Author: Dave

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventures!

La Salle here catching you up to date on the latest travels of Still Waters II. Click on this link to see the day- to-day travel log.

With a really really really cold spell (temps in the 20’s) and high winds predicted at the end of the week, this will probably be the last of the fall foliage spectacular.  I guess winter will finally arrive.  The extended autumn has been fun though and allowed extended cruising in the inland rivers.

Summary of week:

The crew left Demopolis on Monday morning in fog and light rain.  The goal for the week was to make the 229 miles to Mobile Bay in four runs:

Monday – anchored in Bashi Creek (71 miles)

Tuesday – docked at Bobby’s Fish Camp (26 miles)

Wednesday – anchored in Alabama River Cut-off (66 miles)

Thursday – docked at Dog River Marina in Mobile Bay. (66 miles)

Additionally, this stretch of river is very remote with no towns or marinas on the water.  This is a place where the boat needs to run true and drama free.

However,  back in 1979 the tow Cahaba had a little drama that you might find interesting.  The water was flowing 24 feet above flood level on April 19th.  The tow was approaching a bridge about mile marker 200.

The tow boat Captain had his crew release the tow from the barges.  The crew members stayed on the drifting barges as they floated under an 11-foot clearance under the east section of the bridge.

The tow Captain went to back up so that he could take the tow boat under the center of the lift bridge where he could safely pass under the bridge.  When he went into reverse, he realized the crew forgot to release a line on the starboard barge.  With the force of the current and the line attached to the drifting barges, the tow turned sideways on the bridge.

Eventually the water forced the 30-foot tall tow under the 11- foot bridge clearance.  The tow Captain used his loudspeaker to tell the folks on the bridge to evacuate the area.  In fact he is quoted as saying, “Evacuate the bridge, this ain’t no fire drill.”

To say the captain got the ride of his life would be an understatement.

Miraculously, the tow popped up on the downstream side of the bridge and the starboard engine was still running as the tow actually righted itself.

The tow captain survived the ordeal in the pilot house.  Look at the water pouring out of the pilot house.

Notice the crew members still on the barge, bet they were glad they did not take the ride like the tow captain.

Monday December 5, 2016

With a 71-mile day with one lock to negotiate, the crew got an earlier than usual start.  The first obstacle was getting passed the dredge that was set up in the mouth of the marina.  The dredge had not started operations for the morning so the operator waved the crew on bye.  Next challenge was to make the Demopolis Lock before the rain started.

The lock operator had already told the skipper he had the lock ready for the crew as they departed the marina.  The lock is only three miles down the river so all looked good to go.

However, the lock operator called back on the radio and informed the crew that there was an up bound tow unexpectedly arriving.  The lock operator needed to turn the lock around for the tow and wanted to know exactly where Still Waters II was on the water.  With less than a mile to the lock, the lock operator decided to wait for the crew before he drained the chamber for the tow.

The crew went right into the lock and once again got a fast drain down 35 feet.  When the gates opened, you could see the tow coming around the last bend before the lock.  More lock FOG!

The rest of the 68-mile cruise was uneventful while cruising in the rain.

The crew arrived at Bashi Creek at 1600 and prepared to drop anchor.  The creek is the first prime location to anchor after leaving Demopolis.  Just for the record, this is not a very good spot to anchor.  The creek is barely wide enough for Still Waters II.

To prevent getting pushed into the shore by the wake of a passing tow or wind, the crew dropped both a bow and stern anchor.

The crew first dropped the bow anchor and let out more than enough chain as they drifted back.  They next dropped the stern anchor.  Then they took up the extra chain on the bow anchor until both the bow and stern anchor lines were taught.  This should keep the boat dead center in the narrow creek till morning.  Or so they thought.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

As sometimes happens, easy days become hard days.  Such was today.  The plan was to travel only 26 miles to a famous looper stop, Bobby’s Fish Camp.  Basically a 160 foot dock and a catfish restaurant.

The bow and stern anchors did a good job of keeping the boat in the creek.  Maybe just too good of a job.  The wind was blowing hard out of the west which was going to push the boat forwards and towards the shore as the crew tried to weigh the stern anchor.

The plan was to play out the bow anchor and pull the boat back towards the stern anchor and then pull the stern anchor up.  Because of the strong wind, when slack was put in the bow anchor line the skipper was not able to pull the boat back against the wind.  Net result was the boat was now very close to shore and the low water level alarm was sounding.

After many failed attempts to make progress on the stern anchor line, the wind eventually blew the boat around enough that the line was tangled under the boat.

The skipper finally had to go swimming to free the line from the prop and rudder.  Once the line was clear of the boat, the crew finally got the boat over the stern anchor but could not dislodge the anchor from its muddy hold.

Next plan was to move forward and weigh the bow anchor first.  Finally, a little success.

They then moved the stern anchor line to the bow, and then use the boat to free the stern anchor. After nearly two hours of wrestling anchors, both anchors were finally on deck.

The skipper started looking for the easy button because he wanted to hear the words “That was easy.”

With the anchors up the crew made their way to the legendary Bobby’s Fish Camp.    Unfortunately, our crew will not enjoy the fried catfish because the restaurant is only open Thursday thru Sunday.

Two other boats joined Still Waters II on the dock at Bobby’s.  One is an 84-foot yacht on its way to its winter home in Fort Lauderdale.  Two delivery captains are working together to deliver the boat for the owners.  The boat spends the college football season in Knoxville where the owners enjoy the home football games.

Close quarters at Bobby’s

An interesting sign near the dock.

Wednesday December 7, 2016

With a planned 66-mile day to the Alabama River Cut-off and one lock, the crew left earlier than usual.  They hoped to make the anchor spot before dark which is about 1645 these days.

The crew opted for going to the right thru the lock rather than the ride over the dam.

The run started out with heavy cloud cover that made it look like it was a misty rain.  After clearing the lock there was plenty of water going over the dam so the boat got a nice one knot push with the current.

After clearing the lock today, the crew is only 5 feet above sea level.  The water will be tidal now and start to turn brackish and become saltier as they run south.

About noon the sun finally started to break thru the clouds and warm things up a bit.

The crew made their goal of anchoring before sunset and now set to spend a silent night on the hook.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Another early start to ensure that the crew makes it 66 miles to Dog River Marina, south of Mobile, Alabama.  There is a cold front packing temperatures down in the low 30’s expected to arrive tonight and the crew wants shore power so they can stay warm.  The crew weighed anchor and began the last day on the Tombigbee Waterway.

The crew ran by this large steel plant that opened back in 2010.

The site encompasses 3,600 acres and the mill employees 2,600 workers.  This was the first of many industrial projects in this section of the river.  The closer the crew got to Mobile the more industry was encountered.  Nice to see signs of civilization again after cruising through some extremely remote areas the last few days.

The first sign that the crew is approaching the gulf.  A Brown Pelican painting a green can white.

Trees with Spanish moss began to appear.

Encountered this four foot clearance railroad bridge 14 miles north of Mobile.

The bridge tender was gracious and had the bridge open as the crew approached.

The first view of Mobile.

The water front in Mobile was a buzz with activity.

New Navy ships (targets as submariners like to call them)  being built in Mobile.

Looking south out into Mobile Bay.  Been a while since the crew saw this kind of open water.

The run down the bay was more exciting than wanted.  That cold front is arriving and bringing some strong winds from the north.  The wind was 13 mph with gusts over 20.  This caused three to five foot seas and the wind was blowing the water out of the already shallow bay.

The last four miles to the marina required the crew to travel westerly which meant that there were beam seas off the starboard while the wind tried to blow the boat out of the narrow channel.  The channel was barely 6 feet deep and was running at 5 feet most of the way.

Upon arrival at the marina, they saw the boat Jet Stream tied to the dock.

After taken on fuel and getting settled at the dock the crew went over to pay Jet Stream a visit.  They had not seen each other since leaving Jacksonville back in April.  Jet Stream must have sensed the arrival of our crew because KC had just completed baking some cookies.  Timing is everything, cookies hot out of the oven.  Life just does not get any better than this!

Next Week – The crew will run over to the east side of the bay and visit the town of Fairhope.  Then continue south to the Gulf Intercostal Waterway  and head east to Orange Beach.   The plan is to stop at the Warf and stay through the holidays.

Loop On – The water goes on forever and the adventure never ends.

It is with sadness that I have to inform you that this will be my last post.  Eric the Red will return next week to join the crew on their voyage east back to Fort Myers.  I have been negotiating with the skipper to turn west and head to the Mississippi River, but he will have none of it.

I failed to find the Mississippi River on three previous occasions from excursions from Matagorda Bay back in the 1680’s.  Since I am this close, I just have to take the turn west at the Gulf and finally find where the Mississippi River dumps into the Gulf.

It has been fun travelling and exploring the inland rivers with you for the last three months.

Au Revoir,

La Salle

 

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventures.

La Salle here catching you up to date on the latest travels of Still Waters II. Click on this link to see the day- to-day travel log.

Summary of week:  Based on some local knowledge that was shared with the crew at the Fort Loudon Marina, the crew decided to nix the trip to Knoxville and head to the Little Tennessee River and the Tellico River instead.  They spent three nights at the foot of the Smokey Mountains before heading back towards Chattanooga.

 

 

Sunday, October 31, 2016

Saturday evening, the crew met the first of several local boaters from the Fort Loudon Marina.  Rand and Cheryl have a trawler that they cruise about in.  Rand was also the first to suggest cruising the Little Tennessee River rather than making the trip up to Knoxville.

Sunday afternoon, Claudia met another boater, Pam.  Pam and her husband are just about ready to launch their ‘Loop Adventure’ aboard Bye George.  Pam and George came by Still Waters II later in the day to pick our crew’s brains about doing the Loop.  Somewhere along this journey our crew has gone from novices to experienced loopers, more than happy to share their experiences with those just getting started.

 

 

The crew also had another enjoyable surprise.   Back in the 2015/2016 winter, you may recall that the crew stayed in the Ortega Landing Marina in Jacksonville, Florida.  Just down the dock from the crew was a sailboat named Journey, and she is crewed by Dana and Michael.  They have been ‘In Progress’ on the loop for about five years.  Turns out that Dana and Michael have put Journey up in heated storage on the Erie Canal.  Also, turns out that their homeport is Fort Loudon Marina.  Dana noticed Still Waters II and came over and said hello.  Later in the evening, our crew went over to visit with Dana and Michael aboard their houseboat, Irish Mist.  Great evening catching up on each other’s travels.

Monday, October 24, 2016

The Little Tennessee River started making the national news back in the late 1970’s.  If you were alive back then, do you remember the Snail Darter?

The Snail Darter was one of the first test cases for the new Environmental Protection Law.  The little unknown fish brought the Tellico Dam project to a screeching halt.

The Snail Darter was discovered in the shallow waters near the dam after the dam was approximately 80% complete.  The Snail Darter was added to the endangered species list and then environmentalist went to court to stop the building of the dam.  The Supreme Court upheld the lower courts positions that the dam could not be completed.  Basically, upholding the new Environmental Protection Law protecting endangered species.

As you can see though the dam is complete and there is a Tellico Lake.  So how did that happen?

Well, after the Supreme Court decision, the Tennessee legislators snuck a rider into an unrelated bill that exempted the Tellico Dam project from the Environmental Protection Law.  Once the bill was signed into law the construction on the dam was completed.

You may be glad to know that biologist have found other snail darter populations in other waters.  Biologist also relocated the snail darter to other areas before the dam was complete.  In 1984 the snail darter was moved from endangered to threatened.

The crew was not sure if they would be able to get to the dock because the water depth was not plotted on the charts.  The skipper eased the boat, ever so slowly, to the dock and found 12 feet of water all the way to the dock.  As the crew was securing the boat two other boats arrived and tied up on the dock.

Our crew left the dock and headed to the museum.  The museum discusses Sequoyah and how he developed the written Cherokee alphabet and written word.

He called the written word on paper ‘talking leaves.’

He was born in 1776 in Tuskeegee near the museum.  He joined General Andrew Jackson and fought for the US during the war of 1812.  During the war he observed the US soldiers writing letters back home.  After the war, he decided to  create a written system in Cherokee.  The system eventually contained 85 symbols.

The museum makes a point that never before, or since, in the history of the world has one man, not literate in any language, perfected a system for reading and writing a language.

After visiting the museum, the crew decided to walk the 1.5 miles to the Fort Loudoun State Park.  The park has a nice Visitor Center and a replica fort.  The fort is a replica because they had to raise the land 20 feet so that the location would not be flooded by the Tellico Dam.

The fort was the furthest west that the British ever built a garrison.  The fort was built in 1756 to provide security for the Cherokee Nation women and children as the men went west to help the British fight the French during the French and Indian War.

As the Cherokee were returning home from battles conducted further north in Pennsylvania they stole some horses to shorten their time on the trail.  Stealing horses was a time-honored tradition in the Indian Culture.  The white folks were none to pleased about the loss of their horses and killed 33 Cherokee in attempts to get the horses back.

The Cherokee Culture also had a Blood Law that they honored.  If you killed the Cherokee, they blood avenged their deaths with the blood of the same number of your deaths.  So, the Cherokee killed 33 white folks on their way home.  When they reached Fort Loudoun the British and Cherokee began to negotiate a treaty to stop the bloodshed.

The British held the Cherokee negotiators in the Brigg for several months.  The British finally released three of the Cherokee but kept 24.  The Cherokee decided to lay siege to the fort to get the return of their 24 brothers.  In August 1760, the British finally surrendered the Fort to the Cherokee.

Part of the treaty for the surrender of the fort was that the Cherokee would provide a safe escort for the British soldiers and their families out of Cherokee Nation held lands. The Cherokee escorted the British soldiers 15 miles from the fort the first day. However, during the night, all the Cherokee left the British.  The next morning the Cherokee attacked the British soldiers and took the women and children back as slaves.  The Cherokee later traded the women and children back to the British.

Another interpretation that the visitor center laid out was the importance of the French and Indian War on shaping the future of the American colonies.  The British finally won the war and in the Paris Treaty, the French surrendered all of Canada to the British.  The French had also given Spain all the lands west of the Mississippi, basically ending the French presence in the New World.

 

 

But the land mass changes were just the beginning of the end for both the British and the French.  The British began taxing the colonist to help pay for the large debt left following the war.  These taxes stirred the hearts and minds of the colonist and eventually lead to them fighting for their independence from British rule.  The French also had a huge war debt that weakened the French Monarchy and eventually lead to the French Revolution.

But all this may have you wondering, if Spain owns the land west of the Mississippi in 1760, how did the French sell this same land to the United States in the famous Louisiana Purchase of 1803? Well that is a story for another time and another place as we make our way south.

 

 

Tuesday, November 1, 2016 

The crew made a very short cruise this morning to mile 8 on the Tellico River.  There is a red buoy at mile 8 that the locals warned the crew not to pass.  The red buoy marks the end of the navigable waters of the Tellico River.  Small fishing boats can go further up the river, but Still Waters II will be happy to drop anchor here by the red buoy and take in the scenery for the rest of the day.  This may just be the best anchor spot on the whole loop thus far.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016     

The crew decided to move over to the end of the navigable waters on the Little Tennessee River and check out the mountain views from there.  The cruise took the crew past Fort Loudoun and the Tellico Blockhouse.

 

The Blockhouse was built in 1794 with its primary purpose to protect the Cherokee Nation from the white settler’s encroachment into the area.  The war department also built a trading post here to provide supplies to the Cherokee.  It took 35 deer hides to trade for a rifle and ammo.  Unfortunately for the deer population, as more Cherokee began hunting with rifles the deer population took a rapid decline.   Before the Cherokee left the area, hunting parties went from three days to three weeks because the number of deer nearby continued to decline.

As the crew went around a horseshoe bend, they noticed a set of markers standing near the water’s edge.  Each of the markers stand for one of the Cherokee Nation clans: Deer, Wild Potato, Wolf, Paint, Bird, Long Hair, and Blue.

There was also a marker indicating the town of Tanasi, the capital of the Cherokee Nation from 1721-1730.  It was during this time-period that the term Tanasi was also applied to the river.  In 1762, Lt. Henry Timberlake modified the spelling and assigned the name ‘Tennessee’ to the river on a map that he was preparing.  Then in 1796, the name was selected for the 16^th state of the Union.

The views from the anchor on the Little Tennessee River.

 

Thursday, November 3, 2016

The crew weighed anchor and set off for Fort Loudon Marina.  The wind was unusually calm which made for excellent cruising.  The crew made good time getting back to the Tennessee River, so rather than head to the marina they locked down to Watts Bar Lake.  The lock dropped the crew 70 feet, and they were back under way.  The crew then cruised about another 25 miles and called it a day when they dropped anchor in the Painted Rock Cove.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, November 4, 2016

Some days in life are strange, then some days are even stranger.  This was one of those kinda days for the crew.  The skipper awoke to the news that one of his aunts had passed on to the next life.  This was no surprise for she had been on hospice care for several days.  However, it is always a shock and sad when someone moves on to the next stage of life.  The crew decided that they would make a long run and try to get to a marina with a rental car agency nearby so they could arrange for a trip back to Texas to attend the funeral.

 

 

Then the crew got a surprise when they arrived at the Watts Bar Lock to find that the lock was closed until 1600 because divers were in the water doing maintenance.  That will make the long day on the water even longer as the crew must wait three hours to clear the lock.

 

 

While the skipper was talking with the lockmaster, he slowed the boat down.  No since rushing to the lock to wait three hours.  The Admiral noticed a kayak that looked to be in distress.  The kayaker was about a half mile away from Still Waters II.  The Admiral used her man-over-board training to maintain constant visual contact on the kayak while the skipper talked with the Lockmaster.  It looked as though the kayak was sinking.  Sure, enough, the kayak finally turned over and dumped the young man into the drink.

 

 

The Admiral commented that they needed to go see if they could help the young man.  The wind was blowing the kayak away from the young man, and it appeared that he was swimming towards an Island that was 0.75 miles away.  The closest land to him at the time.

The skipper turned the boat around and headed to the young man.  By the time that the crew arrived, the young man was struggling to stay afloat even though he had on a life jacket.  He also had a backpack, fanny-pack, full camo gear, and boots.  He was trying to get the backpack off to unload some weight.  The young man could hold on to the swim platform and get his backpack and fanny-pack off his body and onto the swim platform.  He was then able to climb up the swim ladder and get safely aboard.

The skipper then turned the boat to see if they could also rescue the kayak.  The Admiral fetched the boat hook and gave it to the young man.  He could reach over and pull the kayak over to the boat once they got within six feet of the kayak.  He then managed to get the kayak up on the swim platform and eventually the dingy davits.

 

With the excitement over, the crew learned that the young man’s name is Jordon.  He was out taking photos of wildlife.  He mentioned that he was sure glad that he had taken out a one year insurance plan on his new camera.  Jordon said that the drain plug had come out of the kayak.

As he was paddling, water began to enter through the drain plug opening.  After a while the water began to cause the kayak to sit lower in the water.  Then as he paddled up a wave the back end started going under water, taking in even more water.

Eventually the kayak was filled with water so he rolled it over to get out of the kayak and swim for safety.

With the introductions done and some light conversation, the skipper asked Jordan where he needed to go to get back to his car.  Jordon said that he was over at the boat ramp near the lock.

When the skipper arrived near the lock some small TVA boats would not let him go to the boat ramp.  One of the little boats finally came over to tell the skipper to back out of the area.  The skipper explained what he was trying to do, so the little TVA boat guy said to load the kayak and Jordan on his boat and he would take him to shore.

 

With Jordan off loaded the crew headed for a little cove where there was an abandoned dock to wait for 1600.

The lockmaster called the skipper at 1605 and reported that it was now safe to enter the lock.  The crew was clear of the lock at 1645 but still had about 30 miles to go to make the marina.  Based on the projected time for sunset, the crew would arrive about 30 minutes after dark.

 

 

This is the fourth time the crew has navigated at dark.  Luckily, the crew was at this marina just last week so they are familiar with how to approach and land at the dock, even in the dark.  With the sunset at 1845, the crew made the last 45 minutes at dusk.  The last 15 minutes were sure enough in the dark.

Next Week – The crew will take a break from cruising to attend the funeral for Aunt Pat.  They are a day away from Chattanooga, so they may move there late next week..

 

Loop On – The water goes on forever and the adventure never ends.

La Salle