Day 41: Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Underway: 8:00 am Motor Off: 5:10 pm Miles Traveled: 42 Stayed At: Anchor
First Things First: First sighting of jet fighters from Air Force base in Columbus; first time we locked through with more than one other boat (us+3 boats this time).
Mile 400 to Mile 358: A beautiful sunrise with some wispy fog rising off the river greeted us when we woke up. We made a hot breakfast (a rare event) to waste a little time for the fog to burn off before we cruised a few minutes down the channel to the Rankin Lock. We quickly locked through and made a short stop about 4 mile later at Midway Marina to top of the gas before heading downstream again.
Several power boats left from Midway just as we were entering all heading toward the Fulton Lock about 7 miles downstream. Even though they travelled a lot faster, a tow was coming up through the lock so they had to wait and we arrived just as the tow was coming out of the lock. Perfect timing.
Q’s End (who we met at Grand Harbor) was thinking about us and suggested that the group slow down to our pace so we could lock through together at the next two locks a ways downstream. Everyone agreed but, after looking at the timing and distances and where they were trying to get to tonight (they were aiming for Columbus), we all decided it made more sense for them to go at their normal speed – about 9 mph and for us to just lock through on our own. This worked out great in the end but it was nice to have someone looking out for us.
After dreaming about, discussing and planning the Tennessee-Tombigbee (Tenn-Tom) for over 100 years, construction began in 1972. It became the largest civil works projects undertaken by the Corps of Engineers. More dirt was moved on this project than the entire Panama Canal. By connecting the Tennessee River in Mississippi and the Black Warrior River in Alabama, the 253 mile long Tenn-Tom waterway provides a direct navigable water route from the Tennessee River to the Intercoastal Waterway and Gulf of Mexico at Mobile Bay and allows boats to avoid the much busier and more difficult Mississippi River. It reduced travel distances by as much as 800 miles and created an economic boost to the entire region. The Tenn-Tom was officially opened in 1985. The entire system from the Tennessee River at Pickwick to Mobile is 470 miles long. The Tenn-Tom has at least a 9’ navigation channel with a minimum width of 280’ (about a football field). Ten locks and dams (all nearly identical in design) allow for the 341 foot difference in water levels. While most of the locks have a 30’ drop, the Whitten Lock has an 84 foot drop. That is probably the largest drop on the whole Great Loop.
At the Wilkins Lock we waited for a few minutes for the Lauren Grace – a power boat heading down river to catch up before locking through. We ended up cruising the next 5 mile leg at about the same speed so we could go through the next lock together. We decided to stop for the night at a free dock by a park just upstream from the Aberdeen Lock. It turned out Lauren Grace was there already, and, after a beer or two while sharing stories in Larry and Theresa’s nice comfortable sun porch, we decided to share a pot luck dinner – we brought salads and honeycrisp apples, they made a wonderful chicken gumbo – and we chatted until 10:30 pm – way past Cindy’s bedtime again. They have a lot of experience on the rivers and Great Loop and were a great resource to help us navigate the next sections of the Tenn-Tom and Intercoastal Waterway. A nice ending to a long day.
