Safety , Safety , Safety

As I mentioned yesterday safety is of the most importance to everyone on the water.....or at least it certainly should be. This picture is of a whirlpool caused by the lockmaster opening the intakes for the water to fill the lock chamber. There are signs galore but people still take chances and get too close to the lock gates where these whirlpools will take control of your boat and destroy it. Most of the signs I have seen at locks and dams say stay back 800 feet. There is a reason and you can see it in this picture. While we were watching this whirlpool a large spoonbill fish about 5 feet long got into the whirlpool and that was the last we saw of him as he went round and round and disappeared ....as if he were flushed down a drain. The force of this water is so strong there would be no fighting back you and ..or your boat would be completely out of control. The whirlpool was apx 10 feet in diameter...BIG...thanx again for checking in Tom

Tour of the Demopolis Lock and Dam

This is Thursday morning's tour of the lock and dam . As you can imagine it was quite infomative and very, very interesting.

This picture is the lockmaster talking to our group of seven boaters from the marina. He was really glad to see us for I think he is a little bored and even lonesome at times. We are standing on the lock wall as he is talking with us. He actually took us into his little control house and showed us how to fill and empty the lock. We also had three corp of engineers people talk with us. Two of them actually grew up in Demopolis and the third came to work here from Louisianna. They were also informative for they take care of a lot of land along this river system along with every buoy in the river from Mobile to The Pickwick Pool. They of course have a tow in front of their headquarters to work with as they do their jobs up and down the river. You would be surprised how much of the land in some areas that our government owns. This area is referred to as land management . We talked about sea level, tows and their effect on the economy, the maintaining of a lock, proper ways to address the lockmaster when locking thru, the special equipment he has in his office, safety safety and safety. Every lockmaster you meet has a great story or stories of strange things they have seen happen. The two stories we heard today were about the two boys who rode their wave runners full blast over the dam, and passed eight signs warning them to stop before they got to the dam. They were not hurt and rode them all the way to the bottom. They have sued. The other story involved a young man who was supposed to pull the rope on the outside of the lock to notify the lockmaster he wanted to lock thru on his wave runner. Instead the boy climbed the lock wall to the top and then climbed the fence and went over the razor wire and walked down the lock wall to the lockmaster requesting to be locked thru. WOW.......Thanx for checking in Tom

A Little Humor

As I have mentioned before all boating is not just fun and games. Sometimes there is work to be done and sometimes it is not pretty and alot of fun. If you turn the picture sideways to look at it you will see what technological boating instrument I am working on at this particular time. Look closely for clues. Hope you enjoy a little laugh at my expense. Thanx for checking in Tom

Returning To Normal

This big boy is a signal that the locks have been repaired and are now open for navigation. He is sitting at the fuel dock here at Demopolis Marina. The TTB is returning to regular navigation North and South. One going North could be heading for Knoxville or Kentucky Lake and even Nashville.....or maybe Lake Michigan. Going South could be an adventure for the oil is still around in some places even tho the interest has shifted to Michigan and the Kalamazoo River. The big problem with going South is that it is still hurricane season on the Gulf and you could get into some serious trouble if you were careless. Hurricane season ends around the end of November. Hurricane season is generally considered to last six months from June thru November. Once again I thank you for following the blog....Tom....P S this big boy was probably close to 100 feet long.....can you say wowser

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