Log 59; Day 163; Oct. 31; Sumter Anchorage

Log 59
Day 163
Friday, October 31, 2008

5:25 AM CDT
Location: Sumter Recreation Anchorage; MM 269.9 on Tom-Bigbee
Weather: 48* and a little foggy; forecast is for 73 and sunny

Very limited service...so I can't send any pictures.

We’re anchored in the middle of a recreation area just off the Tenn-Tom waterway this morning. No cell service...we are in the middle of nowhere. Still dark out, but I can see by the lights over at the boat ramp that it’s a little foggy. Because it’s still dark out, I can’t see around the boat, but last night when I looked the boat was completely surrounded by water hydrilla (I think that’s what they call it). It looks like a water lily with big leaves and short roots. It is everywhere on the river now, and in this small anchorage it looks like you could walk to the shore, because the water is completely covered.

Yesterday...we left Columbus Marina at about 8:15. I called the lock master early and he said it was a little foggy, but was burning off fast, so come when it looked good to us. We had decided at dinner to run again with Andy and Mary on “Good News”, and a guy at the dock said “Lorie Ann” was looking to lock through, so I called them on the radio and said we were leaving, did they want to go as well, and they did...so the 3 of us headed out.
Side Note: the M/V Lorie Ann is a 25’ trawler that you can trailer. Most who see the boat call it “cute”, because it is like a model of a big trawler. The owners, John and Lorie, trailered the boat from Seattle to the Mississippi River, where they put it in, but got caught in the floods, so they put it back on the trailer and took it to Kentucky Lake where they started their trip. I’m not sure what their jobs are, but they need to head back to Seattle in a couple of weeks, and will return to keep cruising next summer. Their plan is to take the boat to Mobile, and deal with it their. There is no way I could live on this little boat for several months...but they do it without a problem. They are new to cruising...and real troupers.
Anyway...the HQ; Good News; and Lorie Ann headed to the lock and we were able to get right in and by 9:30 we were heading down river. It was about 2 hours to the next lock and when we got there we were told it would be about 2 hours to get through because there was a southbound tow that needed to get through before us. Those 2 hours turned into more than 3 hours and we did not leave the lock until 3:20. While we were waiting, we were discussing our options for the night, because there are no marinas in the area, and we knew we would have to anchor. Our plan was to go another 36 miles beyond the lock, but sunset was at 6:04 PM and we were worried that we would not make it that far going slow (which is what we had been doing for the last few days). So when the lock doors opened we decided to pick it up and most of the 36 miles were spent going 22 mph, and we made to our destination at about 5:30. Just enough time to set the anchor and get settled before sunset. I’m not sure where “Lorie Ann” ended up spending the night, because they can only travel slow, but “Good News” followed us and decided to raft up on our starboard side, so we could swing on one anchor (ours). After getting hooked up, we made a cocktail and went over to “Good News” for happy hour. Back on our boat by 7:30...dinner was left over meat loaf, and I was in bed by 8:30.

Today...we have 53 miles and 1 lock to go to get to Demopolis, AL...our slip for the next couple of nights. Deb and I are looking forward to spending an extra day just sitting at the dock with nothing to do. When you cruise every day, you don’t have much time to do projects, or to just sit and relax.

From Demopolis we have 216 miles to go to get to the Mobile Bay, and the start of our trip across the Florida panhandle. Hopefully we will take more time at each stop to enjoy the area because we have no real reservations until December 10th when we plan to be in Ft. Myers.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob