On Saturday, October 26th, we woke up pre-dawn to arrive early at our first lock. However, we were fogged in. We finally left just before eight with Priorities and Rickshaw. We cleared two locks by 12:30. Our convoy has added a fourth boat, Lumiere. The landscape surrounding us today included many beautiful bluffs. We also saw a old fashioned telephone booth and a totem pole. We anchored in a spot called Upper Cooks Bend. Salty came by and Jonathan, the captain, joined us for cocktail aboard Rickshaw. At cocktails we were joined by Spiderman (David), his sister, Tori, and mom and dad. David and Tori are five year old twins. The family is looping together. Denise works from the boat, while David home schools the twins. It was a delight to get to know them. Off by 8:00 on Tuesday to clear the Heflin Lock by 10:30. Today's journey brought us our first signs of the south, Spanish Moss. We learned Spanish Moss is part of the pineapple family and absorbs water from the air. We were also impressed by the White Cliffs of Epes, which are chalk deposits that were formed at the same time as the White Cliffs of Dover in England. With the help of friends from Reunion and Always 5 O'Clock, we docked at a marina in Demopolis, Alabama. Docktails at he clubhouse was fun because we were joined by other Gold Loopers and other residents of marina, who shared a wealth of information with us about their travels. Monday was a make and mend day. There were several boats with us in
the Demopolis Lock on Tuesday morning. We were all amazed to be passed by a 26 foot sailboat with a 45 horse power engine. Today we truly experienced the meandering of the Tombigbee River. We traveled three miles to go 1,000 feet. We found an anchorage at Kemp's Landing where we anchored stern to stern with Priorities to prevent the boats from swinging. Salty stopped by to chat and took a picture of the two boats anchored together. Just a note about Jonathan and his boat Salty: Salty is a 22 foot Cape Dory and Jonathan is the captain. He is a looper. It is fun to watch him flit across the river like a bug. He anchorages are usually based on where he can find a cheese burger. He will finish the loop in Jupiter, Florida. The plan for Wednesday was to anchor but we were unsuccessful at Okatuppa Creek. We ended up at Bobbie's Fish Camp, the last place you can get fuel and dock before Mobile. It was owned by a man named Bobby Dahlbert, but it is now run by his daughter, Lora. There is a fuel dock and 160 feet of floating dock right on the river. When we arrived there was a 70 foot boat, Andiamo, already tied up to the dock. Priorities rafted off him and Summer Recess rafted off Priorities. We were joined later by another large boat and them a trawler. Even though we had no electricity, no water and no showers, we had to pay $1.50 per foot to be there. All of us went to dinner at the restaurant known for its catfish dinners. It was very interesting to listen to the stories from men who captain boats from the Chicago area to points south. We also gleaned much knowledge of Mobile Bay and getting to the intercoastal in Florida. Again on Thursday, we got up before dawn to make the Coffeevile Lock. Again our plans changed because there was a tow and we did not clear the lock until 8:40. We cheered because this is the last lock until the Caloosahatchee River in Florida. Another stern to stern anchorage at the Alabama River Cutoff, which was very narrow. The mosquitoes were deadly here. We had rain and wind during the night. When we woke up on Friday, we found that Priorities anchor slipped during the night and they were now angled from us. We readjusted and waited for the rain to stop leaving at 10:00. The river widened and narrowed and continued to meander today. We went under the I-65 Bridge, which has been nicknamed the Dolly Parton Bridge Look at the picture and maybe you can figure out why. By 3:00 we anchored in the Tensaw River. A beautiful wide anchorage, which was the perfect place for an extended dinghy ride in search of flora and wildlife. Tony wanted to find a our first gator, but we failed.
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