Day on the Cruise: 184
From: Aberdeen Marina, Aberdeen, MS
To: Columbus Marina, Columbus, MS
Statute Miles: 24.9 SM
Time: 4.0 Hrs
Cumulative Miles: 4,831.1 SM
On Board: Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut
Tonight we are at the marina in Columbus, MS.
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| Columbus, MS, Due West of Birmingham |
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| Columbus in Eastern Mississippi |
Today was to be a short day, so all 7 boats decided to leave at 9. At 7:30, I called the Aberdeen Lock right next to the Marina, and he was clear for us, but right after I put the mic down, a down bound pleasure boat called in for a locking. The lock master was kind enough to delay this boat until our 7 boats got to the lock. We sped up our preparations to leave the marina, and all boats were in the lock by 9:00. I was able to refuel before we left at a great fuel price - probably the second lowest of the trip so far!
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| Aberdeen Marina 11.6 |
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| "Freya" Leaving Aberdeen Marina |
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| Leaving Aberdeen Marina this Morning |
At 9:30 we were through the Aberdeen Lock and heading to Columbus. This was the only lock of the day! But there was more adventure ahead.
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| In Aberdeen Lock |
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| Leaving Aberdeen Lock |
About two miles below the lock, "Blue Moon" suddenly went to idle speed and shifted into neutral. I could not get the boat back in gear from the upper station. Ut oh! The wind was really blowing, but we were in a narrow canal-like section of river. I did not want to be blown into the bank, so I dropped the anchor. Three other boats stayed with us. The others continued to Columbus. I was unable to quickly remedy the issue at the upper station, but I found that I could operate the boat normally from the lower station. Susan moved all the "stuff" from up top to down below. We set up the helm chair that we carry, rearranged the salon slightly, and proceeded to raise the anchor and move on, driving from below. I also ran the generator to charge the batteries from using the windlass.
We had never run the boat from the lower station for more than about 20 minutes, so this was a new experience. It went OK. Visibility is not as good as up top, obviously, but the temps were more comfortable, and it was like driving from your living room. We were able to get back to speed and run like normal.
When we got to Columbus, we docked in a covered slip. The marina manager tried to get his mechanic, but the guy was out of town on a job. Might be available late tomorrow. Might not be. We did a self service pump out at our slip, and I tried to trouble shoot the control problem. This is an electronic throttle and shifter system that is like "fly-by-wire". There is a way to view trouble codes that are depicted by a series of blinking lights on the control head, but I could not find the code in the manual. I did turn the electrical power to the system off, then back on. This seemed to reboot the processor and I was able to operate the upper station normally. I put the boat in and out of gear from the upper station successfully, so the problem might have been corrected by the reboot. We will see on our next day out.
I really appreciated the help that we got from the other boats with whom we were traveling. They all were concerned when we went dead in the water. They were prepared to tow us to Columbus if need be. Thank you to all, especially "Sun Gypsy" and "In My Element" who were directly in front of us and behind us respectively. As Rick observed, this is why it is good to travel these rivers together!
Tonight we all chipped in and "Pazza Bella" did a low country boil with shrimp, sausage, corn, potato's, and seasoning. It was excellent! Others made more things to eat, and we gathered under the elevated marina office on a long picnic table for the feast. We all had a great time. By 7:30 it started to rain, and the wind picked up. Back to the boats to weather a stormy night in Columbus, MS.
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| Loopers Enjoying "Low Country Boil" Put on By "Pazza Bella" |
Tomorrow some will head another 30 miles to Pirates Cove Marina in Pickensville, AL. We will stay here with Sun Gypsy to visit Columbus. The mechanic may or may not come by to look at the controls. Not sure I need him now.
Thanks for Reading!
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