Sunrise on the Tenn-Tom
Sunrise? or Sunset??
A different kind of Sunrise.
"Magoo–Is That You???" — "I Don't Know, Magoo Can't See." — "Hey, This Wasn't In the 'How To' Books"
October 31. We got up bright and early this morning to leave Demolopis Marina at daybreak. But, it was foggy (again). With that in mind, we called the Demopolis lockmaster and he said to come ahead. We were very wary, there were areas where we could not see at all and depended on the radar to let us know if there was something in front of us. We made it the three miles to the Demopolis Lock and were through by 8am. When we started out of the lock the fog was clearing, and we are on our way. This will be another good travel day and according to some loopers who left the rendezvous on the 27th, we are indeed ahead of the Looping Crowd who, like us, is making their way to the Gulf of Mexico. Go Magoo, goooooooo!! Good Magoo. –
"Wet" Deer Crossing
Got to Shore. All is wet, I mean well. Whoo is this "Magoo"
When the fog cleared, we could hardly believe our eyes. Right in the middle of the waterway was a herd of deer swimming across the river. We stopped and watched the deer swim to shore and run up the embankment into the trees. Wow, we didn’t know we were at a “wet” deer crossing. Shortly after that we saw a bald eagle. I’ve seen them before, but not so close up. –
Old Rooster Bridge
We passed what was left of a bridge and learned that it was the old Rooster Bridge. There is a story that goes with it. In April of 1979 when the river was 24 feet above flood stage, the Tugboat Cahaba was making its way down river. The captain was unable to buck the current and backed away from the bridge, and that’s when the tug disappeared into the muddy water and you could hear the banging and scraping of the tug under the bridge. Miraculously, the tug popped up on the other side of the bridge. It was battered (as was the bridge) and had water pouring out of its pilothouse. But one of its two engines was still running. None of the crew on board was seriously injured. That tug is alive and well and still working, but it is renamed “Capt. Ed Harris”. It is located in Charleston, West Virginia for the Madison Coal and Supply Company. – Now that’s not a legend, it’s a true story. This story is also on the web with more details including direct quotes from the captain of the Cahaba tow. http://www.dancetc.com/towboat.html
As we cruised along, the waterway is getting very curvy with lots of hairpin turns. –
Magoo – Bashi Creek Anchorage
At 4pm we anchored at Bashi Creek. It was very narrow and didn’t know how it would work out. This is the first time that we had to have both a bow and stern anchor. Other than having knots in our stern line, it worked out okay. We would not have been able to do this anchorage without a bow thruster because it’s impossible with the creek being so narrow you couldn’t turn around otherwise. All is good. There were some fishermen in the creek, real friendly and didn’t mind us disturbing their fishing outing. 
Caves along the Tenn-Tom
"Lovers Leap"
November 1. Up anchor at 6:30am and on our way. A little muddy, but all in all not too bad. At 11:30am we cleared the Coffeeville Lock, our last lock of the Tenn-Tom, yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh!! We’ll have one more lock in Florida, then that will be the very end of locks on our Great Loop trip. Our destination for today is Three Rivers Lake anchorage, a ten hour day to go 81 miles. This is one of the few anchorages off the river. This anchorage was not as large as it was suppose to be, but it was big enough for us. A short ways in, we were losing depth. Because we no longer have a bow thruster (broke in the last anchorage), we rafted up with “Tony M”. That’s why you don’t want to be on this river system by yourself; when something goes wrong, you don’t want to be “home alone”. – All in all, a good anchorage. I’m going to have to make some guacamole tonight to share with “Tony M” in payment for letting us raft up with them :-).
November 2. We took our time getting back on the river this morning; this type of traveling is tiring. It has started raining and looks like that’s how it will be for the next few days. This area is incredible for the amount of blue heron and egrets; they are absolutely everywhere you look.
Hey, it's "Crazy Legs"
They are some of my favorite birds to watch. – Talk about wildlife, the Mobile River Delta is 25 miles wide and 40 miles long. It is a beautiful scenic blend of cypress trees, Spanish moss, marsh grass and shore birds on both sides, a pretty sight. It ranks second in the Nation for plant and animal diversity, (ranking first is California’s Sacramento River delta). And this is where Alabama’s only population of black bears lives. How ’bout that.
We are planning to travel 52 miles today and anchoring at the Tensaw River Cut-Off. The locals know it as a great hurricane hole, which works out good for us since we are in the middle of stormy weather.
Tensaw River Cutoff – anchorage
Tensaw River Cutoff – anchorage
As we approach our anchorage, the landscape is changing to more tropical looking plants and moss. Dropped anchor at 4pm. This anchorage has plenty of room and well off the river; a good place to weather the storm for the night.
Spanish Moss (Trivia: Spanish Moss is neither a moss nor a parasite. It is a member of the Pineapple Family.)
Six Little Duckies sitting on a log………………..
Jonathan Livingston "Egret"
Just Hanging Out!
Shake it Up Baby!
Mobile, Alabama
November 3-6. Up anchor and started our trip heading to Mobile, Alabama. We’ve been in isolation on the rivers for the past few days, and as we approached Mobile the change from quiet rivers to city was dramatic. First we see bridges, then some tall buildings. Before we knew it, the waterway was bustling with freighters, river tows/tug , coast guard vessels, you name it. Lots of hussle and everyone going in different directions. We had a real surprise when we were in the middle of Mobile Bay. The skies broke loose: rain/lightning/wind/waves. At times, we could not see our cruising partners’ boat in front of us; we couldn’t see any buoys either. When we checked the weather two hours earlier, there was no warning of bad weather. As Gomer Pyle would say, “surprise, surprise, surprise.” We muddled through it and got to Dog River Marina at 11:45am. It felt very, very good to tie up today. Our bow thruster doesn’t thrust so well anymore. Here at Dog River Marina they have a wonderful staff to take care of such things; but we need to wait to get the boat hauled out of the water to work on it. We’ll be here for a few days. Hopefully, “Tony M” our partners in navigating the “entire” river system (i.e. I dub thee “The River Rats”) will hang in with us. It would be good to stay together and see each other through the Gulf of Mexico; another challenging leg of the loop. –
Lots of Cranes, Mobile, Alabama
I understand that Jimmy Buffett spent most of his childhood here in Mobile, Alabama — (what? he’s not from Margaritaville or some such?). I have to admit, we do have a few of his CD’s. What we surprisingly learned about Jimmy Buffett is that in 1981 he founded the “Save the Manatee Club”. This is the world’s most aggressive organization in exactly that; preserving the manatees.
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