St. Charles MO down the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee and Tombigbee Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico, with stops at Alton, Grafton, Kimmswick, Green Turtle Bay, Joe Wheeler, Bay Springs, Smithville, Columbus, Demopolis, Bobby's Fish Camp and Mobile, to Fairhope AL (and anchorages in between).
(1100 miles)
We returned from Calgary to St. Charles, via the St. Louis airport, at the end of September. The work on TOSCA (bottom paint, engine maintenance, etc.) had all been completed and we soon headed down the mighty Mississippi, past the famous arch at St. Louis.
While the river was not in flood, it was flowing very fast and presented new challenges. In places, the current was so strong that it pulled the navigation markers under - on a couple of occasions, they literally disappeared before our very eyes, while others were clearly off station.
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 We had to be constantly on the lookout for logs and other debris. Here, a tow has gathered enough for a decent bonfire - no problem for him, but potentially disastrous for us should we hit just one submeregd log, like this one! |  |
 And, of course, we had to continue to keep a sharp eye on the massive tows themselves. Our AIS (Automatic Identification System) was invaluable. Each triangle on the screen is another vessel. One tap and the screen displays the vessel name, type, speed, etc. so you can then call them on the radio by name and ask the captain for passing directions. |  |
There are few marina facilities on the rivers but, fortunately, there's Fern at Hoppies Marina at Kimmswick MO, just south of St. Louis. The marina is nothing more than a couple of old barges tied to the river bank, but what it lacks in facilities is more than made up for by Fern's wealth of knowledge that she generously shares - how to handle the currents, the tows, the fog, etc., and, most importantly, where to anchor, as anchorages are also few and far between.
As we've noted in earlier blogs, you meet every variety of watercraft along the way - here's a couple pulling into Hoppies in their canoe, complete with guitars and all their belongings in garbage bags. They had started out on the upper Mississippi and were headed all the way to New Orleans, camping ashore each night wherever they could pitch a tent - modern-day Huck Fins!
Fern's advice proved invaluable the very next day when we anchored in the Little River Diversion, well out of the way of the tows and other river traffic. It was a beautiful, peaceful spot. Next morning, however, we faced thick fog as we headed back out into the Mississippi. We had to be alert as we dodged the tows which were only 'visible' on our radar until we were within a hundred or so yards.
Later that day, we turned to port off the Mississippi at Cairo IL and headed up the Ohio River. There is very heavy barge traffic on this section of the river system and it can be badly congested at the Olmstead Lock and Lock 52.
The stretch is described as the "Choke Point of a Nation"(www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/business/economy/desperately-plugging-holes-in-an-87-year-old-dam.html?_r=0). Delays here can be many hours, even stretching into the next day, with no good anchorages nearby.
Later that day, we turned to port off the Mississippi at Cairo IL and headed up the Ohio River. There is very heavy barge traffic on this section of the river system and it can be badly congested at the Olmstead Lock and Lock 52.
The stretch is described as the "Choke Point of a Nation"(www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/business/economy/desperately-plugging-holes-in-an-87-year-old-dam.html?_r=0). Delays here can be many hours, even stretching into the next day, with no good anchorages nearby.
However, the lockmasters and the tow captains couldn't have been more accommodating. At the Olmstead Lock (which is under construction), we were escorted straight through, while tows that had been waiting ahead of us had to wait a little longer. This is our escort tug, leading the way.
The next lock, Lock 52, is the most congested on the river system. As we approached, we hailed the lockmaster on the radio and were baffled by his reply: "Can you fit into a 40 foot hole?" Well, TOSCA is 44' long, so at first we thought "no way". After going back and forth a couple of times, we realized he was asking could we fit through a 40 foot opening, and here it is. The tow captain, at great inconvenience, had to tie his tow off to let us through! Look carefully and you can see the lockmaster sitting outside his control shed waiting for the tow to be tied off so he can wave us through. Wow! Talk about accommodating - had we failed to get through this lock, we'd have been stuck for the night, with nowhere to anchor but the side of the river.
So, after a very long day, and more than 100 miles, we made it to Paducah KY and anchored in the Cuba towhead.
A classic riverboat, at Paducah KY.
The tows and the locks were endlessly fascinating - a whole other world that has to be seen to be believed. The skill of the captains is amazing. As one put it: "Imagine driving a Grayhound bus full of passengers from the back seat!"
This is one of the larger tows that we saw, with more than 30 barges - some are more than 40 barges.
The larger tows have to be sent through the locks in batches. Here the tug has brought one lot of barges down and has gone back up in the lock to fetch the rest of the barges making up his tow. They're then all hooked together again and proceed on their way to the next lock, where the process is repeated.
Meeting in close quarters. While the tow captains were men of few words, they were, without exception, very accommodating, considering we were in their waters and were probably a bit of a nuisance to them.
Our favorite story was our friend on Irish Lady Too who had agreed to meet a tow "on the one whistle", which would require our friend to turn towards starboard. Instead, he started to move to port, which would have had him meet the tow "on the two". The tow captain hailed him and said he thought they'd agreed "on the one". Our friend replied that he was turning to port to avoid some debris. The tow captain answered back: "Captain, if you don't turn back now, you're going to be debris!"
When they have to wait for a lock or other traffic, some just pull over and tie to a tree!
Some of the locks are several stories high. Here, we're waiting with our friends on Irish Lady Too to enter the highest we passed through, Wilson Lock near Florence, Alabama. Wth a normal lift between 93 and 100 feet, it is the highest lock east of the Rocky Mountains.
The photos don't quite capture just how enormous this structure is. Irish Lady Too leads the way in.
Here we wait for the lift, under the watchful eye of the local wildlife.
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A reminder of how integrated Canada is with the U.S. - a CN train crosses the Ohio River.
 From Paducah, we travelled via the Cumberland River to Green Turtle Bay, where we stayed for a few days. It was peak season for the south migration of the Looper fleet and the marina put on a southern BBQ, complete with local entertainment. We knew we were now in the South when we walked into a local bank and asked for the ATM. The teller immediately asked: "Well, honey, how far North y'all from?" Our accents had immediately identified us as not being from these parts! |  |
 After Green Turtle Bay, we were on the Tennessee River, where, after a night at Pebble Isle Marina, we enjoyed a quiet anchorage at Swallow Bluff. The morning mist was beautiful. |  A lone oarsman out for an early morning paddle. |
From Grand Harbor Marina on Pickwick Lake (near where the states of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee meet), we headed east, further up the Tennessee River, to attend the Fall Looper Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park. The Looper Rendezvous is a great event, with about 80 boats and 300 people in attendance in a beautiful lodge setting.
 The Rendezvous was a wonderful opportunity to meet many other Loopers and to hear presentations about what lay ahead of us as we headed back to saltwater and faced crossing the Gulf of Mexico to Florida. |  Alex takes careful notes. |
While we were at Joe Wheeler Lodge and Marina (near Huntsville, Alabama), Alex flew home for a week to Calgary and Rowland flew to St. John's, Newfoundland, to speak at a conference on Law of the Sea.
Apparently TOSCA was moored in the locals' favorite fishing spot, but that didn't seem to interfere with their enjoyment or their catch!
And on our way back down the Tennessee River from Joe Wheeler, another enjoyable evening at a favorite stop in Florence.
After a few days back at Grand Harbor Marina on Pickwick Lake, we headed out for the final push to salt water at Mobile AL, about 500 isolated miles away.
Our first stop was at Bay Springs Marina, AL. Imagine our amazement when the large catamaran ahead of us in the marina turned out to be from Medicine Hat, Alberta, less than 100 miles from Calgary! Medicine Hat is known in Alberta as "The Hat" - and of course in boating circles a catamaran is a "cat". Our neighbour was very cleverly named The Cat from the Hat!
Our first stop was at Bay Springs Marina, AL. Imagine our amazement when the large catamaran ahead of us in the marina turned out to be from Medicine Hat, Alberta, less than 100 miles from Calgary! Medicine Hat is known in Alberta as "The Hat" - and of course in boating circles a catamaran is a "cat". Our neighbour was very cleverly named The Cat from the Hat!
 The Tombigbee Waterway south from this point presented beautiful vistas. |  |
| And amazing riverfront homes.  |  |
We found the most beautiful anchorage of the whole river system along this section, at Cooks Bend, where we spent a quiet evening onboard, well out of the path of the tows.
Regular marinas were few and far between, the most memorable being Bobby's Fish Camp. What it lacked in amenities, however, it made up for in character, together with the best cat fish dinner on the rivers.
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 There was heavy morning fog and mist some days, which only added to the ethereal beauty. |  |
You have to be on your toes in the fog and the mist, but the navigation marks have to be watched constantly. The channel is often narrow and winding and leaves no room for error, as we were reminded when we came across this almost new boat, WINSOME, which had missed a mark and run hard aground. With extensive damage to their running gear, they had to spend the night on the river waiting for Towboat US to reach them next day from Mobile. A tow had stopped to help them in the meantime. We nearly missed the same mark ourselves.
Our last night out was at anchor in the Alabama River.
We had by this point developed a leak in a coolant hose on the port engine, forcing us to run the remaining distance into Mobile on one engine. Little did we know at the time that we were developing a major mechanical problem.
 Meanwhile, it was on to Mobile! What an experience to come out of the remote wilderness of Alabama to see this industrial-military complex rise from the marshes. |  |
Alex guides us into Mobile Bay and to Mile 0 of the river system, abeam the Mobile Convention Center. We'd run the rivers from Chicago to Mobile, a total distance of more than 1400 miles. TOSCA II was back in saltwater!
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From Mobile, it was a calm, sunny run across the bay to Eastern Shore Marine in Fairhope - a nice reintroduction to saltwater for TOSCA, who had been in fresh water for the past three years. Note the pelicans free-riding on the outriggers of this shrimper. It's a very different world from the lakes and rivers.
 There were several other Loopers at Eastern Shore Marine and we made a number of new friends, including Tom and Paula who "crossed their wake" in Mobile Bay while we were there. We joined them in celebrating as they proudly unfurled their Gold Looper burgee. |  Fairhope is a beautiful town, with several excellent restaurants - our kind of town! |
Our mechanic at Eastern Shore, Dewell, was able to repair our leaking coolant hose without difficulty.
However, Dewell then discovered that we had seriously damaged the transmission. While running on one engine (with the port engine shut down and the port transmission "freewheeling"), we had seriously damaged the transmission, which had to be removed and shipped off to New Orleans for inspection. Unfortunately, word came back that the cost of rebuilding the transmission would be prohibitive. As a result, we had to postpone our plans to cross the Gulf of Mexico - and "cross our wake" - for now. We returned to Calgary for Christmas - with our Loop to be continued!
The damaged transmission gets shipped off for assessment. It's probably headed for the transmission graveyard and will have to be replaced with a rebuilt model.
With Leg 11 behind us, we now have approxiamtely 6000 miles under the keel since we started our Great Loop adventure in Florida in September 2012 - just 500 miles to go!
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