Trip Diary for December, 2005

Thursday, Dec. 1:  We spent the day driving from IN to Grand Harbor Marina near Counce, TN at the upper end of the Tenn-Tom Waterway with Keith and Sharon Hawks.  They agreed to again crew and enjoy a few days on the water with us.  This was especially appreciated since, although Lola's medical recuperation was progressing nicely, she was not yet allowed to do work like fending off in locks.  We covered 2,200 land miles in the past 10 days; for liveaboards, there is something fundamentally wrong about that statistic.

Friday, Dec. 2: At last, back on the water after last month's medical intermission, moving south on the Tenn-Tom seeking warmer weather.  The weather today was beautiful, but it was 27 this morning at Grand Harbor (who said it doesn't get cold in the south??)!  We departed at 10 AM for a leisurely 39 mi. to Bay Springs Marina at New Site, MS.  Traveling primarily through "the cut", the rock-lined canal segment excavated by the Corp of Engrs from 1971-1985, was not especially picturesque, but Larry, ever the water quality engineer, found the several types of side-water control structures technically interesting.

Saturday, Dec. 3: Rain last night and a few morning sprinkles.  A day for locking (4): no wait at Whitten, Montgomery or Rankin locks, but an hour at Fulton. Whitten lock had a drop of 85 ft., the largest on the Tenn-Tom, discharging 42 million gal. of water per lockage.  Following a delightful lunch of soup while waiting at Fulton, Lola and Sharon baked chocolate chip cookies which they "forced" on us before they cooled!  We made Smithville Marina 38 mi. downstream at 3:30 PM; it had cleared and warmed to 67.  With the provided courtesy car and directions from the marina owner, Jesse Cox, we enjoyed an excellent dinner at Pete's.  We stayed up til 11 PM completing a 1000-piece puzzle started Friday.

Sunday, Dec. 4: A night of much rainfall and gusty winds shifting from S to N producing significant wave action at our dock and a sharp temperature drop to 45 degrees.  Upon returning from Smithville UMC shortly after 11 AM we radioed the nearby Wilkins lockmaster to inquire when he could lock us through.  "If you can be here in 15 minutes I'll take you with another approaching pleasure craft; otherwise, I have 3 tows coming up and it will be a good while."  Needless to say, we set a speed record dropping electrical lines and casting off.  We are noticing greater numbers and varieties of birds along the waterway with egrets and loons added to the usual mix of blue herons, ducks, and occasional osprey.  We stopped early (2:20 PM) at Aberdeen Marina because the next alternative would risk docking after dark.  As it was a dark, rainy evening, we drove to town in the Lincoln courtesy car for an early pizza dinner and returned to start another puzzle and watch TV.

Monday, Dec. 5: A rainy night with morning temperatures around 35.  We departed at 8 AM for the 27 ft. Aberdeen Lock a mile away which we made without waiting.  Arrived at the excellent Columbus Marina at 11:20 AM.  After grilling hamburgers for lunch, we called Enterprise for a pickup to rent a vehicle for the next week.  We then visited Waverly Plantation a fantastic 1852 mansion abandoned for 50 years until purchased by Robert and Madonna Snow in 1962 and now restored by them to its original elegance.  In the evening, Lola finished decorating the interior of the boat with Christmas lights and ornaments as we prepared to depart for a quick auto trip north.

Tuesday-Saturday, Dec. 6-10: Left Columbus in rental car at 7 AM with Grand Harbor as our first stop.  We picked up the loaned Explorer there and took both vehicles to I-40 Exit 108 about 20 mi. east of Jackson, TN where at noon we met daughter Judy and husband Glen Mitchell to return the Explorer after 2 months.  Down to a single vehicle again, we headed for IN to allow Larry to attend Wednesday meetings at Purdue plus an ASABE Foundation Trustees meeting in Chicago on Friday.  It started snowing as we left W. Lafayette Thursday about 1:30 PM.  The Tri-State tollway was terrible, with almost 8 in. of snow by Friday AM, but the roads had cleared by mid-afternoon when we headed home.  We drove back to Columbus Saturday with daughter Sandy and her husband Klaus Leitem, arriving about 8:30 PM.  They will crew with us down the rest of the Tenn-Tom to Panama City over the next eight days.

Sunday, Dec. 11: The "white" docks you see at Columbus marina are not painted; that's heavy frost in the sunny South. After the long day driving, unloading the car, pumping out and waiting for the marina office to open so we could leave keys for the Enterprise car to be picked up Monday, it was 10:45 AM before we cast off.  Given this late departure, we decided to make only one lock (Stennis, no wait) and stop at Marina Cove, 28 mi. downstream.  A beautiful day with temperatures reaching 55.  The early 2:40 PM arrival allowed us to walk 1.5 mi. to the nearby Bevill Visitor Center housed in a beautiful 1885 southern mansion.

Monday, Dec. 12: Needing to make Demopolis (2 locks and 92 mi. downstream), we departed at 7 AM.  While we again had heavy morning frost, it was a beautiful day with temperatures ultimately reaching 61.  Fall scenery along the waterway was generally not spectacular except for the white cliffs at Epes. The rare wildlife sighting today was a doe swimming across the river about 300 yards ahead; she made it to shore as we passed abeam.  We passed the half-way point along the Tenn-Tom today, arriving at Demopolis Yacht Basin with two hours of running by 3:45 PM.  After fueling, we showered and then took the courtesy car to grocery shop.  We grilled hamburgers for a late dinner and went to bed early to enable another early departure tomorrow.

Tuesday, Dec. 13: Departed before 7 AM in fog to reach the Demopolis lock 3 mi. downstream and wait 25 min.; first true need for radar.  Fog cleared during lockage and the waterway's scenery, starting with the Demopolis dam became more interesting.  One puzzling phenomenon is the rather persistent stark difference in soil substrates and vegetation between the two river banks.  Typically, one has substantial exposed bedrock (speculated to be limestone) while the other shows only clay and sand, often seriously eroded.  Easterly bank trees consistently have more foliage and green colors than those on the opposite bank.  Tow traffic was the heaviest we've experienced: met 5 and overtook 4 more.  By running 3 hrs. of the trip we made the 97 mi. to Bobby's Fish Camp dock by 2:35 PM.  Bobby's offers fuel and a tie, but NO facilities, not even electricity; it's a common stop only because there aren't alternatives.  Boats already there had been waiting since 8:30 AM for the nearby Coffeeville Lock to receive pleasure craft (and we had overtaken four tows that would soon be arriving!).

Wednesday, Dec. 14: Up at 4:30 AM; we were NOT going to miss an early locking opportunity!  Without electricity, temperature aboard was a crisp 51.  Started the genny to obtain heat, make coffee and toast bread and bagles for breakfast.  Left the dock in the dark with light fog at 5:40 using radar and bow light to make the Coffeeville lock by 6 AM.  No wait to lock down with 2 other pleasure craft: Lucky Lady and Original Sin; our last lock before the Gulf.  The waterway gets wider as we move downstream, picking up large tributaries such as the Alabama River.  Approaching Mobile  brought memories of St. Joseph: 14 mi. above the city we encountered a 45 min. delay for a CSX railway bridge to rotate open and the 2-4 ft. waves for the 8 mi. crossing of Mobile Bay to reach Eastshore Marina in Fairhope at 4:50, just 10 min. before closing.  The biggest contrast with St. Joseph was the presence of many graceful pelicans.  Covered a record 134 mi. today with only 3 hrs. of running (getting up early makes a difference!).  Washing down saltwater and tying for tides (about 3 ft. here) were new experiences.

Thursday-Friday, Dec. 15-16; Mobile Bay: Time to relax after a hard day boating.  Enterprise picked us up to rent a car for shopping in Fairhope and Daphne.  Fairhope is a really delightful, special small town with many high quality boutiques in a traditional town configuration developed under a unique "single tax" concept with the city owning the land.  Daphne is a more typical city with its shopping malls.  We managed to help the economies of both, topped off with an excellent dinner at the Nautilus restaurant in Daphne.  Friday we dropped lines at 9:35 AM for Pensacola, FL and our first experiences with shoaling waters,  the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) and a need for real navigation.  We quickly developed a real appreciation for GPS with integrated electronic charts.  The white Gulf sands and many high rise condos made a beautiful scene.  The highlight of the day was seeing our first pair of dolphins playing along the boat.  We completed the 65 mi. to Island Cove Marina in West Pensacola by 4 PM, with only 1.5 hrs. spent running.

Saturday-Tuesday, Dec. 17-20; Panama City: Heading for Panama City, 110 mi. away, we departed Island Cove at 6:40 AM as soon as light was sufficient to see channel markers in intermittent light rain with the temperature only 42.  Rain and the number of dolphins both increased as we traveled east, experiencing 2-4 ft waves for 15 mi. on Choctawhatchee Bay.  To make the excellent Panama City Dock by 3:30 PM we had to run (18-20 mph) for 3+ hrs.; otherwise, we traveled at a more leisurely and economical 10 mph.  We called Bayou Joe's for directions to dinner, but since it was raining, owner Tom offered to come pick us up!  We wisely accepted; not only was the seafood excellent, we all shared a huge, hot brownie ala mode that was the best we've ever eaten!  Sunday began with church at FUMC followed by a return to Bayou Joe's for lunch (another shared brownie, but only two-way this time).  Then it was back to the boat to watch the second half of the Chargers beating the Colts to end their perfect season hopes.  Monday the ladies rode the city trolley to the mall for shopping and nail work.  The men rented a car at 1 PM and picked them up for a late lunch before we drove to Destin, a very impressive city of condos and upscale shops about 50 mi. west of Panama City.  That trip allowed us to return to the boat to grill ribeye steaks for a late evening dinner aboard.  Tuesday morning was time to begin laundry, boat cleaning and packing for Klaus and Sandy to board their 1:30 PM flight for Noblesville via Atlanta.  For our final evening in Panama City, we celebrated at Bayou Joe's by sharing a grouper dinner and one of his spectacular brownies.

Wednesday, Dec. 21: We departed at 7:20 AM, traveling with Bill and Ruth Donovan, Purdue grads, aboard their 36 Monk trawler Integrity at 8-8.5 mph to the Scipio Creek Marina at Apalachicola, famous for its oysters, arriving with the time zone change at 3:45 PM EST.  Following a short walk into town, we boarded Integrity for munchies and to plan our joint overnight "crossing of the Gulf" to Tarpon Springs, the former "Sponge Capital of the World" and still a predominately Greek community.  The trip entailed about 170 mi. of open Gulf water, expected to take 23 hrs dock-to-dock at 8 mph.

Thursday-Friday, Dec. 22-23: The Crossing!  The biggest challenge of this segment is wind and waves, especially at this time of year.  Thursday was  forecast to be the best weather window for a week: 2-3 ft. waves starting, decreasing to 1-2 overnight; thus, we departed at noon in order to arrive at the "crab pot infested" entrance region to the Anclote/Tarpon Springs River in good daylight at mid-tide.  Actual sea conditions didn't exactly match the forecast.  The beginning was as forecast; not bad, except waves were primarily at the beam which produced a rather uncomfortable roll/pitch combination.  By nightfall, the sky was still totally clear and dark with exceptionally bright, clear stars.  Our first mechanical problem: the radar failed; fortunately, Integrity's was working so we relied on theirs.  After the midnight moonrise, the moonlight sparking off the waves made cruising really beautiful.  We took 2 hr. turns piloting while the other rested (occasionally even sleeping).  By 3 AM, contrary to the forecast, waves had increased to 3-4 and shifted almost directly abeam making the ride very uncomfortable.  We turned 30 degrees northward, despite lengthening the trip, to attain an acceptable, but still not pleasant ride (the forecast decreasing winds would occur, but about 18 hrs. later than predicted).  Reaching the 35 ft. depth about 7:30 and still 25 mi. from Tarpon Springs, we began to encounter crab pots.  Starboard ones were almost impossible to spot looking into the still low sun, but we soon learned to closely pass the more easily observed port ones, thereby avoiding the almost certain nearby starboard neighbor.  At 10 mi. offshore we finally began to enjoy decreasing waves due to shore protection from the NE wind, the ride became comfortable and pots easier to spot.  At 11:20 AM and 183 mi. from Scipio Creek Marina we reached Naomi's dock, the only available slip in Tarpon Springs, with electricity as its only service.  After tying up and reserving a car we crashed for two hours of quality sleep.  Upon waking, Larry washed down the boat, we showered and were picked up by Enterprise at 5 PM to get a car for the next week.  With wheels, we picked up Bill and Ruth for a wonderful Greek dinner at the Mr. Souvlaki Restaurant, returning to go to bed at 8 PM for 11 hr. of badly needed sound sleep.

Saturday-Sunday: Dec. 24-25; Tarpon Springs:  Saturday was a day for provisioning and searching for a more satisfactory slip in the region (less expensive with facilities).  We needed to stay within the pickup range of our Enterprise dealer and the Tampa airport where we will pick up our grandson and his girlfriend Wednesday.  On  Christmas eve we attended a moving, non-traditional 2 hr. service at FUMC in Tarpon Springs with the message focused around the C. S. Lewis story/movie Chronicles of Narnia.  Sunday's Christmas service also developed the anthology between Chronicles and Christ's birth.  After hearing several movie bits during two services, we decided to view it following church.  Seeing Bill and Ruth walking in Tarpon Springs as we returned, we invited them to stop by on their way back and then accepted their invitation to join them for an outstanding lamb kabob dinner at the nearby Hellas restaurant.

Monday-Saturday: Dec. 26-31; Dunedin: We departed Namoi's Monday at 9:40 AM for the first-class Marker 1 Marina in Dunedin, only 8 mi. away "as the crow flies", but 15.5 mi. by water.  Just to check, Larry turned on the radar and it worked, without having done anything to it!  Gloria and Robert Zink (W. Lafayette friends with a condo in St. Pete's Beach) and Gloria's sister Shirley and her husband Duke Egan who live about 5 mi. from the marina came by for lunch at the Thirsty Marlin restaurant in Palm Harbor. It was time for mundane things like laundry, Lola's pedicure and shopping for boating supplies on Tuesday.  Wednesday morning Lola went to a Walk-In Clinic for a persistent, nasty cold/cough on our way to pick up grandson Chris Leitem from Noblesville, IN and his girlfriend Emily Cieslak at the Tampa airport.  Their flight was an hour late, but still arrived at a convenient 12:45 PM.  The vulnerability of this marina to SW winds was painfully apparent this evening as 20 mph beam winds made the boat noisy and very uncomfortable until after midnight.  Despite everyone's poor night's sleep, we got up in time for a 7 AM Thursday departure for Disney World, 95 miles away.  We met Keith and Sharon Hawks at Old Key West Vacation Club with whom we would stay the next two nights in their time-share condo.  We spent the rest of the day in the MGM and Epcot parks culminating with a combined Candelight Processional choir and Christmas story followed by dinner at England's Rose and Crown Pub.  Friday was devoted to the Animal and the Magic Kingdoms.  Saturday AM offered time to shop at Downtown Disney before driving back to the boat in the afternoon to celebrate the end of a unique, exciting old year with dinner at Red Fish, Blue Fish.

Water miles traveled in 2005: 3383 with 42 locks requiring 1501 gal. of fuel.

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