Day 28

Location: Demopolis Yacht Basin, Demopolis, Alabama. Mile 216 of the Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway.

Distance Travelled Today: 53 Nautical Miles

Total Trip Distance: 1176 Nautical Miles

After yesterday’s marathon run, we took it easy today, stopping at 1 pm in Demopolis. Not only are we feeling good about making it to Coffeeville Lock by Monday (100 statute miles away), but this is the last real marina between here and Mobile so we figured we’d better take a break while we can. The only other potential stop is something called Bobby’s Fish Camp just north of Coffeeville which we may or may not reach by tomorrow night.

I’m sure that all of you have heard about the famous white cliffs of Epes. Well, we actually got to see them today. They are right along the Tombigbee River, near Epes, Alabama. We’ve always wanted to see them and we can check that one off our list now. We’re not sure why they’re white, but they are. Just like Dover.

The internet has been unavailable through Verizon for the last several days and doesn’t even work here in Demopolis. However, the marina here has internet access in their boater’s lounge so I was able to post the last two day’s entries this afternoon and this one will make it to the World Wide Web tonight. For the next three days, we don’t even travel near any small towns so don’t expect to hear from us until maybe Tuesday evening when we should arrive at Dog River Marina on Mobile Bay.

I’ve been so busy travelling all day and collapsing at night that I’ve barely had time to really talk about any of the interesting people I’ve met along the way. When I first got to Chicago after the shaft coupling incident, I was wondering if I had taken on too much of a project with this boat. In such a situation, it’s always good to see someone else with a bigger project. The boat pictured here was parked in front of me and I met and chatted with the owner.

I asked him what kind of boat it was and he said it was a homemade river boat that he had bought and was fixing up. “Great,” I said, “How long have you been working on it?” “12 years,” he replied. He went on to tell me that up until a couple of years ago, he never stayed at a marina, he just kept the boat tied to a tree. He said authorities constantly asked him to leave but he would just move around until they finally got a court order and threatened to confiscate his boat. He told me that he got a good deal at the marina for dockage because he doesn’t need electricity. He had a wood-burning fireplace for heat and periodically got a small Honda generator from his car, hooked it to a battery charger, and charged up his batteries for light. I asked if the wood fireplace heated the whole boat and he said it heated up the two rooms that were “finished”.

So Steel Magnolia is going to be a project, but I felt much better after this comparison.

We’re still having fun but I’m happy to be on the final downhill run. Stay tuned to see if we make it through Coffeeville Lock before it closes Tuesday and to see if we accomplish our mission to get Steel Magnolia to Mobile.

Comments

[Laura]

I love hearing about your adventures. The homemade river boat seems, well a boat within itself. Now that would be a fixer upper! Aren't you glad you don't have that?

How long does a lock take you to get through?

Can't wait for the next entry!

Laura