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Andy Kohler
Canton, GA
Boat Name: Good Times
Model/Year: 1989
Hull No. 14778
Hailing Port: Atlanta |
 09/08/2010 5:35 PM Pacific Time
This summer I had the priviledge to extend the annual BEER cruise (which is always centered around Pensacola in early June) to an extended 1300 mile cruise:
from Pensacola to Panama City to Mobile along the ICW (yes I back tracked...);
from Mobile to the Yellow Creek along the Tombigbee River and Tenn-Tom Waterway
upsteam the Tennessee from Yellow Creek to Watts Bar Lake (just down from Knoxville, TN
As it turned out, the trip was broken into 2 parts, the first leading from P'scola to Panama City in one leisurely week and after some R and R the return from Panama City to Watts Bar in 14 (sometimes long) days.
The trip was done single handed in a 1988 wing keel C22, with a 5hp Honda and a hard dink in tow (for some time).
Sailing and motor sailing along the Gulf coast (threading the needle between oils slicks), motoring upstream in rivers, motorsailing / sailing in the large lakes (or pools) above the dams along the Tennessee; passing through 19 locks total,
6 railroad draw bridges.
At night I anchored out along the shore, public launch ramps and rec areas. etc. Stayed only in one marina : Joe Wheeler State Park in Al; first class public facility...
While 14 days is a bit short, I highly recommend the trip to other cruising oriented sailors; the first 220 miles from Mobile have an abundance of nature along the shore, then hints of civilization return more frequently.
barge traffic was light (about 4-5 tows a day), most lock operators were very accomodating.
Cutting my dinghy loose on the river increased my speed by about 0.8 mph; does not seem much, but if you are only travelling at 5mph it adds up over the duration of just one day; that's when I decided to put it ontop of the cabin.
the current on the river (not the waterway) varied from almost nil to about 1.2 mph below the dams for a stretch of about 10 miles.
A picture and video summary (not a travel blog by any means) can be seen at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/AKohler14788
Enjoy
Andy
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Lynn Buchanan
Nevada City, CA
Boat Name: SAILYNN
Model/Year: SWING 1984
Hull No. 11994
Hailing Port: SCOTTS FLAT LAKE, CA |
09/09/2010 4:14 PM Pacific Time
That's a great story and trip Andy. Thank you for sharing. My first C22 was a wing keel #14644 and we made many trips by trailering/ sailing along the west coast all the way up into Canada and the Sunshine Coast. Now that we're retired, we are planning another trip next summer to Bellingham and then to Vancover and up the coast. |
Larry
Greenville, SC
Boat Name: Kemo Sabe
Model/Year: C-22 , 1973
Hull No. 2229
Hailing Port: www.keoweesailingclub.com |
09/11/2010 5:36 PM Pacific Time
WOW~ What great pic/video documentary of fun on our C22~~I'm envious as that trip was one I had planned in the late 90's, but it just didn't happen.
What charts did you use? And, it looked like you had perfect weather the whole trip! :) Thanks for the efforts in posting and for the pictures, etc.
Where are you off to next?
Larry |
R. C. Luiken
Milford, DE
Boat Name: Ricochet
Model/Year: C-22 Swing Keel/1986
Hull No. 13560
Hailing Port: Milford, DE/St. Michaels, MD |
09/12/2010 8:03 AM Pacific Time
Andy, thanks for the tour. I'm sure you were tempted to take I24! I'm planning a trip on the ICW and wonder how you handled your food needs and how often you stayed in marinas at night. |
Andy Kohler
Canton, GA
Boat Name: Good Times
Model/Year: 1989
Hull No. 14778
Hailing Port: Atlanta |
09/20/2010 6:47 AM Pacific Time
Charts:
I had made my own charts from Google Earth with the Earth-NC overlays that shows the river mileage and the nav-aids for the Tombigbee Section and canal from Mobile to the Tennessee.
This worked very well for this section of the trip as its hard to get lost travelling upstream; in addition I had a handout with all the important anchorages, marinas, locks and bridges (listed by river miles) from the Demopolis Yacht Basin proprietor 'Fred'. See www.DemYB.com .
For the ICW, Mobile Bay and the Tennessee River I had regular waterproof paper charts as well as their electronic counterpart on my laptop.
weather:
I had to skirt thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast; dropped anchor twice to ride out a storm and made for a safe harbor once (Joe's Bayou near Destin).
Other than that, and a passing thunderstorm near Amory Lock with some light rain, it was all tolerable.
the weather did have other effects that I had not accounted for in my planning:
I got up very early in the day, around 5 am because it was pleasantly cool - even in the Deep South; the hit did not set in until around 9-9:30 - by then I had already traveled 20 miles or so. During the middle of the day until around 6pm there is no escaping the humidity and the heat, even under a bimini etc; one gets very lethargic and every task is a chore. Comes evening one gets the second wind and travel becomes a pleasure again until right after dark when the mosquitos seek their prey (they were not too bad at all).
The bottom line: I was on the move far longer hours per day than I had 'calculated' which shortened the overall trip.
Longest Day: from Fort Walton Beach to Dog River, Mobile about 110 miles.
Food:
I had switched to water only for bulk-beverages. I simply filled up my 4 gallon jugs at any water faucet I came across and when the next one was in sight, I even poured the drinking water over my head; I did have several more gallons in reserve as well as a shower sprayer and the built in water tank for dishes etc.
I prepared lots of salads using cucumber, apples, lettuce, etc, things that last for several days in a moderate cooler. I supplemented this with the pre-cooked pouches of salmon, tuna, chicken. I cooked far fewer 'big meals' than I had envisioned (and for which I had provisions too) because I was either tired or really did not neat a heavy meal.
Did treat myself to a few restaurant stops though when passing marinas; to get out of the heat in the middle of the day and to watch some world cup soccer that was going on at the time...
Mishaps:
autopilot was hooked up but not turned on (I thought I had pressed the button) I went below and saw 2 minutes later the shore line approaching through he window. Jumped out towards the tiller just in time to give a huge tree a passing blow than a direct hit.
bow line slipped in the Demopolis Lock from the floating pylon, boat swung perpendicular to the lock walls and we road up that way; no harm done.
the only 'mechanical 'failure was the loss of one of the oval turn handles that one secures the engine to the motormount ; the small pin that hold it in place had vibrated loose and dropped in the drink. Everyday the little Honda started on the first pull. Given the variable current conditions it is more reasonable to calculate hours per gallon of fuel, but in general I managed to travel 90 -110 miles on one 6 gallon tank - I had 2 such tanks and was never in any fuel trouble.
Got stuck in the morning trying to leave a creek where I anchored for the night; I had entered it in the evening without any problem but obviously with a lot of luck finding the channel.
I anchored out most nights or tied of to a boat dock in one of the Army Corps recreation sites (there are plenty along the Tenn Tom Waterway)
was surprised by the strong current between Guntersville and Nickajack which dropped my speed to about 3.5 mph.
turbulences of passing barges are sometimes felt 5 miles or 15 minutes later
in whirlpool like spots even though you can pass behind any barge within 50 ft and not get tossed around.
Andy
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Larry
Greenville, SC
Boat Name: Kemo Sabe
Model/Year: C-22 , 1973
Hull No. 2229
Hailing Port: www.keoweesailingclub.com |
09/20/2010 8:36 PM Pacific Time
Thanks, Andy!
Larry |
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