I’M EMBARRESSED

October 30, 2011  Dateline, Booneville, MS USA

Yesterday was uneventful for me, well almost.  Once the fog lifted from the marina, six boats were on our way to Joe Wheeler Lock.  The lock doors were open when we arrived and in we all went. We were on our way. With 62 miles to go and one more lock, I was anxious to get going.  I got to the next lock, the Wilson Lock, with the other boats and discovered there was a tow in the lock.  Ok, the wait ended up to be 4 long hours of idling before I got into the lock.  The lock had a valve that wasn’t working so I had to wait for a maintenance man to make the necessary repairs.  Once I got through the lock there were some 40+ miles to go and it was already after 2 PM.  Come on Rich, I said, move those throttle levers forward.  He listened to me and up on plane I went.  Yes I was running at 19.5 miles an hours---this was great and my Caterpillars loved it.  When I got to Grand Harbor Marina in 2 hours I saw SLANTY SHANTY, but more about her later.   Rich and Carol bought me a dinner of 364 gallons of diesel and then they went off to have dinner with some Looper friends that they met at the Rendezvous 2 years ago.

This morning I got up to fog again.  It’s that time of year.  The same 6 boats left the marina when the fog lifted.  Before long I came upon SLANTY SHANTY.  There are two young people onboard who are trying to sail her from Pittsburgh PA to Mobile AL.  The raft is powered by a 9.9 horsepower engine and there are two chickens onboard which provide them with an egg or two every day.  The raft has grown over time as they find things along the rivers. When they started it was an open raft. The 3 sided covering came from material they found along the way. It must be very cold at night. They have a solar panel but it doesn’t work. Their cell phones aren’t working either as they can’t charge the batteries. We all wish them good luck.

I sailed down part of the Tombigbee Waterway today and I still have 412 miles to go before Mobile.  The waterway, completed in 1986, was created to connect the Gulf of Mexico and the Tennessee River.  The connection enabled the low cost shipment of bulk materials without traveling through the Mississippi River.  The waterway was made by connecting rivers and lakes together by building 12 dams that control the flow of water from 414 feet above sea level to actual sea level.  More dirt was moved to construct it than had been moved to build the Panama Canal.  The man-made canal portion of the waterway is relatively straight with stone walls along each side.  I heard Rich call Wayne on MY WAY on the radio and say one word “Boring”

So, how was I embarrassed?  Both MY WAY and I were passed by a trawler (ONCE AROUND)---a trawler, how could that be?  A trawler!--- what was Rich thinking?  I guess I will have to hang my anchor in shame for a few days.

Tomorrow will be a short day with only 18 miles and 3 locks to go through---it could be a very long day if we are delayed at any of the locks. Wish us well !!!