November
28, 2012
And away we
go, down the Tenn-Tom to Mobile. We have
been here before, in 2009 when we were Loopers, but it’s just not the same.
First thing
we heard as we entered the Cumberland River was a recreational boater on the
VHF radio, asking a tow driver “Is this
the Cumberland River? Do I turn here to get to Fort Lauderdale, I mean Ft.
Myers?” Somehow that didn’t inspire our
confidence. 5 minutes later that boat
roared past us at a rate of about 1 gallon of fuel per---minute??? YIKES.
On Monday
afternoon the Tennessee was reflecting the tail of Hurricane Sandy. We rolled and wallowed along in wind and
waves, and happily entered the KenLake State Park Marina at Aurora, KY at 4
pm.
Tuesday was
a repeat on the water--- We stopped at Pebble Isle Marina at 3---early for us,
but it wasn’t fun out there. Thankfully
everyone we know and love was safe from the storm. Received emails about the impact of the storm
in Brooklyn, and also a tall ship captain’s take on the tragic loss of MUTINY ON
THE BOUNTY. Here is what John, Captain of the MYSTIC WHALER had to say:
We are all following the tragic news of the loss of
the BOUNTY off Cape Hatteras with her captain and one crew member. Our
prayers are with them and the surviving crew. When we heard the news
yesterday morning our second reaction was shared by many if not most of us in
this trade: What the heck was Bounty doing THERE?? A week ago
Bounty was in New London. She was next due in Florida. As I was
rushing east up Long Island Sound, I expected to pass Bounty headed the other
way. I guessed that she might follow John BeebeCenter’s plan for LYNX and
head far up the Hudson River. I did not know then that when Bounty left
New London she went around Montauk Point and headed east, far offshore to try
to dodge the storm. Days later they turned southwest to try to get on the
navigable side of the storm, which is how they wound up so close to
Hatteras. I understand the thinking, but the plan overestimated Bounty’s capabilities.
Robin Wallbridge has been captain on the Bounty for
as long as I can remember. He has seen the vessel through some very dark
days when she was in horrible condition. I was chatting with Robin in
July when we were docked next to each other in Newport, and he remarked “This
ship’s already sank under me twice”. And it had, although in benign
conditions. No one knows the condition of Bounty better than Robin.
In recent years and under new ownership Bounty has undergone a
substantial structural refurbishment and
is probably nearly as fine a vessel as when she was new. But that does
not make her new.
In a recent post Robin quoted a sailors’ maxim:” A
ship is safer at sea than near land”. With that in mind, I can think of
many vessels that could hold their own in a hurricane—Eagle, Westward, Tabor
Boy, to name just a few, all vessels that were designed and built for hard
offshore service. But Bounty was built for a movie and is not on my list
of vessels that warrant dueling wits with a hurricane.
We are diminished by the loss of the vessel and the
crew who perished. The lessons of Bounty will be instructive to us
all. If only we could stop relearning them.
Well said, Cap!
On
Wednesday morning, marina owners Linda and John treated Fred to fresh baked
cinnamon rolls Doesn’t happen often and
he really enjoyed it! We’re cruising along in the Tennessee National Wildlife
Refuge, and the birds seem to know it.
A huge flock of ducks was at rest along the side of the river, and in a
starkly bare tree above them sat 2 --- birds.
Eagles? Vultures? Turkey vultures?
I dunno but they sat long enough for a photo, before joining the
pelicans who were skimming the water and heading north. North?
Who knows what pelicans think?
We were able to run until 5 p.m. with the furnace working in
the chilly day---55 degrees was the high for the day! The furnace quit.
Our Thursday objective was Aqua Harbor, but at the Pickwick
Lock we got caught in our first lock delay of any consequence. Not bad since we’ve gone up and down the
Ohio, Monongahela, Beaver and Kanawha Rivers and 1-1/4 of the Tenn-Tom. Had to wait for two tows to lock through, and
when we finally rode down it was too dark to do the 10 mile run to Aqua Harbor.
So with me as a lookout on the bow and all the spotlight wattage we could
muster, we slowly crawled into Pickwick Landing Marina.
Turned out to be a nice spot. Friday morning Fred fought
with the shower sump for an hour or so (he won) and it was 11:45 am when we
tossed off the lines for the hop to Aqua Harbor. By 1:15 we were once again docked, and LAZY
DOLPHIN is here as well. It was fun to
have dinner aboard YA with Barb and Randy.
Saturday we had a tad of excitement we’d not experienced
before. The river locks all have
floating bollards to which we affix a single midship line, and as the water
rises, or falls, the bollard takes us up—or now, down. In Rankin lock, the 3rd of the
day, the water began to go down, but the bollard didn’t move. The line to the boat was stretching up as the
water fell! Fred was starting the
engines and I was untying the line when suddenly the bollard came unstuck and
dropped 3+ feet with a huge clunk!
Apparently this bollard (closest to the gate) is not used often, as we
were so far forward in the lock that we had to loosen the line and fall back
about 6 feet or sacrifice Knute to the lock door when it opened and aligned
with the wall. It all worked just fine. A little adrenaline from time to time is not
such a bad thing….
On Sunday we were through the first lock of the day by 8:54
a.m.; out of Wilkins Lock by 10:50, on to Amory lock---out at 11:52, and
finally Aberdeen lock-- exited at 2 p.m.
By sunset (5 p.m.) we were tied up at Columbus Marina, where we’d left
the boat for the month of June. A very
good, four lock day! And the best
part---Fred’s new computer was waiting for us in the marina office! Hallelujah!
Spent a week in Columbus doing mostly mundane things. We did
need a side trip to Memphis to pick up the packages we’d had
shipped there. Found the Mud Island
Marina with no trouble, and it was indeed Mud.
Water remains low, and reinforced the validity of our decision to go to
Memphis by car, not by boat. Spent a few
hours at Graceland, visiting with Elvis, before returning to Columbus.
Next major stop was Demopolis, AL where once again, we got
mail! Our original navigation computer
has been in the hospital for months, and finally returned to us. Fred went to bed early rather than throw it
overboard, as it did NOT want to work.
Did I mention that the furnace kicks out on a regular basis? Or that the autopilot is doing very strange
things like sudden spins to left or right?
Technology frustration week.
Happily Fred was up early in the morning, and while outdoors
was cloaked in fog, indoors there was great clarity and Fred won the battle of
the computer! Score! We’ve been very happy with the backup that
Joe Pica provided when we left Morgantown, WVA,
AND we’re even happier to have our very own navigation system back and
running.
In 2009 we tied up to the wall at Old Lock #1, and walked
between the four boats that we were travelling with. This year that wall is about 15’ above the
water---or, conversely, the water is way, way down. The anchorage was ours alone, and
beautiful. It was a gorgeous starry
night---the kind you read about in ads for boating!
Good thing we had a nice rest as the see-sawing Tombigbee
River was filled with towboats. Twice we
simply ‘pulled over’ (stopped on the wrong side of a buoy) to give the barges
room to come around the tight curves.
At 3 pm we turned into the Tensas River mouth, and spent about an hour
making circles and zig-zags to re-program the autopilot. Somehow it lost its connection to North, and
now will guide us much more effortlessly!
Wish the furnace would be as accommodating. Mornings are in the 40’s and it is for this
weather that the furnace was added. Brrrr
and Grrr.
Sunday was an easy day, with lots of time to sightsee as we
motored through Mobile. And here in Mobile we will remain until we return from
our holiday trip to New York.
On Wednesday the Turner family hosted their annual
Thanksgiving potluck dinner for about 50 folks.
The deep fried turkey was moist and juicy and all the fixin’s provided
by the guests were dee-lish. We rented
a car over the weekend (the famous Enterprise $9.95 and 100 miles/day bargain)
and did some sightseeing.
Mobile is somehow sort of a bypassed city. It has stayed small even though Mobile Bay and
the Gulf of Mexico provide great seaports and shipping area. Come January that may change, as AirBus will
begin construction of a facility that plans to turn out four airplanes a month
by 2016. Also under construction is a
huge Maritime Museum, and plans are afoot for a causeway to cross Mobile Bay
and make traffic safer than the existing tunnel. Whoosh!
A lot going on here!
The original bottler of Coca Cola has a home and gardens
nearby, and on Friday night we went to the opening of the Bellingrath Holiday
light display. We, and at least 10,000 others (no exaggeration there) filed
along the path for over 2 hours (including a ½ hour house tour).The Bellingrath
gardens by day must be spectacular with trailing mums, rose gardens, and mirror
lakes. By night with the lights, it was
beautiful.
Tonight we’re packing for a quick trip to Pheonix to attend a
memorial service for Fred’s brother in law, Bob Gallo. From there, we’re NY
bound, and will have an early family Holiday before returning to YOUNG AMERICA
late in December.
‘till then, have a wonderful holiday season, and do remember
to breathe!
PS. Fred’s
diagnostics found the problem with the furnace.
The fuel filter was faulty, and the company has replaced it under
warranty. Nice.
