Columbus, MS to Tensaw River, AL

Total Miles Traveled from Grand Rivers, KY    614

We didn’t have any trick or treaters, so I guess we’ll have to eat all the treats…..I love it when a plan comes together.

This has been one of our best cruises south for this time of the year.  All the river and pool levels between the locks were normal and we have had little rain the entire trip, which may explain why the fall colors seem to be earlier this year.  We managed to stay ahead of the wave of southbound boats that were held up due to the month-long lock closures, so we have had the rivers, locks, and anchorages pretty much to ourselves.  We started to see more traffic a few miles prior to the last of the five locks from Columbus.

Most Great Loop cruisers use an app called NEBO, it’s a boat logging app that allows us to share our location and see the location of other boats.  The picture below with the numbered circles indicates how many NEBO boats are in that area.  The individual boat underway is also shown.  We are currently in circle 18.  There are 81 boats heading south between Demopolis and Mobile Alabama.  These are only the boats that use NEBO, not other pleasure boats or tow’s.  This app is very useful when timing the locks and anchorages.

We had a great stay at Columbus, although it was mostly projects, so we departed October 12^th and traveled 58 miles to an anchorage at Cooks Bend.  On the 13^th we traveled 54 miles to an anchorage at Rattlesnake Bend, about 8 miles from Demopolis, and anchored there for 6 days.  We saw wild pigs, turkey’s, deer, and eagles.

We departed our anchorage on the 19^th and traveled 8 miles to Kingfisher Bay Marina at Demopolis to top off fuel, water, and reprovision.  On the 21^st there were nine boats leaving so we decided to hold back a couple of hours, then traveled 22 miles passing through Demopolis lock by ourselves, to an anchorage along the river.  Then on the 22^nd we traveled 49 miles to an anchorage at Bashi Creek.

The Corps of Engineers maintains the depth of the waterway, a minimum of 8 feet within the marked channel, we usually see around 15-20 feet but there are several areas that get skinny.    The center of the channel is where the tows must operate to maneuver several barges around the twist and turns of the river.  The channel may favor one side of the river or in the center.  A fully loaded barge usually has 7 to 8 feet of it underwater so the tows must stay in the deepest water.  Passing them can be a little stressful, the draft of our boat is 5 feet, and we must keep a safe distance from the tow, but also watch the depth under our boat as we pass on the edge of the channel.  I always call them by VHF radio and ask which side of the river they would like to meet us on.  They will respond by saying “I’ll see you on the one, or two” (the “one” we will meet Port to Port, or “two” meet Starboard to Starboard).

Here is a short video of passing tows, the last clip is a northbound tow passing us anchored at Bashi Creek. I have increased the speed of the video's.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dQIDE8SQMsWH9GyVuzBNyrhMQo66WVuy/view?usp=sharing

We departed Bashi Creek on the 23^rd then traveled 21 miles and anchored, then on the 24^th we traveled 46 miles passing through Coffeeville Lock to another anchorage.   There are no marinas or docks for the 117 miles between Coffeeville lock and dam, and Mobile Alabama.

Our last lock of 13 after leaving Grand Rivers Kentucky

All of the southbound boats have given us a slow pass.....and we are thankful

A passing boat snapped a picture of us while anchored.

We were at an anchorage facing upstream with very little current, maybe ½ mph.  We are well out of the channel in about 7 feet of water.  The passing tows move an enormous amount of water when pushing loaded barges.  The barges have two 7 foot diameter propellers, so when this tow passes us  heading downstream, it pushes so much water upstream it turns our boat facing downstream when it passes us.  My camera is mounted on the boat.  So, when we anchor along the river, we have to make sure we have enough depth under the boat to swing without moving into the channel, or too close to shore.  We have used a stern  and bow anchor in unfavorable conditions.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zg6Qg5fvnrVJdIipar2kaGQ_KLo7OEK9/view?usp=sharing

Over several years of river level fluctuations caused by flooding and erosion, the rivers begin to silt in and must be dredged to maintain the 8-foot minimum depth.  This is a dredge operation removing sand and silt from the channel and relocating it on a downstream shoreline.  This dredge is using the hydraulic dredging method using pumps and suction systems to remove sediment and water simultaneously.

On October 25^th we traveled 42 miles to an anchorage on the Tensaw River.  Our boat insurance limits us from being south of 31 degree’s north latitude until November 1^st as their official end of hurricane season, this anchorage is 31.4 degrees north and about 40 miles from Mobile Bay.

Lots of twist and turns in this section of the waterway.

Tensaw River is a popular anchorage 

I almost missed this guy, he's rolled in the mud, laying by some brush, waiting for his next meal.  He blends in pretty good.

We're churning up bird food.

Sorry about the quality of the pictures, it looks like I've worn out the zoom on my camera and its time to search for a replacement $$$$ 😞.

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.