Bay Springs Lake to Midway Marina, MM 394

October 8, 2015

After breakfast and our morning trip to shore, we called Whitten Lock to see if we should go ahead and weigh anchor.  The lockmaster told us that he could take us through as soon as we were ready, so it was a good start since we wanted to make it through 3 locks and then dock for the night at Midway Marina.

Whitten Lock has the biggest change in water level, going up or down 84 ft, depending on the direction of travel.  We were locking down, and since we were the only boat in the chamber, they took us down pretty fast.  When the big doors aren’t covered by water, they are quite impressive!

Lower lock doors

Upper lock doors

Lock doors opening

Between locks, Rob kept himself busy with re-organizing the lines, taking pictures, and even cleaning the fenders.

The banks aren't as high, so it looks more like a river here

A good first mate -- I think I'll keep him

Our luck held with the next 2 locks, Montgomery Lock and Rankin Lock.  Each time we called the locks, we were told that the chamber would be open and waiting for us!  The change in level for these 2 locks was 30 ft each.

Entering the lock at the upper end

The lockmaster always checks the doors once they close

At Rankin Lock, there was a tow heading upstream, needing to lock through, but since it wasn’t at the lock yet and the lock chamber was already full, the lockmaster lets us lock down first.  It was actually great timing since we passed the tow within ½ mile of exiting the lock.

Rankin Lock - you can see the tow headed upstream

A 1-whistle pass (port to port) - there's more room than there appears

From Rankin Lock, it was only a short cruise to Midway Marina, MM 394.  The entry channel was well marked, and we had 7-12 ft of water all the way in to the transient dock.  The staff are just as nice and helpful as all the guides say, and the marina grounds are well maintained .  We took the courtesy van to the Walmart Supercenter and a couple of other stores to re-provision.  After being on the boat and away from crowds of people, it felt a little different to be “in civilization” again!

After we got back, other boats were coming in, including The Bar B, so we visited a while and swapped “war stories” of our various trials to date.  For supper, we grilled burgers and ate on the back deck, looking out at the beautiful, peaceful scenery.

View from our back deck

I found a website which has maps of the whole Waterway, as well as sections of it.  Here is the link: http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/Recreation/TennesseeTombigbeeWaterway/Maps.aspx.  The map for this section is "Canal 2".