Day 121 – Midway Marina to Columbus Marina, Columbus, MS - November 4, 2011

Six Looper boats departed from Midway Marina at 7:30am this morning.  Our original plan was a more leisurely departure after 8:00am, but a call to the lockmaster at the Fulton Lock got us on the move – if we arrived at the lock quickly enough he would be able to lock us through before a tow that was coming up the river.  With that incentive, we threw off the dock lines and hurried toward the lock. 

Our plan for today is 3 locks and about 36 miles of travel.  The first of the three locks, the Fulton Lock is just three miles from the marina, the next, the Wilkins Lock another fourteen miles down the river and then five miles more to the Amory Lock.   The six boats in our group travel at relatively the same speed, so we will spend the day playing follow the leader and locking through together.

Boreas and Brandy IV broke off from the other four Loopers just above the Aberdeen Lock (36 miles into the trip) so we could stop for fuel and overnight dockage at the Aberdeen Marina.  The marina has the best fuel prices in the area, so we wanted to top off the tanks.  Approaching the marina is a bit of a “mini-adventure” (to quote one of our cruising guides) – and an adventure it was.  The channel markers were long poles, driven into the sand marking the edges of the channel.  I would not have wanted to meet another boat coming out when we were going in, it was that narrow.  Once the channel was slightly off the main waterway it did two S-curves through cypress tree knees before finally arriving at the fuel dock.  The fuel dock was so short that Boreas hung off both ends when we were tied up getting fuel.  The place was deserted with only a few permanent boats in slips around the corner from the fuel dock.  After a brief discussion with Brandy IV (and the lockmaster at the Aberdeen Lock who said the lock was available and we could lock right through), we decided to go the extra 20 miles and stay at Columbus Marina for the night.  We retraced our route through the cypress tree knees and headed for the lock.  We were locked quickly through and arrived at Columbus Marina just after 4:30pm. 

            Miles: 56         Bridges: 7        Locks: 4

Loopers in the Fulton lock ready to lock down

the Tenn-Tom is amazing for the wildlife that

lives along its banks - we see bald eagles every few

days, but rarely two together in the same spot

the spillway at the Aberdeen Lock