Friday 1/16/09 We left Demopolis, Al. with 3 other boats. Gitana, Pharm A Sea, & Tennessee Rover bound for Bobbys' Fish Camp just above Coffeeville Lock & Dam. The current is running fast and the water is high. We called Demopolis Lock only to find that he was waiting for a barge but that once he was in the chamber we could come in and secure to the bollards. The lock masters like to get everyone in at once so you have to wait for all to arrive. Most of the day was uneventfull until Gitana radioed that he had shut down. In order to check out the problem he dropped his anchor in about 30' of water moving at 4.5 mph. When it caught it snapped the bow pulpit and released the chain and anchor into the river. Fortunately Pharm A Sea was nearby to get them in tow until the problem could be rectified. Running once again Gitana made his way to Bobbys'. Not remembering how big Bobbys' dock was, we went ahead to check it out. Well, Bobbys' is only big enough for one boat and Gitana needed the dock since he had no anchor. We went back upstream to Turkey Creek which is a small stream about 20' wider than our boat. We got the anchor set and had dinner. About 10 o'clock we're watching a movie when the generator shut down. Little did I know that this would be the beginning of Sci-Fi night. The problem was a blockage of the intake hose which comes from the thru hull to the strainer. That fixed we went to bed. About 3 a.m. when I got up for my nightly bathroom run I noticed our position had changed. Start scramblin Pam! We had moved. Looking around the boat we had drifted almost out into the fast moving current of the channel and were up against the bank. All around us and still coming at us was this moving mass of what looks like sod and dead flowers from bank to bank. The pictures show the anchorage when we first got there and the backwater beast that broke our anchor loose. We got the anchor up and backed into the channel to let the beast clear out. Once clear we had no where to go except back into Turkey Creek and set the anchor again so that's what we did. Go to sleep! Well once we laid ack down I noticed that the heater isn't working right. I don't hear water coming out like I should. Back to the bilge and more clearing of clogged thru hulls to get it working. Now back to bed? Wrong! We're moving again with the beast pushiing at us from as far as we could see in front of us with the spotlight. Time to start the day. Lets' have coffee! We pulled anchor and went out into the channel and waited for the sun to come up. It's really neat watching the sun come up surrounded by the floating beast. I've never experienced anything like it!
Saturday 1/17/09 we locked through Coffeeville Lock and dropped 3'. Last summer when we came up with Sandy Beach we were lifted 34'. Quite a difference! The dam is wide open and the water is flowing. The beast is so thick it shows up on our radar screen once we lock through. A few miles down river Gitana has the engine shut down again. Once again Pharm A Sea to the rescue! They take Gitana in tow and continue to tow him all the way to Mobile!
We cut the day short and along with Tennessee Rover anchored about 54 miles north of Mobile. The other two boats went about 15 more miles down river to spend the night. The night was peacefull and provided a good nights sleep. We even had TV reception!
Sunday 1/18/09 arrived with a light mist changing to rain which changed to fog. Before we left I was able to watch a little TV. The only show on other than infomercials was the Mornin Ya'll Show with your host, Peanut Crawley! (http://www.crawleyproductions.com/) Peanut was interviewing the manager of the local RSC Rental center. You just can't beat good TV!
We got under way and dodged logs, barges and ships in the Mobile Ship Channel on our way to the Grand Mariner Marina on Dog River just South of Mobile where we sit now. Well gotta go. I need a good nights sleep so I can get up and listen to the Rick & Bubba Show in the morning.
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