Within the first hour on the water, we passed Bobby’s Fish Camp and headed toward the Coffeeville Lock and Dam. Now the lockmaster at the Coffeeville Lock and Dam has a rather checkered reputation among boaters so we were unsure what to expect. 
As we approached the lock, we noticed a very large barge configuration sitting right smack dab in the middle of the river which is really unusual. Upon hailing the tow captain, he told us that that he was awaiting a change of crew. I had wondered where and how the crews change on commercial vessels and it seems that often times the locks are used as way stations for both supplies and crew = very clever indeed. The tow captain gave us permission to go around him and thereby have priority at the lock since his crew would not be arriving for at least another half hour. Once again we could not believe our good fortune in not having to wait at another lock. We also found the lockmaster to be very professional and quite accommodating to our group of boats. I think the stories/rumors of ill temperament are a reflection and reaction to the sometimes unreasonable demands made by some pleasure boaters who have no patience.
The herons like to perch on the doors of the Coffeeville Lock and when the doors open, they will swoop down to get the fish.
A little south of the Coffeeville Lock is Lover’s Leap. Steeped in local folklore and legend, this rock formation definitely stands apart from the adjoining landscape. The colored rock is deeply cracked and covered with trees which were gorgeous with fall foliage as we passed. With little effort, one can conjure up many scenarios as to how this site received its name…
Since we got through the Coffeeville Lock so quickly, we made wonderful time as the three boats made our way to this evening’s anchorage at Three Rivers Lake and arrived by 3p. Heart’s Desire has stayed in this location in the past so we let them lead the way into the anchorage. The entrance to this anchorage is via a narrow creek that then opens onto the most delightful and scenic hidden lake. All of the waterways in the South are below normal pool due to the severe drought of the last few years. So if the sailboats with their deeper drafts could make it through the creek entrance, we knew that we would be fine. As Heart’s Desire made their way up the creek, they did encounter some low water but all three of us were able to reach the lake with success.
Heart’s Desire has been such a skillful and fearless leader and Always Saturday was so kind with their generous invitation to dinner the night before that I wanted to return the courtesy in some manner. The only thing that I had to offer was muffins…I have found that muffins almost always bring a smile and are the perfect thank you gift, besides I just LOVE to make muffins. So we fired up the generator, I baked muffins and then we delivered them via the dinghy to the other two boats much to their surprise and delight.
The plan was that we would all depart at about 6am the next morning or when the fog lifted. We awoke to radio communications between the two sailboats commenting on how much lower the lake appeared than the night before = at least a foot lower. Since we are still approximately eighty miles north of Mobile Bay, I think we were all surprised by the effect of the tide. Heart’s Desire seemed to feel that they must have been anchored here last year at a different moon phase and that is why they did not have an issue with the tide last year. We all agreed to go back to sleep and check the water level in a couple of hours. The water did rise slowly but it did not seem to be rising fast enough for the sailboats, with their deeper draft, to be able to leave…what to do? After waking up again around 10a, Mark and I spent the next few hours relaxing and futzing around the boat.
Then a fisherman came by to tell us that a major fishing tournament would commence the next morning and that if we stayed that we would be surrounded by hundreds of fishing boats for the next three days. I must interject here that Captain Mark does not like to fish, will not allow fishing poles aboard the Lolligag and the last thing he ever wants to do in life is be the epicenter of a fishing tournament with at $125,000 purse. Upon discussion with the other boats, we decided that the Lolligag would attempt to leave the lake since we had the shallowest draft. I would relay the water depths back to the sailboats as we made our way back out the creek to the river. We pulled anchor at about 3p. This was approximately the same time of day as our arrival the day before so we felt confident that the water level would be sufficient for us to return to the river. We did encounter low water levels but Mark said he did not feel us touch bottom at any time. However the two sailboats did not feel they wanted to chance the low water level and they decided to spend another evening at Three Rivers.
With only two hours of daylight remaining, Captain Mark knew that he had to reach the next available anchorage at the Alabama River Cut-off without delay. Luckily for us this spot was only about 12 miles away. We reached the anchorage location with no difficulty and found that three very large boats had already settled in for the evening. This was very encouraging as it confirmed sufficient water level to anchor. So we found a spot, had dinner and went to bed as the sun set.
Hours on the water: 10.0
Nautical miles traveled: 64.0
Number of locks: 1
Time spent waiting at locks: 15 minutes
Tomorrow's Destination: Big Bayou Canot
What we're listening to: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
What we watched: 0
Lesson for the day: Once again, being a smaller boat does have its advantages
Obligatory knitting report: Mittens for Wunder Kids
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