The Last Two Hundred Miles of the Tenn-Tom

After doing a final load of laundry, filling the water and fuel tanks ($2.43 gallon), pumping out the holding tanks, and cleaning up for our Friday night dates, Everett and I got underway about 11:00 a.m. On the way up the river, on a beautiful afternoon, Everett finished polishing the stainless steel…what a guy! It took us seven hours to reach Sumter Recreation Area, a cruise of 50 miles that included locking up through Heflin Lock & Dam.

Everett hard at work finishing up the stainless steel.



The white cliffs of Epes, AL


Everett finds his namesake on the river charts, Hayes Creek.



On the way to Sumter we called the wives to check on their progress and they informed us that they would arrive at our anchorage around 7:00 that evening. We dropped the hook in Sumter at 6:00, lowered the dinghy, and decided we would take a cooler of beer to shore while we waited for the ladies. Within five minutes of landing on shore the ladies arrived and all was well with the world once again!

Together again! The ladies arrive at Sumter Recreation Area as the sun is setting on “Life’s2Short” and another beautiful day on the water.



After loading and transferring people and supplies from the shore to L2S it was time to catch up on what had been going on in each others lives since we last were together. It was also time to enjoy wine, lots and lots of wine! On the way to meet us the ladies had stopped at a liquor store in Sherman, MS and Nila proceeded to stock up on some wonderful and tasty grape juice! After plenty of wine and laughs we all finally hit the hay around 11:00 p.m.

We all eased into Saturday morning, some of us feeling more foggy than others. The plan for the day was to enjoy the cool but sunny weather that had been in the area for the last few days. We started off by having some of the tasty pastries Nila had brought with her from Panera Bread. It was also decided that we needed Nila to experience what it is like to “lock-through.” Since Sumter is only three miles north of the Heflin Lock and Dam we radioed and asked if it would be okay if we brought L2S back to the lock to give our guest an “up & down” ride through the lock. Heflin informed us that there was no traffic in the area and to come on down.

Everett gives Nila last minute instructions on locking through. Actually we figured out that this was the first time that Everett had “locked-down”…does this mean that Everett should be in “lock-down”??


“Going down!”


Almost to the bottom of the lock. It was also a great experience for the Captain and Admiral as we didn’t have to do anything but watch since our “crew” did all the work!!


Saturday evening the Hayes’ treated the Lannings to filet mignon which Everett had picked up in Demopolis earlier in the week. We cooked the filets on the grill and complemented the steak with fresh salad and baked potatoes…YUMMY! After dinner we retired to the bow to, you guessed it, drink more grape juice and watch the stars come out. Rumor has it that there were even some satellites spotted, but by this time this writer had gone to bed because every time he looked up it appeared that all the stars looked like satellites! And with that, the Captain is turning the blog writing duties back over to the Admiral – for now anyway!

Star gazing at Sumter Landing.


Nila & Everett took off Sunday morning, July 19th, just before 9:00 a.m. and we had a quiet few hours aboard “Life’s2Short” before Rick & Peggy arrived from Demopolis about 2:00 p.m. We dinghied over to the primitive camping area and spent a very pleasant three hours chatting and catching up. Thanks for making the trip to come spend the afternoon with us, guys, we really enjoyed it!

The Honeycutt’s come for a visit, thanks for bringing the bread and bacon!


Ain’t she a beaut!


After an extremely quiet weekend at Sumter Landing with almost no boat or barge traffic, we were joined in the anchorage Sunday evening by another trawler named “Just Rosie” from Spring, TX. We then saw three more trawlers go by Monday morning just before 9:00 a.m. Who opened the flood gates anyway?!!! At any rate, we decided to haul anchor and get in behind them to catch the next lock, about 37 miles north. “Just Rosie” had left an hour earlier and was planning to travel at around 10 knots so we knew we couldn’t match her pace!

We soon caught up with “Daphne,” “Moonstruck” and “ThatsMe” and learned they were from Gautier, MS, travelling north to do some fishing and sightseeing on the rivers. We all locked through the Tom Bevil lock together and then proceeded to make our way another twelve miles to an anchorage at the Harriston Bend Cut-off with “ThatsMe.” “Just Rosie” was already anchored there and the other two boats elected to anchor just past the Alabama 86 (Brooksville) bridge just a few miles north of the lock.

The Trawler-Train headed up the Tenn-Tom.


Tuesday morning the four of us fell in line again about 9:00 a.m. and made our way toward Stennis lock (28 miles). “Just Rosie” had once again left almost an hour prior and was travelling faster than the rest of us. The other three boats stopped to drop anchor just north of Columbus Marina, but we wanted to get through the lock at Aberdeen, another 23 miles, and spend a couple of days at Blue Bluff Landing so we kept going.

The Captain is pretty sure this was an undercover moonshine operation camouflaged as a barge!


Removing scrap metal from a barge and loading it onto trucks.




As we continued north, we learned that “Just Rosie” was still waiting to be locked through at Aberdeen. Apparently a tow was headed south and the lockmaster was holding “Just Rosie” until the tow arrived. We were probably close to two hours behind “Just Rosie” but they were still sitting below the lock waiting for a lift when we got there! The tow had finally arrived and was being locked down, but the lockmaster could easily have taken “Just Rosie” up (several times) by the time the tow arrived.

After we locked up, we made our way in to the public dock at Blue Bluff, tied up and then helped “Just Rosie” get tied up. Don & Rosie were originally planning to continue north another nine miles or so to another anchorage at the Canal Section Cut-off but decided to give Blue Bluff a try. Once we were settled we got out some chairs and spent the next few hours sitting on the dock chatting about boats and boating life, as boater’s often do!

Rain moved in overnight and even though it didn’t really storm, it definitely rained! By Wednesday morning the rain had pretty much moved out, but the Captain had several inches of water to bail out of his dinghy. About noon we took a ride over to Aberdeen Marina to get some dinghy fuel and then went to the small dock at the base of Blue Bluff (which isn’t blue, by the way) where we climbed the steps to the top even though a tree had fallen on the stairs about half way up!

Headed into Aberdeen Marina to get some dinghy fuel.


The view from the top of the Blue Bluff docks looking toward the Blue Bluff Recreation Area.


Looking south from the top of Blue Bluff, that’s the Aberdeen Lock and Dam in the background.


By late afternoon “Daphne,” “Moonstruck” and “ThatsMe” came in to anchor at Blue Bluff while the Captain was out fishing in his dinghy. Todd and John, the owner of “That'sMe,” had gone out fishing together at the Harriston Bend anchorage and decided to go out again early Thursday morning.

Relaxing with Don and Rosie off “Just Rosie” on the Blue Bluff dock.


Todd got up about 5:30 a.m. Thursday and was killing time on the dock waiting for John to pick him up when he saw the remains of a loaf of bread on the dock by our boat. He also noticed that the port screen in the galley had been knocked over on its side, from the outside, and was lying on top of our dinner dishes that had been washed and stacked to dry just below the window.

He then came back inside to check out the galley and, sure enough, some animal (we’re assuming it was a raccoon) snuck in through the port window sometime during the night and carried off our brand new loaf of bread that was sitting on the dinette table! And it ate all but about eight slices of it. That critter must have been hungry - and stealthy since we didn’t hear a thing! I still don’t know how a raccoon could have walked across the top of those dishes without knocking at least a few of them over but it apparently did.

When Todd got back from fishing with John about 8:00 a.m. he made a quick dinghy trip to Aberdeen Marina to get us another loaf of bread and then loaded the dingy, pulled away from the dock and headed north. We had three locks and about 33 miles to cover to reach our anchorage just above Fulton Lock. All five boats travelled together and all three locks were ready for us when we arrived, so we made reasonably good time and were anchored by 2:30 p.m., less than six hours later.

This looks more like a lock in October when all the “Loopers” are headed south.


“Just Rosie” dropped anchor near us and the other three boats anchored to our north, closer to Midway Marina, since they were planning to dinghy to the on-site restaurant for dinner that evening. Todd and I stayed on the boat and spent a quiet afternoon and evening just reading, napping and hanging out, enjoying the mild temperatures and low humidity we’ve been fortunate enough to have for the past week.

Sunset above Fulton Lock & Dam.


Friday morning we headed for our first lock about 9:15 a.m. “Just Rosie” had pulled anchor shortly before us and was going to Midway Marina to spend a couple of nights. “Daphne” also went to Midway Marina, and “ThatsMe” and “Moonstruck” left for Bay Springs Lake at first light. So we were travelling alone for the first time since we left Sumter Landing. However, Todd talked to “ThatsMe” earlier that morning as they were getting ready to enter their first lock and learned that all three of the boats that had anchored about a mile north of us had been inundated by an overnight Mayfly hatch and their boats were literally covered with Mayflies. Glad we didn’t anchor with them!

The first two locks were ready and waiting for us, but we were held up for about an hour waiting for a tow to be locked down at Whitten Lock, the last lock on the Tenn-Tom and, at 84 feet, “the ninth highest single lift lock in the Nation,” according to Fred Myers’ The Tenn-Tom Nitty-Gritty Cruise Guide. We entered Whitten Lock about 1:30 p.m. and were motoring into the nice clean water of Bay Springs Lake 20 minutes later.

Whitten Lock – looks like an 84-foot cement coffin!


We made our way to Five Fingers to meet up with Mo & Joe aboard “MOTU” and were anchored with our stern tied to a tree on shore before 2:30 p.m. We promptly took our chairs and settled on the sandy beach with a cold beverage while Mo’s dog, Honey, dug trenches in the sand around us! That evening Mo fixed a wonderful dinner of grilled chicken with potatoes and onions wrapped in foil and grilled. Everything was cooked perfectly – thanks for a great dinner, Mo!

Our beach on Bay Springs Lake.


Hanging with Joe & Mo.


The Captain went out fishing bright and early Saturday morning but didn’t come back with any fresh fish for dinner. He then spent some time replacing the zinc in the bow thruster, scraping the rudders, checking the bottom of the boat (which looks great!), doing a little dinghy maintenance and cleaning, etc.

The Captain slaving away on the dinghy.


About 2:00 p.m. Terri Pruitt, a good friend from Pickwick, came down in her Tahoe with her sister and brother-in-law, Marcia & Gerald, a yummy taco dip and homemade chocolate oatmeal cookies. We sat and visited on the beach for a while and then Gerald, Terri and Todd went skiing in the Tahoe. It has been several years since the Captain has been on a ski but according to Terri, he hasn’t lost his touch!

The Captain visiting with Terri, Marcia & Gerald.


The view of “MOTU” and “Life’s2Short” from Terri’s Tahoe.


Nice form, Terri!

The old man still has it!




Back at the beach after skiing.


Shortly after Terri, Marcia & Gerald headed back to Pickwick, John (“ThatsMe”) came over and he and Todd went fishing for a few hours. They came back around 8:00 p.m. with a mess of fresh fish so the Captain kept and cleaned enough for a fried fish dinner Sunday evening with Joe & Mo.

Sunday morning was cloudy with a few sprinkles off and on but that didn’t keep Todd and John from going fishing again. They were at it bright and early, returning about 9:30 a.m., and have already made plans to go out again this evening. In the meantime we are enjoying a pleasantly cool morning on a beautiful lake.

We plan to leave Bay Springs early next week, probably on Tuesday, to cover the final 35 miles to Pickwick Lake where we will make a brief stop at Aqua Yacht Harbor to get a zipper replaced on a piece of flybridge canvas and then we will head to one of our favorite boating stops, Waterfall Cove!