Since leaving Grand Harbor Marina and starting on the Tenn-Tom we have spent 8 days at anchor (15 total days on anchor for October) in various little finger lakes off the Waterway. It has been peaceful without really any other boaters in our hidey holes, not even sailboats, who do have a way of sneaking in after dark.
Some of the sights along the Tenn-Tom journey.
The dinghy motor: Michael talked to a fix-it guy who made several suggestions. The biggest suggestion being check the fuel itself. Weeelllllll, that was ugly. The fuel for that motor we have had for about 2, maybe longer, years and over that time it essentially turned back into crude oil and it was full of water. Holy cow! So after purging the tank, all the lines and the engine carburetor Michael got it running again. We took it out and ran it through it’s paces up and down the little fingers of the bay we were in, and all was well and it looked like problem solved. Welp, guess again. The next day we took the Lottie boat way down the lake to a dinghy dock for the Tenn-Tom Waterway, Lock and Dam Museum at East Cotton Springs anchorage, also on Bay Springs Lake. Just as we got into the little bay the engine stalled and Michael was not able to get it started again. So we (I really mean Michael) paddled to the bank where we tied it off and trudged up the slippery, muddy, weedy, buggy bank to the back door of the museum. Yep, that was not the real entrance. It was on the other side of the island. The museum itself was OK, not the best, nor the worse we have ventured to. But there we met a couple who were doing basically the same thing we are doing, only they are doing it in a motorhome. They have even been to many of the same places we have been, only by roadway. They were fun to talk to and share stories of the adventures with.
We trudged back to the Lottie boat, hoping that giving the engine time to think about it’s behavior that it would start back up and take us back to THIS is what. But, of course that is not the way things turn out for us. The engine would not start, and it appeared there is probably still a fuel problem. So we (Michael) had to row all the way back to THIS is what and against a pretty swift breeze and against a little current. IT’S ALWAYS SOMETHING!!
Midway Marina is owned by the people who also own Midway Marine so when we got into the marina we took the loaner car, which is a story all in itself, and took the dinghy motor there for someone to figure it out. Michael could have done it if we were home or somewhere with a place bigger than our little kitchen counter to work on it. But hopefully, the problem will be solved once and for all.
The following night we got a message from Captain Matt, who was transporting At Last from Minnesota to somewhere south, and who had sneaked in behind us in our little bay. He was asking if there was a plan for locking through the Whitten Lock, the first lock, the next morning. Interestingly Michael had just had a discussion with Captain Bernie on River Rat, who was around the corner from us, about that very topic whereby we were heading to the lock at 9 the next morning, so Captain Matt was informed of that plan. Traveling in numbers seems to give us a little higher possibility of timely passage than going through one at a time, so grouping together is always a good plan.
The next morning Bernie spoke with the lockmaster after which it was decided to pull anchor at 7:30 and head to the lock for 8:00 lockage down river. Good thing I was already up and ready to go. So, all three of us, River Rat, At Last and THIS is what, popped into the waterway about 7:45, at which time 2 sailboats joined the group, then a few minutes later another big boat, Magic Moments, came busting out of the marina on the other side of the river to join in the fun. Oh boy, this was going to be interesting. But, it went very well. The 10 locks on the Tenn-Tom are 110 feet wide and 600 feet long, so there was plenty of navigable room for everyone.
After we left the first lock, we were informed that the Montgomery Lock, the next lock about 30 minutes away, was waiting for us because they had an upbound tugboat coming their way, so we booked it to get there so there was no delay in our downbound passage. Since we were traveling faster than the sailboats could keep up with us, we lost them shortly after leaving the first lock. From then on it was just the 4 of us traveling south. We did eventually see the sailboats as they passed our marina later that day.
On the way to the final lock for us that day, the Rankin Lock, Captain Matt was contacted by the captain of the Crown Jewel, a 16 barge packet that was headed to the Rankin Lock as well. The Crown Jewel informed us that he didn’t have to be through that lock for another 75 minutes as he was waiting for a scheduled shift change, and if we could get there before 11:00 he will let us go in front of him. NICE! These tug captains have all been very nice to work with on these rivers and waterways, as have all the lockmasters as well. So we once again cranked up the engines and beat feet to the next lock. River Rat really had to work hard to keep up with us as she is a little 27 foot Ranger Tug, but she ultimately kept up and made it to the lock with us.
We said goodbye to At Last, River Rat and Magic Moments and tucked into Midway Marina. Now, this marina is, ummmm, somewhat old school and let’s just say rustic, really rustic. But the bar/restaurant seems to be okay. We had to follow a very small and shallow channel getting here to avoid hitting the submerged forest that was flooded to become the waterway when it officially opened in the 80’s. Then their fuel dock and pumpout station was a little sketchy too and the guy working it had never done it before. Good thing this is not our first water rodeo. When we left the fuel dock to get to our slip, which the guy said just pick any slip you like, we had to slide along the end of the other docks so as to not, again, hit trees! Welp, we got to the D Dock and headed down to a slip that looked like it would work and as I was backing in a guy across the water yelled, STOP, I could not hear what he was saying and Michael wasn’t sure either, but he told us to go to the other side and take the 3rd slip down, which we did. Don’t know why and am afraid to ask any questions, but we got in safely and here we are for about 6 weeks.
Last night, around 7 PM and it was pitch dark, the boat started to bob and sway so I looked out to see if a barge had passed us. I didn’t see a barge but I saw something with navigation green and red lights and a spot light facing the marina. After watching it for a few minutes I realized it was a boat attempting to come in to the marina. I called Michael who looked at it too and it was getting close so we both jumped off our boat and headed to the T of the dock we are on and sure enough it was a huge boat slowly making it’s way to the dock. We grabbed lines and helped them dock safely. I have no idea how they got in without hitting something along the way, especially in the dark. The captain of this huge 57 foot beautiful boat is a woman! She says this is her first boat and she has only been captaining for about 4 months. AND THIS IS WHAT YOU CHOSE AS YOUR FIRST CAPTAIN EXPERIENCE! You go girl!!! But Michael did point she has ALL the bells and whistles; full thrusters, remote driving controls on a lanyard around her neck and I think this one even has Sky Hook, which holds the boat still wherever it is put until it is told to move. We also found out they are from Las Vegas. They are here for 4 days so I am sure we will be talking with them again.
Welp, that’s it for now. Not sure when the next time I will update as we are here for about 6 weeks with a 1 week trip to California in November. When we leave here our plan is still to head to New Orleans for a little while. We have no idea what will be available marina wise in Florida as both Helene and Milton wiped out a lot of marinas along the gulf cost, many of which are still dealing with flooding even a few weeks after the last hurricane. We may not even be able to get back to Florida. We’ll have to wait and see what shakes out over these next few months. Hopefully we are done with hurricanes this season.
Thanks for following along with THIS is what as she travels America’s Great Loop. Love to all, Gina and Mike
