Day 42 – October 31st - Cochrane Cut-off Anchorage

I bid farewell to Jimmy as we left Columbus Marina and we headed to the Stennis Lock and Dam which is located just beyond the Columbus Marina. We only had a short wait while the lockmaster filled the chamber for us. While we waited we watched a family of ducks play near a small river island.



A little farther down river we came to the Bevill Lock and Dam. Again we had only a short wait and the drop was 27 feet.

The Tombigbee River was full of sharp hairpin turns and it was necessary for the Army Corp of Engineers to make adjustments to the river when creating the Tenn-Tom. This was very evident when looking at the hard copy charts as well as the electronic chart plotter.


We meandered slowly the rest of the day and had the river totally to ourselves. However, along the shore I saw proof positive evidence that I am not the only person to have been driven crazy by the lack of cellular service along this river. I could not believe my eyes, but there it was, all by itself and complete with stairs leading up to it from the river…A TELEPHONE BOOTH. I wanted Mark to stop so that I could see if the phone worked but he said something about hearing banjo music and gunned the engine.


We did not see another vessel until we reached our anchorage at Cochrane Cut-off. As we entered the anchorage we found four other boats already anchored so we knew that we had the correct location. It proved once again to be a wonderful experience as we anchored out and enjoyed the dark evening sky.

Hours on the water: 6.5
Nautical miles traveled: 42
Number of locks: 2
Time spent waiting at locks: 20 minutes
Tomorrow's Destination: Demopolis, Alabama
What we're listening to: I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
What we watched: 0
Lesson for the day: Trick or Treat
Obligatory knitting report: Mittens for Wunder Kids