Traveling the Great Loop

Oct. 26, mile 449; Today’s run: 58 miles

Two miles from Pickwick Lock, we overtook the towboat, Blair Elizabeth and arrived at the lock before she did.

The lockmaster announced we would need to wait until she was locked through. We spent an hour drifting downriver on a current that carried us sideways until we reached a certain distance when we would point the bow towards the lock and drive back towards it. And then we would float downriver again and repeat the sequence. By the time the lock was ready for us, five additional boats had arrived. After we all tied to the pins, the lockmaster announced there was a sixth boat on its way and we would have to wait so that he could lock us through together.

We waited inside the commercial-sized lock another 20 minutes.

 Pickwick Lock has a reputation for being turbulent while filling. Owners were concerned about handling their boats in the resulting currents.

The first third of the lock filled gently but then the lockmaster opened the valves to allow for a faster fill. The 63 foot /19 metre high lock, needs a lot of water to take boats to the top. Concerned for the boat owners, the lockmaster left his control station and walked onto the bridge to check how we were handling the sudden increase of incoming water. With some bow thrusting, and mindful line handling, all went well. 

We arrived at Grand Harbor, Pickwick Lake, mid afternoon. If you research Grand Harbor Marina, the mailing address will be noted as Tennessee. But the marina is in fact located in Mississippi. The girl in the marina office explained that they have trouble receiving mail using their home-state address.  “I don’t understand it,” she said: “If we use ‘Tennessee’, the adjacent states’ address, we get our mail. ” In fairness to the to the U.S. Postal Service, Grand Harbor is not far from where 3 states: Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama, share boundaries.

It was quiet when we pulled into the fuel dock. Someone showed-up to take our lines but after setting up the pump-out and activating the fuel pump, he left us to handle our own pumping. Self-serve has been the norm throughout our travels but usually an attendant stands nearby. When questioned about this, the marina office replied, “We don’t have enough people to permanently man the service dock.” I reminded myself that it was October; the tourist season had already ended.

His friend backed a trailer down the boat ramp; the boat was floated onto the trailer and then pulled out of the water. While talking with the two of them, I could hear fish flapping-about on the floor of the boat. They had been on the floor since being caught. And then one flipped onto the seat; the fisherman batted it down to the floor again where he placed his foot on it to control its thrashing.

He picked it up, hooked the mouth into a handheld weigh scale and suggested that I take a picture while his son held the fish.

While I continued talking to the father, his friend walked towards the river holding the two fish. “What is he doing ?”I asked. “He’s throwing them back. We don’t keep any of the fish we catch”, he said proudly, “We throw them back.”

We used the marina’s courtesy car to drive into Savannah, (Hardin County, TN). Driving a twisty road past ranch style homes set on acre lots in a setting of rolling forest, we passed the village of Pickwick. You wouldn’t know the village existed except for the one grocery store along the highway. Pickwick was a ferry site in the 1820s and was named after Charles Dicken’s novel, The Pickwick Papers.

This smoke house located along the highway, was a real find. We ate some amazing tasty chicken for dinner that night.

In 1862, Corinth, a town located a few miles from Grand Harbor, was the site of two of the most important railroads in the confederacy. Ulysses S. Grant, brought his Union Army consisting of 40, 000 men, up the Tennessee River, to interrupt the railroads and move into the Mississippi Valley. General Albert S. Johnston, armed with 44,000 men, was prepared to defend Corinth.

These two forces coming together resulted in a titanic battle. Nearly 24,000 men were lost here during the battle. In 1866, Congress established Shiloh National Cemetery for those who fell at Shiloh, and at other locations along the lower Tennessee River.

State monuments honouring those who led, fought, and died, are scattered throughout the 4,200 acres of Shiloh National Military parkland. Not to belittle those who took part in this atrocious battle, it is notable that most soldiers died during the Civil War of disease or dysentery. If you wish to learn more about the Civil War, watch the documentary series, The American Civil War with speaker Professor Gary W. Gallagher; available on Prime TV.

The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (Tenn-Tom), is a 234-mile (377 km) manmade waterway extending from the Tennessee River at Pickwick Lake, to the Tombigbee River near Demopolis, Alabama. It is a main route for mined coal from the Appalachian mountains and agricultural products from some of the Southern states.

Constructing the waterway  took 13 years (1972-1985). More earth was moved to build the waterway than was moved during the build of the Panama Canal.

The Tennessee -Tombigbee River chart begins at mile 450, indicating that there are 450 miles between Pickwick Lock and Mobile, Alabama. This is the mile number you see noted beside the date at the top of my posts.

A Collection of Boat Names