Day 131: November 26: Three of the boats we came into the marina with yesterday all decided to get UW this morning (Dos Gatos Locos, Dirtless and Sea Gem). Not in any hurry, and wanting to buy a T-Shirt from the marina, we decided to stay put, as did Moonshadow and Scout (both docked near us). It was really cold and rainy anyway, traveling would have been pretty miserable. I was happy to stay dry in our "not so warm" cabin.
We walked up to the marina only to find no one manning the desk. We checked out the shirts, the marina library and homemade fudge. I picked out two packages of the fudge and a shirt; John said he would visit the store later in the day to see if anyone had arrived.
It ended up being a day to relax, read, watch a little TV and stay warm. We watched the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Buffalo Bills in a pretty tight game. A clerk finally arrived back at the office and we made our purchases. Later in the day we decided we would stay another night and not move 1/2 mile or so to an anchorage. John headed back to the office to let them know. He also headed to the laundry and threw in a load where he found our boat neighbors doing the same. That was about all the activity any of us did on this very dreary and cold day.
Day 132: November 27: It was a bit difficult to crawl out of the warm bed; chilly is putting it mildly at 30 degrees. We walked up to put mail in the outgoing box, taking great care not to slip on the frosty, slick docks. The almost full moon, still high in the sky at 5:00 a.m., lit up the water and all the boats in the marina; It will be full tonight!
We, Moonshadow and Scout were planning on calling the Fulton Lock at about 7:00 a.m. to check on our locking options. The cold temperatures resulted in us holding off for a bit, noting the dock and the boat decks were slick and slippery. Our lines and the vinyl windows up on the bimini were frozen. John used the hair dryer to heat them up so we could at least roll up the center one and see out of the others. Our Looper friends were in the same "boat" (pun intended) and agreed waiting was the safest thing to do.
We contacted the Lock-master at 7:30 and were told to be at the lock in 1/2 hour. Engines up, lines thrown and off we went with Scout in the lead, followed by Moonshadow and us bringing up the rear. We arrived at the lock in a timely manner and were invited in by the Lock-master.
We eventually met up with the Brooke Mckenzie, a barge heading northbound. Scout, in the lead, said we would be passing on 2 whistles. She pulled to port right under a bridge to make the pass; we heard Kathleen radio: we struck! She then radioed Mike on Moonshadow to stop saying they had struck again. Hearing this and watching the two boats pull to starboard, we decided to stop and idle around an embankment and wait for the barge to pass before heading toward the bridge. Later we found out Scout had not suffered any damage; perhaps she had simply hit some mud or silt. Thankfully all was well.
Once the barge passed we caught up to Moonshadow and Scout; they had slowed down to about 7 knots and we had sped up to about 8.5 so we could catch up. We continued until we approached the Glover Wilkins Lock. A barge was in the lock so wait we did! We saw another Looper, Cool Change, idling up ahead, very close to the lock. We had seen her pass Midway Marina while we were still getting prepared to get UW much earlier in the morning and were surprised she hadn't locked through yet; but when barges are involved who knows how long you might have to wait.
The barge exited, the chamber was filled and we were invited into the lock. Our flotilla of three was now a group of four, with us bringing up the rear.
We caught up to and were now stuck behind a barge traveling at just over 2 knots. We could barely go that slow; but managed, knowing we would be in for a long wait once we neared the third lock for the day; Thad Cochran (Amory ) Lock. When we got close enough we could see the barge heading into the lock. We dropped the anchor rather than idle for the next hour. While anchored I made chicken soup, using last night's leftover chicken. I'm sure it will hit the spot tonight when the temperatures drop to 30 again.
The canal section offers very little in the way of scenery but I am still intrigued by the trees and stumps that look half submerged. Also no one seems to be minding the store so to speak as buoys and nuns are often seen way off in the distance; in the woods, on shore or just about sinking.
We finally saw the barge exiting the lock on AIS. Knowing the chamber had to be filled we didn't hurry to approach but were certainly anxious to get through and be on our way.
It was getting close to 3 so we all decided to pull into an anchorage rather than try to make another lock; which would be impossible with a barge ahead of us. Reviews were good for the Canal Section Cutoff anchorage at mile marker 366.3. We pulled in, each vessel finding a good depth. Being last in, we ended up closer to the entrance, dropping the hook in 18 feet of water. It's a quiet spot and I'm sure we will have a wonderful evening. John keeps trying to catch one! But no luck yet; trolling is the key.
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