Nesting in Columbus ends

Nesting in Columbus

for new chicks

 

 

 

After almost two weeks at the Columbus Marina, we bid farewell to our kids, their cats, and chickens and headed out in light rain for points south. Perhaps it has been the rainy skies and dreary weather, but we have not seen another pleasure boat since leaving Columbus Marina.  While we scooted through the Columbus lock in good time we had a slight delay waiting for the tow ahead of us to lock down at the second lock.  Seeing his AIS on the screen we just slowed down and saved fuel while he finished his transit.  Our night was then spent in a quiet spot called Cooks Bend a little further down river than we had planned but possible since we had no major delays at the locks.  The commercial traffic was also light – we overtook one tow and had three pass us going up river.  One hardy bass boat was out fishing in our anchorage until just before dark, but otherwise we had the river to ourselves. In the morning we were greeted by fog that delayed our usual early start and then at the only lock of the day we had a longish wait while the tow coming up got in and through.  Even though we could have gotten to the lock before him, the water was down waiting and he had priority, so again we putt-putted along saving fuel. Conveniently Steve used this delay to repair the fresh water pump that overheated – the captain thinks the vent lines are plugged(?)  It was another long day on the water for us’ens who usually stop early afternoon.  For another quiet night, we choose Rattlesnake Bend #2 at approximately the halfway point between the Tennessee River and Mobile, AL.  One speedy bass type boat flew by after dark, but otherwise nothing but the drone of an occasional tow and the calling birds disturbed our evening. Choosing a spot to anchor involves reading several sources – among the most entertaining are the reviews on the Active Captain site.  We spent the day being grateful that we had not picked a few of the places along the way after reading about boats losing their anchors or worse floating free and into other boats during the night. In the late afternoon, there were even a few hours of sunshine and a lovely sunset to break up our otherwise dull weather scene. Even with the overcast skies the day included the “spectacular”White Cliffs of Epes – you haven’t heard of them?  We hadn’t either, but the guidebook claims they are only rivaled by the famous While Cliffs of Dover!  Having seen both, I am not so sure this is accurate reporting; nevertheless, the Epes’ cliffs are impressive and add a nice bit of variety to this rusty fall river scenery.