500 statute miles through Alabama and a bit of Mississippi, from the hills that hint of mountains to the coast and the sea, was an amazing journey. The towns and riverside homes were sparse and the wilderness and the river were ever-changing as we passed through 12 locks on our way to Mobile in eight days of travel. We stayed in marinas where possible but anchored out when necessary and went from rock and roll to alligators.

We left Florence, Alabama and the hill country on October 31, Halloween, 2025, and re-crossed Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee River to the entrance to the Tombigbee Waterway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee–Tombigbee_Waterway near the intersection of Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi on our way to Bay Springs Marina, just before the first Jamie Whitten Lock.

We left early, as is our custom, after walking the dog, performing engine checks, and grabbing a first cup of coffee. Breakfast is often leftovers from dinner with an egg on top and we munched happily as we retraced our path back down the Tennessee River towards the Pickwick Lock and Dam. Many of our looper friends had continued on past Florence to Chattanooga and even Knoxville, Tennessee, but we chose to keep that pleasure for another trip from St. Petersburg where we can savor the journey and not feel rushed. The lake was easy but we had to stay in the channel on this TVA- made lake. Power lines crossed the lakes and rivers regularly, taking hydroelectric power from the dams to power New Orleans and the factories and other cities of the South.

Turning south at the entrance of the Tombigbee Waterway was a transition for us: Mobile beckoned as did the warmer weather of the Gulf and the end of our loop journey in St Petersburg. Fall was in the air and the chill in the air brought out our winter gear. Hervey pilots from the bridge on the topmost part of the boat and is exposed to the weather, sheltered only by the canvas bimini and the small wind screen (dodger) in front of the now-repaired captains chair. The Tombigbee Waterway was the last link in the current loop path to be opened, in 1984 under Jimmy Carter’s administration, and we could sense the newness of it in the condition of the waterway and the newness and paucity of the riverside services. The locks were straightforward ties to floating bollards amidships that were easy to navigate and we encountered few delays as we traveled downstream, unfortunately with little current to assist us.

But the scenery seemed to change every few miles as the river narrowed and the canal emerged. Oaks and beech gave way to bald cypress. And the hills receded and then re-emerged as the waterway found its path.

The next two days carried us to Columbus, Mississippi, the headquarters of the Tombigbee Waterway. The first day was short, punctuated by four locks with up to 14 Looper boats in the chamber. The flotilla was formed by the lock master at the first lock (Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam) and we mostly stayed together through the remainder of the day through succeeding locks. Commercial tows were coming through and this kept the pleasure craft (us) from slowing down the system too much. Some boats went faster but then had to wait for the slowest boats as we all trundled down the river together.

A small blue boat appeared just as we were entering the first lock and became part of the flotilla. He was a Canadian who was making his way to Florida in this small and slow converted sail boat with a 2 hp motor. He tied up with another boat in the lock chamber but was soon left fair behind as we speedier boats (6 knots!) made out way to the next one. We waited but he did not appear, so we all proceeded without him. Later, we learned that he had stopped and anchored out for a time, but kept going steadily until he showed up with us again many miles later. Truly a tortoise and the hare story!

And the river changed again. The locks were the same on the second day: a long one. The shore became less of a canal and more of a river as we made our way to Columbus. MS. We had continued to look for music venues along the way but they eluded us.

These two days were extraordinary! We traveled 100 miles or more and anchored out in one of the most beautiful places on the trip! We watched a fellow looper stick their nose in the entrance to the Sumter Recreation Area boat ramp and quickly back out. Hervey checked with them and they found it too shallow and scary for them. Hervey checked his charts and guidebooks and made his way in with no problems other than some mud spinning up. The anchorage was deep and, even though we had no generator, we had learned how to manage through this situation with a combination of running the main engines ongoing to bed early (which we do anyway — sometimes as early as 7:30!) It was a magical place and we had it all to ourselves for the night and morning.

We were headed to Demopolis, Alabama as the Tombigbee Waterway crossed back into Alabama from Mississippi. The river had become a winding, serpentine thing with large oxbow curves and swamps and bald cypress everywhere. One of our fellow loopers had seen alligators in this section, and we kept a sharp eye out for both snakes and ‘gators. But they both eluded us, for a time…

We stayed in Demopolis for a few days to have some mechanical work done; an oil change and a repair to the exhaust system. We rented a car with the best intentions to explore but helping with the mechanical work took precedence. We were only 47 miles from Selma, AL and 142 road miles from Mobile, but a trip to Walmart and to dinner at the Red Barn were all we could manage. Some of our looper friends showed up and we had a great time catching up with them and comparing notes for the long stretch ahead of us with no services until Mobile and the Gulf, 230 statue miles away.

These were long days and we pressed to cover the 230 statute miles to Mobile with only two nights of anchoring out. We had our last locks on the first day, bringing the count to about 100 locks for the entire journey. We were now in a “wild” river, untamed by locks or dams and free to wander, as it did, all the way to the Gulf. There were times when we thought we saw ourselves coming through the gaps in the trees downriver. And it was beautiful! Hervey was reminded of his childhood adventures with Bill Sinclair at Hayes Pond near Maxton, NC with cypress everywhere and dark water hiding all the mysteries of the dark swamp.

Our first night, we anchored out up a little river with some other boats. We were the last boat upstream and found ourselves in the trees and close to the bank. Hervey took the dinghy to shore to let Duke have a run but kept a close eye on him for the evening. The next morning, after all the other boats had left, he took him to a large open field near a boat ramp where the risk of being eaten was somewhat lessened.(!) We were cleaning leaves off the boat for days after that adventure.

The next day was equally long and we both were getting tired. The video above was taken about an hour before the scariest moment we had faced on the entire trip…

It was getting dark and we needed to anchor out. The more protected and well-known spots seemed to be taken and, just after we passed a tow we came upon a fellow Looper, Tortuga Blanco , anchored out just below a bend in the river. Taking up a spot in front of them, Hervey dropped the anchor and began to settle in. After remonstrances from the tow captain and from the very experienced captain of Tortuga Blanco, Hervey was encouraged to move behind our fellow looper and take a more protected position downstream and out of the curve of the river.

In attempting to do so, the windlass that helped raise the anchor threw a breaker repeatedly and then shut down all the 12 volt systems on the boat. Hervey flew down into the engine room to change the breaker, confident that the anchor still held. It did not.

The engines were running fine in neutral but the anchor was already free and up and down, still in the water but not holding at all. Hervey emerged after just a minute, having changed the fuse and will all systems running, to see the tow headed straight for us. Yes, the radio was full of the voices of both our companions and the tow could not alter course.

Hervey took control of the engines and backed us out of the way and to safety, but not a moment too soon. The vision of the bow of the barges as they plowed towards us filled his mind as we took our position behind our looper friends and anchored safely for the night. Safely or not, it was a troubled night and visions of fragile mortality haunted us for days.

But sleep we did and we awoke the next morning to a beautiful day for our final run to the Gulf. We passed the entrance the Alabama river as it joined the Tombigbee River to form, in the conjunction, the Mobile Rover that wound its way to the commercial maritime hub of Mobile Bay.

We passed the USS United States which had been moored in Philadelphia until last spring when it was moved down the east coast and around Key West to Mobile Bay. It is destined to become an artificial reef, providing habitat for sea creatures and recreation opportunities for divers. She was a great old lady from an era that has largely passed and Bluebird slated her as we made our way into the salty, choppy water of Mobile Bay to our marina.