Smithville Marina

We are now in Columbus, MS after a short 41 mile run yesterday from Smithville, MS. We stayed at the Smithville Marina, an old marina that has seen better days. The current owner is the son of the original owner who was killed last year in a tornado where 13 other residents were killed. After hearing this story, we decided to stay there if it fit our plans, and as luck would have it, it did. It was basic and rustic, but fit our needs.

Dave with anchor trip line

 

 

 

Five Fingers anchorage



Canadian Geese

We had only traveled 36 miles from an anchorage the night before. In the anchorage, we had to change our location due to shifting winds and expected rain. We did not have the expected wind and had an uneventful night in the anchorage. However, the mud on the anchor was tough to get off, and we had to wash down the deck twice using only buckets of water from the river. I wish this boat had a raw water or freshwater washdown near the anchor. We have not needed it before now. I hope we don’t have to deal with that kind of nasty and sticky clay type mud, but chances are that we will at some point on this trip.


Midway Marina hidden behind flooded timber - follow the marked channel!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water hyacinth EVERYWHERE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We used the Columbus Marina van to go be tourists today. They ask that you only keep the van a couple of hours to allow it to be shared by others. We kept it a little longer as we toured Playwright/Poet Tennessee Williams home which is now the Columbus Visitor Center.

 

Whitehall Mansion 1843

We drove by and took a few exterior shots of some pre-Civil War homes.

Rosedale Mansion 1856

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waverly Plantation Mansion 1852

 

 

 

 

But the real treat came when we visited Waverly Plantation Mansion. As we were looking for it, we passed by the dingy dock and noticed our friends from “Jackets II” who had anchored and dingyed ashore to walk to the mansion. We loaded them up and drove the ¼ mile to receive a personal tour of the mansion. Do a Google search for this place and you will be amazed. It has a very long and interesting history far too long to detail here. It is actually occupied by the owner! He allows tours and just goes somewhere else while the tourists are walking around. Since it sat vacant for many years, it is absolutely amazing that many of the fixtures, glass, and ornamental work survived. The current owner is a renowned antique collector and has so many priceless items inside, I am surprised that it is not guarded like Fort Knox. I thought that Madison Georgia was a superb example of pre-Civil War homes, but Columbus is at least equal, if not superior.

So far, our mileage on the Tenn-Tom is 115 miles with another 335 to go before we get to Mobile AL. Including the 262 miles on the Tennessee River, we have now traveled 377 miles and transited 12 locks. We are doing this trip at 8 MPH, so doing the math; you can see it takes a long time to move very many miles down the waterway.  Of course, we can go much faster, but it comes with a substantial fuel mileage penalty. With gas over $4 per gallon, we want to achieve the best mileage possible.

Nan Ellen with Autopilot remote control

I had sent our AIS box back to Raymarine for them to fix and expect to get it back in Demopolis, AL early next week. Demopolis is the next big town before we reach Mobile and it is the last marina stop before Mobile. We will be staying in anchorages for a few nights as the mileage between marinas will not allow us to travel those stretches in the shorter daylight hours this time of year.

The Tenn-Tom Waterway connects the Tennessee River at Pickwick Lake with the Tombigbee River in Demopolis, AL. Many people refer to the Tenn-Tom Waterway as those waters from the Tennessee River to Mobile, AL, but that is incorrect. The waters from Demopolis to Mobile are called the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway.   

Construction on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway began in December 1972. After 12 years of construction, the waterway officially opened in January 1985. It is the largest civil works project ever undertaken by the Corps of Engineers. The system is five times longer than the Panama Canal.   

The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway is divided into 3 sections –the Divide Cut, the Canal Section, and the River Section.  We have already completed the Divide Cut and Canal Section and are currently in the River Section.

Tenn-Tom Waterway Divide Cut Section

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baffles to slow incoming streams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tenn-Tom Canal Section
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More updates in the coming days.