Starting down the Tenn-Tom Waterway

Instead of following the Mississippi River down to New Orleans and then crossing the gulf to Florida, we will be following the Tenn-Tom (Tennessee Tombigbee) Waterway to Mobile, AL and then cross the gulf.  This route is most often chosen by AGLCA loopers due to the swift currents and lack of facilities on the Mississippi River. The map below shows the routes and various side trips, but the Tenn-Tom Waterway which this blog refers to is highlighted in purple.

The Tenn-Tom Waterway is a 234 mile stretch of water, which connects the Tennessee River at Pickwick Lake with the Tombigbee River at Demopolis, AL.  From there, we follow the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway, a 217 mile stretch, to Mobile, AL. We will experience a series of locks and dams, lakes, rivers, and man-made channels.  The total drop for this last segment of the trip to the gulf is 341 ft. with 10 locks and a distance of 453 miles.

Congress authorized the waterway in 1946 with both Presidents Johnson and Nixon supporting the funding.  Construction began in 1972, and it became the biggest civil works project ever undertaken by the US Corps of Engineers.  In 1977, President Carter attempted to stop construction which resulted in effective public outcry. Completed in 1985 at the cost of over $2 billion, more earth (150 million cubic yards of rock) was moved than was moved in the construction of the Panama Canal.  The benefits of this project were jobs, electricity, and a water route south from the Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico.

Thursday, November 21
Wednesday night we docked Dream Chaser at Grand Harbor Marina.

Mary was up at 5:00 am, before sunrise, prepping the vegetable soup, baking apple crisp, finishing laundry, and organizing the galley.  Although we have a generator on Dream Chaser, we make every effort to use shore power whenever possible.  Steve took a quick trip into Savannah to Lowes for project supplies.  He plans to turn the lower helm chair into a slider in order to sit closer to the navigational equipment.  With so much cold weather, we find ourselves navigating from the lower helm more often.  After another phone call to KVH regarding an ongoing TV reception problem (since August) and some messing with the receiver, we secured the cabin and untied the lines.

At 10:30 am, we said good-bye to Grand Harbor, pulled out of the marina, and pointed Dream Chaser down river on the Tenn-Tom Waterway.  We have started a new leg of the journey and within a few miles, we entered into the state of Mississippi.  Along the first six miles of the waterway, we enjoyed the beauty of the area with tree lined shores, areas of pretty homes, inviting camp sites, and numerous birds.  Pictured below is the barge we had just passed on a wide point in the waterway.  You want to stay out of their way!

With partly cloudy skies, temps in the high 50’s, and a brisk wind, we viewed the world around us from the upper helm.  Fresh apple crisp and hot steaming coffee hit the spot.

There are three sections of the waterway.
The first section of the Tenn-Tom is called the “Divide Cut” from Pickwick Lake to Yellow Creek (M443.7) The waterway was cut through land here to a depth of up to 175 ft. for nearly 25 miles, and it opens into the headwaters of Bay Springs Lake. The beginning of the waterway is pictured below:  a fairly straight channel, lined along the sides with rip-rap rock, and a variety of trees scattered along the banks.



The picture below shows one of many man-made, cement stream entrances to the channel designed to reduce soil erosion.

We are thrilled with our new electronics!  When we are underway, we use our on-board Garmin Navigational System, Active Captain and numerous apps on the I-Pad, and keep our marine radios on.

The picture above shows the lower helm navigational screen in split screen.  On the left is a close up of the navigational channel for a quarter of a mile.  You can see the boat shape following the navigational line and the shore lines.  On the right, is a picture of the next five miles which shows any oncoming vessels, bridges, or potential problems.  On the far right edge of the screen, there is a list which shows our MPH, water depth, GPS heading, estimated distance to auto pilot destination, and arrival time to auto pilot destination.  At night, the screen is set at 20 ft to check our movement while anchored. The screen is set to 30 miles for weather radar, etc.  It is quite amazing!  There is so much more information and various screens that can be chosen, but these are the screens we normally use.

Our AIS (Automatic Identification System) in our Garmin Navigation System informed us that the pleasure craft motoring ahead of us was called Trust Me.  AIS tells us the type of vessel including the name, speed, direction it is traveling, approximate dimensions, distance away, exact position, and a few other things we haven’t figured out yet.  We use AIS often, especially when meeting or passing barges.  When using the marine radio, we address the captains of the towboats by name, and AIS gives us quick information, unlike binoculars where the information is limited.  (Binoculars are used frequently for reading signs and clarifying channels markers.) The most recent information via other boaters is called “Active Captain”.  This is an app we have on our I-Pad which gives up to date information on anchorages, marinas, obstacles in the river, and some local attractions laid out in map mode.  Quite amazing!  We use it in conjunction with our other electronics. 
After lunch of homemade vegetable soup and chicken salad pitas, Steve set the autopilot to 11 miles down river and took a nap.  Yes, Mary was at the helm but didn’t need to do anything but observe the process and watch the river for obstacles.

With the sunshine reflecting off the lake, the Tenn-Tom channel flared out as Dream Chaser entered Bay Springs Lake.   What a pretty area!  If the day had been warmer, we may have had the opportunity to see alligators which start appearing at about this point in the waterway.  No Alligators today, but we did enjoy the beautiful tree-lined shores while we sipped on tea and indulged in a slice of a Tiramisu roll.

After five hours of motoring, we found an anchorage with Trust Me, a 49’ De Fever, at East Cotton Springs in the southern part of Bay Springs Lake.  Mike and Jan are the owners of this beautiful De Fever, from Missouri, and are on their way to Florida.  We love Dream Chaser, but we fantasized about what it would be like to have seven extra feet of boat length! (But, we know it is too big a boat for doing the loop.)

Our first attempt to set the anchor wasn’t effective, but the second drop worked like a charm.  Steve had figured in the wind direction which was blowing briskly from the south.  It was predicted to die down later in the evening and change to the southwest.  This was a perfect spot for the night!

With our anchor alarm set and darkness wrapping around Dream Chaser, we settled in with only the splattering of the rain outside.  After dining on grilled rib eye steak, sweet potatoes, and tiramisu dessert, we watched a movie, read a little, and called it a night.  As our navigational lights shone above us, we snuggled under our down comforter for a wonderful night’s rest.

Friday, November 22
Rain kept a constant rhythm during the night and continued throughout the morning.  After a quick breakfast of eggs, we pulled the anchor at about 8 am and followed Mike and Jan on Trust Me, down the waterway to the Whitten Lock and Dam. This was our first lock on the Tenn-Tom with the greatest drop of 84 ft.  All the following locks have an average drop of 30 ft. Montgomery Lock followed about six miles later and then the Rankin Lock.  Due to the rainy day, Mary made good use of her rain suit as she set the fenders and tied off in the locks.  Steve navigated from the lower helm due to the rain and cool temps.

Below is an interesting view from the bow of Dream Chaser looking over the lock wall to the channel below.  A SLOW barge is in the middle of the channel below.

Steaming hot coffee (with a new peppermint mocha creamer) and pumpkin bread were a welcomed mid-morning reward.

Today, our progress along the waterway has been slowed due to THAT slow tow and barge ahead of us going southbound at only 6 miles mph.  The channel is too narrow for passing and tows get priority at the locks.  Darn!
Hot, homemade vegetable soup and crackers were on the menu for lunch.  A nice treat on such a cloudy, gloomy day.  It was a quick trip through the Rankin Lock, Fulton Lock, and Wilkins Lock, but slow moving on the channel due to the THAT barge again.

Amory Lock was directly in front of us, but with darkness falling soon, the decision was made that there wasn't time to lock through Amory Lock, yet today.  Seeking anchorage, Dream Chaser was first to motor off to the east into a bay area.  Buoys marked the side channel, but the water depth dropped to six feet in places, so we moved slowly.  Dream Chaser finally positioned itself in the small bay, and dropped anchor.  Trust Me followed part way into the channel, but due to their deeper draft and not wanting to chance getting stuck, dropped anchor in the side channel before they entered the bay.  In the fall, darkness comes early, and boater's midnight is 9 pm.
It had been a long day, so with navigational lights on and dinner completed, we called it a night.

We wish you all a very Blessed Thanksgiving!  We give thanks to God for family, friends, and the many blessings we have received!