Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Grand Harbor, Counce, TN to Midway Marina, Fulton, MS

Monday, October 29, 2007 - The crew prepared for an early start this morning. Left Grand Harbor at 8:00 AM sharp. The next 52 miles on the Tenn-Tom Waterway are referred to as the “Canal Section”. From Mile 418.9 to mile 366.3 the Tenn-Tom Waterway consists of dams and pools connected to form a 9’ deep waterway along a channel. The canal follows a channel from the headwater of one pool to the dam, then locks down to the next pool and repeats the process to the sixth and final dam and lock in this section. When the waterway originally opened in 1985 the northern most lock was called Bay Springs Lock and Dam.
The next five locks and dams in this section were named only for letters of the alphabet. With time each of these locks and dams were renamed. We traveled 38 miles to the James Whitten Lock and Dam, Dennis, MS (Original Name: Bay Spring Lock). Lock is 600’ X 110' and has an 84’ Lift. This lock has the greatest lift on the trip. Went through the lock in 30 minutes. Traveled another 5 miles to G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Lock ( Original Name: Lock E), Fulton, MS. Lock is 600’ X 110’ with a 30’ Lift. Traveled an additional 15 miles to Fulton Lock, Fulton, MS. The lock is 600’ X 110’ with a 30’ Lift. Island Hopper motored another 8 miles to John Rankin Lock (Original Name: Lock D), Fulton, MS. The lock is 600’ X 110’ with a 30’ Lift. Powered four miles to Midway Marina on the Tenn-Tom (394.0 LDB) for the night. We arrived at Midway around 2:00 PM. Dock Master Pat gave us our docking(Barking!) orders and we tied up along the designated dock. The crew took long walks throughout the property. Barb and Kevin pumped up the dingy for future use. We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Fulton and then on to Baskin Robbins located in the Huddle House restaurant for ice cream.

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