Decisions, decisions

The data available from the US Corps of Engineers region to region is differently accessed and displayed, and my initial studies have been focused on the systems other than the Tombigbee Waterway.  When we went up it the first time in October 2006, I knew little to nothing about the system and ferreting out the needed data.  We more or less just went depending on the time of year to yield good cruising, and it did.

I have been spending a lot of time lately on the system and have found that all the dams on the system are currently close to their normal pool levels.  Where there are streamflow measurements, they are in the region of normal for this time of year based on 55-year daily averages.  For the first part of June that is a bit over twice the average for the first part of October.  What that translates to is unknown, but I am guessing it is not much over a couple of miles per hour, and that speed is not uniform in the impounded water between lakes.  It usually means little current leaving a lock and stronger current approaching the next one.  It is a hundred miles between the first two and then gets shorter and short between the next eight locks (we did the last six locks in one lucky day).

 Given that the levels are being kept in the normal range with no big floods as of late, one would assume the amount of debris (always an issue in rivers) would be not be excessive because the water has not been backed up into the woods.  So my risk assessment based on current conditions would say it is a go to get started when we have to depart the Orange Beach area probably May 31st or June 1st.

 

We will likely have to wait a bit at Green Turtle Bay Resort for the Mississippi to recede a bit, but we must get started on this delivery sometime.

This is Pathfinder our Grand Banks 36-foot delivery.