Nov 5 Columbus Marina to Sumpter Rec Area Anchorage

Nov  5

We decided to spend an extra day in Columbus.  The marina had a courtesy car and we wanted to check out the town which requires driving.   Had dinner on Sunday at Harvey's with a couple of other loopers.   Then got the car on Monday  for a few hours so went downtown to walk the main street, look at a few historic homes and have lunch at Huck's - pretty darn good  Cajun and Creole food.   Did you know Catfish Alley in Columbus was the center of Blues music before Nashville?  Or that it was the birthplace of Tennessee Williams?  Also home to Columbus Air Force Base.   Lot's going on here - except for any  local breweries.  Starting to get thirsty for a  good flight of beers.

Tennessee Williams birthplace/Columbus Visitors Center - naturally, it's closed on Mondays

Today was just a glorious day to be on the water.  We had planned to leave Columbus marina at 7 AM with several other trawler boats that run our same speed.  As we were prepping they came over and said we need to leave if you’re ready.    A “fast” boat hoping to make the full 100+ mile run to Demopolis had left early and was in the lock already. The lock was open and waiting.  So after a quick final checkoff we released the lines with 5 other boats and headed to the lock.  Probably aggravated the “fast” boat who had to wait for us a bit – but such is life.   Another 60-mile day for us with 2 locks.  One lock basically right outside the marina and another at about the halfway mark.    Once outside the first lock the “fast” boat took off but amazingly when we got to the second lock, he and another boat where sitting inside tied to their bollards just waiting for us.   Took off again for his run to Demopolis again once we were lowered and never saw him again.  After that second lock we are now just 109’ above sea level.  Just 3 more locks to go and we’ll be all the way down and lock free.

Traveling companions for the day "Red Dog" and "Bunganuc II"

Back to our day cruising the river.   Other than the 2 locks  and passing 4 tows which were pretty much a non-issue for us, the rest of our cruise was a delight.   No fog this morning so great visibility. Temperature started a bit cool in the 40’s but quickly climbed into the lower 70’s by mid-day.  Plenty of sunshine although the sun is definitely at a lower angle in the sky which creates extra glare off the water’s surface. Scenery is winding river with trees on the banks and just an occasional house. Heading south so we’re losing more and more color in the trees.  A welcome tradeoff for warmer weather.  The biggest drawback to this river travel is there’s only a limited number of anchorages.    We are at one called Sumter Recreational Area.  There are now 6 boats squeezed in here.   About 7 miles back we passed 2 other nice areas in oxbows on the river with deeper water but with a current.  Ours is a well-protected cove with no current but since there’s no wind expected tonight it’s really not a big issue for us.   On this entire 60 mile run there’s probably less than half a dozen anchorages suitable for us and no marinas or towns.  Pretty isolated - but again it’s been quite scenic.

Scenic anchorage looking back out to the river

Journey for Nov 5 - lots of twists and turns - more to come