Down the Tenn Tom

One item we had heard about on the AGLCA site was headsets so the deck hand can easily talk to the pilot. I was a little skeptical that we actually needed them, but purchased a set anyhow before we left. Now we use them for locking, anchoring, and docking. They are known as “marriage savers”. No more shouting, or misunderstood commands. The only issue is that many loopers use the same headsets on the same frequency. It is sometimes interesting “eavesdropping”!

There are many interesting sites on the Tenn Tom. Here is a little cabin for rent by the day, week, or month. It’s well back in the boonies, but the courtesy vehicle is sure to get you where you want to go. And right next door is the “communication” building, so you can stay in touch with the folks at home!

Yesterday it was time to pull out the next set of charts.   We’re done with the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee, and  Tenn Tom.

Time to get out the Black Warrior / Tombigbee, Mobile Bay, and west coast of Florida charts. We keep all the charts in a storage space below the mattress. A bit of a process to get to them, but we only need to do it a few times during the trip. Time to plot our routes for the gulf section.  On Friday night, we stayed at Pirates Cove marina, near Pickinsville, AL. A “quaint” little place. You had to be careful what side of the dock you walked on , or it would sink underwater. Next to us was this “project boat”. It is a Grebe - not sure what year it was built. Only five were constructed, and all are still floating. This one barely. There are three household sump pumps running constantly, and a gas powered trash pump on standby. 

A little ways down stream from the marina, is the Tom Bevill visitors center. Mr. Bevill was a US Senator who was very instrumental in the development of the Tenn Tom water way. There is a reproduction Antebellum house that acts as the visitors center. 

The Montgomery snag boat is also displayed here. This boat plied the rivers for years, pulling out fallen timber, and also doing some dredging. 

The boom on the front had a huge grapple hook to pull timber out of the river, and also had a large scoop used for dredging. It was steam powered, and paddle wheel driven. There were seven rudders for directional control. I am sitting at the boom controls.
The pilot steered the ship from the controls to the right.

 

A lot of people refer to the Tenn Tom as "the ditch".  We find it very interesting. It has a variety of terrain, and especially this time of year, the colors are impressive.  The White Cliffs of Epes are beautiful.

White cliffs of Epes!

Last night we had another beautiful anchorage at the Tombigbee Oxbow, just below the Heflin lock. The moon was almost full, and the stars were brilliant. Pat says Orion was large and in charge!

Today we made it to Demopolis. What a pleasant surprise when we pulled in. We had been told it is a “must stop”, as it is one of the last fuel stops and marinas for the next 150 miles.  However, we were also told not to expect much. That it was old and small. To our surprise, we ended up in a brand new basin they just got opened. The laundry and docks are some of the best we have seen.

Pat caught a ride to the grocery store and stocked up for the next fives days until we hit Mobile Bay. We’re thinking we’ll stay here tomorrow also so we can clean and wash the boat, and take care of some odds and ends. Groceries are almost put away!
If you don’t hear from us for a few days, it’s because we are at anchor in the boonies, on our way to Mobile.

Captain Ken