2005 (page 4)

Alabama

Thursday, June 23

To Ingram Bayou (mile 164). Great anchorage, nice secluded spot, one of the best anchorages in the area. Would have been perfect if not for the boat with a generator, and the jerks who decided that it was a great spot for water-skiing.

Friday, June 25

To Dog River, Mobile, Alabama. I left nice and early, because the afternoon sea-breeze can kick up a nice chop on Mobile Bay. It was dead calm on the bay, got into Dog River by 1:00. Moored at a friends house. I’m glad I left early, because by 3:30 or so, it got quite breezy, and a thunderstorm crossed the bay.

Bridge at entrance to Dog River

Robinsons Bayou, off Dog River

I will be staying in Mobile for a while, to do some work on the boat.

Friday, July 8

I'm still in Mobile, waiting for Hurricane Dennis. I was considering heading up the Tombigbee river this morning, but I didn't think I could make it to Demopolis (about 230 miles) before the weather got crappy. There are no good spots south of Demopolis to stay, and I didn't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere waiting for the river to stop flooding. I hope I made the right decision. I am now tied to a bunch of trees and I have two anchors out, I should be OK. I'll update this as soon as I can after the storm. I rode out Cindy a few days ago, no problem. Dennis will be storm prep number 10 for my boat since launching. I'm getting good at it. (I'm also getting a bit tired of it)

Wednesday, July 13

Dennis was no problem, it hit quite a bit east of Mobile, we only had winds of around 50 mph. I am planning on heading up the river next week.

Friday, July 29

To Mile 10, Tem-Tom waterway. Got 39 gallons gas at Dog River. Nice day, light winds. Anchored in Big Bayou Canot, off the river. Nice thunderstorm in the evening.

High bridge just north of downtown Mobile

Saturday, July 30

To mile 63, anchored near nice sandbar. Passed a few tows, otherwise the only traffic was small fishing boats. Toured bates lake, but didn’t anchor there. Nice day, no rain.

Anchored near sandbar

Sunday, July 31

To mile 100. Lots of towboat traffic, I passed six tows heading upstream. It would have been nice to have a bit more horsepower to pass the tows, since my speed is only about one mile an hour faster than the tows, it takes quite a bit of time to pass them, and there isn’t much room on the river. I saw a nice big alligator swimming in the river near mile 95. Anchored in old river cut-off near old lock #1. Nice spot, plenty of water. A bit of small boat traffic to the nearby launching ramp. Nice thunderstorm in the evening.

Monday, August 1

To mile 145. Went through the first lock, I didn’t have to wait a bit. Stopped at Bobby’s Fish camp and topped off my gas, got 14 gallons. It is the only fuel stop between Demopolis and Mobile. Only passed one downstream tow tiday, one large powerboat passed me heading north. A small rain shower during the day, then a nice evening shower. Anchored in Bashi creek, one of the few off-river anchorages in the area.

Bashi Creek anchorage

Tuesday, August 2

To mile 188. Not much traffic, no rain. Anchored off big sandbar near creek entrance. It wouldn’t have been a good anchorage for a deep-draft boat, it was pretty shallow, but a very good spot for my boat.

Bubbles in the lock

Wednesday, August 3

To mile 117, Demopolis. Passed two tows, not much wait for lock. Got 19 gallons gas. I anchored off city park near marina, only two feet deep. I was told that I was the only cruising boat that was seen anchored there. I anchored in the same spot with the original Heart of Gold, so I new it was a good spot. Demopolis has a nice marina, and it looks like it would be a good place to haul out. Since I did not get around to hauling out in Mobile, perhaps I’ll haul out here, but I will probably wait until October, when it is cooler. Since Dempoolis has the only marina in about a 300 mile stretch of the waterway, everybody making the trip stops here. Overnight docking is $1.00 a foot, twice what it was last time I made the trip.

Railroad tracks in Demopolis

You never know what sort of interesting boats end up in Demopolis

Nice little waterfront house

The White Cliffs of Epes (Alabama)

Friday, August 5

To mile 266. I only passed one southbound tow, otherwise to traffic except for a few johnboats. There was a nice heavy thundershower in the afternoon, but it pretty much stopped by the time I anchored. I anchored in the old river cutt-off, just below the lock. Walked about a mile to Gainsville, a tiny town with a quaint little grocery store, nothing else.

Saturday, August 6

To mile 307. I passed one southbound tow, otherwise, almost no traffic, other than a few fishing boats. Amazing lack of traffic for a weekend. I anchored off the Tom Bevill visitors center, a nice reproduction southern mansion. There was also a sternwheel snag boat to visit. I saw 3 southbound tows go through the lock in the evening.