Demopolis to Mobile Bay

Tenn-Tom Waterway

Demopolis – Mobile

Before leaving Demopolis I spent the day shopping for supplies and Gary worked on the boat. Last time he changed the oil from mineral based to synthetic after 100 hours. This time he waited 258 hours to do an oil change. The filters, oil and most everything we use seem to be a lot cheaper in the States than in Canada.

The dam at the bottom of Dempopolis Lock.

 We have been travelling down the Black Warrior part of the Tenn -Tom for the past few days. The scenery is pretty much the same around every bend.

When there is a change in the scenery, I just have to snap a picture or two!

Want to buy a little fixer-uper with a view of the river?



We saw plenty of deer on our travels down the rivers, I like this photo
it looks like a painting

What's ahead? More of the same....

Kemps Landing
Time and Tide's bow seen from above

Our first night on the Black Warrior we headed to Kemps Landing, an old barge loading area. We had trouble getting the anchor to grab hold, so we just tied off to some of the rusted supports that the barges used to tie off to.

That evening we heard many weird noises coming from the bushes around us, again probably coyotes and owls.

The following evening we anchored in Bashi Creek. We dropped the bow anchor and tied the stern to shore. We took the dingy ashore and went for a little walk and we spotted two deer.  Apparently there are tons of wild boars around as well but we didn’t see any. ( I got bitten by ants again)

Narrow entrance into Bashi Creek

Notice the bullet holes?

Gary was thrilled when we happen to see a T38 Talon dog-fight taking place in the sky above us. They were from the airbase in Columbus MS. BTW, the T38 is similar to the CF5 -now retired from the Canadian military.  Remember the movie Top Gun? In it there is a scene where Tom Cruise flips a Russian pilot the bird; well that Russian was flying a T38. (Airplane trivia complements of Gary)

Bashi Creek

Anchored in Bashi

In the middle of the night we got hit by a tremendous thunder and lightning storm. Soon afterwards the rain came pouring down. We had taken all precautions and the boat stayed nice and dry.

The next morning we woke up to a bright sunny day and about a ton of leaves on the deck. We used the wash-down and rinsed everything down before setting off to the next anchorage which was only about a 22mile run.

On the way we spotted our first alligator. Mile 131 Tenn-Tom.

After anchoring in Choctaw creek we took a little ride in the dingy and came across some fishermen who warned us about the alligators that like to hide in the sloughs. We looked very hard but found none to photograph L They also told us there is a two headed alligator that lives at the mouth of the creek…..perhaps they were just making fun of the two wide-eyed Canadians, who knows?

Spanish Moss is neither a true moss or a parasite, it is a member of
the pineapple family that absorbs water from the air.

Gator country

A snapping turtle - looks a little pissed off....

we put him on a log to warm in the sun.
We named him Snappy

Flying Free and Time&Tide anchored in Choctaw Creek

Friday morning we got off to an early start thanks to some fishermen who waked us awake at 0530! Unfortunately the morning fog was so dense we weren’t able to travel more than 5.3 mph, using the chart plotter and radar to navigate the river.

Heavy fog made for slow going

Just above Coffee Lock and the vegetation is
starting to look more tropical

Yah!! Last lock for a while

By the time we cleared Coffeeville lock the fog was all burnt away by the morning sun. It was a moment to cheer! After doing 70 odd locks since leaving Trenton, this was the last one, at least for a while.

We have had some narrow escapes; especially the time we spent locking through with the big tow that kept slamming us into the lock wall. (I think that was on the Illinois somewhere)….but mostly locking is just boring and time consuming. But as they say, it is better to lock through the Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee and Tenn-Tom than to fight your way down the mighty Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

I swear I could also smell salt in the air……



A family of turtles catching some rays

Just to show you there are nice houses too

Lover's Leap



3 Rivers anchorage

Something else to consider now as we travel are the tides. We experienced our first tide-added cruise today. The river’s flow and the outgoing tide gave us a nice push and we were averaging 8-9mph.

After a long day (due to my miss calculation of miles!) we anchored in 3 Rivers Lake.

October 20, 2012

RED LETTER DAY!!
After discussing it with SV Flying Free, who has been travelling with us since Green Turtle Bay, we decided to join them and head straight to Mobile Bay and a marina for a few days.

Jessie wanted to join us on the flybridge for a while

Are those palms???

Welcome to the swamp.

The guide book says this bridge is nick-named The Dolly Parton bridge
by the locals. I don't understand why......

For the past two days we have been on alligator watch. Every stick in the river resembled an alligator. Eventually I told Gary that there are probably no alligators around anymore and I wasn’t going to look for them anymore. About 3 minutes later Gary spotted two alligators lying on the muddy banks of the river.  Soon we were seeing them left right and centre. Scary looking things. I don’t like alligators.

Scariest!!

Big Bayou Canot - the site of an Amtrak wreck in 1994, 84 died when
the train plunged off the trestle and into the bayou

We were very excited when we spotted the skyline of Mobile. Little did we know.

Cochran Bridge - Mobile

After picking our way through the busy harbour, with boats as big a skyscrapers all around us, we turned the corner and headed into the Bay.

One of the tows that dredge the harbour



Military boats made out of aluminum.
 The tri hull is  #3of 4 that are going to be built.
Very fast boats , that have pods that hook up to them to transport troops and stuff.
(as per Gary)

Now, I must add, at this point the river guide book stops here. So we just took it for granted that our marina would be right THERE! We didn’t have charts ready nor was I mentally prepared for what I saw in front of me.

We think this boat is a research ship but it has a banner on it and
we suspect it might become an artificial reef in the future.

It was BIG and it was SALTY and I freaked just a little when I realised we had another 10 miles to go before we would be safe in a marina. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the Gulf of Mexico it was only Mobile Bay. And it wasn’t rough or wavy, it was just UNEXPECTED.

I was a little nervous .

THEN>>>>

We were welcomed by 3 large black dolphins jumping in our bow wake.  Gary spotted them first and all I could do was scream….I did. I screamed like a little kid. It was fantastic. They were all around us. The welcoming committee soon included a bunch pelicans gliding past us, so close you could see the feathers on their bodies.

Welcome!

We saw over 15 dolphins, but for now you have to take my word for it, because in all my excitement I manage to take pictures of the sky, water, boat canvass, my feet but no dolphins. Sorry.

Welcome to Dog River

We arrived at Turner Marina and we met by local boaters who helped us tie off to the tidal pole (Mediterranean) docks. This is a new way of docking for us. To assure that the boat rises and falls with the tides you cannot secure the lines to cleats on a dock, instead you have to use 6 poles and tie your lines back to the cleats on the boat. It’s complicated (for me)

Thank goodness for the guys at the dock who patiently helped us with our lines. 

As we were struggling with the lines I felt a sharp sting on my leg, soon followed by another…I looked but couldn’t see anything.  With a smile, one of the local boaters informed me that I am being bitten by No-see-ums. You cannot see them, they are the size of a pepper grain but they bite!!!!!

I have had problems with my feet since I was bitten by ants weeks ago. The first bites healed without any problems but then I got bitten again and since then my feet have been inflamed. I think I might have some allergic reaction to the ant bites. Now, the no- see-ums were biting me and my whole body reacted and everything flared up AGAIN.

Our friends on SV Flying Free had some engine problems as the got into the Bay and were towed into the marina by Towboat US.

After a long day exciting day I was exhausted. We went to bed and as I was drifting off I heard a horrible noise and the boat rocked as if someone had just stepped aboard. Gary and I jumped up to check what was going on….it was a big old see gull, screeching one more time just as he flew off again.

Welcome to the Gulf Coast.

to be continued........................................