Tombigbee I-65 Bridge to Bashi Creek

After our night in the shadow of the Dolly Parton Bridge (I-65), we were looking forward to traveling north. The weather forecast is showing rain in a couple of days, so we hope to make good use of the next two days.

As we proceed north we begin to see familiar land marks. Around mile 30, we pass the Barry Steam/Power Plant. Mile 48, we pass a steel mill. Directly in front of the mill, barges full of ore or coal were being unloaded. Just a quarter mile up the river, on the north side of the steel mill property we see two large piles of what looked like scrap steel, a large crane and a couple of barges. I didn't think it unusual until I saw that they were loading the scrap steel into the barges. I saw a truck come in a dump some steel into the pile and a crane loading the barge. I would have liked to have hung around to see if they just move the barges down to the Mill dock and unload them. Things that make you go, hmmm.

As we move on toward Coffeeville Lock we pass several tows going down. We have AIS (Automated Identification System) so we can see them coming on the screen. We overtake a couple of tows on the way as well. Around 1:00 in the afternoon, we are overtaken by a Sirena 58, a 58' recreation vessel (RV). We agreed it was probably a delivery, because he was definitely burning through some fuel at the speed he was going, plus it didn't have a name or home port on the stern of the boat. (According to the Sirena web site this boat has two Volvo 900 HP engines.) But probably a new delivery captain, because he did not know how to do a slow pass.

PSA: A slow pass is the polite way for a faster boat to pass a slower boat. In order to execute a slow pass and loose a minimal amount of time, the two boats should be no more than two boat lengths apart. As soon as the fast boat is even with the back of the slower boat, both boats pull the throttle back to idle speed. The momentum of the faster boat will cause it to pass the slower boat with minimal wake. If the boats are close together (side by side), the slow boat can duck in right behind the fast boat, riding over one wave, and then both can continue on. If the two boats are far apart the slow boat has to wallow through several waves and it takes much longer for both boats. A someone who did the loop in a sailboat, you really appreciate the ones who know how to do this (I was overtaken a lot). Okay I'll get off my soap box.

Around 2:30 we overtook the tow Megan Parker. Charlie got on the radio and asked the captain when he will be arriving at the Coffeeville Lock. He reported he would be there about 1700 (5:00 PM). We have to arrive at the lock by 4:15 to get locked through before the Megan Parker. Otherwise we have to wait, because commercial traffic has priority. Most locks can lock through small craft and "turn the lock around" (either draining it or filling it) in about 45 minutes.

We are pretty sure we can make it. We have 27 miles to go to the lock and we are traveling about 16 MPH. As long as the current doesn't get stronger as we get closer to the lock. The river narrows as we closer to the lock, so that could be a factor. The race is on.

The current is our friend today (or relative lack of current that is). Our progress was just as we had expected to make the lock by 4:15, maybe even 4:10. About 3:50, Charlie calls the lock on the phone to let them know we are on the way and would like to lock through. The lock master says he has one in the chamber now going down and then he has a couple of RVs (Recreational Vessels) to lock up after that. If we push it up a little, he will lock us through with them. Charlie says to him; I don't want to get those other boats mad at us for holding them up. He says; They'll be OK, I run this show. So, we push the throttle up just a bit. We still have to be mindful of fuel burn since it will be over 230 miles between fuel stops.

We make it to the Coffeeville Lock and what do we find, the Sirena 58 is one of the boats waiting to lock through. All that fuel wasted. The boat "It's Okay II" was also in the lock. We found out on the radio that they were both going to Bobby's Fish Camp to stay the night. Bobby's is a rickety dock where you are charged $1.50 per foot for dockage. You might also have someone rafted to you (your boat is tied to the dock and another boat ties up to your side). These people have to cross your boat to get onto the dock and they still have to pay $1.50 per foot. We had already decided that we weren't staying at Bobby's. We might have considered it, if the restaurant was serving catfish to-go. Bobby's is know for it's catfish dinners and I have enjoyed dinner there a couple of times. But, it's really the atmosphere of having dinner with other boaters that makes it a special place. I am not sure that to-go catfish would have been worth the stop. We bid farewell to It's Okay II and the Sirena 58 and continued on toward Bashi Creek at Mile 145.

We found a great sandbar across from Bashi Creek. We beached the boat and set up camp for the night.

Sometime I forget how sound travels across the water. I got off the boat to look around. I hear a turkey somewhere up the bank. Thinking about our conversation early where we discussed that we hadn't seen much wildlife along the river banks, I said to Charlie, there is a turkey up there. From across the river, I hear someone say: Are you going to get that turkey? I said: Not unless it tries to get on the boat in the middle of the night. We have supper and settle in for a quiet night.