Day 35: Pickwick, TN to Columbus, MS

Underway this Monday morning on the Yellow Creek, an arm of Pickwick Lake that connected us to the Tombigbee River. The forecast calls for another scorcher, somewhere in the mid-90s, just like the last few. Ah, summer! The breeze we generated as we move along the waterway was easy to appreciate, even it’s a hot wind in the afternoon. Captain Jeremy and I are blessed with dry weather, at least, and enjoying the views from the bridge.

Our depth sounder seems to be working fine, and has for the five days we've been aboard. We will keep an eye on it. Suspect gremlins, though none sighted. We've experienced spotty cellular coverage for the last two days, making me appreciate the DeLorme InReach all the more. I find myself writing over 160 characters and I have even been able to communicate with my lovely PassageMaker team in Annapolis which made my day even more pleasant.

Starting on the Ohio, we have experienced delays at 3 of the 4 locks transited. The latest was yesterday afternoon, arriving at Pickwick Lock & Dam to find a tow waiting for the next opening. The lock keeper advised our wait would be 90-minute delay. And that would be for the next opening! We watched the tow enter and the doors close, and it took close to the predicted 90 minutes to have our turn. From the time of our arrival to the time we exited the lock, it was 2-12 hours, not just an exercise in patience, but also a pointed reminder about making things unpredictable, and how they affect your best laid plans.

I think I hear Robert Burns ringing in my ears! We were in the Divide Cut, a 25-mile long canal between Orange Creek and the Tenn-Tom and slowed for a few bass fishermen, but have the Cut mostly. There is no anchoring allowed, a restriction we only fully appreciated when we entered and saw the width of the Cut. It's not hard to imagine a two-or-three-wide tow pushing through here, leaving precious little room to pass, much less anchor. The banks are lined with man-made rock bulwarks, and anyone foolish enough to anchor here would suffer serious hull damage from a push boat's wake or propwash. As we pull into Bay Springs Lake, a Blue Heron glides across our path, mere inches off the water. This reminded me to tell you that I think I've seen more of these elegant birds over the past two days than I've seen all year on my home cruising grounds of Chesapeake Bay. We've also seen quite a few Ospreys, too.

We exited the G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Lock & Dam, went down bound for John Rankin Lock & Dam and passed an unbound pilot house cruiser named Emery from Germantown, TN.

Well, this has been the best day of the trip so far. We have modified out tie-up scheme in the locks to use only one floating bollard, well-positioned fenders on both sides of the midship cleat, and judicious bursts of bow and stern thruster. Works like a charm, and the cooperation and service from the lock keepers was second to none. We have transited 7 locks today, with slight delays (change of shift, and unbound traffic) at only two. Calling ahead by mobile phone alerted them to our relative position and ETA, and contacting them on the VHF radio channel 16, made their coordination smooth.

We carried on the Tombigbee River, and are about to spend the night at Columbus Marina. We will buy diesel and re-provision before transiting John C. Stennis Lock & Dam, with another 90-mile day to come. The waters we've covered today are reminiscent of the Intracoastal Waterway, thick with foliage, and with occasional hints of civilization in the distance. The Skipper Bob Guidebook solves another question: what's with all the low-flying jet traffic? A very busy USAF base nearby.

Best,

John