After a few miles on Pickwick Lake, we entered the Tennessee-Tom Bigbee Waterway, better known as the Tenn-Tom. The Tenn-Tom Waterway is a 253-mile stretch that connects the Tennessee River at Pickwick Lake to the Black Warrior River at Demopolis, Alabama. The Tenn-Tom is comprised of rivers and canals that lower you 267 feet via 10 locks.
Our first day on the Tenn-Tom, we traversed the 25-mile long canal that connects Pickwick Lake and Bay Springs Lake. Our transient dockage for the night was at Bay Springs Marina on the outside pier of a large, covered dock housing big houseboats and motor yachts. While there, we were able to fill our propane tank and were invited to docktales by a couple of the liveaboards. Cocktails turned into a dinner invitation, Great Northern beans with smoked pork, grilled bread, and deviled eggs. Yummy, and I didn’t have to use that propane!
The next morning, we locked through our first lock at 7:15 a.m., the Jamie Whitten Lock, with an 84-foot drop. Very smooth, and the friendly lockmaster called the next lock so they would be ready for us. The next two locks went just as smoothly with no wait. When we exited our third lock, it was spitting rain, so we decided to call it a day and tied up at Midway Marina. Enjoyed a really good fried seafood lunch at Guy’s Place, the onsite restaurant, and used the courtesy car for a Walmart run.
The next morning, we woke to heavy fog followed by rain and wind. We decided to stay put even though our accommodations at Midway were less than desirable: one bathroom/shower for the entire marina and restaurant to share, dockage next to a houseboat with a 3-year old and 2 yip-yip dogs! Children’s programming blared all day, and we were serenaded in the evening by either the child’s happy squeals or the dogs incessant barking.
The next day, we transited another 3 locks and docked at a free dock in the Blue Bluff Recreation Area. A second day of locking through upon arrival, no waiting, and smooth ride. We were joined late afternoon at the free dock by another Looper, Happy Trails, a large motor-sailor with a pilothouse. We talked across the dock over cocktails and learned the couple would be crossing their wake in Demopolis! They have been aboard for one year but had delays (New York) and re-routing (No Canada) compliments of COVID-19. Also learned we had friends in common that we traveled with in Season 2: Vitamin Sea and Adagio!
Next day (Friday the 13th), we made the short hop to Columbus Marina. Columbus is the largest town we will encounter until Mobile, and I wanted to treat Jim to a birthday dinner out complete with dessert! Several Looper boats were in the Columbus Marina, so there was a happy hour gathering on the dock. We were treated to appetizers by Kathy & David aboard Godspeed including grilled Boudin, a Louisiana specialty! Five other Loopers decided to join us for Jim’s birthday dinner at Harvey’s. Prime Rib followed by Brownie Delight. The Captain was happy😊
We stayed a second day at Columbus as our buddy boaters from Season 1 called and wanted to visit. They were in Demopolis pulling the engine from Déjà Vu for rebuild. We had not seen Butch and Charlie for over 2 years, so we had a great reunion in the cockpit of Stealaway, catching up on our lives and sharing adventures.
The next two nights on route to Demopolis, we anchored out. Marinas begin to get scarce at this point on the rivers. Our first anchoring experience in over a year (remember, we just rafted up last year with our “mobile marina”, Alittle Loopy) was not good. Not nearly as much water as the guidebook indicated. We ran aground twice as we tried to anchor, and the next morning it took forever to get the anchor up! The anchor rode was tangled on something BIG and it took 3 attempts powering forward over the anchor to break it loose. Our second night at anchor went much better; plenty of water and the anchor came up clean. YEAH!! Both nights out at anchor, the weather decided to act a little more like November and the temperature dipped down to 36 degrees. At anchor, we have no heat, so we tried out one of the Captain’s birthday gifts, a 20-degree Coleman sleeping bag. We unzipped that sucker and spread it on top of the flannel sheets and comforter in the V-berth. Toasty warm😊 I actually had to stick a foot out during the night to cool off! As in construction, it’s all about having the right tools.