Another easy day - Day 49 - Pickensville, AL to MM 270.6, AL

Morning began with the marina's dog, Pirate, inviting Kodi to come out and play (i.e., barking at the stern of our boat).  After a brief discussion with Diana (not Kodi as she had already made up her mind) it was agreed to let her off the boat unleashed.  So Kodi began the day playing again with her new found friend.  We did not have the heart to tell her that we were leaving.


Kodi and Pirate

 We departed Pirates Cove at 9:15 AM to an open Tom Bevill Lock.  As we approached the lock we passed the Snagboat US Montgomery and the Tom Beville Visitor Center, which were discussed in yesterday's article.  Below are photos from the water. Notice the Montgomery's elaborate dry dock structure, which you can only appreciate from the water.

Snagboat US Montgomery in its dry dock

The antebellum styled visitor center from the water

We tied up to a floating bollard behind Bullish, a 112 ft Westport Motor Yacht. 25 minutes later, we were on our way to an anchorage at Mile Marker 270.6, a 37 mile run.  The weather at departure was overcast with light fog in the process of burning off.  The temperature was about 55 degrees.

The scenery along the Tenn Tom continues as before with wooded tree lined banks and the Tombigbee River occasionally intersecting with the waterway, which as we mentioned earlier was shortened to eliminate dangerous passing situations from the numerous switchbacks along the river's natural course. 

Along the way we encountered a dredge along the left descending bank with a barge positioned in the middle of the river.  It looked like you could pass between the dredge and the small barge but I did not take that for granted.  I radioed the dredge, which did not have a transponder, and was instructed to go around the small barge putting it to our port side and placing us closer to the right descending bank.  This turned out to be OK as there was deep water close to shore.

Dredge (especially for Nathanial)

For about a mile we a passed a community modest homes along the banks.  Some had docks.  Otherwise the river continued as before with dense woods.  As we got closer to our destination, the river widened considerably and the depths increased to an average of 25 feet.  The Tenn Tom is essentially a 234 mile run through largely unoccupied wooded lowlands.

We arrived at the Sumter Recreation Area at 1:25 PM and proceeded to anchor in a cove by the launch ramp.  The temperature by now was close to 70 degrees as we enjoyed lunch with a beautiful view of the cove.

After lunch, we launched the Caribe and Kodi, on her own accord, jumped aboard.  The photo below shows her contentedly waiting to be dingied ashore.   Makes you wonder.  I think she thinks we are her captain and crew.

Kodi waiting patiently to go ashore

The Sumpter Recreation Area afforded a perfect anchorage for folks with a dog.  It was created by the Army Corps of Engineers and offers a launch ramp, picnic tables (on concrete slabs) and a "primitive" camp ground ($3.00 per night if you please with no water or electricity).  The launch ramp turned out to have a concrete dock with cleats, which translated into not having to jump into the river.

Thank you Army corps of Engineers

We took walk up the road to where we do not know as we never got to a junction.  Kodi, who usually walks right beside us was unusually uncooperative (read as pulling).  She was excited by the sounds and smells of wildlife.  Several armadillos ran across the road and had to work hard to restrain her enthusiasm.

Kodi wanted to make a new friend

The good news is we had three bars on our AT&T phones, which was further surprising in that we are in middle of nowhere.  We have not had good signal strength for the last few days making communication with the outside world difficult.

After a half hour we turned around and headed back to the launch ramp.   Then we took a lovely dingy ride out on the waterway, which looks even bigger when you are in a small boat.  At around 4:00 PM we returned to the mothership.

Guided Discovery as viewed from the launch ramp

Again, another lovely day.  To date, we have had 42 sunny days out of 49.  Not bad.

Written by Les.