28 Oct 17

We have gone straight from Indian Summer to winter. It got down to 33F last night and we were rudely reminded that this boat lacks insulation of any kind. At least the water temperature is still a balmy 69F, which keeps the wetted part of the hull relatively temperate. We slept in after last night’s mini-celebration and finally got underway just after 11:00. We hit the cable with the keel again on the way out, but just bounced off and kept going this time. We started into the Tenn-Tom Canal proper at 12:00 and had an easy downwind cruise between the banks all the way to Bay Springs Marina, which is immediately above the Whitten Lock. It is downhill all the way to Mobile Bay from here. Although chilly, it was a beautiful, mostly clear day. The fall colors are finally starting to manifest on the trees along the banks. On the way down this afternoon, we had a phone call from our son and his lovely wife informing us that they are expecting our first grand baby in May; so, we are PRETTY PLEASED this afternoon, to say the least. The dock master at Bay Springs initially directed us to a covered slip, but the rudder bounced hard off an underwater obstruction (this one felt like steel); I was backing in a bit hot as the wind was right on the nose, so we hit is pretty hard. Hopefully, the rudder post is not bent, but I bet the back of the rudder has a nice ding in it. Eventually, “Islandia” moved into the covered slip and let us have the outside slip at the T-head, where we were all tied up by 16:15. We were unable to pick up a TV station on “Islandia” and had to settle for the text play-by-play on Game 4 of the World Series, which was just as well as the Dodgers won 6-2; it is all tied up now at 2-2. Sunday’s game is absolutely crucial for the Astros.

34-32.424’N, 088-20.486’W; Log = 33.6, Sum (2017) = 3052.8 N-m