Kris and I begin our trip northward without another crewmember. It is just her and I now crewing our boat. 
We knew the trip going up river was going to be a challenge for many reasons. One of the main reasons was the lack of convenient facilities for the first 200 miles. There is only ONE marina and that is Bobby’s Fish Camp which is over a hundred miles north of Mobile Bay. The other reason was the extremely strong current going against us due to the recent heavy rains. The rivers that empty out into Mobile Bay come from all over the Southeast and lately, they have had their share of rain. The river we were to be navigating was the Tombigbee/Lower Black Warrior River which collects water from many states before emptying out into Mobile Bay. When your boat travels at 7.7 knots full speed and you have a 3 to 4 knot current against you…. Well let’s just say it adds time to the trip!
We started our trip driving from the upper helm, but as we entered the Mobile Channel, it began a heavy rain. So…., down below we go and began driving from the lower helm. When we first began shopping for a boat, we were unsure of the advantages of having a lower helm to drive from. Many so called “experts” would tell us it wasn’t needed, their thoughts were if the weather was bad enough to drive from there, then maybe you should be staying in port. What they failed to think about or share was what happens if you “get caught” out in the rain. Of course they were selling boats without a lower station.
Fortunately the weather begins to clear up and we return to the upper helm. The water is almost glass like smooth as we begin our trip into the extra busy Mobile Harbor.
As I am heading north in this “highway on the sea”, I begin to see a low object on the horizon. At first it seemed to be stationary and possibly could be on shore. Soon it became obvious it was on the water and beginning to get larger as it got nearer. I still couldn’t make out the shape, but all I could determine it was “gray”.
The closer it got, the easier it became to identify as a navy vessel, but what kind of vessel? Not knowing how fast, how much room does it need and what kind of wake will it put out, I do what is obvious to me. I call him on the radio….. Now in the past, big Coast Guard ships have
answered me when I called them, but this weird looking navy guy won’t respond at all.
As we get closer, I see the navy ship is being escorted by several smaller boats and one Coast Guard boat. We soon realize this is a very different ship and obviously has a special mission in the Navy. I begin to question whether or not we should be here? Did I miss some special Notice to Seamen that restricted movement in the area?
One of the small boats escorting this Navy vessel rushes ahead and pulls along side of us as I slow down to see what he wants. He tells us it is okay to continue but he makes sure he is between us and the Navy vessel as it passes.
On the Navy vessel we expected to see personnel attired in the usual Navy garb, however there were nothing but people dressed in civilian clothes. It was my guess this boat had either been built or worked on in the Mobile Shipyard and this was some type of “sea trial”.
As you can see, the shape is strange and it looks as if it was straight out of the movies.
We continued on up the river and as we entered the central harbor, a large Coast Guard boat falls in behind me. He is on his way to replace a couple of dislodged buoys and tells me to keep on “trucking”.
As you would expect, the harbor was teaming with activity. We made every attempt to stay out
of other ships way and once I got north of the zone of confusion, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
That relief was short lived as we truly entered the river. My speed, which had been a pretty consistent 7.7 knots was now is the lower 6 knot range. The river was now a true obstacle course with logs and other junk in the river. The last thing I wanted was to run over a submerged tree and damage my propeller or worse yet, bend the shaft to the propeller.
Our goal today was make it to Mile Marker 52.8 and anchor out in the “Alabama Cut”. This was a small anchorage that had good wind protection on all sides except from the Northwest. As we entered the anchorage, I soon realized this was going to be a challenge. The “Cut” was narrower and the current stronger than I had expected. I went in far enough to escape the turbulence of passing traffic on the river but not too far to jeopardize my ability to return if the river level changes during the night. We dropped our bow anchor and I let the current push be back to a spot I felt comfortable dropping the stern anchor. Once the stern was out, then I began to “take in the rode” on the bow anchor so as to set the stern anchor securely in the channel. Because the anchorage was very narrow, I had both anchors set on the front and the back to prevent us from swinging into the bank should the wind change.
As forecast, the weather was to turn nasty that night with some severe thunderstorms and damaging winds from the Northwest. Great…. The only area not truly protected was my stern which was facing the Northwest.
Because we are a great distance from any type of civilization, I had limited connectivity on my cell phone. I could intermittently send and receive text messages, but voice communication was non-existent.
Chip was at home and we continued to keep in touch discussing the severe weather bounding toward our position. He kept me informed of the tornado watches and the moving line of thunderstorms. That night we were treated to a spectacular lightning show and the winds were strong however for only a brief time during the storms.
Before retiring for the night, I set the “anchor alarm” and track on my Chartplotter. These are neat little tools that will track your movement and alert you if you have exceeded a specified distance. Everything worked as advertised and we had a safe night.
You have heard people say “what a difference a day can may”. Well, it certainly was the case today regarding the weather. Yesterday, Kris and
I were wearing shorts and flip-flops; today there weren’t enough clothes on the boat to keep us warm! The wind was a steady 15 to 20 miles per hour from the Northwest and the temperature was in the lower 50’s. Brrrrrrr.
Because of the trash in the river, it was necessary to drive from the upper helm. Down below you couldn’t really see the stuff hiding just below the waterline. I am once again reminded what a mistake it was I didn’t get an upper bridge with some type of enclosure to protect us from the elements. But this can be remedied when we get to Pickwick.
The river current was starting to get stronger as we got farther north. I am now questioning how far I can travel in a day. Will I make the anchorages I had hoped too? Because of the very limited availability of anchorages and marinas from Mobile to Demopolis, I needed to pay careful attention to this.
The next night we stayed at an anchorage called “Old Lock # 1. This was neat little place that offered a lot more room than the previous night. The entrance was a little narrow but it opened up to a very comfortable spot with lots of swing room. As we entered we noticed we would not be without company for the night. There were already 3 other boats on the hook, so we took our spot behind them and set up for the night.
The next morning we would once again be battling the strong current and trash, but at least the sun was out but certainly not very warm. Also, this was going to be the first day Kris and I will lock thru a “big lock”. The locks on the Okeechobee Waterway are basically for smaller craft, but these locks on the Tombigbee are the “Real McCoy”. They are 110 feet wide and 600 feet long which can accommodate most commercial tow boats going up and down the river.
We arrive at the Coffeeville Lock and Dam where we are locked thru almost immediately. Because the water was so high our “lift” was only about 10 feet versus the normal lift of 34 feet. After locking thru, we now begin to look for our next night’s lodging which was Bashi Creek at Mile Marker 145.
I had been forewarned to lower my antennas as I entered the creek because it was so narrow and they were correct….. It was narrow! There was barely enough room to turn around a 44 foot boat, but we made it work. We once again set out a bow and stern anchor and when we were confident we were secure it was time for an adult beverage!! The peacefulness and quiet was amazing. We grilled out on the aft deck that night and went to bed early because we knew tomorrow we had a very early wake up.
Our plan was to leave Bashi Creek with just enough daylight to see obstacles in the water. We needed to get to Demopolis, Alabama which was about 60 river miles. Normally this would not be a problem since we usually cruise around 7 knots, but because of the strong current and a lock to go thru, we knew this was going to be a challenge to accomplish.
When we entered the river once again, it became apparent we weren’t going to make Demopolis that day. The current was the strongest we had encountered to date. There were times I was making 3.8 knots over the ground…… ugghhh, which meant I was going into a current almost 4 knots! How long will this last? Where was I going to spend tonight? Was I going to travel at night to our destination?
As with anything, I have always planned an “option B” and sometimes a “C” and so forth. We did have our “bailout” point and that was going to be Chickasaw Bogue located at Mile Marker 188. We were trying to get to Mile Marker 216 and the decision was made if I can’t be by MM 188 by 1pm, then we would spend the night there and retry the next morning. The only problem was we didn’t know anything about the anchorage at Chickasaw Bogue and what if there was someone else already there?
As we approached Chickasaw Bogue, the river was swirling violently near the entrance and it was a narrow entrance. We decided it was best to give this anchorage a try rather than take the chance of traveling at night. This was a good decision because this anchorage was probably one of the nicest we had been in.
The next morning we were delayed for about an hour waiting for the fog to lift. I do have the equipment with my radar and Chartplotter to navigate in this type of weather, but I don’t have the confidence in doing so. It would be similar to a brand new instrument rated pilot with 200 hours of flying experience flying into Chicago O’Hare during peak rush hour with barely landing minimums broadcast on the ATIS. Someday we will do this… but not today.
The weather is finally starting to warm up and we are not nearly as uncomfortable on the bridge as in the past. We arrive at the Demopolis Marina where I put on a couple hundred gallons of diesel before moving to my slip for the night.
The Demopolis Marina was an Oasis in the Desert! There was a courtesy car available, laundry on site and a great restaurant attached to the marina. The people there were friendly, courtesy and certainly accommodating. My slip was supposed to have a 50 amp service but unfortunately it had only two 30 amp receptacles. This normally isn’t a problem if you have the right adapters which I did but unfortunately they didn’t work. I had some options available which was to move to another slip for power or I could run my genset all night (not very courteous) or I could plug into a neighbors power. The marina’s solution was they would install a 50 amp service. Now that is paying attention to customer service. Within an hour, the electrician was onsite and replaced one of the 30 amp plugs with a 50 amp and we were “online”.
As you may have noticed, I have referred a couple times to some type of resource for this segment on the river. I did purchase the book “Nitty Gritty of the Tombigbee”, but also I used a website called ActiveCaptain which provides updates from boaters who have actually been there. But the best resource is the fellow cruiser who goes up and down this river frequently. Since I am a member of the Defever Cruiser’s Forum, I put a simple request online for information pertaining to this voyage. What I got back was responses from several cruisers providing accurate and timely tips. This was an invaluable resource and I can’t say enough positive things about them, specifically Al and JoAnn Barr of “My Turn”. They have been there for every question and I appreciate their support.
Tomorrow we begin the second half of our trip on the river.
Till then….
Rusty and Kris
We knew the trip going up river was going to be a challenge for many reasons. One of the main reasons was the lack of convenient facilities for the first 200 miles. There is only ONE marina and that is Bobby’s Fish Camp which is over a hundred miles north of Mobile Bay. The other reason was the extremely strong current going against us due to the recent heavy rains. The rivers that empty out into Mobile Bay come from all over the Southeast and lately, they have had their share of rain. The river we were to be navigating was the Tombigbee/Lower Black Warrior River which collects water from many states before emptying out into Mobile Bay. When your boat travels at 7.7 knots full speed and you have a 3 to 4 knot current against you…. Well let’s just say it adds time to the trip!
We started our trip driving from the upper helm, but as we entered the Mobile Channel, it began a heavy rain. So…., down below we go and began driving from the lower helm. When we first began shopping for a boat, we were unsure of the advantages of having a lower helm to drive from. Many so called “experts” would tell us it wasn’t needed, their thoughts were if the weather was bad enough to drive from there, then maybe you should be staying in port. What they failed to think about or share was what happens if you “get caught” out in the rain. Of course they were selling boats without a lower station.
Fortunately the weather begins to clear up and we return to the upper helm. The water is almost glass like smooth as we begin our trip into the extra busy Mobile Harbor.
As I am heading north in this “highway on the sea”, I begin to see a low object on the horizon. At first it seemed to be stationary and possibly could be on shore. Soon it became obvious it was on the water and beginning to get larger as it got nearer. I still couldn’t make out the shape, but all I could determine it was “gray”.
The closer it got, the easier it became to identify as a navy vessel, but what kind of vessel? Not knowing how fast, how much room does it need and what kind of wake will it put out, I do what is obvious to me. I call him on the radio….. Now in the past, big Coast Guard ships have
answered me when I called them, but this weird looking navy guy won’t respond at all.As we get closer, I see the navy ship is being escorted by several smaller boats and one Coast Guard boat. We soon realize this is a very different ship and obviously has a special mission in the Navy. I begin to question whether or not we should be here? Did I miss some special Notice to Seamen that restricted movement in the area?
One of the small boats escorting this Navy vessel rushes ahead and pulls along side of us as I slow down to see what he wants. He tells us it is okay to continue but he makes sure he is between us and the Navy vessel as it passes.
On the Navy vessel we expected to see personnel attired in the usual Navy garb, however there were nothing but people dressed in civilian clothes. It was my guess this boat had either been built or worked on in the Mobile Shipyard and this was some type of “sea trial”.
As you can see, the shape is strange and it looks as if it was straight out of the movies.
We continued on up the river and as we entered the central harbor, a large Coast Guard boat falls in behind me. He is on his way to replace a couple of dislodged buoys and tells me to keep on “trucking”.
As you would expect, the harbor was teaming with activity. We made every attempt to stay out
of other ships way and once I got north of the zone of confusion, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.That relief was short lived as we truly entered the river. My speed, which had been a pretty consistent 7.7 knots was now is the lower 6 knot range. The river was now a true obstacle course with logs and other junk in the river. The last thing I wanted was to run over a submerged tree and damage my propeller or worse yet, bend the shaft to the propeller.
Our goal today was make it to Mile Marker 52.8 and anchor out in the “Alabama Cut”. This was a small anchorage that had good wind protection on all sides except from the Northwest. As we entered the anchorage, I soon realized this was going to be a challenge. The “Cut” was narrower and the current stronger than I had expected. I went in far enough to escape the turbulence of passing traffic on the river but not too far to jeopardize my ability to return if the river level changes during the night. We dropped our bow anchor and I let the current push be back to a spot I felt comfortable dropping the stern anchor. Once the stern was out, then I began to “take in the rode” on the bow anchor so as to set the stern anchor securely in the channel. Because the anchorage was very narrow, I had both anchors set on the front and the back to prevent us from swinging into the bank should the wind change.
As forecast, the weather was to turn nasty that night with some severe thunderstorms and damaging winds from the Northwest. Great…. The only area not truly protected was my stern which was facing the Northwest.
Because we are a great distance from any type of civilization, I had limited connectivity on my cell phone. I could intermittently send and receive text messages, but voice communication was non-existent.
Chip was at home and we continued to keep in touch discussing the severe weather bounding toward our position. He kept me informed of the tornado watches and the moving line of thunderstorms. That night we were treated to a spectacular lightning show and the winds were strong however for only a brief time during the storms.
Before retiring for the night, I set the “anchor alarm” and track on my Chartplotter. These are neat little tools that will track your movement and alert you if you have exceeded a specified distance. Everything worked as advertised and we had a safe night.
You have heard people say “what a difference a day can may”. Well, it certainly was the case today regarding the weather. Yesterday, Kris and
I were wearing shorts and flip-flops; today there weren’t enough clothes on the boat to keep us warm! The wind was a steady 15 to 20 miles per hour from the Northwest and the temperature was in the lower 50’s. Brrrrrrr.Because of the trash in the river, it was necessary to drive from the upper helm. Down below you couldn’t really see the stuff hiding just below the waterline. I am once again reminded what a mistake it was I didn’t get an upper bridge with some type of enclosure to protect us from the elements. But this can be remedied when we get to Pickwick.
The river current was starting to get stronger as we got farther north. I am now questioning how far I can travel in a day. Will I make the anchorages I had hoped too? Because of the very limited availability of anchorages and marinas from Mobile to Demopolis, I needed to pay careful attention to this.
The next night we stayed at an anchorage called “Old Lock # 1. This was neat little place that offered a lot more room than the previous night. The entrance was a little narrow but it opened up to a very comfortable spot with lots of swing room. As we entered we noticed we would not be without company for the night. There were already 3 other boats on the hook, so we took our spot behind them and set up for the night.
The next morning we would once again be battling the strong current and trash, but at least the sun was out but certainly not very warm. Also, this was going to be the first day Kris and I will lock thru a “big lock”. The locks on the Okeechobee Waterway are basically for smaller craft, but these locks on the Tombigbee are the “Real McCoy”. They are 110 feet wide and 600 feet long which can accommodate most commercial tow boats going up and down the river.
We arrive at the Coffeeville Lock and Dam where we are locked thru almost immediately. Because the water was so high our “lift” was only about 10 feet versus the normal lift of 34 feet. After locking thru, we now begin to look for our next night’s lodging which was Bashi Creek at Mile Marker 145.
I had been forewarned to lower my antennas as I entered the creek because it was so narrow and they were correct….. It was narrow! There was barely enough room to turn around a 44 foot boat, but we made it work. We once again set out a bow and stern anchor and when we were confident we were secure it was time for an adult beverage!! The peacefulness and quiet was amazing. We grilled out on the aft deck that night and went to bed early because we knew tomorrow we had a very early wake up.
Our plan was to leave Bashi Creek with just enough daylight to see obstacles in the water. We needed to get to Demopolis, Alabama which was about 60 river miles. Normally this would not be a problem since we usually cruise around 7 knots, but because of the strong current and a lock to go thru, we knew this was going to be a challenge to accomplish.
When we entered the river once again, it became apparent we weren’t going to make Demopolis that day. The current was the strongest we had encountered to date. There were times I was making 3.8 knots over the ground…… ugghhh, which meant I was going into a current almost 4 knots! How long will this last? Where was I going to spend tonight? Was I going to travel at night to our destination?
As with anything, I have always planned an “option B” and sometimes a “C” and so forth. We did have our “bailout” point and that was going to be Chickasaw Bogue located at Mile Marker 188. We were trying to get to Mile Marker 216 and the decision was made if I can’t be by MM 188 by 1pm, then we would spend the night there and retry the next morning. The only problem was we didn’t know anything about the anchorage at Chickasaw Bogue and what if there was someone else already there?
As we approached Chickasaw Bogue, the river was swirling violently near the entrance and it was a narrow entrance. We decided it was best to give this anchorage a try rather than take the chance of traveling at night. This was a good decision because this anchorage was probably one of the nicest we had been in.
The next morning we were delayed for about an hour waiting for the fog to lift. I do have the equipment with my radar and Chartplotter to navigate in this type of weather, but I don’t have the confidence in doing so. It would be similar to a brand new instrument rated pilot with 200 hours of flying experience flying into Chicago O’Hare during peak rush hour with barely landing minimums broadcast on the ATIS. Someday we will do this… but not today.
The weather is finally starting to warm up and we are not nearly as uncomfortable on the bridge as in the past. We arrive at the Demopolis Marina where I put on a couple hundred gallons of diesel before moving to my slip for the night.
The Demopolis Marina was an Oasis in the Desert! There was a courtesy car available, laundry on site and a great restaurant attached to the marina. The people there were friendly, courtesy and certainly accommodating. My slip was supposed to have a 50 amp service but unfortunately it had only two 30 amp receptacles. This normally isn’t a problem if you have the right adapters which I did but unfortunately they didn’t work. I had some options available which was to move to another slip for power or I could run my genset all night (not very courteous) or I could plug into a neighbors power. The marina’s solution was they would install a 50 amp service. Now that is paying attention to customer service. Within an hour, the electrician was onsite and replaced one of the 30 amp plugs with a 50 amp and we were “online”.
As you may have noticed, I have referred a couple times to some type of resource for this segment on the river. I did purchase the book “Nitty Gritty of the Tombigbee”, but also I used a website called ActiveCaptain which provides updates from boaters who have actually been there. But the best resource is the fellow cruiser who goes up and down this river frequently. Since I am a member of the Defever Cruiser’s Forum, I put a simple request online for information pertaining to this voyage. What I got back was responses from several cruisers providing accurate and timely tips. This was an invaluable resource and I can’t say enough positive things about them, specifically Al and JoAnn Barr of “My Turn”. They have been there for every question and I appreciate their support.
Tomorrow we begin the second half of our trip on the river.
Till then….
Rusty and Kris
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