Midway Marina, MS

(Monday Oct 15 - Dist: 56.3 mi; Locks: 3; LWT: 1:10 hrs;
        TTT: 8:50 hrs)

It was a beautiful day to be on the water; 78 degrees and a gentle breeze.  I even had my shirt off all afternoon.  The scenery was OK except for the "Divide Cut".  The Ten-Tom Waterway is all man made connecting the Tennessee River with the Black Warrior River in Alabama.  The Divide Cut is 25 miles long, about 200 feet wide and it is like travelling along a highway that is below grade.  All you can see is the sides.  At least these sides have three tiers which can be a hundred or more feet high in some places.  The US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) cut this section through the hills around 1985, at times going down 75 feet.

High Side on Left Descending Bank (LDB)

Man Made Dyke on RDB

The next section, which we are now on, is called the canal and is 52 miles long.  Again the Corp moved earth to create a canal along the side of the hills.  The earth was used to build a dyke along the entire length.  Evidently, more earth was moved than that needed to create the Panama Canal.  So we are travelling along the side of hills.  There are many trees and who knows what else under the flooded areas. 

Notice the Tow below, much smaller than those on the Mississippi.

This area from Pickwick Lake through the divide is the highest point, 414 feet above sea level.  It is all downhill from here.  To make this possible there are many dams and locks.  We did three today and will have 4 tomorrow. 

We still have tows to contend with but it is really a non issue unless they beat you to a lock.  They are smaller and generally there is room to get by.

Midway Marina was a rustic place that was dredged along the side of the main channel.  You can still see the tree stumps very close to where one has to maneuver.  It is getting cool at nights often into the 50's so we usually get fog or water smoke each morning.  It looks eerie sometimes but always interesting.

Many Live Aboards here.

It was a long day so we packed it in early and anticipating another long day tomorrow.