Packing It Up at the Demopolis Yacht Basin

On the morning of our last update (Friday, September 30th), unbeknownst to us at the time, our friend David’s boat, “Moonstruck,” a 44-foot Defever, turned on its side after passing a barge and sunk in the Tenn-Tom at Mile 317, 100 miles upriver from Demopolis.  David had left Columbus, Mississippi, just a few hours earlier, southbound for Demopolis.

This was David’s boat just a few weeks ago as he pulled out of Waterfall Cove on Pickwick Lake.



It’s hard to believe that this is all that was visible in a matter of minutes.







 

David leaving the wheelhouse of the northbound tow that stopped when the tow captain saw what had happened.



What a heartbreaking sight!





We saw David and his crew late Friday afternoon at the Yacht Basin after they returned from Wal-Mart where they bought some clothing and personal care items since everything they had went down with the boat.  What an unfathomable tragedy for all concerned, but at least everyone got off safely and without injury and we are incredibly thankful for that!

Saturday we began boxing up our personal belongings on “Life’s2Short.”  Late that afternoon we said goodbye to John and Sandy on “Thats Me” who were continuing south the next morning.  We had plans to go over to Rick & Peggy’s that  evening to watch the Alabama football game .  We thought the Gators would present a challenge for the Crimson Tide but as it turned out, Alabama kicked their butts.  Roll Tide Roll!

Safe travels, John & Sandy!  We sure enjoyed spending time and traveling with you these past few weeks!



“Rick Chris” works his magic on the grill.



Peggy playfully grabs some butt of her own!



Sunday was also spent packing and then Todd went fishing with Rick Monday morning.  After he returned we made a run to get more boxes so we could continue packing.







By late afternoon, it was time for a break so Todd joined our dock neighbor Buell for a cold beverage on the deck of the “Dale B.”



Tuesday was another day of sorting and packing and by Wednesday it was time to tackle four loads of laundry.  The Captain took time out to get a haircut and then continued boxing things up and moving them to our staging area in a locked section of the Boaters’ Lounge.

On Thursday Todd helped Rick put the water tanks back in his boat, “Rollin Tide,” and then went with Buell to pump out his holding tanks.  While they were out they decided to take a short cruise on the Tenn-Tom to get the engines up to temperature.  Buell is 88 years old and doesn’t get to do much cruising these days, so he appreciated getting the “Dale B” away from the dock for a brief run.

Todd then started repairing the fiberglass damage on the port side rub rail that occurred last fall when we were tied up to a free wall in Rock Hall, Maryland.  The wind came up while we were away from the boat and beat the port side against the pilings that line the wall.

Not a pretty sight!



While he busied himself with that task, I continued packing and sorting through more “stuff.”  That evening we met John & Gloria (“Bombay Lady”) at the New Orleans Bar & Grill for dinner.  We originally met John & Gloria in Demopolis in 2009 and saw them again in Marathon, Florida, in early 2010.  They just arrived in Demopolis Thursday afternoon on their way south and wanted to get together.

Gloria & John off “Bombay Lady.”



Joyce and Tara who work at the New Orleans Bar & Grill.



After three discouraging and stressful days of unsuccessfully trying to get “Moonstruck” afloat using some locals, a crew came in from Huntsville on Thursday.  They didn’t begin until mid-afternoon, but within approximately twelve hours they had her afloat.  They towed her to Pirates Cove Marina, about ten miles downriver, just above Bevil Lock, to begin the cleaning up and cleaning out process.  What an ordeal!

Todd and I took off from the Yacht Basin with Buell at 8:15 a.m. Friday morning, destination Dayton, Tennessee.  Buell was going on to Ashland, Kentucky, to visit family but wanted to split the trip up into two days and spend the night in Dayton with friends Pete & Geneva.  As it so happens, Todd left his truck with Pete & Geneva when we returned from Missouri in late August and we needed to get it back, so we took advantage of the opportunity to catch a ride with Buell.

We arrived shortly after 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time and were joined a few hours later by Wayne & Sandy who drove over from Knoxville.  We hadn’t seen Wayne in probably four years and had never met Sandy so it was good to catch up.  Neighbors Bill & Sandy, who we’d met on a previous trip to Dayton, also came over and we all enjoyed a nice dinner before retiring creek-side for a cozy campfire.

Neighbor Sandy chatting with Buell.



Bill with our hosts, Pete & Geneva.



Doesn’t the Captain look cool?



Wayne arrives from Knoxville.  Long time, no see!



Good times on the patio.





Wayne’s fiancé, Sandy, is on the far right.



We somehow managed to get all nine of us around the kitchen table for dinner!



What a nice campfire!





Saturday it was back to the Yacht Basin with a stop at The Cheesecake Factory (our first time) in Birmingham for lunch.  Buell was telling us on the way to Dayton what an extensive menu they had so we decided to check it out for ourselves.  And he was not exaggerating!  It took us forever to decide what to order but we had a good waiter, the food was good and it was a fun experience.

That evening we went over to Rick & Peggy’s for more Alabama football.  We didn’t expect much of a challenge from Vanderbilt and we weren’t disappointed.  Alabama beat them up badly with a final score of 34-0 .  The Crimson Tide was on its game!

Sunday was a mellow day aboard “Life’s2Short.”  Todd did some sanding on his fiberglass repair job, but we were at something of a stand-still in terms of what to pack since we still need enough stuff on board to function on a day-to-day basis.  So we spent the day relaxing, reading, packing a few more things and taking care of  some minor chores.

By Monday I decided to tackle the food and cookware, leaving just enough to get us through until we get the boat to Fort Myers.  After making another box run and a brief Wal-Mart run, it was back to sorting, packing and cleaning for me.  Todd spent most of the day working on fiberglass and he was definitely not having fun!

Tuesday was cool and cloudy so Todd wasn’t able to do much with the fiberglass.  Instead, he and Rick went fishing for a while and I spent the day cleaning the bathrooms and shower and packing a few more boxes.  Tuesday afternoon we joined Dale & Joy and two other couples at The Wall for happy hour, our first visit there since the day we arrived at the Yacht Basin.

Wednesday was laundry day again, but only two loads this time!  Things are really winding down in the packing department.  Not much left to sort through or pack so I defrosted the fridge and cleaned the stove while Todd continued working on the fiberglass.  Matt, who runs the shop at the Demopolis Yacht Basin, is helping Todd repair/rebuild the damaged engine vent, a very time-consuming task!

Matt and Fred, hard at work in the shop.



Wednesday afternoon we again joined Dale & Joy and a few other couples at The Wall.  Earlier in the afternoon several transient vessels had arrived at the Yacht Basin for fuel and/or overnight dockage.  After fueling, the larger ones were sent to the new marina, Kingfisher Bay, and the others were scattered around the Yacht Basin wherever they would fit.  Must be time for the fall migration south!

Today is Thursday, October 13th, and we are making final preparations for our trip to Missouri.  Todd is picking up the U-Haul trailer mid-morning tomorrow and we plan to load up and pull out a few hours later.  We are going to stop and see some friends along the way so we probably won’t arrive in Springfield until Sunday afternoon.  At this point, we are looking to return to the Yacht Basin late next week with plans to begin the long trek south to Fort Myers no later than October 24th.  Our final journey aboard “Life’s2Short!”