We locked through Beville lock with five other boats, but fortunately by the time we got to the next one (40 miles downstream), they weren't with us. The lockmaster let us lock down with a small tow, which enabled us to make it to Demopolis by sunset. The highlight of the afternoon was passing the dramatic white cliffs of Epes.
We anchored at Foscue Creek with two sailboats and another trawler. The water level was so high that the park benchs were almost totally submerged. Tropical Storm Ida is brewing in the SW Caribbean Sea. Chances are she will be another obstacle to our forward progress.
Nov. 6 - Fog delayed our departure which changed our float plan for the day. Anchorages along this part of the river are few and far between, and several of them require a bow and stern anchor unless you are cruising with another boat and raft together with one dropping an anchor upriver and the other dropping one downriver so the boat can't swing out into the channel.
After entering the Demopolis lock, we observed the power of the current swirling near the dam. There were quite a few boats locking down with us.
While waiting in the lock, we were delighted to hear our boat yard friends, Jay and Nancy aboard Serendipity calling the lockmaster to request lockage with us. They cruise a lot slower than us, but we decided to slow down, save fuel, and raft with them at Barron's Landing alongside the river that evening. They invited us over for dinner, and we had a nice evening together. The question remains: Where will Tropical Storm make landfall? The National Hurricane Center says will be somewhere along the Gulf Coast between Carrabelle and New Orleans, and we'll be right in the middle of that range!
Nov. 7 - We were up before dawn and quickly observed that we were much closer to shore than we should have been. In fact, our keel was in the mud. The fog was thicker than pea soup. Quickly Bill woke Jay and Nancy, who were rafted outside of us, and they came to our aid and were able to pull us off!
We breathed a sign of relief! After both of us reanchored and got situated again, we invited them over for breakfast aboard Omega. Nancy was still in her pj's, but she climbed right aboard. What good friends!!!
Climbing from Serendipity up to Omega is a trick, but returning from Omega to Serendipity is the real challenge!
We headed downstream to Bobby's Fish Camp, which is known by everyone who navigates the Tenn-Tom Waterway. Bobby's has been owned and operated by his family since 1956. It is in the boondocks for sure, but most everyone cruising up or down the river stops here at Bobby's one little dock and pigs out on fresh catfish and hushpuppies! No electric is available at Bobby's dock. but he collects just as if he was a full-service marina. We were the first to arrive, but by sunset six boats were there. Serendipity rafted to us and we enjoyed piggin' out on catfish together. It was fun and the food was really good! Their record number of boats for one night is 17! He's got a good thing going, for sure!
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