Slow

“It’s the people you meet along the way” is what people say when they want you to be part of a certain thing. And it’s true, we’ve met some really great people doing this. Thing is, part of what I like about sailing, is being away from people. Not individuals that I love and respect, but, you know, people.

We awoke to some pretty thick fog and a chilly wind. Four of our dock neighbors were up and out before 7:00am. I opened the Nebo app (a way Loopers and other boaters keep up with each other), and you could see them, along with about a dozen other boats, queueing up for the lock. We had decided we didn’t want to get in amongst that many boats in a hurry to get down the river. So we stayed put for a couple of hours to see what the rest of the lock’s day schedule looked like. The lock master was very helpful and told us there was a barge coming in and once it was thru, he could take us, probably around 11:00am. Great.

Our remaining dock neighbor had the same idea and we met them on the lake near the lock gate. 11:00 came and went. Apparently there was some issue in the lock that needed to be addressed before they could raise the barge the 85 feet to the Bay Springs Lake level.

Meanwhile, more Looper boats, coming down from Pickwick Lake, began to arrive, six of them. As the barge finally departed, a stream of marine conveyances entered the lock. We tied up without too much trouble. Because of the curve Kotona’s hull shape, we each had to use a boathook to keep from pivoting on the fenders to prevent the bow or stern rail from scraping the wall. But we persevered, and after a while the water dropped to the lower level and we were on our way. Though we did get a good dousing from a spray of water emanating from the lock wall. We have no idea why, but a few places along both walls have either a bit of a waterfall or in our case an actual spray of water. We thanked our new canvas bimini and dodger for keeping up mostly dry as we went on our way.

We learned a new thing today. We noticed that Looper boats often travel in groups. Sometimes that’s just camaraderie. But on this part of the river, with pleasure boats, it’s the locks that put them together. In order to conserve water, the lock master will often hold some boats and wait for others to join them so the lock is full before it is cycled. The next lock will then be expecting X number of boats and will wait till they all arrive.

That all sounds good and it is, as long as the speed of that group of boats is similar. Enter Kotona, whose theoretical max speed under power is about 6.4 knots or about 7.3 mph. Only for some reason we haven’t quite figured out, our old boat with its old engine, even with new bottom paint, seems to struggle to get over 5.3 knots or about 6 mph. The other boats in our group normally cruise at somewhere around 10 knots. We didn’t mind bringing up the rear, but we felt bad that we were holding them back. Some nice scenery made it a bit better. Amy spotted a log full of turtles and there were beautiful colors in the trees. We plowed along as fast as Kotona would carry us, as the rest of our group eventually got out of sight.

They waited for us at the second lock, which was only about four miles from the first, but we just didn’t have a good feeling about the next leg of eight miles. They would be waiting a long time for us. So we hatched a plan. There are a couple of pretty good anchorages before the third lock, the John Rankin Lock just upstream from Fulton MS. We called the lock and told them we were going to anchor above there overnight since it looked unlikely we would reach our intended destination before dark. They got everyone thru, and by the time we had found a good spot, anchored, and settled in, most of that group was already approaching their fourth lock of the day.

We anchored in about 16 feet of water, though not exactly where the chart recommended. Kotona’s keel measures just under five feet, so when the water level is near winter low, we have to be careful. Two locations we tried were far too shallow for my liking. Heavy rains change the bottom these rivers, and anchorages that were great one year may be silted in the next. The one we settled on was a bit more exposed to barge wakes, but was plenty far out of the channel.

As the sun set, we sat in the cockpit and enjoyed the quiet and beauty around us. The air was still and the temperature was perfect. Just the two of us. No people. A few lake houses dotted the shore, but lots of colorful trees also. A huge full moon rose over the eastern bank, its light reflecting off the tiny waves on the lake. A quiet peaceful way to end a somewhat stressful day.