BellaGatto Cruising: Weeks 32 and 33 - Heading South....Chattanooga to Demopolis, Alabama

Following a delightful stay in Chattanooga, we got up on a frosty early morning to get back on the loop and continue south. In fact that morning it was 19 degrees and the dock lines were frozen. We banged hard for 8 straight days, traveling from dawn to dusk most days, almost 500 miles and 14 locks to get to Demopolis, Alabama. From here we are only a bit over 200 miles from Mobile and the Gulf of Mexico! After retracing our steps back down the Tennessee River, our stops along the way were at the Aqua Yacht Harbor (marina), Midway Marina (marina), Blue Bluff (anchorage), Columbus Marina (marina), Sumter Recreation Area (anchor), and finally the Demopolis Yacht Basin (marina).

Week 32 and 33 route

The night before leaving Chattanooga we had a night of pizza, Mexican dominoes, and little beers with our friends from Golden Daze and Seabatical.

BellaGatto leaving the dock at Chattanooga. Photo Credit: Rick from Seabatical

An impressive 8 point buck swimming across the river

Manifest, BellaGatto, Golden Daze, and She's the One all lined up at Joe Wheeler State Park after being rejected for a lock through at Wheeler Lock the day before.

We began our trip on the Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway (the Tenn-Tom for short) from Aqua Yacht Harbor in Iuka, Mississippi. We had a pretty long way to go (55 miles and 3 locks) to Midway Marina, so we got an early start and ignored the patchy morning fog. That fog quickly closed in and we spent the first hour of the day poking along mostly blind except for radar. When the waterway narrowed in the Divide Cut, the fog lifted and we had a pleasant trip, other than the inevitable delays at every lock. We arrived at Midway Marina just in time for a stunning sunset, and we also got to catch up with our friends on Misty, who we haven’t seen since back in Canada.

Looper boats on the transient dock at Aqua Yacht

A good layer of frost on everything. Time to head south for sure!!

The fog layer starting to envelop us

Time for a radar assist

The fog gave way to a beautiful and calm passage.

Lots of shore birds on this leg.

My view (Jayne) as we lock down

Whitten lock is the 4th largest lift lock in the US, 84 ft. Locking down is much easier than locking up

Sunset at Midway

The Tenn-Tom doesn’t get much love from the loopers, who mostly seem to just want to get it over with. But it winds through some dense forests and opens up here and there into broad shallow lakes teeming with bird life. From Midway, we were going to try to run 58 miles and 4 locks to Columbus Marina in Columbus, Mississippi, the largest town on the waterway. But after getting held up for a couple of hours at one of the locks, it was clear we were not going to make Midway before sunset. We try to always have a plan B and C when we cruise, and this time plan B was to pull off just before the last lock and go up a side channel to the Blue Bluff Recreation Area, a park and launch ramp facility with a nice free overnight dock. Bella got to run to her heart’s content on the huge grassy lawn.

Seven of us travelling from Midway to Columbus

BellaGatto secure in the lock

Misty across from us in the lock

Tied up at Blue Bluff in time to take a nice Bella walk before dark

Plenty of water and space. Did I mention it's free?!

Fall colors accentuated by the sunrise. This Florida girl is loving fall!

The next morning, we did the remaining one lock and 20 miles to Columbus, arriving a little after 10:00 in the morning. This worked out great, because it gave us the whole rest of the day to do laundry and borrow the courtesy van to go shopping. Later that day our looping buddy Golden Daze pulled in, and there was much rejoicing. We went to dinner that night with the crews from Misty and Valentine.

Delicious dinner at Harvey's in Columbus

Columbus Marina is right next door to the Stennis Lock, and a whole herd of looper boats showed up on their doorstep at first light. By quarter to eight, we were all through the lock and on our way. Our goal for today was the Sumter Recreation Area anchorage, 64 miles and two locks away. Various boats from our flotilla peeled off at different anchorages, and we wound up sharing Sumter with Contentment. This was a perfect spot for “dog boats,” because there is a launch ramp and dock to make for dry and non-muddy dog walking trips. We launched the dinghy but the engine soon crapped out. It took a while to figure out the problem, but when the engine would get fuel with the gas tank turned upside down we knew it must have been the pick up tube coming loose. If you have to have a problem it was a good one to have because we could fix it ourselves without needing any parts. The anchorage itself is small and tucked away off the river – very quiet and very peaceful, and we had a great night.

Leaving the lock

Sumpter Recreation area anchorage. Weather change coming.

BellaGatto in the background and Contentment in the foreground

Bella Gatto in the distance. Photo Credit: Elizabeth on Contentment

Another day on the Tenn-Tom, and another crack of dawn departure to show up at the Heflin Lock at first light. We coordinated the lock through time with the boats that pulled off in nearby anchorages and when we all arrived at the lock we all got to pull right on in with no waiting, and from there it was just 50 easy miles to the metropolis of Demopolis and the Demopolis Yacht Basin. Along the way we got to pass by the famous white cliffs at Epes, Alabama, which broke up what was otherwise a monotonous vista of bottomland hardwood swamp and pine forest along the waterway. Just about a mile before Demopolis, the Tenn-Tom technically ends where the waterway is joined by the Black Warrior River. From here on south, it is properly called the Black Warrior – Tombigbee Waterway, but just about everyone still refers to it as the Tenn-Tom. We are going to lay over here for a needed day of rest, and to wait out some rainy weather.