Weather forecast for June 29, 2017:
Demopolis Yacht basin, Tombigbee River, Demopolis, Alabama
Partly cloudy, low 73 high 90.
Captain’s Log: June 14 – June 28, 2017
Our first official sea trial was undertaken on June 14th and took us from our mooring at Turner Marine to the fuel dock at Dog River Marina, out to the shipping channel in Mobile Bay and then back to our mooring. The entire circuit took about two hours to complete and presented us with several ‘opportunities’ for improvement.
The first opportunity came in the form of a leaky raw water pump for the main engine. The second, and more troubling, was a leaky wet exhaust riser. Brent, my mechanic at Turner Marine, removed the pump, repaired it and reinstalled it on June 20th, two days prior to our scheduled departure on June 22nd. I removed the wet exhaust riser on the 18th and had it back in place on the 20th.
Tropical Storm Cindy arrived at Dog River on June 20th, one day before Captain Shawn Somers and his wife Kimberly arrived. It rained all day on the 22nd and most of the day on the 23rd so Shawn and I made a few last minute repairs to the boat while we waited for Cindy’s departure.
Our seven-month-long stay on the Dog River came to an end on the evening of the 23rd as we shared drinks and conversation with our friends Roger, Christy, Cory and Chandra of Turner Marine. As a final bon voyage gesture Roger and Christy Turner treated us to a wonderful dinner at the Mobile Yacht Club. We look forward to reconnecting with the good folks at Turner when we make our swing south in October.
Bright and early on the morning of Saturday, June 24th, we topped off our fuel and water tanks. At 8:00am we slipped the dock lines and headed out into Mobile Bay carrying 215 gallons of diesel and approximately 220 gallons of water on board; the engine had 8.3 total hours. Fifteen miles later we passed the Mobile Convention Center, mile marker 0 on the Mobile River, and officially entered the Black Warrior/Tombigbee waterway.
We performed engine room checks every hour on the hour. At 1:00pm a minor repair to the raw water siphon was made which required us to shut the engine down for approximately 15 minutes.
We passed five towboats during this first day and Shawn took the opportunity to educate me regarding the proper protocol when communicating with towboat captains. At 7:30pm, mile 54, we entered a 50 foot wide creek called Bates Lake and dropped anchor for the first time; the engine had 20.1 hours and 69 river miles. A dense growth of large trees lined the banks of the creek giving the waterway a tunnel-like feeling. The stars blazed through the treetops in the pitch-black night as hoot owls, coyotes, frogs and crickets provided a cacophony of sound. It was a perfect first night for the adventures of s/v Perfect Love and Shirley and I went to bed content and slept soundly.
The Tombigbee River between Mobile and Demopolis is truly wilderness. There are very few anchorages and even fewer places to dock and/or provision. With the towboats running 24x7, one has to be very careful when choosing a spot to drop anchor or tie up for the night and, with this being our first time on the river and in a new boat, Shawn’s expertise was invaluable.
I was up at first light on Sunday morning and Shawn followed soon after. We fired up the engine, raised the anchor and were underway by 7:00. This day was cooler than the previous day, making the miles much more comfortable. Encounters with more towboats and a single pleasure boat provided distractions as the tree-lined shore slid by. The river remained very high with a fair amount of debris. At one point we listened in on the banter between the towboat captains. Captain Jimmy, about one half mile behind us and heading up river, and Captain Butter Bean, just passed us and heading down river, discussed the loads they were pushing and the river conditions. Captain Butter Bean, a local boy with a heavy Alabama accent, was quite a character.
We made it to the Coffeeville Lock and Dam just before dusk. Passing through a lock for the first time was a bit nerve wracking but all went well and we were safely docked at Bobby’s Fish Camp just before dark. The engine had 34.1 hours and 118 river miles.
On Monday, June 6th, after topping off our water tanks and fuel tanks and making a second modification to the raw water siphon system, we departed Bobby’s Fish Camp. Later that day we spotted a red kayak floating down river and the crew sprang into action. Within minutes we had the kayak onboard; the single-person sit-on-top kayak was in great shape and had no identification markers on it. After our very first bit of booty was secured on deck we continued up stream. We stopped at Barron's Landing, left descending bank, for the night. We tied a bow line to a tree and then dropped a stern anchor to keep from swinging. The river remained above flood stage.
The next morning we woke up to a real problem. The second modification that was made to the raw water siphon system allowed water to seep into the engine. We had to remove the valve cover and siphon out the water from the cylinders. This operation delayed our departure for over five hours. We subsequently arrived at the Demopolis Lock and Dam after dark and, after a tense transition through the lock, we tied up at Kingfisher Bay Marina completely exhausted. With 216 river miles behind us and 55.5 hours on the engine we made kingfisher our home for the next three day while awaiting deliveries of mail and packages.
Until next time, may your tomorrow bring fair winds and following seas!