There was a 1 1/2 hour fog delay before we could get started down Yellow Creek. This is the start of a 2 billion dollar project to connect the Tennessee River system with the Tombigbee River system. I will give you some facts but don't hold me to them as Linda only read these to me while we were under way. The Army Corp of Engineers undertook this project in the 70's and completed it in 1984, I believe. It was and still remains the largest single civil project ever undertaken by the Corp. It basically allows boats / barges to shave off 800 miles if travelling from the mid west or Great Lakes to Florida or beyond. One no longer is only limited o the Mississippi River.
For pleasure boaters like us it is a god send and is probably the reason that the Loop is becoming more popular. The Rivers are much more scenic and pleasant with many desirable lakes and sites to visit. Marinas are more plentiful for most of the trip and cater to the boaters which travel back and forth to Florida or warmer weather each fall. To connect these two watersheds which drain differently (that is the Tennessee River to the Mississippi and the Tombigbee, then Black Warrior Rivers to the Gulf) a series of 13 locks was necessary and a number of canals.
The Divide Cut is the biggest of these canals and basically cuts through the highest part separating the two watersheds. It is 23 miles long and more earth was removed for this than was moved to build the whole of the Panama Canal.
It does get narrow at parts and some sections are real marshy, almost everglade like. We heard last night that there are even alligators up in this area. Haven't seen any but will now be more careful when we dinghy around in the middle of nowhere.
We decided to anchor in the Five Fingers area just above the Whitton Lock and Dam. Whitton is supposedly one of the top ten highest locks. At 84 feet it is 9 feet less than the Wilson Lock on the Tennessee. It is also the first of 13 drops that will take us 342 feet down to the Gulf. The Five Fingers area is a fairly large bay that has, guess what, 5 coves. It was a busy place. I keep saying that but it is like rush hour in a big city; everyone is in a hurry to get to Florida or the south somewhere. We shared our cove with 3 other boats. Rescue at Sea
Linda and I decided to host the happy hour this evening but it was still early enough that we launched the dinghy and explored some of the other coves. It seems everyone had the same idea since it was so beautiful and the day was sunny and warm, probably mid or high 70's. After chatting with a number of others, the last couple that we were speaking with could not re-start their engine and they were drifting into an area of stumps and dead trees. We pulled them out into the open. When they could not start their engine even after his repair attempt, we towed them back to their boat. Of course, their boat was in the furthest cove at the far end. This couple was from Minnesota or Iowa, I forget which. Our friends were so disappointed because we ended up delaying happy hour. None the less, we had a pleasant evening and early night in this beautiful setting.
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