On The Road Again!

We are anchored on the south side of Tampa bay, at the mouth of the ICW . Anna Marie Island is off to starboard. Tomorrow we head down to Ft. Myers. It’s about 90 miles. If we don't make it all the way we'll be close.

We attracted a crowd at the marina today. Some folks from the other dock came over to ask us what movie this boat was in. And of course everyone wanted to get a picture of her. I started the engines and came out on deck and I thought there was a convention going on. The dock was loaded with people. We assembled the crew on the side deck for a group photo, then backed her out, tooted the horn a few times and slowly motored away.

It was a beautiful day and we all stayed on deck. We even had to open the windows in the wheel house for awhile to cool it down. But that didn't last long. Once we turned south the sun disappeared, the cloud cover increased and the windows went back up. We can tell we are getting more south though. The weather is definitely getting warmer.

Capt. Bob

Tampa Bay - Clearwater Stop

Good morning all.

We are tied up at Clearwater city marina. Got in yesterday afternoon. Our run across the Gulf was uneventful. With the river stretches it was 180+ miles. We did it in 4 hour shifts. Once inside the pass we were in the ICW. And, don't you know, right in front of the marina we miss a mark and run aground. We got off all right but I think I damaged the rudders. They seem a little stiff since the grounding.

The blog-master (daughter Cathy) came to the boat and visited all day and spent the night. Miss Dale is coming to breakfast. All the Fidelity boys failed to show. They must be working late.

We are leaving later this mourning instead of staying overnight again . We have reservations in Key West for Saturday night and Sunday. Bobby is joining us in Key West. We will watch the Super Bowl there then head north.

We have an appointment with channel 10 in Miami to do a photo shoot and crew interview. That should be fun.

Yes the end is near. We are stretching the conclusion out as long as we can. No one wants the trip to end. But end it must. It will take us 4 day's to get to Key West and that’s taking our time. Our trip north will be the same. We might even catch a fish.

Capt. Bob

Back logged again! The end is near…

Hard to believe this trip is almost over! Feels like we started out just yesterday. Bob said we would feel that way, the first day we left – how true!

Our anchorage last night was in Wetappa Creek. Lovely! The grass and marsh surrounding the area reminded me of the waterway in Georgia. During the wee hours of the morning, I went on deck and saw the most eerie, beautiful sight. The water was like glass, stars reflecting themselves on the surface and these wispy swirls of steam coming off the water all around the boat. At first, I thought perhaps Mercedes was steaming up and it was leaking through the hull. (Almost woke Lionel, but then thought better of it – Thank Goodness!) Come daylight the fog burned off quickly once the sun woke up. I hope that my pictures will portrait it like it was when I get them developed. I think Victor captured some of it with his digital. I’m not sure what the deal is, but here we are in Florida and the decks were covered with ice and frost. The forward deck was so slick that I was tempted (if I were younger and much more agile) to skate across it. It was a cold, but really spectacular morning!

Our trip today was so pretty. I had no idea the waterway here existed. In one area, called the “Grand Canyon” by the Tug captains, the bank is worn away by water and it does look like a miniature Grand Canyon. It has miniature buttes and crevices also a variety of colors. Further, along the way, the banks spread out into small lakes and bays. We saw a family of eagles, in fact this morning there was an eagle perched on a tree just over the boat. Along the way, we frightened a small otter that had come down to the water. As we motored by, he first ran along the tree line of the bank, trying to get away, and then attempted to climb a sheer faced bank of mud. His little legs were going as fast as they could, but he was slipping and sliding. He finally gained traction and got up and over the edge. You know his little heart had to be pounding like crazy.

We are finally in the Gulf (Actually St. George Sound) anchored off Dog Island. The island is a narrow spit of sand. Some of the wider sections have stands of trees and are dotted with a home here and there. No access by car here. Lionel tells me there is a ferry. Imagine what it would cost to build a home here with everything having to be shipped in? Not sure if their power is via generator or if there is underground cable.

We are about 40 miles from the St. Marks River entrance and another 10 to Shields Marina. Scott has planned a lunch for us when we arrive. Mark, Kirsten the boys and Donald, Brandy and the girls will also be there. After a couple days in Tallahassee, we are off to Tampa.

January 30th. – Tuesday

The sunrise off Dog Island was beautiful. There were porpoise dancing all around the boat. This is stuff fairytales are made of! Our journey across the gulf was a good one. Achievement handled like a dream, though it took us awhile to get some sea legs.

The lighthouse at St. Marks is visible for miles; the water was a deep blue and – Yep! The sun was shining and sparkling off the water. I can’t remember when I’ve seen so many porpoise. At one time, we had five of them swimming in front of our bow wake.

We followed a tug and barge up the river until we reached the bend to the Marina – lo and behold! There was our welcoming committee. They were at the dock by the old fort waving and hollering hellos. I could even hear Jaden and Kade hollering “ Grama” “PaPa” and saw their little arms just waving like crazy. Now, that sure got my heart a- pumpin’. What a welcoming site. We had a great visit, Scott and Sha invited us to their home for dinner (and it was scrumptious) – they also replenished our wine and Yingling supply. Lionel and I got to sleep in our own bed to two nights and I got to love on my twins. (Mark and Kirsten, too!)

Sunday the local Tallahassee newspaper, the Democrat, came to the boat to interview the Captain and take photos. Yesterday morning the story ran – we open the paper and here is our Captain Bob – big as life – on the first page of the local section. How neat is that? The photographer, Scott, was quite taken with Achievement. He took loads of pictures. She had lots of visitors come and admire her. Family, friends and friends of friends. Of Course the captain and crew just love showing her off.

Yesterday we spent the day getting ready to leave. We had a bon voyage committee, headed up by Scott, Sha and the boys, see us off. Achievement again tooted her wonderful train horn as she glided down the river, saying farewell and thank you. This was to be an exciting day. Her (and mine) first overnight passage in open water. The Captain laid out the course to Tampa/Clearwater and set up rotations in four-hour increments. He and Patrick took the 4PM to 8PM shift, Lionel and Victor the 8PM to Midnight and so on. I (the princess) got to sleep. The seas were perfect, though in the Gulf, even with flat calm, there is a bit of pitching and rolling. We had a ¾ moon and a zillion stars. The sun is now just rising over the horizon. We should be at the marina somewhere between 10 and noon today. I know the guys will be beat. Even though it was four on and four off, I don’t think they slept (maybe just a catnap) in the four off. Lionel and Victor are on now. Have you ever heard that it is darkest – just before dawn? Boy is that a true statement on the water. In the time between the moon setting and the sun rising it was inky black. The sky and water were pitch black with no differing between them. It was like sailing into nothing. Of course looking up there were the zillion stars. Pretty Cool!

Looking forward to seeing family and friends in Tampa and maybe getting further south to WARMER weather. (Is there any?)

Tallahassee Article

Ok folks, Scott and crew was able to get the Tallahassee Democrat (local paper) to come out and do an article.

To download a PDF of the article copied from the website, click here

To visit the story online, click here

Great job Scott. Pictures of the visit are coming, stay tuned.

Our Second Photo Shoot

A Photographer from the Democrat, a local newspaper came out to the boat this afternoon to do a photo shoot of the boat and crew. He came out at 2 pm. and was given a tour of the boat, then given free range to shoot whatever he wanted. Victor gave him the tour while the rest of us entertained Mark and his friends who all came out for the tour.

After his initial run around the boat the photographer asked if he could get some shots of me at the wheel. Weeell of course I could see why those shots were necessary. No story would be complete without some working shots of the captain, after all, let’s be serious. To my surprise he took about 25-30 shots. I guess he had a hard time finding my good side. Then I got a call from a reporter who apologized for not being there, but did an interview over the phone. I don't know when the story will run but I'm sure Scott will get us all some copies.

We spent the night at Lionel’s. A very nice place in Crawfordville. It's only about 9 miles from the marina.

Tomorrow we head for Tampa. It’s going to be our first real open water test. We are going to head strait to Tampa from Tallahassee. It's about 170 or so miles and we are going to do it in one run. We will leave after lunch and run all night to arrive during the daytime. We still don't have dockage in the area, but hope that will change tomorrow. I can't believe the one place we contacted wanted $3.00 a foot plus tax plus electric plus water. The dock we are tied up at now charges $.60 a foot no tax, water and electric included. Go figure. All the way home the most we paid was $1.00 a foot, again with everything included.

We are going to Scott’s house for dinner tonight. Then sleeping on the boat for our jump-off tomorrow. See you in Tampa.

Capt. Bob

Fri. 1/26/07

We are closing in on Tallahassee. We are staged behind Dog Island on St. George sound. About 45 m. from the Big T. Tomorrow we should get going early to make the run outside and up to St. Mark’s River mouth to catch the high tide and ride it in. They say we need high water to get into the marina.

It's a good thing we re-anchored last night. This morning we awoke and found the tide had fallen a couple of feet in the night. If we stayed put like we were going to we would still be there.

It was absolutely gorgeous this morning. We had ice on the decks; fog on the creek, the air was just barely moving. It was ghostly beautiful. We had the hook up fairly quick only to find a tree branch jammed in the fluke. It was short work for our deck crew. They had it clear in a shake and we were on our way.

We have been traveling with a couple of trawlers the last few days. Not directly with them but we are all in the same area at the same time. We have had small conversations with the different boats at different times.

One boat, '"Adventure," has passed us several times. They are doing the great circle route out of Chicago. There modus operandi is to dash from one location to the next. Never seeing what's on the banks of the waterway. They passed us yesterday and disappeared around a bend.

Today we were cruising in a canal that no one knew was even there when out of a side channel came "Adventure" balls to the wall around a corner. Never saw us at all. We called on the radio to say hello, no response. They disappeared around the bend, gone again. But not for long. We came out of the canal about an hour later into a shallow lake and...yeah you guessed it. Hard aground about 50 yards out of the channel. They called us this time wanting to know how much water we had under us. We informed them about 15 feet and did they need any help. No they had Seatow on the way. Who they know on a first name basis. We sailed on over the horizon. Later this afternoon we pulled up behind Dog island and dropped the hook. About an hour later, who comes roaring up the channel but "Adventure." I looked at Lionel and said "I guess they didn’t learn a thing this morning.” He said "those kind of boaters never do." That’s what keeps the towboat operators in business.

Happy Birthday Karen!

Capt. Bob

Calling all Hands!

Hello everyone. We are in a nice little oxbow off of Wetappa Creek on the GICW about MM 315. We put the hook down early because there is a 30 mile stretch ahead with no place to anchor. Since we are only about 100 or so miles from Tallahassee and two days to get there we have time.

This creek is not that wide and when we put the hook down the first time the wind blew the stern around onto the mud bank. We were going to leave it till morning but got to thinking if a barge came by in the night and pushed us further up on the mud we might have a tough time in the morning. Well we powered off, turned the boat to face out of the creek which is the way the wind had started to blow us in the first place. We got into deeper water, moved to the center of the creek and put her down again. There is a very slight current running out of this creek into the main channel and it took about a half hour to turn us around again. But we are safe for the night.

If anyone wishes to join the crew when we reach Key West they should post a comment on the blog. There are a few people who have expressed an interest in making the hop from K.W. to Miami. Some of the present crew has stated that they would jump ship in K.W. to make room. They live in the keys. We must know by the time we leave Tampa. Which will be in about a week. So don’t delay.

Capt. Bob

Photos from Uncle Pat

By perseverance the snail reached the ark...

I don't believe it. I got to the computer before everyone else. We are motoring east on the ICW just below Pensacola on our way to Tallahassee. We had to make a short stop to change the air filters on both engines. We were starting to blow black smoke from Rita and got an indicator light for a clogged filter so we decided to change them both. We will probably anchor early today.

At the end of this bay we start into a 20 mile canal and we don't think we can make it to the other end by dark. We need a little maintenance down below anyway.

When we started this trip everyone looked at the map and commented on how far we had to go. It was a daunting prospect. I said then that there would come a time when we would be saying "oh my we only have this much time left to enjoy this trip." Well that time has come. We are looking at the dwindling miles ahead with sinking hearts. We are glad to be getting home but sad that the adventure is coming to a close. But there will be more adventures ahead for this boat and I'm sure for this crew. They have been great, and I'd sail with them anywhere in the world.

Capt. Bob

Goodbye Alabama – Hello Florida!

This morning we crossed the state line into Florida and the panhandle. We did question why there was no sun once we crossed the line. After all, as the Captain said, “this is the sunshine state”. It was forecast to rain today – but so far just cloudy and chilly.

We had a great time in Mobile. (Thank you Jeannette and Rudy!) The entrance into Mobile Bay down the Mobile ship channel is fascinating. There were ships of all sizes, colors and configurations lining each side of the channel along with huge dry dock facilities to haul these humongous vessels up and out of the water for repair, paint and etc. We got to see oil rigs, a first for me, man are they impressive! This is a true working port. Much larger than anything we have in S. Florida.

As we made way across Mobile Bay to Dog River Marina, a fog settled in over the water. It was like traveling in a cocoon. Capt. Bob and Lionel did extremely well in finding our way – and the fog parted (sort of like Moses parting the sea) just as we came into the small, narrow channel for the marina. I know Mr. Bibber had a hand in that.

We got Achievement secure she, Rita, Louise, Mercedes – and yes, even “Annie” would get some much-deserved rest for the next couple of days. Jeannette and Rudy came for dinner. Jeannette brought us some Mardi Gras beads and beautiful fresh cut Camellias. I was not aware that Alabama has a Mardi Gras every year. I believe it runs for a month. Jeanette and Rudy have been going to the balls; there are parades and all kinds of festivals. Alabama’s Mardi Gras was an event long before New Orleans’s Mardi Gras.

Monday was our shopping day – the Captain treated us to lunch. Monday evening Jeannette and Rudy picked us up for dinner. The restaurant was on the water and a really cool place. Rudy pointed out some of the sights on our way. Dinner was excellent – but the Company was even better.

Tuesday was the infamous TV interview. Our Captain did an excellent job (he looked cute – didn’t he?) Darwin was very personable, professional, and he, just like all the others before, was quite taken with Achievement.

We left Mobile about 11 or so and anchored in Wolf Bay for the night. Sadly, Spyder could not make the trip, so we had to make the remainder of the dump cake and eat all ourselves. (Spyder, when you get to Miami to visit – the Captain can make one for you. He now – like all of us – knows how)

Cruising along the GIWW (Gulf Intercoastal Waterway) is very different from where we’ve been. We are now (first time for Achievement) in salt water. Yesterday we had porpoise leaping at the bow – I know they were excited and welcoming Achievement home. We are traveling through narrow cuts in between islands that lead to a string of bays. Along the banks is some of the whitest sand you will see. Gorgeous beaches and in some areas only a narrow strip of white sand and sand dunes between the bay and the Gulf. The sand here consists of almost entirely white quartz. Other than it still being pretty cold, the seas (even in some of the larger bays) have been easy to travel. It will be interesting to see how Achievement handles the open Gulf.

There are two sailboats traveling along behind us. Ahhh! It’s good to be home…..

Here's the link to the story

Well, Captain Bob was featured on WPMI-TV, NBC 15 in Mobile Alabama on the "Here's Darwin" series. Reporter Darwin Singleton met with the crew yesterday morning at 10:30 and put together this report. To see the story & watch the video, click on the photo at left.

It's a GREAT story. And you get to see the boat in action!

Tue. 1/23/07

We are anchored in Wolf Bay on the ICW about MM164 just east of Mobile Bay. our TV moment went well. Darwin was a real gentleman . He showed up this morning with his camera man Mike. We chatted a little on the dock. He seemed genuinely interested in the boat and its history. We showed him around the boat, from stem to stern. Mair even got a shot of him looking out the transom door. He wanted to take some shots of us untying the lines and shoving off. Then they raced onto the bridge and got some shots of us approaching and then going away into the open bay.

It was a little brisk in the morning but by the time we left it was shirt sleeve weather. That didn't last long. The wind picked up out of the north and the bay got a little Rollie.

We made our planned run for the day. Got the hook down right at sundown Pat made veggie pasta for dinner and tomorrow we start our run for Tallahassee.

Capt Bob

Achievement in the News

Well, the interview went off great this morning by all reports. I spoke to the reporter, Darwin Singleton, after the interview and he was very impressed with Achievement Alpha, the crew and Captain Bob! Reports from the crew also say it was a great interview.

The segment will be two minutes and air tonight at 5:00 pm. You may be able to watch the segment at www.nbc15online.com. Search for the "Here's Darwin" feature and it should be posted there in the next day or two.

I'm also expecting a copy of it for posterity and when I do I'll post it as well. We're going to try and get some play again in Tampa when the boat reaches this market, so cross your fingers and say a prayer that there will be interest.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Just got back from dinner with Jeanette and her husband Rudy. They took us to a very nice seafood place on the causeway. Every one is stuffed. We had a slow day today. Did a little shopping . Picked up a link for our anchor chain. I'm sure you have already heard about us loosing an anchor in Bashi creek. It was a big sucker too, about 100# or so. The crew grabbed the wrong piece of line to secure it with and when we tried to retrieve it the line snapped. I got a little leg whipping from the recoil but nothing serious.

Our photo shoot is set for tomorrow morning at 10:30. We might all be movie stars by the time we get this boat to Miami. We plan to jump off soon after the interview. It's 300 plus miles to Tallahassee and the St Marks River. It will take us about 4 days weather permitting to get there. Scott, you should look for us around Saturday. We'll call with progress reports.

It looks like every one has retired for the evening. It seems like that’s the only time I get to use the computer, when every one else is asleep. Oh well not much else to report anyway.

Capt. Bob

My log - Sunday

Good Morning! Today started with my being awakened by lightening (or at least that was my first thought). Yep! It was another tug shining its spotlight on us. This time when I looked out the window all I could see was the shoreline. We were anchored in Three Rivers Lake, off the river – I am guessing they could see our stern from the river and shined a light to check us out. Never saw them, but felt the wake as they went by.

Today being Sunday (Pancake Day), Lionel was rousted out of his bunk by the same light, made us sausage and pancakes for breakfast. We were on our way by 8:00AM. I was below and missed “Annie” being hurled into daylight, but it appears she came up without mishap.

The sun is gone again (darn it!) and we have our usual weather of overcast skies, but o quite as cold. However the sunrise this morning was nice – No – Not Red Skies – Just Pink. I am sure that makes a difference. So no sailor warnings today – maybe just caution?

Today the river has no contrast. It really is starkly beautiful (if that makes sense?). The water is once again that coffee and cream color, the banks pretty much the same color as the water, the trees have no green – just bare limbs that are grey and brown, the sky is grey as well. It is sort of like looking at the world in black and white. Very interesting looking and not at all what we are used to. Occasionally there will be (what appears to be) a fish camp. Most are little more than shacks. Victor said they reminded him of the move “Deliverance”. There are some Sandy (mud-sand?) beaches and areas where there are small hills along the bank, you can see how the river, perhaps during floods have carved away at the sides. Where the banks are level to the water, they slowly incline up and away from the river, the bottoms of the trees, which come right to the water, are dark with watermarks from high water. It looks like the trees in Florida after a brush fire – when the trunks are black and scorched. This is not quite as dark but goes fairly high up the trunks.

I saw an otter yesterday and another bald eagle. We are now about 40 miles from Mobile – still pretty desolate. Just a while ago, we passed where the Alabama River joins the Tombigbee – the two combine and make up the Mobile River. We’ve said farewell to the Tombigbee.

Guess What? We made a dump cake last night. I say we, because it was a collective effort. All five of us had a hand in it. If you have ever made dump cake (Sha – I know you have; and the guys kept referring to how Aunt Anita would do it) you know how easy it is. I didn’t till last night. Anyway we had big discussions about the pan to use, how much mix, how much butter, where to place the butter, how much fruit and how long to bake. With all those important decisions made, we popped it in the oven and had the best chocolate, cherry dump cake ever. Ahh! The simple pleasures of living on board. It was the highlight of our day. Even the oven got in the spirit of things and cooperated fairly well.

I think Spyder – the Captains childhood long time friend - will be joining us in Mobile to either finish the trip with us or at least travel part way. We are saving the rest of our dump cake ingredients for when he comes on board. Oh, Yes! Last night there was even song to the effect of “We knew you were coming –so we baked a cake!” Oh, Spyder you are in for a treat! Ya think we’ve been on this boat for too long?

When we get back and you see the Captain – you must get him to sing his state songs. He (so far) has made up a line or two for every state we’ve gone through – be sure to get him to add his hand action!

Hopefully we will get to see cousin Jeanette while in Mobile. It should be a busy and exciting few days. Then we are off into the Gulf of Mexico and to the Pan Handle of Florida. (Maybe some sun?????

January 20 – Saturday

Bashi Creek was our anchorage for last night. It is a very deep, but narrow creek sporting a boat ramp. A really nice couple we met at Demopolis Marina, Homer and Goldie, on board their 33-foot Morgan Out Island sailboat, are headed for Port St. Joe in the panhandle, and have made this leg of the trip before. They were kind enough to suggest the creek, in fact followed us in and tied up for the night. We visited over a cocktail and I gave them the tour. My first – usually one of the guys get to do the bragging and showing off. I enjoyed the opportunity. Every time I start to explain to someone about the boat, I get excited all over again. She is just so neat.

It took a little bit of time to get Achievement settled in the creek – the current kept kicking her butt towards the ramp side of the creek. The Capt. decided a stern anchor would solve the problem. The anchor (not sure where it was hiding) was brought into service – tied off with yellow rope (Lionel said he thought Bud was on board and it was ski rope) and deployed overboard. Victor got her secured to the humongous cleat. Sure enough, Achievement settled right down. She rode comfortably all night.

Next morning the crews concern was “How do we hoist this anchor up?” The Captain had a solution for that too. After Locomotive Breath (named after a song) untied and went on her way, the people proceeded to get the anchor up. Every day “Annie” has a different surprise for us – well her friend at the stern was no exception. Seems the anchor was buried in the mud! The line pulled so taught that it snapped. I missed the excitement (darn it) but we bid a farewell to the anchor. Victor had a near miss when the line snapped and the Captain was slapped across the legs – no injury thank goodness!

We conquered our last lock on our journey today at Coffeeville. Today the sun has been in and out and though chilly, it is a nice day. The section is very desolate. The only marina between Demopolis and Mobile Bay is Bobby’s Fish Camp. We passed it a while back. It consists of one dock with a gas pump in the center. The cruising guide said it was rustic – and they weren’t kidding.

We will be in Mobile, AL by tomorrow – earlier that we expected. I understand Cathy has spoken to a TV station in Mobile that wants to cover the story of Achievement’s history and journey. How exciting. After sitting and waiting to be rescued for all these years, she is now going to be a TV star. She deserves it!

Fri. 1/19/07

We have left the marina in Demopolis and made our way down river to MM 145 on the Black Warrior River. We are tucked into a little creek called Bashi creek. We pulled in and it’s just a little wider than the boat but its 100’ deep. We had to deploy our stern anchor for the first time. We locked thru the Demopolis lock with 3 other boats, a sport fish that took off and left us in the


dust. And a 53 Hatteras which we left in the dust. We caught up with a 33 out island sailboat that left the marina about 3 hours before us. They are tied up to our starboard side and are having a drink with us. We do our last lock tomorrow. It’s about 30 miles down river. If we get in a good day’s run we should be in Mobile on Sunday. Pat fixed some green Chili and pork for dinner.

Achievement Alpha in the News

Some may be wondering about Debbie's comment. Looks like we've successfully interested the media in Mobile. On Tuesday at 10:30 a reporter from NBC 15, Mobile will be out to interview the crew. I'll try and get a clip and post it on my website for all to see. Stay tuned. This is an incredible story, and it's great that the media is starting to take notice. Bobby, there may be a movie in here yet! Be ready to star! I'm sure Dad couldn't think of anyone better to play his part. Vanity dictates it would be someone your age! Love you Dad!

January 19 – Friday

I just saw a big, fat owl perched in a tree on the bank! We are underway on the Tombigbee River about 170 miles from Mobile. No, it isn’t any warmer, the cold and rain caught up with us a few days ago – but at least the sun is out today.

Yesterday was a good day. Lionel and Bob were going to spruce up the girls, Rita, Louise and Mercedes. They needed oil changes and some other stuff. Pat and Victor went to the grocery store and I visited downtown Demopolis. The guys dropped me off on the way – however, it is in walking distance of the Marina. Downtown consists of two streets, about three blocks long, at the center, a park with pond and fountain. Even this time of the year there were some lillies (is there any such thing as winter lillies?) pansies and what looks like ornamental cabbage in bloom. Quite pretty even though it was (as usual) cloudy and sprinkling.

Temperature wasn’t too bad – about mid-50’s I think. It was enjoyable to window shop – I did go in every place that was open – so I guess window-shopping means “just looking”. Everyone was very nice and I got to chat with all of them. At the post office when I asked for directions – the gal pulled out a telephone book – I thought the phone books in Key Largo and Crawfordville were small – this was teeny tiny. Anyway, she gave me instruction. My destination was the Bluff House, a historical antebellum home on the river. I walked the grounds of the old home that eventually winds down to the river. Here the river has what some refer to as the white bluffs. They are probably 15 – 20 feet or so in height, white and line the bank of the river. They are, actually limestone. In the gift shop at the house, I found that the bluffs used to be 40 or so feet higher. In 1953 with the advent of the dam, the water level rose about 40 feet covering most of the bluff.

I treated myself to lunch at the Napoleons Café in the historical Demopolis Inn. Great potato soup and ½ fresh chicken salad sandwich. Pat and Vic picked me up on the way back to the Marina. Definitely a nice few hours.

Our return found the Captain visiting with another cruiser who is wintering here. Pete has lived and traveled for the past 10 years on a 40’ Marine Trader Trawler. He had Bob bring his laptop to his boat so they could download some navigational program that will interface with the GPS. I understand Bob provided a tour of Achievement to Pete and another Captain while we were gone. Needless to say, the planned pampering for the girls didn’t get done. Last evening we all piled in the Marina’s courtesy car and drove to the Red Barn restaurant. It is actually and old barn made into a restaurant. A uniquely different place to dine. Food was good, but the company was better.

Lionel and I jumped ship and opted for a motel room for the night. Sure was nice after sleeping in separate cabins. All and all the stop provided some needed down time for the captain and crew.

This AM (our usually early start) Lionel and I got back on board about 7:00 AM – Yep! Everyone was asleep. I banged on doors and got some mumbled “good mornings”. Lionel (for the second time in his life) has vertigo and is really feeling terrible. Bob, Pat and Victor tended to the girls needs, while I did a couple loads of laundry. Finally off the dock about 10:00AM. For the first time we went through a lock with two other pleasure boaters. The Demopolis Lock was our next to last lock, the last being at Coffeeville 100 some odd miles away.

The river is (an unmolested Tombigbee) wider here with water carved banks of what appears to be clay. Some boat ramps and creeks here and there. More barge traffic than we’ve seen in a while, but no homes or civilizations on this stretch. We have no phone or internet signal and I’m guessing we probably won’t till tomorrow some time.

In spite of our not so early days and mishaps, we are making pretty good time. We expect to be in Mobile Sunday or Monday. Guess the Capt. is correct and we will be home by the end of the month……

Demopolis Yacht Basin

Not much happened today. Pat and Victor went shopping with Mair. Lionel and I stayed on the boat and were supposed to change the oil in all the engines but got caught up in other things and never got it done. It will have to wait for Mobile.

I met some very nice people in the marina. Gave a few tours of the boat. Chatted with a very nice gentleman named Pete Andrews. He was loaded with local knowledge as well as some neat electronic charts which he was more then happy to let me use.

I wish all who follow this Blog will feel free to post comments – we look forward to hearing from each and every one of you! And suggestions are welcome as well. Anything will do. Even a place to drop the hook, (Lord knows we need those). Tomorrow looks like jump off day. We hear the river from here on down to Mobile is very desolate but also very beautiful. More to follow.

Capt Bob

Goodbye Mississippi – Hello Alabama!

January 16th and 17th. Tuesday and Wednesday

Oh, Yes! Everyday is an adventure. After our anchoring for the night adventure (Bob makes it all sound so easy – we did run aground three times – the anchor was down and up again – pitch black – do we know where we are? Nah! – but we are close! Sure gets my heart a pumpin’.) The Capt. and the crew (guys) just sort of take it all in stride. I’m thinking it’s a male thing! However must admit they are right. The hook was dropped – we stopped and slept without incident until early AM when Mercedes quit. I know she has worked her heart and soul out – but the Captain did call her a “Temperamental Bitch” and I think her feelings were hurt. As the Capt. said, we did get an early start.

While he and Lionel were making her (Mercedes) feel better, I saw the lights from a Tug out my window and knew he was headed right for us. I ran to the engine room – asked if we had anchor lights on; the Capt. confirmed we did, I proceeded to run to the cabin door just in case I had to jump overboard when the tug hit. Afterwards I heard complaints that “Sure, you were just going to leave us down (in the engine room) there”. Hey! What’s a girl to do? I did say a tug looked like it was headed for us and then asked if the lights were on. No excitement on their part – only mine. As usual, I over reacted. Will I again? You’re damn right!

Of course more excitement was in store – after our (in my mind) near being crashed into miss-Two Ton Annie decided the boulders, clay and trees were not enough – she now had to keep company with a huge, long cable. Golly, it is amazing how Bob, Lionel, Pat and Victor just keep on truckin. What ever is thrown their way – they deal with it and move on. Sort of like life - lessons to be learned here! We did pass over the State Line to Alabama. The way the line runs, at one time Achievement was in both states at one time.

Our anchorage last night was well before sunset – in the “Old” Tombigee River. Nice, safe and quiet place. We had an early dinner of ribs and by 6:30PM, everyone was ready for bed – by 9:00 everyone was sound asleep.

Today on the water was sort of ordinary; although it may have been the mind set. It was cold and no matter how many times I tried to get my butt outside for the view – Brrr! Just couldn’t do it. Back inside – so other than looking out on occasion from the space-heated warmth of the “sun room” the day was spent indoors.

We got to Demopolis, AL about 1:00PM today – much quicker than I anticipated. Currently we are tied up to a dock at Demopolis Marina. I got to see TV today for the first time since Dec. 23rd in the boaters lounge. My choices were; first weather, second Dr. Phil - guess what? I really don’t miss it.

Achievement, as usual, commands a lot of attention. On our way here the last lock tender expressed big interest as well as a couple from Coco Beach that are here, at the marina. on their trawler. They came over to the boat for a tour. Most question, “What kind is it?” then are intrigued with her history. We have all become very smitten with her and jump at the chance to explain her enchanting past.

Bob, Lionel and I had dinner at the marina restaurant. Pat and Victor decided to stay on board and keep an eye on things. (I’m sure the warmth of the boat and having some quiet time were big deciding factors) Tomorrow we are off to town for groceries and supplies so we will be ready to leave early Friday AM. We have conquered the Tenn-Tom Waterway and Friday will be on the Tombigee River to Mobile. The next 200+ miles are pretty desolate. Not sure if we will have phone or internet signal.

Next marina stop – Mobile, Alabama. We are guessing by Monday (I’m thinking Tuesday). The saga continues….

Wed. 1/17/07

We have landed in Demopolis Ala. We are at the Demopolis Yacht Basin Marina. A very nice group of people. They came out to help us tie up at the fuel dock. We will be staying thru tomorrow, probably leave Friday morning. Today went very well, no hang ups.

We started early and made good time. We ran into a jokester at the Heflin Locks. He told us they were only locking thru 70 and 75 footers today. We were going to have to cut off a couple of feet or no go. Once we got into the lock he grabbed Lionel's ear and wouldn't let go.

Patrick made some great Burritos for lunch they had everything in them. His imagination knows no bounds. We are fueling up as I write. Victor just finished filling the water tank. When I finish with this blog I will try to get the boiler fired up. It is supposed to get down below freezing tonight. i don't think our space heaters will keep up. We are going to sample the local restaurant tonight. Every one needs some time off every once in a while.

Capt. Bob

Tuesday, January 16th

Good evening folks. It looks like we can only get out every other day, and today is the day. Yesterday was one of those funny bad days. it rained all day. It was the 100% chance of rain day we have been out running ever since we left Kentucky Lake Marina. We were glad we were putting all those locks between us and the Ohio River.

We got a call from our river Angel Mike. He informed us that with all the rain they were having the river was expected to rise 10 to 15 feet over night. He said his parking lot would be under water. I'm glad we chose the Tenn. Tom instead of the Mississippi River to head south. All that water has to go somewhere.

We did 6 locks and dropped 265'. With the overcast skies it was dark before we knew it and had to fool around trying to anchor in the dark. Well we ran aground 3 times before we got settled in. she's a strong boat and pulled herself off each time. Pat made chicken cacciatore for dinner; it was excellent.

This morning was the morning from hell. Mercedes quit about 4Am. I got up around 5, got dressed and went down to restart. She cranked right up so I went into the galley and started the coffee. Lionel comes down the stairs just as Mercedes shuts down again. We look at each other and decide we might as well service her so we got to work and changed the fuel filter, oiled her up, topped off the coolant and fired her up. She was happy.

It's still only 5:30 ish so Lionel Whips up some pancakes for breakfast we brew another pot of coffee. It looks like we are going to get away at the first crack of light. I wake up the wheel house, fire up the Cats, we are ready to go. The anchor is up in record time only to find it snagged on the biggest cable you have ever seen. This was at least a 1 inch tow cable and it's wrapped around the flukes of the anchor. Lionel gets help on the foredeck and we start doing circles in the river. It's not very wide and we had already run aground the night before. We played with it for about an hour and ended up slowly going down stream with this cable dragging down both sides of the boat. We finally rigged a hook and line to the cable to lift it off the anchor then do a pirouette with the boat to leave the cable up stream, when it cleared the hook we let it go line and all. Lionel commented that he hopes we have enough line on board so we can throw 20 or so feet away every morning. So much for our early start.

The day has not been lost though. We did get in about 60 miles. We chose a spot to spend the night well in advance of dark. The hook went down about 4:30. Lionel did Ribs on the grill. Patrick made home made apple sauce. Life is good.

Tomorrow we hit Demopolis Alabama We will tie up at a marina. Fuel up, do some shopping, and relax a bit before the run to Mobile.

Capt. Bob

January 14th. and 15th. Sunday and Monday

Good-bye Tennessee – Hello Mississippi! Savannah, TN looked pretty neat from the water. I could see some antebellum homes on the hillside. One in particular looked like Tara (as in Scarlet O’Hara). We dropped the hook just a hair south of there. Pickwick lock and Pickwick Lake are for tomorrow morning. We stopped early, which was quite a nice change. While the Capt. worked on his Blog in the galley, Pat, Victor, Lionel and I went to the top deck and had a drink while watching the sunset. What a nice spot. It was actually warm enough to be out without a jacket.

First thing Sunday we passed Shiloh Forest National Park, which was home to the Mound People back in the 1200’s and also the site of a Civil War Battle. I think that would be must see on another trip here. We then conquered Pickwick Lock and entered Pickwick Lake, which is the terminus of the Tennessee River for us. The lake is beautiful with lots of little creeks, the cruising guide says it is a great place to gunk-hole and I could see why. We only ran about 8 miles of the lake before we made our exit to the Divide Cut.

The Divide is a man made waterway to make a passageway from the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee. It was actually suggested to be done back in the 1700’ to save time (by about 600 miles). It finally was approved, completed and open for boating traffic in 1985. Quite an accomplishment. It sort of reminded me of the St. Lucie/Caloosahatchee Canals.

Mike (our very first River Angel) called yesterday just to see how it was going. What a terrific guy. We really enjoyed talking with him (although I really think he called to ask the Captain to explain his Anchor incident) Ray, one of our other River Angels also called after we left his area to see how it was going, and Capt. Shawn another River Angel has been in contact thru the blog. How nice is that?

We anchored last night in a cove at Bay Springs, MS. Gorgeous! Lionel did a bit of fishing (no catching, though) from the front deck. It was an early stop - Our next lock was the monster lock with an 84 ft. drop, with four or five more locks within about 20-30 miles. Didn’t want to be caught in between.

Again, though overcast it was a real pretty night. We had hors d'oeuvres and a couple drinks while watching a non-existent sunset. There were five baby ducks in the cove. It was interesting to see how the all went under the water together and popped up together. How Cute!

Woke up this morning to a rainy, foggy day. Much cooler. I think the promised rain and cold weather finally caught up with us. The Whitten (84ft) lock was awesome. I find it amazing how the Corps of Engineers (or anyone for that matter) could make something like that actually work. It was quite easy to lock though – no turbulence as all.

We are now in the Tenn-Tom waterway headed for Mobile, Al. It is a waterway that runs fairly straight. Actually the Army Corps of Engineers made a straighter sailing line of the (what they call) the Old Tombigbee. The Tenn-Tom has a levy on one side, but the other is (or appears to be) natural shoreline. Dense woods, creeks and coves. I even saw a Beaver Dam in one of the creeks. The land is pretty flat here, only an occasional hill. No more palisades – I miss the beauty of them, but this is very pretty as well. An occasional house appears behind the dense growth of trees every now and then. We’ve seen flocks of geese, cormorants and loads of blue heron. Had no idea we’d see that many heron this far north. We have seen them since the beginning of our trip. Even saw a couple bald eagles today.

Lionel was the point person for most of the locks today. It was rainy and cold out. Generally a miserable day. However, Bob was looking out for his younger brother and made sure he dressed for the weather. At one lock, I came around from the poop deck with my camera to take a picture of the lock and here Lionel was looking just like the guy on the fish sticks box. He had on a yellow slicker, yellow rain hat and a life vest over it all. Struck me funny – boy did he look cute. He said Bob thought it was funny too! Of course, I got a couple pictures – Bob tells me he did too – it was just too good to resist. Now if I hadn’t killed the digital I could have sent them. Oh Well!

We had a pretty exciting anchoring experience today – I’ll let the Capt. fill you in on the details. Lionel insists after tonight that we start looking for a place to anchor by 3PM.

All is well – looking forward to more exiting adventures tomorrow!

Dam! We're Lucky.

Today was a pretty good run. We left Wolf Island about 7:20 in the morning a light breakfast and we were off. The hook came up in record time. We only had a short way to the Pickwick Lock and dam. On our transit from Kentucky Lake to Pickwick Lake we lucked out: when we called the lock the women handling the lock informed us to hurry on down and she would lock us thru now or else it would be about a 3 hour wait. When we got in it was a huge lock and we made our biggest jump yet locking up 45’. On the Pickwick side, we saw a tow with 15 barges leaning against the lock wall waiting for us to clear. Good timing.

Our run down the lake was relatively short as we jumped off onto Yellow Creek and into the divide cut, a 27-mile canal dug by the Corps of Engineers to link the Tennessee River with the Tombigbee River. Then onto Whitten Lake, a deep-water lake at the mouth of the Tennessee Tom waterway.

We are anchored in a small cove just above the first lock and it is a doozy. Tomorrow is lock thru day. We hit 5 locks in a 30 mile span and drop approx. 200’ the first lock is the biggest at 84’. Then they are about 30’ each from there on.

We put the hook down early today so we can get a lump on the locks tomorrow. Grilled pork chops with sweet potatoes and green beans. Umm Good

Capt. Bob

My Log - Actually back logged!

January 12, 2007 Friday

At anchor at MM 125 on Kentucky Lake/Tennessee River. Have been derelict in getting my log updated. I believe we made our first 102-mile day when I mistakenly got everyone up early. We’ve had several occasions pulling up the anchor that we’ve had boulders, tree trunks and this morning a huge clump of clay. In fact, the other morning we had a boulder and two tree trunks. It usually takes about an hour to get the hook up, even with the windless. Imagine how difficult (if not impossible) it would have been without the windless. (Bob told us that Mr. Bibber purchased the windless in Scotland)

Finally made the exciting turn into the Tennessee River and left the Ohio River behind us along with Indiana. The very last lock (Smithfield) on the Ohio was pretty hairy. A tug with his barges was going in the chamber next to us when the wind and tide caught him – he lost control; crossed over to the chamber we were assigned. For a time I thought we would be squashed between the barges and the wall of the lock. Thank God, Bob is always in control. He maneuvered us out of harms way and into the other chamber. I was on the bow to take pictures, but never captured our near miss. We were too mesmerized with the chain of events to think to take pictures. We picked up the Tennessee River shortly thereafter. Our turn was at Paducah, KY. MM 0 for the Tennessee River and MM 990 something for the Ohio River. We traveled a long way on the Ohio, starting at MM 9 in Pittsburgh on Dec. 23rd. A short way down (actually up) the Tennessee we had to go thru a lock. This time we locked up about 35 feet, but had to wait about 2 hours for a tug to go before us. It was windy as heck – tried to tie up to a mooring buoy, actually after several attempts, finally were successful. Not a comfortable place to be – Achievement was bucking and bouncing with the waves, wind and current slapping her around, Capt. finally decided to untie and do some doughnuts until time we could get thru the lock.

Coming out the other side was a beautiful site. Kentucky Lake, one of the largest man made lakes in the world. The water was cleaner, not as much debris, and had lost the coffee and cream color of the Ohio. The lake is surrounded by islets, creeks, islands, hills and is gorgeous.

We went to Kentucky Dam Marina for the night, arriving about 4:30PM. Next day (in the Marina’s courtesy van), we all went into town for supplies. This trip has not been a pleasure cruise – the main goal being getting Achievement home as quickly as possible – so an opportunity to drive on land and see some of the town is a real treat – even if it’s not any of the touristy spots. I know we will never have the opportunity to do this trip again, but if we did, we’d take our time and visit some of the river towns. Lots of history here and I would love to see it and meet the people. Everyday I think about how fortunate we are to be here.

We wound up staying at the Marina for two nights and left late the second day. Boy did they have Great Showers! One of the inconveniences is not being able to take a shower every day. Moreover, when you do get to take one – it’s get wet – turn off the water – soap up – turn on the water- rinse off and get out.

We left Kentucky behind today and are now in Tennessee, about 2/3 of the way. The next State will be Mississippi. The river here is even more beautiful than in Kentucky. We read in the cruising guide that there was a Heron Rookery at MM 189.9 on the northern shore. Victor and I from the poop deck, and Lionel and Bob from the Wheelhouse looked, but never saw it. Guess it’s a seasonal thing!

We made about 87 miles today, dropped the hook after dark – looking for an island, which we did not find. Today, though cloudy has been the warmest day yet. The temperature on the poop deck read 70 degrees. Tonight is the first night we have not had the space heater on. Getting South! Hooray!

The other day Bob climbed the mast to replace our anchor light bulb, tonight Lionel did (Yep! It blew again). Made me nervous, but he did a good job and Bob stood by to help him down. Those two are something else.

Tomorrow the weather calls for 100% chance of rain and a high in the 50’s. We’ll see if they are correct. I hope not!

January 13th. – Saturday

The weatherman was wrong. The temperature on the poop deck is reading 72 degrees. Although it is overcast, we have not had the first drop of rain.

Captain Shawn said on the blog that this was his favorite part of the trip – Wow! I can see why. Every time I think the scenery is some of the most beautiful I’ve seen – it outdoes itself and becomes even more spectacular. I can only imagine how it must look during the summer or fall. We are starting to see more green now and yesterday started seeing cypress trees. Today there have been many anglers on the water – not sure if it’s because it is a Saturday or the weather is comfortable. Probably a combination of both.

Did you know that in Kentucky Lake they set traps and dive for mussels? A few days back we actually saw some divers in the water. They use the meat for bait and the shell for cultured pearl industry. In fact, at Birdsong Creek MM 105 they have the Tennessee River Fresh Water Cultured Pearl Farm in America.

The hills (I still think they are mountains) are awesome. The sheer rock faces have a variety of hues, outcroppings of trees, an occasional small waterfall and some have homes precariously perched at the top. Some of these have massive stairways that are hundreds of feet high, leading to the water or ledges in the rocks. I couldn’t imagine having to (or wanting to) climb them.

Up until a few days ago I was taking photos with Lionel’s digital camera – I could download and label the same day. Weeelllllll – after dropping it a million times, it finally had a critical fall! Yep! I killed it. Thank heaven’s Lionel (though a bit upset) did not kill me. So now I’m taking pictures with my Minolta (not digital) and probably will not be able to remember where any of them were taken. Victor has a great eye and has been taking some great photos. He is (and should have been) the designated photographer for the trip. I have been told to “Stand away from the cameras!” Geeze – you would think I break them or something!

We will be approaching Savanna, TN shortly so have to pay attention to the surroundings now…..

Saturday, January 13th

Hello everyone. Didn’t get a chance to post yesterday. It was a long and overcast day. We had left Kentucky Dam Marina and anchored about 20 miles or so up lake. Well we went to pull the hook yesterday and it wouldn't come up. We tried everything but it would not budge. We finally used the weight of the boat to run over the hook and rip it out of the bottom. When we got the hook to the surface it was just huge gob of clay the size of a small car. We were going to start the pumps and hose off the gob but Mercedes quit.

We then lowered the hook down into the water and proceeded on our way. A little slower then usual but we were making way. It took about an hour to get it clean and properly stowed. After that it was up river all day. We made a decent days run of about 80 miles. We stretched the day a little long and found ourselves running after dark. In fact it was so dark-thirty by the time we approached our designated anchorage, a small island. We almost ran right over it. But all was well.

Mercedes died again plus our anchor light blew. Lionel had cooked up some pork loins on the bar/b so we broke for dinner and fixed the problems after. Victor made Pistachio pudding for dessert. And believe it or not, the Capt. is losing weight.

We pulled the hook early this morning. It seems everyone was up early. Mercedes was or should I say has been, acting funny and last night was no exception. She surged all night like she was going to shut down but never did and as soon as everyone got up she just hummed along like nothing was wrong. Temperamental Bitch.

Our run today was almost the same as yesterday with the exception that we put the hook down in the daytime. We are about 10 miles above the Picwik Lock and Dam. Behind Wolf island. Not far from Savannah Tennessee. We will be getting on the Tom-Tennessee waterway shortly after we join Picwik Lake. From there on we will be in Mississippi for about 200 miles then bop back into Alabama for the run down to Mobile.

Pat made a meatloaf for dinner and Lionel is cooking it up on the grill. He is the grill king.
Capt. Bob

Thu. 1/11/07

We have slipped out of Kentucky Dam Marina and headed on up towards home. The people at Kentucky Lake were just the greatest every one went out of there way to see to it that we were taken care of. Nothing was too big a request. A super place to visit or stay if you are in the area.

We got in about 20-25 miles this afternoon, it felt good to be back underway. The boat needs to be moving. We ran aground this evening, well sort of anyway. We were checking the charts for a place to drop the hook and this little cove looked promising. We snuck up on it with me at the controls and Lionel reading off the depth sounder. Well the bottom came up kind of fast, it went from 20 to 1 in about a boat length and she came to a stop, 120 tons of steel dead in the water. I put her in reverse but nothing happened, then I applied the throttles and kicked up a plume of mud but she backed off and we swung around and anchored a little further out. All is well.

Patrick is doing up some southwest chicken for dinner w/ pudding for dessert, a little wine and we are good to go. Mike from Campbell’s towing if you are following this blog, and we hope you are, post a comment and include your mailing address please. Thanks for the comment Shawn it was good to hear from you. And Jim I was thinking of you when we went thru Evansville. I heard you mention the place many times. It looks like dinner is ready. I'll talk to you all tomorrow.

Capt Bob

Wednesday, January 10th

Today has been slow day. We are still tied up at the marina. We took the loner van into Paducah KY to do a little shopping. We picked up most of our supplies but not all. We have some things coming in tomorrow. So we will spend tonight here and pull out tomorrow. They say it's supposed to rain the next few days, not what we wanted to hear.

Mercedes started acting up today. We turned her off when we went to town and when we got back she started to spit antifreeze all over the engine room. Lionel and I pulled the cooling tank off and re soldered a hose connection but when we reassembled it, it leaked again. We tore it down one more time and did a real good solder job on her only to find after we put it back together that it was leaking from a different spot. It was late .we came in to have dinner and will tackle it tomorrow. It’s a very small leak but we have to pull the tank off again.

I see all the new pics on the blog. Victor is now the official photographer for the trip.

Capt. Bob

We're on the Tennessee!

We are tied up at Kentucky Dam Marina we have made the turn onto the Tennessee River. We are truly heading south. Yesterday was a milestone: we had one of those mythical 100 mile days (102). We got the hook down and enjoyed a great Tilapia dinner thanks to Patrick, and 4 bottles of wine. Well we were celebrating our 100 mile day. After dinner and dishes we broke out the Uno cards and a bottle of black Sambuca, Patrick never scored a point but was hilarious to watch.

We were anchored in a very swift section of the river and I listened to logs careening off the hull all night. When we got up this morning we had a Paul Bunyan sized tree snagged in our anchor chain. It took the good part of an hour to free ourselves with cowboy Victor doing his best Roy Rogers imitation of a steer roper.

But on down the river we went. We only had 30 or so miles to the Tennessee and 20 plus to the Kentucky Dam. But we had one lock left on the Ohio and that proved to be our challenge for the day. The tow boat Jean Pierre with two barges went by as we were wrestling with the tree, and since he was pushing only two empty barges we could not pass him (he was moving pretty good). When we got to the Summerland Lock the lock tender assigned the tow the land side chamber and told us to wait for him to enter then take the river side chamber. This was very unusual because the river side chamber is bigger and it has a long lead in wall which the tows use to get into shape for the lock. Weeeeeell The wind was blowing like stink, the current was also running pretty good also and the tow got out of control, he started to come across into my side and trap me against the wall. The radio blares out that he was now taking the river chamber and I was to get out of the way. The engines roared, she backed down and we scooted out from under his stern and over to the landside chamber. With nary a word from the tow Capt. or the lock master. Even though it was his fault for sending the tow there in the first place.

But on we went. We started taking water over the bow for the first time down by the Tennessee turn off. When we got to the Kentucky Dam we were told it would be an hour to an hour and forty five minutes to lock thru. He had a tug with barges that couldn't both fit in the lock at the same time. We don't know how they did it but they locked them thru separately. We made a couple of attempts to tie up to the big mooring pillars they have in the river for the barges, and when we finally got it done it was too hairy so we let it go and just did donuts in the river. The lock itself was the smallest we have been in but it was the largest change in height. Up this time about 35' after waiting so long we decided to go for the marina instead of anchoring. They have a courtesy van so we can re-supply. We need a few things.

We'll be heading on down or should I say up the river tomorrow. The Tennessee runs toward the Ohio so we are really going up river now. That will change when we get into the Tom-Tenn which is slack water, then on to the Black Warrior and Tom Bigbee rivers which flow to Mobile bay.

Capt. Bob