The
day began with a rain shower so we delayed a little.
By 10a we were
pulling around to the fuel dock where we got a pump out and topped
off the fuel which should get us to Mobile Bay. Lot's of folks were
leaving this morning and few came by to say good-bye. I wanted to
stay another day and get a hair cut but the Florida boy alias "The
Captain" wanted to head south as soon as possible.... and actually I
was cold, too! It was 55 degrees on the dock this morning. Here are
some captains from other boats cheering when I told them it was 88
degrees in San Juan......but can we make it there today??!
As
you can see it was a cloudy day which made it feel even colder.
Under this bridge begins the Canal, which is the first part of the man-made Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway or the Tenn-Tom.
Railroad
bridge along the canal.
Earlier
we had been passed by “Salty”, a cute little trailerable C-Dory
with a young couple aboard that we met in Frankfort, MI. It has just
one large outboard engine.
We
saw them again after the railroad bridge. They had docked near a
bridge and were walking along carrying two large gas cans. So we
slowed way down to make sure they were okay.
Their
plan was to walk one mile to town for the gas they needed and eat
lunch while there. Those cans aren't too heavy to carry empty but
very heavy when filled with fuel. But they said they have saved much
$ by getting gas in towns instead of on docks. Turned out they
didn't walk far before they got a ride and the helpful man that
picked them up went back to the boat three times with them to fill
the tank and THEN gave them his truck to go get lunch! We just keep meeting so many incredible people!
After
this bridge,
which is Mississippi Highway 70, the canal ended and
we were then in beautiful Bay Springs Lake. 
The sun came out and we could see one Looper already anchored in one of the "Five
Fingers".....these are coves off the lake near the first lock we will
be going through tomorrow.
We
puttered around for nearly 45 minutes trying to find a good
anchorage. Most were deeper than we wanted. Anchor chain: You are
suppose to put out 5X the height of the deck to the bottom of the
water. If you have to put out a lot of anchor chain then you must
have plenty of swing room......and every place we tried was too
narrow for the length of chain you would have to put out. If you are using rope you must put out even more anchor line.
This is our anchorage....we finally found a good spot with only 15 feet depth and are now secured on
the “hook”. When the engines finally quit today it was as quiet
as soft cotton... not one sound......awesome! The wind was barely
blowing but Miss gg still moves around a lot but silently. Good
sleeping tonight!
Just
before I started dinner the young couple on Salty came for a visit.
They rafted up to us (tied to our boat) and came aboard. Brooke and Jonathan are from
Indian River, FL. Just kids compared to most of the folks doing the
Loop. They anchor out most nights unless there is a free dock and
they can even shower on their tiny boat with over board water...
don't think they will be doing that tonight however. Brrrr!
We
have seen lots of tow/barge traffic and wonder what tomorrow will
bring as we try to get through 4 locks. The next day is always
unknown and that is what makes this an Adventure! See you down
river......
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