Tenn Tom Waterway - 2 idiots on the river

Things went better than planned Tuesday a.m.  The rental car was returned at 8:00, payment was made at the marina office and we were locked through Stennis Lock by 9:00 a.m.  We had a pretty uneventful trip down the river all day. Our goal was to get through Bevill Lock 28 miles down river.  Not a problem.  The lockmaster gave us a "heads up" that a barge was northbound but he didn't know where.

Wicket got a little anxious about 3:00 and needed a potty break, so Bob went to shore at a boat ramp with her in the dinghy.

Above is the cove which "Skipper Bob's Navigation Book said would be a good anchorage.  NOT!

All was fine, until we pulled into a small cove about 5:00 p.m., which was described in our "Skipper Bob" book as a possible overnight anchorage.  Not so.  It was way too shallow and we were stuck.  Bob got into the dinghy, tied a rope onto Heron and tried to pull us out as I tried to steer.  No luck.  Bob called for me to run up to the front of the boat so my weight would get off the back.  That worked, but only for a instant.  Wicket was suppose to stay in the back and steer when we got unstuck, but she let us down and the boat headed right back into the shallow area. 

Bob didn't give up and as I jumped from the port side to the starboard side, back and forth, the boat broke loose. I don't know how, but 20 minutes or so after first pulling into the cove, we busted free and I steered us out into the main channel. This all happened at Mile Marker 304.4.  Now it is 5:20 and the next possible anchorage listed in any navigation books is 14 miles down river.  It takes us 2.5 hours to go 14 miles and it is already getting dark, so we looked for our own anchorage.  We decided to anchor into a really tiny cut near a boat ramp about 5 miles down river.  Boaters are not suppose to anchor in these areas but we were getting desparate.  We motored toward the boat ramp in the dark for at least 30 minutes.  The overcast skies made it that much darker & the headwind and chilly temps were brutal.  After runny over a green channel marker, we decided that it'd be best for me to sit on the foredeck with a flashlight to light the way.  Brrrr!

We finally spotted the boat ramp but around the bend ahead, we could see the spotlight of that northbound barge heading our way.  Bob radioed to the tow captain that we were there, but we'd be well out of his way.  He was good with that. 

Bob had trouble getting the front of the boat tucked into the cut because the current in the main channel kept pulling it out, but he quickly threw in the anchor before the current dragged us too far into the channel.  Then he got in the dinghy, gave me one end of a line while he pulled the rear of Heron over to a post on shore where he was going to tie off the back of the boat.

Just as the front of that northbound barge came around the corner, our anchor let loose and the current pulled the front of the boat out into the channel.  As the front went swinging toward the barge, I hung onto the line as Bob tied his end to the post.  That barge was only about 20 feet from the front of Heron as it rounded the corner. Once the barge was past and the wake settled down, Bob pulled the anchor and dinghyied it into the cut and dropped it once again nosed into the cut.  We watched to see if it would hold this time and it did.  Now it was safe to dinghy over to land where Wicket got her nighttime walk. Needless to say, we didn't sleep too sound that night.

After Wicket's morning walk, we headed down river to our next destination 41 miles downstream, just through Heflin Lock, near Gainsville, AL.  We had a 20 mph tailwind so we made good time.  We locked right through and anchored just 1/8 mile from the lock at 3:00p.m.  Much more relaxing than the day before.