October, 23, 2024
Well, yesterday was a big day! We went through our last lock of our journey.
Our total count of locks from the beginning of our Loop is 109. This last lock,
called the Coffeeville Lock, separates the fresh water of the river system from
the salt water that runs up from Mobile Bay. The sites along the water also
changed. First, we were spotting alligators on the banks of the river, then
palm trees and then, when we entered Mobile Bay we were welcomed by swarms of
dolphin. We knew we were getting close to Florida.
When we left Kingfisher Marina on October 17th we entered the Tombigbee River. That night we anchored in Bashi Creek. It was very narrow with overhanging trees so our 3 boats had barely enough room to anchor. In fact, we all had to use our stern anchors as well as the bow anchors to keep us straight in the narrow creek. It was a beautiful, quiet setting and we had it all to ourselves. When we woke up the next morning there was a thick fog so our 7:30 departure was delayed for about an hour before we could raise our anchors and continue heading south down the river to Bobby’s Fish Camp. According to the Great Loop guide book, Bobby’s is a famous stop along the river. Not sure why other than that it is the only “marina” along the river until you get to Mobile Bay and it does have fuel and water. Strummin’ and The Next Chapter stayed at Bobby’s while Tranquility anchored in a nearby creek.
Yesterday we headed out just before 8 AM to pass through the
last lock of our Loop. Now you may wonder why I dislike locks so much. As we
enter a lock, Jack steers the boat to one side of the lock so I can attach it to
the wall. We discovered that the means of attaching to the wall varies so you have
to be prepared for surprises as you pull up to the wall. When we were crossing Okeechobee there were
slimy ropes that hung from the top of the lock wall. I had to snag the rope with
a boat hook and then hold onto the line as the water level in the lock brought us
up or down to the level of the water ahead of us. The next stye of “attachment" was
a vertical pole that sits about a foot off the lock wall. In this situation, I
have to use a line that is attached to our boat, slide it around the pole and
then hold onto it as the water level goes up or down. And finally, as we were
coming down the river system there were floating bollards that rose and fell with
the water level, so as we approached the lock wall I had to lasso the bollard
with a line and then cleat it off. All
things considering, I was able to master the different the attachments pretty well.
But what I hated about locking is that as you are moving up or down in the lock,
you are face to face with disgusting wet, slimy walls (some with glistening
green and orange growth) All I could think of was what I was inhaling while I
was keeping our boat secured to the wall. So that is why I was so happy to be finished
with locks!
Entering Mobile Bay was an experience. I had no idea how
large it was. Our trip has been a lesson in how our commerce is so dependent on
our waterways and their access to the oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. We passed
huge freighters off-loading hundreds of containers as well as others coming into
port. Our first stop was at the Fairhope Marina on the southeast coast of Mobile
Bay. We will be here until Saturday morning when we will cruise along the Gulf
Coast to Orange Beach. We will be staying at the Warf Marina where we will be for
an undetermined time as we wait for marinas along the west coast of Florida to recover
from hurricane damage and open up for transient boaters.
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