Cruising the Tenn-Tom

Sunrise over Yellow Creek

Shiloh artillery battery

Cemetery at Shiloh

Exhibit at the visitor's center

Grand Harbor Marina is located at the head of Yellow Creek and the beginning of the Tenn-Tom. Upon our arrival we were greeted by other loopers and had happy hour aboard Joysea. The marina, in Counce, TN, is located near the Shiloh Civil War Battlefield. Shiloh was one of the major battles early in the Civil War. We borrowed the marina’s courtesy car and went with Dave and Joyce to see the site. We had heard other people speak of how impressive this battlefield was, with many saying that it helped to visualize the tremendous costs of the war. With over 23,000 Union and Confederate soldiers killed here, it was indeed something to see. We toured the exhibits at the visitor’s center and watched a movie that was put together by the Shiloh Historical Society, and then we took a car tour of the battlefield. The marina had lent us a CD that narrated the events at each stop of the car tour, so we could better understand the timeline of the battle. Near the battlefield, the borders of Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi join. The routes are confusing and we spent almost an extra hour trying to find our way back to the marina! Oh well, fortunately it was raining by the time we made it back and no one else seemed to be waiting for the car. When we got back to the marina we were reunited that Dickie and Dixie Baylor aboard Me’ Neou. We spent time with them in NYC and had not seen or heard from them since we last saw them on the Hudson River. We invited them and the Johnsons to happy hour aboard Bavarian Cream and had a great time. The next day was a stay-in-port weather day with a major frontal system moving through the area which brought lots of rain and falling temperatures.

Fall colors on the Tenn-Tom

Waterway feeder gate

I'm tellin' ya,' this is how it was!

Happy hour in Bay Springs

Seven boats in the Whitten lock

A leaking Whitten lock

Captain Courageous challenges a tow!

Sunset at Midway Marina

After the weather finally cleared we moved on to Bay Springs, MS. Jane, Joyce and Dave made a Wal-Mart run while Capt. Larry remained behind and listened to some football games. There were several other looper boats that came into the marina and we had a big happy hour in the marina’s boater’s lounge, before returning to have dinner aboard the boat. The plan most people embraced was to leave very early the next morning and travel through 3 locks and almost 60 miles to Aberdeen, MS. Capt. Larry checked the predicted dewpoints and wasn’t so sure that we wouldn’t be fogbound in the morning. Around 0500 everyone started to arise and the chatter was that it would be clear enough to move around sunup at 0700. Capt. Larry noted that the coolest part of the day was just before sunrise and that fog could still set in. Sure enough, a really thick blanket rolled in around 0600 that would delay our departure. Once the sun was up the fog burned off fairly quickly above the nearby lock, but below the lock (an 84 foot drop) it was too soupy for navigation. Around 0830 five boats left the marina for the lock and were joined by two other boats that had anchored out.

Locked down in Whitten

It was the largest number of boats that we had ever locked through with. We ran through another lock and it was slow going and becoming apparent that the trip to Aberdeen would be too much in one day. At this second lock we witnessed an interesting event. A tow was coming out of the lock and asked all of the waiting pleasure crafts to allow him to pass on their starboard side. All of the boats moved to port to comply except one joker who remained close to the path of the tow. The tow captain radioed and told him he was too close for him to maneuver and asked him to move to port. The boat remained close to the tow and then actually moved directly in front of the exiting tow. The tow captain sounded 5 blasts on his horn, the danger signal, but the boat didn't immediately move out. What was he thinking? The guy finally moved out of the way and radioed the tow captain that he was on the wrong radio channel. However, that doesn't explain why he would pull directly into the path of the tow. Some people out here just don't think! The alternative plan was to go into Midway Marina in Fulton, MS. Here a courtesy car took those that needed a Wal-Mart run, but we remained behind and listened to the Saints lose to those god-awful St. Louis Rams! We grilled some steaks for dinner and turned in early for another big day.

Reunited with Confetti

Dressed for Halloween!

The next day we left and made our way to the Fulton Lock fairly early in the morning. On our way into the chamber, the lockmaster informed us that we were going to have to wait for another couple of boats that had just come through the Rankin Lock upstream. As we were waiting, we heard Confetti on the radio who was one of the boats we were waiting for. Sure enough, we were reunited with Dick and Lace Lacey whom we hadn’t seen since we parted in the Chesapeake back in June. It was good to see them. We called and invited them and Joysea to Bavarian Cream for dinner. Since it was Halloween, we decided to make a costume party out of it. We had happy hour and a delicious chicken pasta dinner aboard the boat complete with our recently acquired pumpkin lights just for the occasion. What fun!

Celebrating at Huck's Place

The food was exceptional!

Tennessee William's house

We left Aberdeen and passed through another lock to go to Columbus, MS. We thought that we would spend 3 days in Columbus to celebrate our anniversary and wait out some impending bad weather. We got to the marina and were put in covered slips, supposedly compliments of Roy Short’s efforts aboard Roy El’. We had talked to Roy and were asked to send greetings to the marina staff. Well, this really greased the wheels for us. After trading our favorite Roy El’ stories with the staff, we mentioned that we wanted to go to Roy’s recommended restaurant, Huck’s Place, for our anniversary. Well, Mr. T, the marina manager whips out his phone, and starts talking to someone named “Bubba.” He says we need reservations in the “room upstairs” and told us to reserve the courtesy car for our evening out. With that all set, we took the courtesy van to Wal-Mart the next day. We had dinner aboard Joysea that night where we were treated to a magnificent dinner of grilled Asian salmon with all of the fixings. It was delicious. The next day we borrowed the courtesy van again and took a tour of Columbus’s antebellum homes. We also got to tour one of Tennessee Williams’s early homes. That evening we made our way to Huck’s Place and had an excellent meal with Dave and Joyce. The food was really great from the appetizers to Jane’s selection of bread pudding for dessert. We had a wonderful night and enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate our anniversary with friends.

Taking pictures at Sumpter anchorage

The White Cliffs of Epes

Another white cliff pic

Lots of (big) debris on the waterway

Go, baby, go!

Joysea and Me' Neou

Watching the game

DJ Dixie and her zydeco

We headed for our next stop which was going to be an anchorage at Sumpter Landing on the Tenn-Tom. A bevy of boats left the marina at first light to make it to the waiting lock. We decided that we would play it smart and go with the next wave about an hour later. After 45 minutes, we called the lock and were told to come on over. When we got there the first-wave boats were all waiting. So much for “smart” planning. Bavarian Cream got the only open bollard in the lock, and of course we had to maneuver between boats to get to it since some captains either aren’t skilled or courteous enough to move forward and make room for boats that enter later. It was a rather long day and we entered the anchorage late in the day to find 3 other boats already there. We had a great evening “on the hook” and enjoyed some potato soup that we had made while in Columbus. The next morning we arose early to start off to the next stop, Demopolis, AL. We would go into a marina here and get ready to run the lower Black Warrior-Tom Bigbee River to Mobile. However, fog had set in and we were delayed almost 2 hours before it was clear enough for us to leave. Along the way we saw some fantastic sites such as the White Cliffs of Epes and other cliff and rock formations that were carved by the river. We also saw a fawn swimming across the river right in front of us. It was really cool and we have been amazed at Alabama’s beauty along its waterways. A few miles from Demopolis, we passed Me Neou’ who was running with Confetti. Just before Demopolis, the Tenn-Tom ends at the junction of the Black Warrior and Tom Bigbee Rivers. Everyone was going into the Demopolis Yacht Basin for the evening. We were hoping to catch the Alabama vs. LSU game on TV and had a fairly partisan LSU crowd. The marina told us we could watch the game in the boater’s lounge. Everyone brought some snacks and appetizers and we ordered pizza and cheered LSU to victory (by the skin of their teeth!). It was a great evening and get together and a wonderful end to the Tenn-Tom waterway.