Pat with "other" Terry, the best marina employee and a liveaboard!!
We arrive in Demopolis and now have to make a big decision. Our original plan was to stop here, have the boat hauled out of the water to get new bottom paint and replace the "zincs" (part of the anti corrosion system) in preparation for going into the Gulf of Mexico and saltwater. This "wintering over" period would allow us to pack up and return to Atlanta for the holidays and to check on the house.
We've caught up with many Loopers here and the scoop on this last stretch of the river presents the most challenges as far as very limited anchorages out of the working waterway. Many only hold a half dozen boats and there are 20-30 of us wanting to share these "campsites" (and getting to a full campsite late in the day is a bad thing!!). Also there are few marinas (there's only one between here and Mobile!) and a crowd of boats, Loopers and liveaboards making their way south for the winter trying to make their way to the Gulf. We find out that this stretch of the waterway is much like I-75 and RV's seasonally. We decide to move on to Mobile for the winter and join a number of group meetings at the dock to see how many waves of boats we can consolidate our group into to manage getting thru the remaining locks and not have bad things happen at the limited anchorages. We end up in the second group and have another day before we head downstream.
A highlight of this large group getting together was a Halloween party hosted by the marina. Making costumes on the fly showed much imagination!
Our first day out is a reminder of watching the boats "flotilla-up" at the end of the rendezvous at Wheeler. Quite a logistical effort to cast off, get in order and make our way down the river, encountering barges, idling and staying out of each others way waiting for a lock to open can also be intriguing. A Looper convey is a sight to behold!
The flotilla waiting in front of a lock for an opening.
At one of the very limited anchorages we learn how to "raft up" (anchor multiple 40,000 lb boats securely in a tight space) to maximize the number of boats we can squeeze into the limited space. Tricks the cat has an interesting experience that night with Kimber the puppy on adjoining side decks.
