Columbus to Demopolis

Columbus, MS has a rich history.  Columbus, MS was established just after the Battle of New Orleans the point where a ferry would cross the Tombigbee River for road being built between New Orleans and Nashville.

During the American Civil War, Columbus was a hospital town. One of the hospitals was located at Annunciation Catholic Church, built in 1863 and still operating in the 21st century. A group of ladies decided to decorate the Union and Confederate graves with flowers on April 25, 1866 was an early example of what became known as Memorial Day. The effort was the inspiration for the poem The Blue and Gray by Francis Miles Finch.

Columbus Air Force Base was established after WWII as a flight training center. During the 1950s and 60s the Base was a part of the Strategic Air Command, which earned it a spot on the “target list” of the Soviet Union.  

On toward Demopolis. The next morning, I pulled up anchor just after sunrise and left the little beach to plod on down the river toward Demopolis.  JJ Gray - Mississippi came to mind, so I put them on.

The next Lock was 12.5 miles away, Tom Bevill Lock. I am a little more than an hour away when I hear someone on the radio calling Tom Bevill Lock. The Lockmaster informs him to switch over to channel 14. I switch over as well. If this is a tow with barges approaching, it could delay my lockage, especially if it is a “double”.  A double is one that must be separated into two sections and taken through in two stages.  Locking through a double takes about an hour and a half to two hours.

Fortunately, the person calling in was a Recreational Vessel (RV). He would be clear of the lock by the time I got there. I hope there is not any north (up) bound traffic near. It is an advantage to have your VHF antenna at the top of the mast, my radio can pick up conversations from a much further range than most trawlers.

I passed a north bound tow (barge) on the way to Bevill shortly after I heard the other RV calling Bevill Lock. I guess there is some commercial traffic moving today, hopefully not much.

When I get to the Lock, the gates are open for me and the green light is on. It really pays to call 30 minutes out from a lock.  Sometimes you find out they are in the process of locking down someone and you need to slow down and take 45 minutes to get to the lock, so it will be ready for you. I have had them ask “Can you push it up a bit and make it 15 to 20? I’ll hold it for you if can get here in 20.” I am like a turtle, I travel at near max speed all the time, which is slow. I report to the Lockmaster, I have her wide open and 30 minutes is the best I can do. Ok I’ll have it ready for you in about 40 minutes. But in this case, there was no other traffic and I drove right in and tied right up.

Oxbow cuts on the upper Tombigbee

The next lock is 40 miles or 5.5 hours. The waterway is beginning to look more like a river now, fewer oxbow cuts and more natural river banks. Still a few oxbow cuts, but the scenery is definitely changing. The weather is not, it’s another 98 degree day.  

About 2 hours into the trip to the next lock, I spot the boat that went through the Bevill lock ahead of me, he is still a mile and a half ahead of me.  I also see a tow on the AIS ahead of me, coming at me, 3-miles away.  Doing the math quickly, I could see that I would pass the tow in about 15 minutes. I knew it would probably take another hour to reach the other RV. At least I won’t have to worry about passing and overtaking all at the same time.

I keep watching the tow on the AIS. I see two targets on the AIS, one seems to be right on top of the other, and both moving at the same speed. Hmmm that’s odd. What is going on up around the bend.  

It turns out it is two tows, one pushing and one pulling. It’s my first time seeing this type of setup on the inland waterways. It was similar to the pair big tows I saw coming back from New Orleans (ships shipping ships), but this one had a large pipe looking thing on the barge (I took a picture, but left my camera on the boat).

After a bit longer, I finally get close enough to the other RV to use the binoculars to see the name of the boat. It’s a houseboat and the name on the back is “immy”. I thought that’s a weird name, but there is probably a good story behind it.  We were still 2 hours from the lock when I finally called “Houseboat immy” on the radio. He responded back “This is Houseboat Jimmy”. Jimmy!? I was close enough now to clearly see it clearly says “immy” on the back. But whatever he wants to be called is fine. With two hours until the lock I knew there wasn’t enough time to get to the lock ahead of him to lock through by myself, so I told him that I was going to overtake him and keep him in sight, so we could go through the lock together. I guess I could have stayed behind him and accomplished the same thing since we were going to lock through together. We were only about 1/2 of a mile per hour difference in speed. But I guess I like the view from the front or something like that. I just couldn’t help myself. As I passed, I saw the name “Jimmy” on the side.

A couple of hours later we locked through together. After we exited the Lock, “Houseboat Jimmy” thanked me for holding the lock for him. He said he was taking it slow, because he was concerned about having enough fuel to make it to Demopolis. I told him I planned to anchor around mile 243 and he would be welcome to raft up next to me so that he doesn’t have to burn any extra fuel anchoring. He said he would probably take me up on that.

About 6:30, I set anchor between a green buoy and the shore. I was about 20 yards inside the channel mark of a horseshoe bend in the river, so the tows would be moving slow as they moved through this area. Since I didn’t want to swing out into the channel and I may have another boat tied to me, I set a stern anchor so that I would stay exactly in this position

I settled in to my evening routine.  According to my Sunrise Times app, it’s about 30 minutes to sunset and 50 minutes to last light. Houseboat Jimmy should be able to make it easily. About 6:55 he came around the corner and asked if my offer was still open. I affirmed it was and ready lines to tie him to my port side, on the side towards the bank.

I greeted Pete and his crew Neuman. I offered Pete a beer (I could tell just by looking, Neuman didn't need a beer). Pete had recently purchased Houseboat Jimmy in his home state of NY. He started in Seneca Lake, NY and is heading to New Orleans. He has a house in Lafitte, LA and had just got the final settlement from Katrina (it was a long battle about condemnation and related issues). He is going to live in the houseboat while he rebuilds a house.

The next morning, we set out toward Demopolis, about 30 miles away. I pushed him off and said I’ll see you down river (I still had to pull up two anchors). He said he had to stop and let the crew run around on shore for a short while, so he wouldn’t be far. It wasn’t long until I saw Houseboat Jimmy on the side and slid by him.

We were still close to each other (about 1-mile separation) by the time we reached Demopolis. I would be staying, and Houseboat Jimmy would be getting fuel and moving along. I told him a little about the river trip the night before. Demopolis is the last opportunity for Provisioning until Mobile, so I knew he planned to get fuel and use the courtesy car to go get provisions. As I was tying up in my slip I see Houseboat Jimmy coming in the marina, which oddly enough is not where the fuel dock is. I told the guy helping me tie up (marina worker), he’s lost, let me radio him and tell him where the fuel dock is located. I go to my radio and he heads to the end of the dock (strange things are about to happen). I call on the radio:

Me: Houseboat Jimmy this is Lesson Plan

"Jimmy": Let’s go to channel 11

Me: OK

"Jimmy": What are you looking for?

Me: I am staying here.

"Jimmy": You are?  Do you have a reservation?

Me: Yes, I told you that last night.

"Jimmy": I only know about a sailboat coming in.

Me: (wait a minute. I look at the guy on the end of the dock and see the guy with a handheld radio in his hand near his mouth) I call to him down the dock (not in the raido): We are talking to each other. Let me call him on the phone. 

I reached Pete on the cell phone (thankfully we had exchanged numbers the night before) and told him the fuel dock was actually on the river, just behind the tow boats that were at the fuel dock he probably saw just as he turned into the marina. He headed back out.

I saw Pete and Neuman later after he had gone on his provisioning run. I gave Pete some of my notes about the anchorages and the fuel stop between Demopolis and Dog River (Mobile).  I got a text from him later that they made it to New Orleans with only a little weather excitement. 

Neuman- The Crew of
Houseboat Jimmy

Lesson Learned:

Always confirm who you are and who you are speaking to on the radio. This confusion could be serious in a more critical situation. 


I'll see you in December when I start down toward Tampa.