollard! Interesting chalk cliffs and other great photos.
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