Is that salt water?????

Friday...big day...end of the waterway and into Mobile Bay!! Salt water, beach birds, sand between your toes; everything but the dolphin escort we got last time (it was a little warmer then). We passed the huge shipping docks, cruise ship ports, and putted right into the bay like we'd been there all along. We're now at Eastern Shore Marina in Fairhope, Alabama, a town we learned to love on our first trip. We arrived at the marina mid-afternoon, and within 30 minutes had been invited by two sailors at the marina to join them for a beach bonfire at sunset. We thoroughly enjoyed the Mobile skyline in the background, the fire on the beach, the gorgeous black lab Maggie, the good new best friends Larry and Tom, and the roasted hot dogs and Tom's "sand grill" ribs. Does this beat working or WHAT??

Back to the business of heading south

Thursday was a wonderful day to peek out of Three Rivers and see what awaited us. There was a very strong current, and the water had risen some, but traveling was fine (as long as you follow the channel markers!?!) and the scenery was wonderful. The waterway widened enough to look more like a lake than a canal, and everything had been thoroughly scrubbed and blown dry by the past few days' weather. We found another very nice anchorage 12 miles north of the end of the waterway, and shared it with two other sailboats we had traveled with sporadically along the way. The shoreline looks like Tennessee (nice green trees) with a smattering of South Carolina or Georgia (lots of Spanish moss) and Florida (small palms), and I keep looking for a pet alligator.

If Ida known this would happen........

All day Sunday, marine radios are crackling with news of Ida's sweep to the northeast, with landfall predicted right smack in Mobile Bay, sending shock waves all up the Tenn-Tom. There were no marinas close enough (and protected enough) to reach in time, so we headed for Three Rivers anchorage, a beautiful place to hide with Omega. There were 6 boats anchored for several days (from Sunday to Thursday), and thankfully no damage and no injuries. Ida settled down, although the winds and rain were heavy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and winds and currents were still strong Thursday. The waterway was flooded above Demopoulis lock, and lots of boaters were (and still are) stranded there. Lots of current, flotsam, wind, and rain, but much less severe than predicted and we were never in danger.

Tootling down the Tenn-Tom

Locking through and moving south, visited Columbus Marina (very nice), Pirates Marina Cove (lots of rescued puppies to enjoy!), and Demopoulis harbor (lots of tugs refueling). On the way there were beautiful rock bluffs, some very nice (and some not so nice) homes, and in one yard a phone booth! Just south of Demopoulis harbor, in the Demopoulis lock, we tied up behind our friends on Omega, whom we hadn't seen since Lee Spry Marina (home of the famous bottom job). We rafted together for an anchorage that night and enjoyed getting reacquainted over dinner. Saturday morning was exciting, because during the night we had drifted closer to shore and Omega was aground. Bill called at 6 a.m. to let us know, so we scrambled up, untied and retied, and pulled him out further. It was too foggy to leave yet, so we just dropped another hook and joined them for breakfast (in pajamas). When the fog cleared we enjoyed another sunny day on the way to Bobby's Fish Camp. We enjoyed a catfish dinner there to the point of gluttony, then hit the sack. Sunday morning started very early too, however, since we heard on the radio that Coffeeville Lock (the last of the famous Tenn-Tom 12 and the total of 18 since we left) would be closed for minor repairs in the morning. They waited for us to make the short trip, and we made it through just in time....to start preparing for Ida's imminent arrival....

Leaning toward better days...

Sunday was quite an adventure. We planned to stop at Aberdeen Marina, since it would be dark early and we don't exactly speed along. The cruise guide showed 6-8' channels into the marina, but cruisers were reporting 4.5'. With a draft of exactly 6', we opted for an anchorage across the waterway which the cruise guide reported as having 10-12' draft in the entrance. Aberdeen Lock was temporarily closed for minor electrical repairs, so we had very little choice. Unfortunately, shoals, wind and current conspired to lodge us firmly in the mud, with less than 6' underneath our NEWLY PAINTED BOTTOM!! The lockmaster at Aberdeen saw our predicament and called the US Coast Guard Auxiliary to help us. Two kind gentlemen arrived within the hour, and after much spinning and pulling, we floated again. Thankfully, by then the lock was operable and we managed to find a wonderful anchorage with 20' of water and a full moon and get the hook down just before dark.

Now, about those pina coladas and sunsets........

The Tenn-Tom in all its glory

Three of the twelve locks are under our belts (keel), and we're sharing the waterway with lots of Great Loopers returning to their home ports after completing the circle (around Florida, up the east coast, west through Canada and the Great Lakes, south down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, to the Tennessee River and the Tenn-Tom to Mobile and on back to Florida). There was a rally at Joe Wheeler Dam and Marina last weekend, so there's a lot of traffic from trawlers and cruisers.

We also share (or they share with us) the waterway with tugboats, pushboats and barges (this is the Diane Siegel), since this is a major commercial waterway. The operators of both the commercial boats and the locks are very courteous and helpful, and we sincerely hope all pleasure boaters will be the same.

For those who think the waterway is a long and boring ditch, this is our third trip on it in three different seasons, and it's still gorgeous!

Wet again and on the way!

The red grit is almost out of our ears, teeth, eyelashes, etc., and we've been splashed and are on our way again. Lee Spry is a wonderful working marina, with a great staff and owners. This was our second visit there, and we highly recommend it. We met some new best friends, Bill and Charlotte on Omega, who were also sanding, patching, and polishing their teeth with blue instead of red (he looks like Darth Vader and Papa Smurf). After sharing the courtesy truck for a final trip to Lowe's, we had a goodbye dinner on Omega.