Demopolis to Bobby's Fish Camp

[Ed. note: we have been out of reliable connectivity for several days...this is news from Feb 20-21, 2018]

Wow - What a journey so far!!  We left the dock at Demopolis (Kingfisher Bay Marina) at coffee:30 6:15 am) with fellow gold looper Emery El by our side.  The plan was to reach Bobby’s Fish Camp and tie up for the day…that’s 97 miles!!!!  Almost 2 days worth of travel rolled into 1…ok, I can do this for sunshine!

 

The Lower Place cruising SOUTH - photo compliments of Emery El

It was overcast & cloudy (or maybe still dark) when we approached the lock.  Before long we were cruising south again AND the current was with us.  Our standard cruising speed is 8 mph…the current bumped us to 10-12 mph…yippee!!  Of course we stayed on constant alert for debris – limbs, logs, trees, the random deck cushion, lawn chair or ice chest – all fair game in the flooded Tombigbee River!

                                            

Bashi Creek anchorage a "no-go" H I G H water!

It was a quick and uneventful 9 hours to Bobby’s Fish Camp just north of Coffeeville AL.  We didn’t stay here on our last trip so this was quite the experience.  Yes, we had electricity and that was new.  I didn’t get off the dock because EVERYTHING was a slippery, muddy mess due to the recent flooding.  Randall (husband to the Bobby’s owner) climbed off his tractor & watched us tie up.  He was pleasant and said his wife would be by after 5:30 to collect our dock fee.  Sure enough at 5:35 Randall drove down to the waters’ edge in his side by side.  He picked up Charlie (I wasn’t going) and John (Emery EL) & they drove off into the woods as I heard banjos playing quietly in the background.  Gulp! LOL!!  Before long they returned on foot…I never saw Randall again.  Their feet were muddy but they didn’t look traumatized - Don’t ask, don’t tell.

 

Randall at Bobby's Fish Camp - nice guy!

After a light dinner it was early to bed because another early departure was scheduled for Wed 2/21/2018.  I woke up at 9:30pm, the boat was rocking and it was POURING rain!  I got up checked the lines/ & closed a couple windows – we were secured.  Back to bed for me!

It's not unusual to have a deer crossing area on the river!

Before I knew it – 5:30 am was staring me in the face…Charlie was still sleeping too and we agreed to a 6:15 cast off….yikes! Until we looked outside – the evening rain brought morning fog & the Coffeeville Lockmaster strongly suggested we stay tied to the dock & let the fog life…YAY!!! Within 30 minutes the fog “cleared enough” so we took off.

To give a little perspective on the flooding:  The Coffeeville Lock has a normal 34’ drop – today (2/21/2018) we dropped 8’.  THAT’S a lot of high water but we are using the current to our advantage.  Now that we are south of the lock system we are officially in “tidal water”.  So in addition to flooding we must consider the tide swing – fortunately it’s only a couple feet in this part of the world.

 

Our approach to the 3 Rivers Anchorage - flood water everywhere!

After a cloudy, windy travel morning & the realization of most of the anchorages being flooded we opted to stop early – before 1:00pm – on Wednesday.  This will give us the afternoon to work on a few boat projects, update the blog & plan our approach to Mobile AL!!  So here we sit in “3 Rivers Anchorage” enjoying an afternoon of sunshine & boat work…not a bad way to spend a Wednesday.

Have a fabulous week