THE WALL

This picture was taken outside the boaters lounge on the Wall where we sit almost everyday at apx 3:00 o'clock . The conversations always center on boating and are very infomative

.It is a great place to bring your questions ,someone has already faced the problem you may be contemplating and may have some great advice for you. One of the former boaters painted the WALL in it's decorative state. The lounge behind these boaters has a tv and is air conditioned. It has alot of books to choose from and a small refrig and a microwave to use. It is like our own little community here at the marina. Fans are welcome as you can see and they are located by the prime seats.

My First Attempt At Some Pics....more to follow

This is a picture of the beautiful limestone walls along the banks of the Tenn Tombigbee Waterway. This limestone reminds me of my hometown Bloomington, In. I think Bedford, In. is actually the limestone capital of the world. The TTB is a combination of canals cut through the South but also involving the rivers as it makes it's way to Mobile,Al. on the Gulf of Mexico. This waterway was built in 1985 to alleviate the traffic on the Miss River which empties into the Gulf in New Orleans, La. The waterway is at least 12 to 15 feet in all places for it has to accomodate the heavy traffic composed of tows with their barges. A lot of the way down this system the water is a lot deeper then 12 to 15 feet deep because the rivers are very deep. The Black Warrior River here at Demopolis averages about 40 feet deep . So in boating you must pay attention to your depth finder because you are constantly changing from canal depths to river depths. Thanx for checking in.... Tom

The People

When you read the boating books about traveling you always read about the people met along the way. Statements are the people are wonderful, the people make it so much fun, you meet the most wonderful people, etc etc. Well I want to expand on that a little. The reason we are staying put here in Demopolis this summer is because of the people. We had originally decided to travel to Knoxville but we had done that before so Jan and I decided to just stay where we were and enjoy the people we had met and actually became friends with for life. Not just people you meet and soon forget. This summer has been marvelous. We could not go to the Gulf because of obvious reasons , we were not real excited to repeat a big leg of our previous journey so we stayed put. We have had a ball. The good food, the friendships, the swimming, the activities, the skiing, the tubing, the fishing, the boat rides, the exploring, the anchoring out, the jobs we have completed, etc. This has been amazing. There is plenty of water to explore in this immediate area. We can go 100 miles South, 50 miles North, and 100 miles up the Black Warrior. A little quick math and one can see a possibility of 500 miles of traveling with return trips included. Here at the marina the WALL stil happens almost every day with people like Dale and Joy who have been here for a couple of years. They are from Fla and he is a very hard worker with a wealth of knowledge and she is one of the nicest people you could meet and is also a hard worker. I think there is a misconception that these live aboards are lazy and just here for the fun. Not true...their boats would soon be a shambles if they were not constantly caring for it. Everyone we have met seems to work hard and to be very sharp and knowledgeable. Now do not get me wrong they do like to relax and have fun but it is first things first. Another couple from Montgomery, Jim and Jeannie C, come to their boat for a few weeks each month . They are very nice people who are as sweet as can be and are always game for a lunch at the local Mexican restaurant. Archie the nite watchman who is Black American is really a great gentleman who always has a minute to philosophy about just about anything. Always with a big smile and Southern humor. Smitty is out of New Orleans at the present moment . I say that for he has been everywhere by boat . I can not think of any place to tell you that he has not been. As an example he bought his present boat in South Africa. He is another one that is very, very smart. You students reading this need to realize the importance of knowledge. With knowledge you can do anything. A lack of knowledge will hold you back and keep you from reaching your dreams. Get out there and learn all you can about anything and everything. The owner of the marina restaurant is from the East and is a very friendly guy and quite generous with his continuing band parties at Rattlesnake Bend. Another coming up in early August. Mark Davis is the diesel man I have mentioned before. He owns his own business and has a place on the B W River complete with pontoon, ski boat, and all the shelters and fish tubs and swings and docks etc etc. He has a very nice family. They stopped by yesterday in the ski boat and took me with them to pull the son Justin, on the wake board. We then went on a nice long boat ride around Rattlesnake Bend. Rattlesnake Bend is where the river originally made a 7 or 8 mile U shape and the Corp of Engineers made a cut thru to cut off the U. Well the U is called RSB. It is still the river but is not used very much. That does not cover all the nice people we have met but that will give the idea....also....Southern Hospitality is alive and well. Do not forget Jan met the mayor and his wife uptown and they were very nice to us as complete strangers. Great Summer...thanx for tuning in Tom

Slowed Down

Things here at the DYB Demopolis Yacht Basin have definetly slowed down with the departure of coach and Jan. They left last Thurs for parts unknown. No actually Jan has to get back for grand daughter Lillys b day and for s short follow up class at Indiana State. She goes for some work with the grant she received that began this marvelous adventure. Then it is back to school. Peanut and I have been doing a lot of swimming and a lot of work but it is so hot you can not work all day. Temperatures have been over 100 several of the past few days. Mark Davis has a pontoon boat he lets us borrow for rides and swims etc it has a fish finder on it with a water temperature gauge. The temp was 98 . We went swimming and the top 4 or 5 feet of the surface water was actually hot. Not warm but hot. Not very refreshing. We have been eating a lot of homemade ice cream and fry daddy catfish. When that getsold we go to the restaurant on site and enjoy a big dish of crawfish. Jan was so happy for after being down here for a month eating like that she had only gained half a pound. She did walk every morning with another live aboard here at the marina....so can you say exercise is a good thing ...I think so. Have a big week of jobs planned and then I think Smitty and I are taking a road trip to B and B marina just outside of Chattanooga on the Hiwasee River. We had our boat there for a year....really nice people and a great country singer named Jarrod. Sounds like fun. Well that is my update for now, can not think of anything else exciting. Everyone is excited about BP getting the oil spill under control and that the storm settled down and may actually help by dispersing and breaking up the oil. Thay say there are tiny micro organisms that actually eat the oil and break it down. The storm should help in that process. THANX for tuning in Tom

She is truely a part of our family

A cluster of cypress trees is growing at the end of a nearby slough. We kayaked to them so I could get a few close up shots of these fasinating trees As you can see Peanut rode with us. She loves to ride on the front of our kayaks.

Enjoying Jimmy Buffet with 34,997 of our fellow parrot heads in Gulf Shores

Catch Up

Thought I would share a few photo's with you. We had a great day at rattlesnake cove on the 4th, and a boat full of fun people to spend the day with.

Back From The Gulf

I missed some days of posting for we were at The Gulf of Mexico and time was very scarce. We went there with Mark Davis and his eighteen year old daughter to attend the free Jimmy Buffett concert on the beach. Us and 36,000 others had a great time. The only things allowed in the concert was your blanket and field glasses. But we sure did have a good time and we sure did eat some good sea food. We stayed in a condo on Perdido Beach which is a beautiful place with white sand and blue- green water. Did a lot of swimming and keeping busy site seeing. Went to a place called Flora-Bama enough said on that topic. Went down there on Friday and returned Monday. The boat was still in good shape and the dog -Peanut- was doing just fine staying behind with Dale and Joy -two of our new friends who live aboard here at the marina. We have big plans which we will be reporting to you as they occur. Plans such as a trip to Tuscaloosa to see the Univ of Alabama; a bid fish fry at Mark Davis house on The Black Warrior River; another big catfish has been caught on the trout line , 50 pounder this time to go with the previous 32 pounder; Mark said he is making hush puppies with halopeno peppers in them along with some red beans and rice-sounds good does it not; we are also going fishing and we are going to anchor out. Today we are taking some people to the local Mexican restaurant, which is very good by the way, for lunch for some favors they have done for us. In conclusion we have some people coming to visit which will be fun. We are hoping for son Nate from NY City and friend John Cook from Indiana. So as you can see we are staying busy and having a lot of fun ....all the while we are still doing jobs on the boat. In fact Jan is on the boat while I am posting this and she is cleaning and polishing all of the teak wood in the inside of our boat. And let me tell you that is a lot of wood and I very luckily am not allowed to touch it for obvious reasons.......which does not upset me in the least. I am sitting here on The Wall posting and it is pouring the rain. I have an overhang above me and it is actually cooling things a bit. We had plans to go fishing early this a m but changed them when we awoke to threatening skies. Mark is going to clean that cat this evening so Jan will be able to post some pictures of him. We went over on our own yesterday to take pics of him but he got real aggitated when I tried to pull him up out of the water for the pics. We decided to wait instead of risking letting him get away. He has been tied for a few days with a rope thru his lower jaw . Thank you for reading our blog...sorry I missed a few days. Tom

Photo's from the River

We have decided to stay in Demopolis rather than travel back up to Chattanooga. There is plenty of water to explore, fish to catch and wonderfully nice people to hang out with!

I do envy the simple life - Now

Our famiy camped when I was young. One particularly hot weekend dad was putting up our army surplus tent with my older brother, mom was taking care of my younger brother and I was filling up the water jugs from the nearby faucet, (my job). Across from us was an old fashioned and ornate wagon. I remember being told to be mindful of the owners as they were Gypsies. I remember being fascinated with their dress but the children seemed friendly enough. This particular day the tent was giving dad fits and it was HOT! A little boy wandered over from the wagon and looked in the tent. He looked up at dad and said; you po po people, you ain't got no floor in your tent! He was right we didn't. We slept on cots, had no fancy equipment, and ate well or slim dependent on whether dad was working or the mill was on strike again. My point? We have a nice home and several big boy toys, but none of it has made us any happier than Fred and Sue who have been living, fishing and enjoying the river for fifty years, ( they are in their 70's). They live in a modest home on stilts and enjoy life simply and to the fullest. Always a smile coupled with an exuberant greeting, a fish story or two and a positive attitude. Life for many is so much simpler here and for those we have met it seems to be a rich and happy life...toys not needed.

Eighth Day on the water - time to blog!

From Jan;
I arrived Monday, the 28th. of June at about 2:30pm. When arriving at a new vacation destination, it sometimes takes a bit to "settle in" to your new surroundings and relax. Not so with my arrival at Demopolis Yacht Basin. Stepping on to Laughter was like putting on your favorite lounging clothes after a long day at work. Feel that transition mentally and physically take place.......ahhhhh, It's more than a vacation, It's like coming home!

Rattlesnake Bend

Well ever since I told Jan about the owner of the restaurant here at the marina telling me he was having bands in the sand for a big Fourth Party in the sand ,complete with bands , dancing and hoopla. She had her heart set on seeing what was going on up there. Rattlesnake Bend is so named because they kill rattlers up there. In fact one of theguys who went with us ,David , told a story of him and a buddy killing a rattler in the water while swimming there. It was really a nice place ....big beach area, many boats,and alot of people. It was quite a party. We had 15 people on board and I would like to point the fact that this group of young people on board were as nice and as helpful and as polite as one could want. I really had my confidence in our young people restored. These people even cleaned up all the trash on the boat as they left.As I mentioned pitched in and helped when something needed done. To the point ofsuggesting solutions or just going ahead and getting things done. We have really made some nice friends here in Demopolis...some of them live a boards some of them locals ...most of the locals are thru our friend Mark Davis . He has two wonderful girls and a great son and of course they have friends so that is how we meet so many people . And my cousin Kathy Fornier sp from Bham came down and it was good to see her and she seemed to really have a good time. When we got back we all got unloaded and then went to Mark's house on the Black Warrior for supper beforewatching the fireworks which were set off across the river from the marina...maybe 400 yards from the boat..great view. Oh and I have to mention another local Jan's friend THE MAYOR...Thanks for tuning in Tom

Thursday's Action....Fun,Fun, Fun

Yesterday we got up and at em and got our jobs done early morning. We had lunch and then ran a bunch of errands before the big weekend kicks off. While we were running around ...Jan had three or four stores she wanted to check and I had at least three places tostop....but anyway a man helps Jan out tothe car with some gifts she had bought for back home. He is just talking away with her and is the nicest guy. Jan introduces me to him as a former D 3 football player and he is telling about all the placeshe played at while in school. He says D 3 is where footbal is at anyway for the guys are playing for the love of the game. Anyway he gives me his business card and says if we ever have any trouble around Demopolis just call him. Well I think that is a little unusual so I look at his card.....He is the mayor of Demopolis. So the woman who owns the shop is his wife and he was just stopping by the shop to check on things and gets involved in conversation with Jan and his wife...neat. So we are going to look for him on the Fourth at the parade or at the fireworks. After that we went on a boat ride on our boat with Mark and his two daughters Sarah and Nicole. Sarah is a college softball pitcher and Nicole goes to college this Fall to study to be a vet. The boat had problems because the Impeller that I had put in that leaked on the last boat ride now burnt up and was not pumping water. So on a hot day in the river with Jan driving on one engine Mark and I changed the impeller for a new one. Then things were fine. We camebackto the slip cleaned up and sat on the back deck fishing for an hor and I gave up and went to bed . We were supposed togo over to Mark's and run the trout line with him but we were too tired. The older couple that were his neighbors had taken a 30 lb cat off the line that morning.....can you say catfish sandwich....Thanx for reading along Tom

Thursday and Firing Up for the Big 4th Weekend

Wellyesterday was a good day . Got alot of little jobs caught up and then spent an hour or two on THE WALL with Joy and Dale talking boating. We even got a picture of us signing THE WALL for posterity. Got a call from our friend Mark Davis who owns the diesel company and who did the work on our boat along with Ben Seidel...Iwill check this spelling...anyway we went to Mark's house for the evening. Boy did we have a good time. Mark is an excellent cook especially on his own design grill. He made beer can chickens. One was seasoned with lemon pepper and the other with Slap Ya Mama . They were both delicious along with a baked potato and Butterfinger Cake for desert..spelling. Before we ate he took Jan and me along with Peanut the dog and his daughter Nicole for a pontoon boat ride on the Black Warrior River. What a beautiful nite for a nice slow cruise. He wanted to show us a good fishing spot where he had caught a big blue cat the nite before . When we got to the spot it was set up beautifully for fishing or at least it looked that way. While we enjoyed his fishing hole he looked up and said I am getting ready to get crosswise with someone up there on the river. We all looked up to see two people in a boat just a couple of 100 yards up the river. So Mark started driving that way saying that they were running his trout line. That is something you do not do ,especially in the South and on the river. As we got closer we were all relived to find out it was his neighbor and friend who helped with the line at times. He had his wife of 54 years with him both with life jackets on and telling us of loving the river and of being 74 years old. They also had one big blue cat in their boat from the line they were running. I was surprised to see him baiting the line with goldfish. Yes goldfish about 4inches long. Peanut goes crazy over fishing so she was having a great boat ride. Walking on her hind legs so she could see better over the pontoon's rail. What fun. After the boat ride it was back to his house right on the river so we could eat and discuss THE FOURTH and future boat rides both on his ski boat , pontoon, and our boat......that he laughingly refers to as that yacht. So The Fourth is going to involve three bands up the TTB at Rattlesnake Bend on a sandy beach, city fireworks across the river from the marina, fireworks at Mark's house, accompanied by ribs and a brisket. Stay tuned I will let you hear of the festivities. One more good thing happened yesterday...Nate my son texted and said he was going to be able to sneak in a visit end of July or beginning of August....awesome. Thank you for reading along Tom P S the tender gets tested for leaks today

The Language of Boating

First of all different types of boating have different languages. Sailing for example has a different language than power boating. A small boat that is taken along with the larger boat and used for shorter trips and errands is called a tender on a power boat and a dinghy on a sailboat. The small flag that flies from a pole on your -bow pulpit- is called a- burgee. The -bow- is the front of the boat while the-stern- is the back of the boat-also called the -aft. Starboard- and -port- are commonly used terms meaning the right and left side. The very front of the boat where it cuts through the water will get a dirty brown colored -mustache-in river water. It also makes a large spray of water as it cuts through the water. This is called -pushing water. The- scupper-is an opening for draining water off the side walkways. At opposite ends of the boat are the -bow pulpit- and the- swim platform. The- fly bridge-is the area on top of the boat wher there is a -helm- or driving area located. There are no ropes on a boat they are called -lines. The fly bridge is covered by a -bimini. This is usually a canvas covered top or shade for protection. The maps of the lake or river or body of water you are studying or following are referred to as -charts. The channel markers you are looking to follow are referred to as -cans. When you stop to anchor you usually put out the anchor with a motor called a -windlass. The opening in the bow to allow air to enter the boat is called the -hatch. And the final term today is -bilge. This is the very bottom of the boat where you hope fluids will not gather but they do and then they are pumped out with a bilge pump. TODAYS CHORES include :finishing cleaning the I-glas, checking the patch job on the tender, cleaning the a/c strainer, pumping the bilge, doing some buffing and waxing, and checking the running and anchoring lights. Thanx for checking in Tom