Day on the Cruise: 182
From: Grand Harbor Marina, Iuka, MS
To: Midway Marina, Fulton, MS
Statute Miles: 57.0 SM
Time: 7.5 Hrs
Cumulative Miles: 4,769.0 SM
On Board: Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut
Comes now tonight "Blue Moon" to the big metropolis of Fulton, MS and the Midway Marina. This place is in Eastern Mississippi near the Natchez Trace and the border with Alabama.
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| Midway Marina |
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| Location in Mississippi |
Our trip today with "Sun Gypsy" was uneventful except for transiting three locks on the Tenn - Tom Waterway and passing under a railroad bridge that my friend Jack Rogers spent two hard years building as the Project Engineer in the field - I call it "Jack's Bridge".
Today was not an "O Dark Thirty" departure, thank goodness. There was actually daylight available to set up the electronics and charts and do the engine checks. Yes! We were off the dock right before 7:00 AM in the new daylight configuration. Several miles down Yellow Creek got us into the Divide Cut. 300' Wide and 15' deep for 25 miles. And you better not stop in this 25 mile stretch or they will get you. Not sure who "they" is, but it's written in the book so you better beware!
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| Scene in the Cut |
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| Traveling through the Divide Cut |
Jack's Bridge came up rather quickly as we got near Burnsville, MS. Lord, have I heard the stories about this place! Old Jack earned a medal for all he had to put up with on this project, living in this place. The bridge was not what I expected. It is a big, deep, box truss bridge that spans the waterway. Jack kind of cheated on this job because the bridge was built BEFORE the waterway was flooded, so he could get all along the structure on dry land. I had envisioned a sleek beam and girder bridge crossing the channel, so this big ole truss bridge was a surprise. I took a bunch of pictures, some of which I have laid out here. I texted several to Jack as we cruised along, and he enjoyed seeing them. Apparently, he has never seen what the bridge looks like with water under it! So, Jack's Bridge was a very neat feature of our trip today.
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| "Jack's Bridge" Tenn-Tom Waterway |
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| "Jack's Bridge LDB |
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| "Jack's Bridge" RDB |
We completed the divide cut then cruised about 10 miles down Bay Springs Lake to Jamie Whitten Lock. The lake was much wider and deeper than I expected. I was expecting a shallow bay with trees sticking up, but this sucker was a really nice lake. I was impressed. The wind was brisk and it kicked up a little chop, but the ride was not too bad.
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| Entering Bay Springs Lake |
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| Choppy Bay Springs Lake |
We had to wait about 30 minutes at Whitten for an up bound tow to lock through, but once in the chamber, they dropped us 84 feet in 15 minutes. Then on to the Montgomery Lock. At Whitten, they have built a big stiff leg derrick to handle flood gates that are set in place during periods of high water to restrict the down stream flow. These gates are staged next to the upper end of the lock and are set into recesses in the lock wall.
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| Approaching Jamie Whitten Lock |
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| Big Derrick at Whitten Lock |
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| Leaving Whitten Lock |
Sonny Montgomery Lock was only about 5 miles below Whitten. It was open and ready for us when we arrived. The entire 30' locking experience only took 18 minutes from tying to the pin to exiting the chamber.
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| Approaching Montgomery Lock |
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| Leaving Montgomery Lock |
Ditto with Rankin Lock about 7 miles below Montgomery. An open lock welcomed us in and we were in and out in 24 minutes.
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| Leaving Rankin Lock |
That was it for our day today. We cruised about 5 more miles and stopped at Midway Marina near Fulton, MS. Remember all those Looper boats that left Grand Harbor yesterday, and we thought we would be comfortably behind them? Well they are all here tonight at Midway. So, we are now 7 boats bunched up together. It will all work out!
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| Our Looper Flotilla at Midway Marina |
Dinner was with the other Loopers at a Chinese Restaurant near the Walmart in Fulton. This was the "Styrofoam Palace" of Chinese places. It was basically a take-out restaurant with tables, so everything with which to eat was styrofoam and plastic. This took any ambiance away from the meal. The food was OK and certainly priced right! We joined Loopers from "Sun Gypsy", "Freya", "In My Element", and "Ka-Jen" at the Styrofoam Feast. Someone made the observation that the styrofoam remnants from this meal will be around long after we, our children, their children, etc. depart this earth.
This marina, like a lot where we have stayed, has a courtesy car that we used to get over to the restaurant. These courtesy cars seem to have a lot in common. There are many prerequisites for a car to become a marina courtesy vehicle. First, they usually have to be vans - old vans. The doors have to stick or be very difficult to operate. It is mandatory for a courtesy car to have the "check engine light" always illuminated. The speedometers need not work in a good courtesy car, and the gas gauges always read zero. The gear shift lever should always be loose with lots of play. Brakes? Who needs them. Most of the time they do work with lots of rubbing and noise. These old cars have varying degrees of paint jobs. Most are faded out. But, when you need a lift after being on a boat for umpteen days, these vehicles seem like golden limos!
Tomorrow we will run 60 miles through four locks to Columbus, MS. A long day is predicted, so it will be another O Dark Thirty departure. Ugh! Susan and I are having a particularly hard time adjusting to the time change this Fall.
Thanks for Reading!
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