TennTom , Here We Come!

Tenn-Tom Divide Cut

October 28, 2010
The Yellow Creek, off of the Tennessee River begins the TennTom Waterway- a popular shortcut that links the Tennessee River with the Gulf of Mexico.  Surprisingly, this waterway was only just completed in 1985 to make the trips to transport coal, woodchips, etc. quicker and easier than using the Mississippi River.  It's also a safer way for recreational boaters to get to the Gulf of Mexico-hence, most Loopers and other SnowBirds use it.  The first section of 25 miles is called the Divide Cut, the second section of 52 miles is the Canal Section and the third section of 149 miles is called the River Section.  There are ten  large locks but they have bollards to tie on to so the descent is very comfortable.

25 miles of this

Enough of the stats…
Before we left Grand Harbor Marina, Pete again rebuilt the bow thruster but this time added the brushes Bob had so intelligently left with the spare parts and guess what...they were just what the doctor ordered...the bow thruster never worked as strong as it does now...again, THANK YOU,BOB!!!

Grand Harbor is the kick-off point for this last of the river systems.  It was an easy run from Grand Harbor to Bay Springs because we didn’t have to deal with any locks-not that they’re that difficult here but you could have to wait 2-4 hours for commercial traffic to lock through and that’s a pain.  In Bay Springs Marina we were given a slip with a roof which should be a good thing but these roofs harbor spiders that poop all over your boat-really disgusting-Pete keeps scrubbing them off and they keep pooping!  Anyway we used their courtesy car to go to the Bay Springs Visitor Center that had interesting displays about the history of the Tenn-Tom and then went into Belmont (the closest town) to pick up some perishables and a needed oil gauge for Tony M.  The town is a victim of our dying economy-very sad to see the condition of America upclose and personal.

Belmont, Mississippi

We left Bay Springs Marina bright and early and completed SIX locks and 46 miles- quite an accomplishment for one day.  We hit all the locks at the right time (or are we just getting so good at this?) and sailed through each one.  We did meet dredging going on and had to slow down and  not "rock the boat".

Dredging on the TennTom

In case you need to make a phone call...

No Anchoring Here!

Bridge to Nowhere

White Cliffs of Epes

We read about a FREE dock at Blue Bluff Recreation Area so we decided to try it.  While we were talking over the radio to our traveling buddy Magoo,  the folks on I Love Lucy hailed us with good directions about how to safely get into this lagoon- type embayment.  We stayed close to the green buoys, took a sharp left (or to port) and found a beautiful T dock with enough room for us and Magoo on one side and I Love Lucy on the other side. We were a week late for the Aberdeen Festival at this lovely park but were told it was enjoyable.  I Love Lucy had been tied up here for three weeks and came for the festival.  Buddy enjoyed the romp in the park and swim at the beach.

Tony M leaving Blue Bluff

From Blue Bluff we traveled 2 more locks and 51 miles to Pirates Cove Marina.  At the first lock we met up with a tow who generously, allowed us to lock through with him-something many do not allow.  It was intimidating to be tied next to this tow who filled up the lock with his six barges.

Tony M fit in this space as we locked down

At Pirate's Cove Marina we met Summertime, a fellow Looper from Old Saybrook, Connecticut.  It was enjoyable to talk to a fellow New Englander-there are very few of them doing the Loop, many from FL but not Northerners.  We all (us, Art and Sandra from Magoo, Ray and Linda from Summertime and Dick, a Dutch crew member for his brother-in-law's boat) went out to dinner to share stories and company.
Summertime joined our group and traveled with us thru one lock and 57 miles to Sumpter Recreation Center.  Again a very intimidating entrance to a beautiful, peaceful anchorage but with careful navigating we anchored safely.  Another boat later joined us.  Buddy enjoyed his dinghy ride to shore to investigate the shoreline campsites and meet the campers and their dogs. We watched the muskrat family swim to their den, probably complaining we were interrupting their lives,  The heron never seemed to get flustered about our presence; they just let us watch their grace and beauty.

Heron with muskrat swimming in front of her

Demopolis Yacht Basin was our next stop after one more lock and 47 miles (Demopolis marks the end of the Tenn-Tom Waterway as the Black Warrior River enters the Tombigbee River.  It’s now called the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway.)  Between little water in the marina and many boats going south, we had to tie up to the fuel dock with Magoo rafted to us for the night and Summertime rafted to another boat.  You would think they would charge us less for this arrangement but it’s all about being the last marina for the next 212 miles so I guess they can charge whatever they want to.  We had dinner at the marina restaurant which was surprisingly good and then borrowed the courtesy car to pick up some groceries since we won’t see civilization for the next four to five days. Yikes!