October 26, 2012, Bobby's Fish Camp. AL

Thursday, 10-25-2012:
We got going at our regular time and Keith and I pretty much have our departing down pat; all went well.  Before leaving we found out we had to wait on 3 tows in the Demopolis Lock. There were 4 boats in all in the lock and we did not get through the lock until 09:30. Because it took so long we changed our planned anchorage from Bashi Creek to Kemp's Landing. We ended up going a total of 43.2 miles and anchored by 13:40. We were first into the anchorage, which looked very small, and then Roy El tied up to our Port. Shortly after we got settled, "Pogo" came into to anchor so we told them they could raft onto us, so we were in the middle and Pogo was to our starboard. It was my night for dinner and we invited Pogo to join us. It was the first time we had 8 around our table, a little crowded but we made do. It was a very enjoyable evening.

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Heron's in Demopolis Lock on 10-25-2012

Rafting in Kemp's Landing with Roy El and Pogo on 10-25-2012

Cooking Chili for 8 on grill on back of boat

Kemp's Landing, very cozy anchorage at Mile 173.5

Keith saw this "Restaurant" on the river, looked like it would be pretty hard to get to!

Friday, 10-26-2012:
It was another beautiful sunny day on the river with the highs in the 90's. We had a leisurely ride down river to Bobby’s Fish Camp. A total of 55.24 miles and we got here by 13:00. There was a 65' boat already here and the two of us so we filled the dock up. Bobby’s now has electric, both 30 and 50 amps. Keith saw an alligator about 1 ½ miles before docking at Bobby’s. On our way in, this guy hollered at us and held up a huge US Marine Corps flag and waved us in. He saw Keith USMC flag on our boat. After we docked we went over to meet him. His name was Bob Adams and he is a retired "Gunny" and recruiter from the marines and was an interesting old guy to talk with.

Went to Bobby’s for Cat Fish tonight. 2 more boats came into Bobby's so both Roy El and Kim Jo IV have boats rafted to then,

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Sun rise on 10-26-2012 leaving our anchorage at Kemp's Landing

Roy El on 10-26-2012 in early morning fog

Rafting at Bobby's Fish Camp-5 boats in all

Bobby's Friday Night Catfish.

CO's comments:  Same thing at Bobby's as the last time we were here.  The XO had to use her Landing Loop to catch a kleet.  Once she had the kleet, I got off and secured the boat.  After we had things under control, some guys from the 65' boat came to help but by then all they did was get in the way and confuse things.  Today was the second marine that I had a chance to talk with in the last 3 days.  It brings back old memories.

October 22, 23 & 24, 2012, Demopolis, AL

Monday:  We got an early start and we are traveling with Roy El and their guests; Carl and Greg. Smooth water, clear, and sunny with lots of Lilly pads in the waterway. Went through Stennis Lock which was right outside of Columbus Marina; 3 boats in lock (Roy El, Caesar’s Ghost, and us) and all went smooth. Caesar’s Ghost was a fast boat and left us in her wake and we didn’t see her any more.  

The Bevill lock was the last lock of the day. We got to the anchorage first and put our anchor out and then Roy El rafted to our port. Very low water, only 5.5 under props. We had a problem with our anchor chain lock. It kept locking the chain so I couldn’t let any more out. Keith had to take the lock off and we will have to get a different one so it works with our chain.  We took the chain from the Sea Ray as it was a larger chain than was on the Gulf Star. We had drinks on Roy El and Elvie cooked dinner.  Keith checked our fuel supply with our fuel stick. We are still not sure how exactly to read the "homemade" stick but I am taking readings and we will figure it out. We just want to make sure we do not run out of fuel before we get to Mobile, AL, Dog River Marina.   We will also have some work done there. Minor things that Terry thinks we should have done.

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Tuesday:  Got up early and tried to see what worked and what did not work on our inverter. We have some designated wall plugs that work and the refrigerator. But, the microwave and the coffee pot do not work on the inverter so we had to turn on the generator. Even with the generator on, it took about 15 minutes before it built up enough voltage to run the microwave. We don't know if that is a problem or normal. There are a lot of little quirks we have to work out as we go. We also had trouble bringing up the anchor chain, it kept slipping. Finally got it up and Keith said all he has to do is tighten it some. All in all our first anchorage went pretty good.

We only had one lock to go through today; the Heflin Lock at Mile 266.1. The Lock Master had the lock ready for us and we were in and out within one half hour. It was a bit foggy early on this morning but the water was very smooth. It was another beautiful day and we got to the marina by 12:45. It was actually hot this afternoon; in the 90's. We had drinks and dinner on the marina's 2nd story open deck; there were 10 of us in all and a very good evening.

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Wednesday:  Did not travel today, got caught up on things.  Got our fuel stick figured out.

CO's comments:  All is well.

XO's first time driving the Gulf Star

Sun rise on 10-23-2012 leaving anchorage at Sumter Recreation Area

October 20, 2012, Columbus Marina, MS

10-18-2012 Friday:  We got an early start again; 07:00. It was cool, about 60 degrees, and hazy but it turned into a beautiful, sunny day with the high in the 80's. We only had 3 miles to go for our first lock; Fulton Lock, we went down 30'. Shortly after the lock we had an engine alarm go off and the volt meter on the starboard side went down to zero so I drove and Keith went down to check things out in the engine department. Every thing looked OK, he wiggled a few wires, and came back to the bridge. By then, the RPM’s on the starboard side also registered zero. We called a few people to see if it was OK to keep going and it was decided we would go to Columbus and have it checked. Terry, our mechanic, thinks it is a loose ground wire and he will check it out tomorrow, Saturday.

When meeting our 2^nd tow of the day at Mile 382.0, we saw a deer swimming across the waterway right in front of us, got a picture. We locked through Wilkins and Amory Locks, our 2^nd and 3rd locks of the day, with Integrity from St. Petersburg, FL. There were 13.5 miles to the next lock and Integrity left us in her wake. By now, the starboard engine alarm went off again. We got to the marina by 14:30 and it was pretty full of loopers already. Elvie and I went to Walmart to pick up a few things. The marina sponsored a get-together tonight for all the boaters; there were about 35 attending. Everyone brought a dish to pass and T, the owner, furnished the meat. It was a very enjoyable evening. About half of the boaters were "Gold" loopers.

We have a discrepancy in the Port and Starboard meter readings, we think the Port is correct. We are wondering if this discrepancy has anything to do with our engine light going on. Every time we take a reading the gap gets larger; today there was a difference of 4.07 hours.

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Date: 10-19-2012, Saturday

Roy and Elvie, of Roy El, took their car and ours to Panama City, FL, today.  We will leave our car at  Pirates Cove Marina.  After we get the boat to Pirates Cove we will leave it there and drive the Lincoln to Wisconsin and Montana over Thanksgiving. Roy and Elvie will be back tomorrow along with their friends, Carl and Greg, who are going to cruise with them the rest of the way down the Tenn-Tom. All 4 of them will be at Kim Jo IV for dinner tomorrow night.

I went to Walmart with our neighbor boaters from "Sea Biscuit" this morning. They will finish their loop in Sarasota, FL.  Keith stayed at the boat waiting for Terry, our mechanic, to get here. He will also be seeing several other boaters with problems, he is a busy guy and very helpful.

CO's comments:  Wonderful 2 days on the river.  We now have our problems fixed and they were minor.  Ready to get going.  More details later.

Leaving Midway Marina on 10-19-2012

Deer crossing at Mile 382.0 on Tenn-Tom

Cruising down the Tenn-Tom

Dinghy on the back of the boat

October 18, 2012, Midway Marina on the Tenn-Tombigbee Waterway

We finally got going this morning but not without another little "surprise" late last night.  We both went to bed early and about 23:00 or so it started to rain and rain very hard.  Not long after it started raining we were both woke up to rain drops on our heads.  The escape hatch for our state room is right above our heads and it was leaking from all the rain.  It was leaking so bad I had to put buckets out to catch the water.  Needless to say, I moved to another bed but Keith was so stubborn, he refused to move, and went back to sleep next to the bucket in bed. 

We were up early and got ready to leave as soon as day broke.  We were both optimistic that we would have a good day, for sure, it was long over due.  Well, the locks were good to us and we made it through 3 locks and went 57 miles and still got to the marina by 14:00.  These were the first locks with the Gulf Star and it went real smooth and we went straight through all 3 of them.  We could have made it further but we decided not to push our luck. 

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CO's comments:  Our Gulf Star is more than 10 feet longer than the Sea Ray and a foot wider.  Yet, going through the locks today was much easier.  It must be that it weighs more, has a deeper keel, and a bow thruster.  Also, the XO tells me that the side railing is higher and the walk way is wider and it makes her job much easier.

Entering the Whitten Lock Mile 411.9 on the Tenn-Tombigbee

First time using my new and bigger, homemade, bollard loop.  I left the other one in the Sea Ray for the new owners, whoever they will be.

 

 

 

 

Leaving Whitten Lock on October 18, 2012.  We went down 84'