3 Nov 17

After last night’s mini-party, not to mention the very short night the night before, we all slept in until 08:30. Then, after a leisurely breakfast, we took the courtesy car into town, did a bit of shopping and had a look round historic Columbus, home of Tennessee Williams and several ante-bellum homes. General Nathan Bedford Forest stopped the Yankee advance during the Civil War just outside of town, so Columbus was never invaded and sacked. We got back to the boat about noon, showered, pumped out and got underway just before 13:00. The Stennis Lock (27’ drop) lockmaster had the lock gates open for us when we arrived a few minutes later, so we were locked through in record time. We encountered a very heavy rain shower about 14:30, but it was otherwise hot and uneventful on this short trip to Pickensville anchorage. We had the hook down by 17:00 in a lovely, quiet spot just a mile above the Bevill Dam and Lock; this is the old river-bed of the Tombigbee River, off the dredged channel, which has cut off this long horseshoe. During happy hour, we had a good view of 4 or 5 white pelicans, a couple of egrets and a juvenile bald eagle. Later, a beaver swam by. About 17:45, 15 minutes or so before sunset, a ground fog rose up off the water locally and poured in off the Tenn-Tom Waterway, which must be a little bit cooler than this bend. After dinner, we engaged in a heated and passionate debate about the rights of women, among other topics.

33-13.748’N, 088-17.064’W; Log = 24.6, Sum (2017) = 3136.8 N-m