When cruising a new area it's best to know what can kill you. The speed of the river is one of those things. Yesterday I heard about a Grand Banks 42 that headed down to Mobile with the river in flood stage. The rapid current made the boat hard to handle and it ended up sideways to the current and pinned to a fallen tree. They couldn't free themselves and no one else that tried could help them. The next day a rescue team chainsawed the tree and finally freed the boat.
This elephant of a trip is best eaten in small bites. The first nibble gets us to Demopolis, Alabama; that's 230 miles and two locks up the Tombigbee River from Mobile.
This morning everything looked good for a Tuesday departure. This afternoon this changed when the above chart was published. Rains in the Tennessee Valley are predicted to flood the river down in Mobile. Besides the problem of greater current, debris in a flooding river tends to float down the river's middle. Conversely, the debris will collect along the shores if the river is failing in height.
Another piece of advice we've gotten is to proceed up river only if the next lock's water height is within 10' of its pool height. Yea, that's Greek to me. Fortunately the marina's fast internet facilitates our studies.
Marriott Grand Fairhope, Alabama
It wasn't all work today. We visited the Marriott Grand and toured its grounds. What a pretty place.
No miles today. DBH
