The Big :Lock
Ambler Isle
V and S
Fri 1 Jul 2011 11:24
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June 30, 2011
The sky turned black, and rain began as a torrent, then
got stronger. Lightning flashed, and thunder boomed. Visibility was
very poor. We pulled off channel and anchored the boat to wait it
out. The bottom seemed rocky, but we set on the first try. Watching
an odd rock formation on the starboard side proved we were not dragging. We sat
several hours, and finally we could see the bridge ahead. We decided to go
to the Wilson Lock, about 4 miles away. The rain continued but was
lighter. Passing the town of Florence storm drains gushed into the river,
leaving mud, debris, and logs. Five inches of rain had fallen in less than
4 hours. Even more logs were washed down the sloping shores. This
was the most littered water we'd seen this trip. We passed the tow barge
Jerry McNeil and asked if we could go ahead of him at the lock if we
got there 45 minutes before him. He agreed. Calling the lock, we learned
that another tow was already in the lock. But Jerry McNeil could
not get to the arrival point before Ashleigh was ready to
exit. The channel was too narrow for two tows to pass one
another. Jerry would have to wait several miles away
til Ashleigh was clear. The
lock operator allowed us to slip in as she left the lock and had the lock turned
around by the time Jerry was ready. At 94', Wilson Lock is the
largest in the river system. Although we'd started at 4:30am, after hours
of rain, then lock delays, we wondered if we'd reach our destination of Decatur
AL. Decatur is one of the most industrial cities on the river. Lots
of barge loading sites, smoke stacks, and traffic. We skipped our usual
stop at the Riverwalk Marina and anchored past the bridge off channel. The
early hour, the storms, the delays, all wore us out and we were looking at bed
after eating a bowl of chili for supper.
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