Bay Springs, MS to Columbus, MS

Total Miles Traveled 313

Except for temperatures being in the mid to upper 90’s every day, we had a great time anchoring at Bay Springs.   We departed Bay Springs September 1^st and entered the Tenn-Tom Waterway at the Jamie Whitten Lock.  This is the first lock of 12 locks before reaching tidal waters and Mobile Alabama.

The Whitten lock is 110 ft wide and 600 ft long with a drop of 84 ft.  I asked AI how many gallons of water would be discharged to drop a boat 84 feet in this lock……about 42 million gallons.  

Bay Springs to Whitten Lock and the Tenn-Tom Waterway   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sSKgIAGyckIV2QIjjkjms0RclnkB4x85/view?usp=sharing

We only traveled 22 miles and passed through 3 locks after departing Bay Springs.  We were held up at the Rankin lock by a tow making a crew change.  (the end of the video)  He entered the lock, they closed the doors, and two vehicles arrived with new crew and supplies.  Sometimes the timing does not work in our favor.  It was also 100 degrees!  We stopped at the Midway Marina just before the Fulton Lock and connected to shore power and air conditioning.  We hadn’t stopped there for several years so it gave us a chance to cool off and check out the restaurant.

On September 2^nd, we traveled 62 miles and passed through 4 locks to the Columbus Marina.  Two of the locks will be closed for 30 days starting September 9^th for maintenance.  This will be a working marina stop for us,    : - (     The generator battery decided to die the last couple of days of our anchorage, good thing we had jumper cables, so that was the first “unplanned project” to work on. 

Actually the first project was to move the Starlink antenna from the boat, and mount it on the dock structure.

The generator battery weighs 96 lbs, in a secured box mounted behind the generator.  The battery must lift vertically 17 inches to clear the box with only 4 ½ ft of headroom, once you twist through the equipment to reach it.   I was able to purchase 4 pulleys from Amazon, mount two on the ceiling, and two on a board secured to the battery handles.  The homemade block and tackle allowed me to lift the 96 lb battery with about 25 lbs of pull on the rope.  I was able to slide a board on top of the box and under the battery, then had one of the dock guys help me slide it on a board to the other side of the generator. I replaced it with a 40 lb battery with the same cold cranking amps.  The frustrating part is I completed a load test on the battery in April and it checked good.  Guess those 100 deg days took its toll.

The new blue top battery is in the battery box

We spent most of September sanding, applying two maintenance coats of varnish on the teak, and waxing the boat.  The covered slip is a life saver.

Our plan is to leave Columbus October 9^th then slowly work our way south to the Gulf.

Grand Rivers, KY to Bay Springs, MS

September 1, 2026

Tuesday

Total Miles Traveled 230

This has been a busy summer for us this year.  We attended our grandson’s graduation from Indiana State University and visited our family and friends in Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.  We completed our annual preventative maintenance schedule, replaced a few batteries, and upgraded a portion of our electrical system. We did manage to anchor out a few times and enjoy a swim in the secluded coves of Kentucky and Barkley Lakes.

 ISU class of 2026

 Electrical system upgrade

Ball Game at Indianapolis...............

On the farm at Terre Haute....

Trying to guestimate the width of a 2400 lb bull before attempting to load.

Good times on the lake

We did have a few storms pass through Grand Rivers, this one was a little concerning...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ID_H04nhsCBeplEKcN7Z-7FEPnLJVX4j/view?usp=sharing

Our good friends Kevin and Jill on m/v Chasing 80 arrived at Green Turtle Bay, completing their second Great Loop Adventure, known as crossing their wake.  They started their first loop in 2015, the same year we started ours, but have traveled thousands of miles since their first loop.  Last year they completed what is known as the Down East Loop, a loop around New England and through southern Canada.

The white burgee is planning or attempting the loop, the gold is for completing the loop, and the platinum is completing more than once. 

The Corps of Engineers have scheduled two lock closings on the Tombigbee Waterway from September 9^th through October 10^th.  To avoid any extension of the scheduled reopening of the waterway, we have decided to move to Columbus Mississippi for a month, to be downstream of the lock closures.  The Columbus Marina is a great marina with a courtesy car and close to any supplies or provisioning that is needed.

Hmm...... a week before departing we noticed a part of the dock structure sticking up out of the water behind our boat.  This is part of an underwater crossbeam 6 or 7 feet below the surface.  The marina had a diver check it out and it had broken loose only providing 3 feet below our boat.  Our draft is 5 feet so we could have damaged our underwater gear if it wasn't repaired before leaveing.  During the holiday weekend a houseboat rammed the dock pretty hard so this was probably the cause of the failure.

We departed Green Turtle Bay Marina on August 18^th and traveled 44 miles to Paris Landing, TN.  With temperatures in the upper 90’s during the day and taking most of the night to cool back down, we decided to stay at marina’s until we got a break in the weather.

Traveling to Pickwick with Chasing 80

On August 19^th, we traveled 31 miles to Pebble Isle Marina and docked just before a storm arrived, then traveled 62 miles on the 20^th to Clifton Marina, TN.  As luck would have it, Thursday was prime rib night, and it was awesome.

The RR bridge was in the open position when leaving Pebble Isle Marina

We departed at daybreak on the 21^st and traveled 56 miles, passing through Pickwick Lock to Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht Marina, Iuka, MS.  Our good friends Charlie and Robin on m/v The Lower Place keep their boat here and have a home close by.   

 Interesting homes along the Tennessee River

We passed a barge with strange looking cargo, we heard tow captains talking on the radio and found it is equipment for AI Data Centers heading somewhere north.

Approaching Pickwick Lock......

This very nice yacht was on the hard at Aqua marina.  It hit something coming up the Tombigbee waterway, looks like rocks or concrete did the damage?  We heard the insurance company totaled the boat.

Tore off the stabilizer fin and punctured the shaft thru the hull

This is the stabilizer fin on the other side.

On August 23 we traveled 36 miles to an anchorage on Bay Springs Lake.  This is an awesome body of water with several protected anchorages.  The clarity of the water is very good in this area, and I wanted to dive under the boat to inspect my running gear and zincs (sacrificial anodes) used to protect underwater metal from galvanic corrosion.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o4Ew8Z9Qej2ovhuHp4kuuuVC4Kx7QueZ/view?usp=sharing

Our friends Charlie and Robin on m/v The Lower Place rafted up with us a couple of days at our anchorage.  We had a great visit.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11OLtgK2NAv8BlOR1L-iilmtC3lZE3xlW/view?usp=sharing

We anchored here for 9 days and the weather was beautiful, great for swimming and cleaning on the boat.

Columbus, MS to Grand Rivers, KY

Total Miles Traveled since departing Grand Rivers, KY 2820 miles.

We have been very fortunate with weather and river conditions, so we stayed at Columbus one day for fuel and provisions, then on April 2^nd we cruised 57 miles, passing through 4 locks and anchoring near Fulton Lock.

We weighed anchor April 3^rd and cruised 24 miles passing through 3 locks to an anchorage at Bay Springs, MS.  Bay Springs Reservoir is one of our favorite places to anchor, stretching 9 miles long and several secluded coves.  With possible thunderstorms passing through, we anchored 2 days waiting for milder weather.

Jamie Whitten Lock, the northernmost lock on the Tenn-Tom Waterway, raising us 84 feet.

Bay Springs

On April 5^th we cruised 37 miles to an anchorage called Zippy Cove, another great anchorage between Bay Springs and Pickwick Lake.  Our friends Charlie and Robin (m/v Lower Place) keep their boat at a marina near here and have a house close to Pickwick Landing Marina.

Easter Sunday Breakfast

We weighed anchor on April 6^th and cruised 9 miles to Pickwick Landing Marina.  We stayed a few days visiting with Charlie and Robin, cleaning the boat, and catching up on a few maintenance items.  This is a really nice marina with a state lodge and restaurant close by. 

 

On April 11^th we passed through Pickwick Lock on the Tennessee River, our last lock heading north and entering Kentucky Lake.  Each lock from Mobile north has been raising us in elevation, Pickwick Lock drops us about 50 ft.

We cruised 53 miles to an anchorage at Beach Creek Island.

 On April 12^th we cruised 65 miles anchoring at Richland Creek on Kentucky Lake.  We had very windy conditions all day and night and this was a very protected anchorage.

 Hangin ten cruising the Tennessee River

We weighed anchor on April 12^th cruising 31 miles to an anchorage at Panther Bay.  We stopped at Paris Landing Marina to take advantage of an excellent fuel price, over a dollar a gallon less than a few marinas on Kentucky Lake.  I didn’t need fuel, but fuel prices seem to increase every week.

On April 15^th we cruised 19 miles to Ken Lake Marina, our friends Steve and Jan (m/v Forever Young) live close to the marina, so we stayed a couple of days to visit.

Steve and Jan took us to Extreme Bar Bingo night at Boyd's Tavern, established in 1798, Canton Kentucky's original speakeasy.  This was a really cool place.....and I won $25 on bingo......winning!

We departed the marina on April 17^th and cruised 10 miles to an anchorage at Duncan Bay.  We anchored 3 days breaking in our new Kentucky State fishing license.  Winner winner fish for dinner.

On the 18th, we dropped the dinghy and filled the stringer, big mistake coming back at sundown though, the bugs ate me alive while cleaning the fish.

On April 20^th we cruised our last 13 miles to our home port at Green Turtle Bay, Grand Rivers, KY.  We traveled 2,820 miles since departing Green Turtle Bay last August 2025.  We have logged 43,157 miles since starting our Great Loop in September 2015.

This will be my last post until we start our way south again in August.