Day 47: Monday, October 22, 2012
Underway: 10:35 am Motor Off: 5:05 pm Miles Traveled: 42 Stayed At: Anchor
First Things First: Ate our first fast food – McDonalds breakfast; saw our first Spanish moss hanging from the trees along the river.
Mile 216 to Mile 174: Round and round we go – watching the compass today I would swear we did a few 360˚ loops going down the river. We didn’t, of course, but we came about as close as you can. The Lower Black Warrior River has not been modified and straightened with canals and cuts like the upper part has been so we are traveling a very curvy road. I’d hate to know how many “as the crow flies” miles we traveled in 42 river miles. We are better off not knowing I think.
Sunny and 82˚. Sunny and 81˚. Sunny and 82˚. That is the forecast we heard this morning on the NOAA weather broadcast for the next several days so we need to take advantage of this perfect stretch of weather. We got a late start on another sunny, calm and perfect for traveling day. We had a couple last minute errands to do and I kept trying to sell our nice, like new, Lewmar 35 lb galvanized anchor, heavy duty stainless steel swivel and 30+ feet of heavy galvanized chain. New, this rig is probably $600-$800 so $125 would be a good bargain. Maybe one of the Loopers behind us will need a new anchor by the time they reach Florida. There are a lot of deadheads and stumps in some of those anchorages.
After an easy ride down at the Demopolis Lock and Dam, we started the next and last phase of our river journey to Mobile, Alabama. The dam here was a “hidden” or submerged dam. Water flowed over the top and, from the upper river, it looked like one of those infinite pools you see in expensive architecture magazines. You could easily mistake this for a channel and go over the dam – especially in fog or darkness (we have heard stories of this happening even in daylight). Only one more lock to go and we will be almost at sea level.
We have been really lucky with the current so far. Today we were able to get a steady 1 mph boost almost all day so we were running 7.5 mph instead of 6.5 mph. This shortens our day and helps with gas mileage – plus its fun to be going so fast on a 22’ sailboat.
One of our constant companions on this journey have been various types of water birds. For the last couple of weeks, great blue herons and white egrets have been very common. The herons seem to “own” a certain 2-3 mile stretch of river and regularly fly along their territory hunting for fish. Their call is eerie – especially at night. It makes me think of some prehistoric creature everytime I hear it. Its’ hard to describe but it would make a good horror movie sound track.
After a beautiful and peaceful cruise down and around the Black Warrior River, we found an embayment (man-made cove) next to an abandoned tow loading area at Kemps Landing and anchored for the night.
Wild Thing: Seeing 50-60 black turkey vultures feeding on something dead on the river bank – a few feeding, dozens patiently waiting their turn and many more spiraling around overhead waiting for a chance to crash the party.
In Passing: Indian Queen Bar, Sucarnochee River, Cypress Branch, Lone Brothers Bar, Chickasaw Bogue, Turkey Shoals.
