Bay Springs Lake and Our Final Run to Demopolis

We pulled away from the dock at Aqua Yacht Harbor about noon on Thursday, September 15th, and were anchored in Five Fingers Cove on Bay Springs Lake by 4:30 p.m.  John on “Thats Me” was also anchored in the Five Fingers area so he came over for a while and then joined us for dinner.  The weather had turned quite cool so a big pot of chili was in order!

Our anchorages on Bay Springs.





Todd and John went fishing mid-morning Friday and again Friday afternoon but didn’t have much luck.  Todd found a nice place nearby for a campfire and got it set up to light after dinner.  After stuffing ourselves on chicken pot pie, John retired to his boat and we dinghied over to the beach to spend a couple of hours fireside.

The fishermen did manage to catch one nice bass while they were out.



John took “Thats Me” to the marina Saturday morning to use the courtesy car to drive to Tupelo to pick up his friend Sandy who is joining him on the boat for the long trek down the Tenn-Tom to the Gulf Coast.  Todd did a little late morning fishing in John’s center console, then relaxed for a few hours.  John returned mid-afternoon and Todd took John’s boat over to help him tie a stern line to a tree on shore.  A short time later Todd and John went fishing and didn’t return until it was almost dark.

The fishermen were off again about 9:00 a.m. Sunday.  Even though they haven’t been doing much catching, it isn’t for lack of trying!  Todd went out again that afternoon to gather wood for a fire and fish some more.  John & Sandy came over for dinner Sunday evening and then we went to the beach and built a very nice fire.  It was so nice, in fact, that we didn’t manage to tear ourselves away until 1:30 a.m.!

Monday was a rainy, gloomy day and we were all feeling the effects of our late night on the beach.  John & Sandy came over for breakfast enchiladas about 11:00 a.m. and the rest of the day was spent reading, relaxing and watching movies.  In general, not doing much of anything.

Our friends Nila & Everett from Springfield called Monday evening to let us know they were on their way back from Florida where they had been visiting family.  Since they were passing fairly close to Bay Springs on the return trip, they decided to spend a few days with us on the boat.

John and Todd went fishing Tuesday morning for a few hours and then Todd took John’s center console over to Bay Springs Marina Tuesday afternoon to pick up Nila & Everett.  They made it back to the boat by 4:00 p.m., just in time for happy hour!  After chatting and snacking a bit, we had green chili chicken enchiladas with Margaritas for dinner.  Then we got into a game of Rummikub that Nila & Everett brought with them and Nila emerged as the winner.

The Hayes’ have arrived!



Todd and Everett enjoying a nice evening on the bow.



John & Sandy came over Wednesday morning to share in the two (yes, two!) boxes of pastries Nila & Everett brought with them from Panera Bread.  After that, Nila & Everett spent a good part of the day relaxing and napping, Todd went fishing and I messed around in the kitchen.  About mid-afternoon we borrowed John’s boat again and took a tour around Five Fingers Cove.

Hanging on “Life’s2Short.”



Everett tries his hand at fishing and ends up with a big rat’s nest on one of Todd’s bait casters!



Todd returned from fishing and forgot to tie his dinghy up, so he had to swim for it!  First time that’s ever happened!



Cruising the lake on John’s center console.



 

When we returned to “Life’s2Short,” I started on dinner for the six of us.  Since we really don’t have any place to seat six people on “Life’s2Short,” I asked John if we could eat on his back deck and he was more than happy to oblige.  So once dinner was under control, we went over to “Thats Me” for appetizers and then Todd came back to “Life’s2Short” to get dinner out of the oven and shuttle it to “Thats Me.”

That’s our campfire beach in the background.



Appetizers on the deck of “Thats Me.”



By this time Sandy wasn’t feeling well so she skipped dinner and went inside.  After dinner the rest of us made our way to the beach for a campfire.  John & Sandy and Todd had gathered a bunch of firewood when they were out and about earlier in the day so we had a nice pile.  As always, it was a fun and eventful evening fireside and Sandy even came out to join us for a little while before we called it an evening.







The Captain giving John a lap dance!





Nila and Todd cutting a rug on the sandy beach.



Approaching midnight and the fire is still going strong!



Sandy got to feeling a little better and decided to join the fun.



Needless to say, we all slept in Thursday morning.  John called on the VHF about 10:00 a.m. and said he was going to have to take Sandy to a doctor.  Whatever she had was getting worse and she had red streaks starting to creep up her arm!  They originally thought she had been bitten by a spider, and maybe she was, but with the growing red streaks it was time to have it looked at.  John made arrangements to borrow the courtesy car at Bay Springs Marina so Nila & Everett got their things together and caught a ride with John & Sandy as they were heading that way.  Thanks for joining us on “Lifes2Short,” Nila & Everett; we’ll see you again soon in Springfield!

The rest of Thursday was pretty mellow aboard “Life’s2Short.”  John & Sandy returned around 4:00 p.m. with a couple of antibiotic prescriptions and some kind of cream to put on her arm – and our ice, of course!  The doctor seemed to think it was some type of staph infection so it’s good that they had it checked out.  John mentioned going fishing in a little while but after an hour or so he hadn’t reappeared so Todd gave up and went fishing in his dinghy.  Come to find out, John went back to his boat and fell asleep!

Thursday overnight turned fairly cool with a few light showers so  John and Todd weren’t too excited about going out fishing early Friday.  In fact, John’s comment when he called Todd on the VHF about 8:30 was:  “Someone’s done gone and left the refrigerator door open!” But they did finally head out about 9:30, just as the sun was making a feeble attempt to break through the clouds.  I say feeble because the sun still hadn’t broken through three hours later!

Todd finally returned about 2:30 and rested for a while.  David on “Moonstruck” left Aqua Yacht around 3:00 and made good time getting to Bay Springs, arriving by 7:00 p.m.  Frank & Joyce on “Daphne” had also boated down from Aqua earlier in the day so we all headed to the beach for another campfire.  This time we surpassed our previous late night and didn’t make it back to the boat until 2:30 a.m.!

Saturday was a quiet day for most of us.  Todd and David went over to “Daphne” late afternoon to catch part of the Alabama football game and Todd also helped Frank retrieve his catfish jugs.  John & Sandy and Frank & Joyce put together a wonderful fish fry for all of us that evening on “Thats Me” and we were joined by our friend Terri Pruitt who we love spending time with on Pickwick.  Then it was back to the beach for another fire, although no one was interested in staying up quite as late that night – go figure!

Frank and John were in charge of frying the fish, potatoes and hush puppies.  Nice job, guys!





Looks like someone is having a party!



Sandy and Joyce.



The lovely Terri Pruitt.  So glad you could join us!





David on “Moonstruck.”





Sunday we invited “Moonstruck” over for brunch with mimosas.  That afternoon “Moonstruck” and “Thats Me” went in to Bay Springs Marina.  We also moved to anchor near the marina so we could see Chuck & Pip on “Miss Pip” before we head down the Tenn-Tom.  Friends Roger & Dixie on “Bubbles,” who are moving their boat from the marina in Columbus to Prizer Point on the Cumberland River, also joined us late afternoon and we had a fun gathering on the dock.



Roger & Dixie on “Bubbles.





Later that evening Todd got nervous about storms and tornado warnings in the area so we moved “Life’s2Short” over to the marina for the night.  We had put out a stern anchor because the cut we were anchored in was fairly narrow and it was very windy.  However, when Todd went to pull the stern anchor up, it was stuck fast and he wasn’t able to get it with his dinghy.  So he left it with the rope sitting on a floating cushion, and he and John took John’s skiff over there early Monday morning to retrieve it.

We headed for Whitten Lock before 8:00 a.m. on a cloudy, dreary, drizzly Monday morning.    “Thats Me” joined us and we spent the next ten hours covering 48 miles and going through six locks – our first time doing six locks in one day.  Most of them went very well but we had to wait 1-1/2 hours at Wilkins Lock while the Corps of Engineers barge and crane went in to do some work.  But at least the weather finally cleared up by early afternoon.  We anchored at the Canal Section Cut-off at Mile 366.3 at 6:00 p.m. and had John & Sandy over for dinner.

Isn’t that a lovely photo?!!!  Nothing like locking through in the rain.



Heading down the Tenn-Tom late Monday afternoon.



Our anchorage at the Canal Section Cut-off with a tow and barges going by in the background.



Tuesday we were off again by 8:00 a.m.  And again it was cool and cloudy through mid-day but we experienced very little rain.  There was a tow with several fuel barges a short distance in front of us as we left the anchorage, and we were only eight miles from the Aberdeen Lock.  The tow captain was very nice and let us go around him so we could get to the lock first and lock down.  We continued on through Stennis Lock at Columbus and ended up anchoring at Mile 309.3 a few miles above Bevil Lock.  With only two locks to get through and no real delays, we put 57 more miles behind us and were anchored before 4:00 p.m.

A beautiful morning shot.



Captain John, master of his domain!



Once anchored, John and Todd promptly took off to go fishing for a few hours, only to return empty-handed.  That evening John picked us up on his skiff and took us to “Thats Me” for a tasty meal of grilled chicken, vegetables and baked sweet potatoes.  We were all tired after two relatively long days of cruising so we made it an early night.

Thick fog had set in by morning so we had to wait until 9:00 to haul anchor Wednesday.  By the time we got to Bevil Lock, the fog had cleared nicely and we could tell it was going to be a very warm day.  It was only about 40 miles to our next anchorage at Sumter Landing, and by the time we dropped the hook the temperature had reached 86 degrees.  Haven’t seen that in a while!

Following “Thats Me” to the lock.



One of several tows we saw along the way.



Todd and John went fishing about 4:00 p.m.  The plan was for Todd to radio me to let me know whether they were catching fish for our supper, or whether I needed to make alternate  arrangements.  And while they did catch some fish, they were all small so I made Cajun shrimp linguine for the four of us.

We awoke to thick fog again Friday morning but the Captain wanted to get underway, so we eased out into the river about 8:30 and slowly made our way to Heflin Lock.  Visibility was good by the time we locked down, and with a nice push from the current we averaged nine miles per hour covering the final 54 miles to the Demopolis Yacht Basin.

“Thats Me” at the last of the ten locks between Bay Springs and Demopolis.



We had to skirt around this dredge operation at Mile 249.



“Thats Me” with the White Cliffs of Epes in the background.



We reached the Yacht Basin shortly after 3:00 p.m. and the first order of business was to pump out the holding tanks.  Then we headed to our slip on B dock, got situated and joined the crew at “The Wall” to say our good-byes to Mike & Harriet on “Dual Dreams.”  Mike & Harriet have spent the better part of two years at the Yacht Basin and this was their final night.  Friday morning they will begin the journey south with plans to spend the holidays in Marathon and then make their way to the Abacos.  Safe travels, Mike & Harriet, you will be missed at the Yacht Basin!

Harriet and Brenda enjoying a final night together.



Mike in the center with Buell (left) and Dale (right).



Mo & Joe aboard “MOTU” were anchored a few miles down the river at Foscue Creek, which is where John & Sandy on “Thats Me” went to anchor.  So the four of them got in John’s center console and came to the marina Thursday evening.  Mo & Joe stopped by the Boater’s Lounge to say hello and we all ended up joining them at the New Orleans Bar & Grill for a few drinks.  What a fun group!

Left to right:  Dale, Mo, Harriet, Joe and Joy.



The Admiral with Sandy & John.



Just one big happy family!



Today is Friday, September 30th, and we have much to accomplish in the next few weeks as we begin packing up and moving off “Life’s2Short.”  We believe we have a buyer in Fort Myers and if that is the case, we will move most of our “stuff” to Springfield mid- to late October.  Todd will then come back to Demopolis and deliver the boat to Fort Myers.  Since I need to be available for job postings and/or interviews in Springfield during that time, Todd will probably ask someone else to crew with him from Demopolis to Fort Myers.  So this will likely be my last few weeks aboard “Life’s2Short.”  It’s hard to believe this chapter in our lives is almost over.  No longer will we be full-time cruisers; we will be CLODs (cruisers living on dirt)!