Great Loop: A Storm on the Way to Columbus Mississippi
In our last blog we talked about finding a nice anchorage in McKinley Creek. We enjoyed a tranquil night there but woke to threatening skies in the morning. A front was forecast to pass through, so we decided to hunker in place. As we were not rushing to leave, Beth fixed a nice breakfast, we read the e-edition of the paper, and then our books. It was shaping up to be a relaxing day. On days like this, we really enjoy our Webasto diesel furnace. Our boat is equipped for cold, all season boating, in the Pacific Northwest. The chilly fall days, which we were encountering, are no problem. We easily maintain a cabin temperature of 68 degrees.
Mid-morning, we received a text from Kittiwake. They were looking for a spot to ride out the
passage of the front and wanted to know if there was room for then in our
anchorage, which was an oxbow off the main river. It has a nice depth, so could easily accommodate
an additional vessel. We invited them to
join us. The wind had been building all
morning, and they hadn’t been there 20 minutes before the rain arrived. The leading edge of the front had the
strongest storm cells. Winds were gusty
and the rain was intermittently intense.
Showers persisted for several hours.
Finally, about 2pm, the weather passed. We pulled anchors and headed
downstream to Columbus Marina.
The entrance to Columbus Marina requires local knowledge, or a guide, to successfully complete. For “out-of-towners”, like ourselves, the staff sits on the outside deck, with binoculars and a radio, to talk you into the harbor. The challenge is that the dredged channel is narrow with turns. Once inside, it is quite safe and well maintained. The staff was terrific and very helpful. October and November is prime time for Loopers to be coming this direction as well as snow-birds taking their boats to Florida for the winter season. They indicated that in the summer they host maybe 3 transient boats a month. This time of year they host 10+ a day! So space was at a premium. We shared a 60’ covered slip with our friends in Kittiwake, a 22’ SeaDory. They went in first and then we tied up behind them. It worked well. We arrived late afternoon.
The next morning, we travelled into town using one of the
marina’s loaner cars. We did a driving tour
of the historic district of Columbus Mississippi, including seeing Tennessee
Williams home. Next, we replenished our
supplies, and hit the local coffee shop for a top notch Latte! We’ve been drinking decaf coffee on the boat,
so REAL coffee tasted so good.
Tennessee Williams Home
Upon our return, I completed the installation of the
replacement microwave. I had to secure
it in place and re-install the trim.
Next, I moved on to checking the pencil zincs on the engine. One was fine, but the second needed to be
replaced. While in the engine
compartment, I also did a full inspection to make sure all was as it should be.
In the afternoon, Sweet Day arrived. They caught up with us. They were also friends of Kittiwake, so it
was arranged that all would meet aboard Sweet Day for a potluck dinner. Much fun was had by all!
The next day we joined Adventure Awaits and Godspeed to
travel in convoy and pass through the locks together.
Great info about how to get into Columbus!!
ReplyDelete