Final Day on the Inland Rivers

November 4

Thick fog this morning at 6:00 a.m., but so far on this trip, the fog has always burned off by 8 or so. We’re having a “late” departure today, leaving around 9:00, after two mornings of 6:00 a.m. departures. Each day we had to go through one lock, and the lockmasters here like to collect all the small boats and lock them through together. Several boats in our “fleet” have traveled this way before, so they knew to do a roll call in the early morning and tell the lockmaster how many to expect. Twelve boats Monday morning, eight on Tuesday. Our Monday group was extremely organized and efficient, and it all went like clockwork. On Tuesday we went through our 110th and final lock. Tah dah!

Yesterday I drove the boat through some of the “wiggles” on the Tombigbee River. It has more curves, horseshoes, switchbacks, right angles and bends than any river we have met. Crows flying would get to the end HOURS, perhaps DAYS, before boats do. While I was driving, I encountered a big barge (tow plus 8 barges) maneuvering up the river, and I “hugged the reds” (the markers on the left) to give him a wide space and passed on the twos (“I will pass you on my starboard/right side”). The ones and the twos refer to whistle blasts which we would have used before radios were invented. Now we look up the barge on AIS, call it by name on the radio, and converse ahead of time to agree on the plan. The barge always has the right-of-way.

Today we’re anchored at the intersection of the Mobile and the Tensas Rivers, both of which flow south separately into Mobile Bay. Yesterday we traveled about 8 hours on the Tombigbee River, and just as we got to the end of the day, we joined the Alabama River, then the Mobile River, and then turned off to the Tensas to anchor. We traveled about 90 miles both days, but have only 45 miles to travel today.

With less than three weeks until we stop, we are working to clear out the freezer. Two nights ago we had the bratwurst from Usinger’s in Milwaukee. Last night we ate the ribs we had purchased in Chattanooga. For lunch I made pimento cheese sandwiches and apple salad.

The “crossing” is all that anyone talks about. That’s when we travel 15-20 hours southeast across the Gulf of Mexico from Carrabelle to the Tampa area. Boats avoid the bend in Florida because that area is shallow and grassy. Crossing the Gulf can be uncomfortable if the seas are too high, so we wait for a “window” when the water is calm and smooth and the winds are light. Sometimes you have to wait a while. We'll fill up the fuel tanks, change the oil, get plenty of sleep, make sure the radios are working and there’s food on board. Then we'll all set out together, like a fleet of small boats.

Before we cross to the west coast of Florida, however, I hope we won’t ignore the towns and cities on the panhandle. Today we arrive in Mobile, then in a few days we’ll get to Pensacola. We’re also planning to stop in Destin and Seaside.

A loud foghorn is blasting nearby. At first I thought it was a barge going past or a foghorn on the river. But it turns out to be one of our companion boats. (7:30: he is leaving, but he has traveled this way dozens of times. We haven’t). Last night we could see the lights of Mobile. Brian is hoping to see alligators, but I’m not. The mosquitoes are bad here, and some are large.

PS – It turns out that Mobile is not a place to stay after all! We continued through the city another two hours to tie up at a marina on the Dog River.