Day 7: Due South

'Somewhere down the crazy river' is a song written by Robbie Robertson about steamy nights in Arkansas, but it was on a loop in my head as we continued our journey today.  Our starboard engine overheated as we were leaving the first lock this morning, so we shut it down and kept going on a single engine.  Our speed dropped to about 8 mph as we meandered along the waterway.  At times, the compass read due south, but would ease east, and then west, as the river changed course.

There were many logs floating along, and a number of deadheads that weren't so easy to see.  (A deadhead is a tree trunk, or large log, that gets completely waterlogged and stops floating horizontally on the surface, changing instead to a vertical position, bobbing along sometimes poking above the surface but more often disappearing just below.)  Sometimes I felt like we were on a slow speed slalom course, with the occasional crazy Ivan (for you Red October fans) thrown in just to keep things interesting.

Irish Attitude kept us company throughout, and is planning to stay in Columbus for a couple of days,too.  We all went for dinner to a local place called Huck's, specializing in Cajun and Southern cuisine. Great seafood, etouffee, and fried green tomatoes.

Tomorrow, Michael will need to take a very close look at the engine to see what the problem might be, and then decide if it is a relatively easy fix, or if we need to call on a mechanic.  When Michael went below he said "This is not what you want to see when looking in the engine room, coolant in the drip tray".








Today's Miles:  41.5 to Tenn-Tom Mile Marker 335

Total Miles:  279.5