November 4
We were stuck in Demopolis for 10ish days and were so glad to get out of there when the river cleared up.
Most of the boats were headed for an anchorage 90 miles downstream called Okapukka, a narrow creek that I was not sure we would all fit in. As it turned out Whisky Business was one of the 3 fast boats and my concern was we would get in the back of the anchorage and then have to wait for the rest of the boats to depart in the morning before we could leave. The next day was a 75 mile day. Across the river from the creek is another anchorage called the Okapukka Alternate which is alongside the river. If we anchored there, no worries getting out at first light.
Sure seemed like a good idea at the time.
With a 3 MPH current and a 10 mph cross wind this 40,000 beast got a way from us.
Anyone?
WTH! Yep, lost the anchor and all 200 feet of chain.
Debbie and I have anchored in some pretty swift currents but the crosswind was something we had not experienced before. At this point I need to be a bit more specific. When we anchor, Debbie is at the helm driving the boat. I am at the bow pulpit letting out or retrieving the chain. Using our wireless headset communicators I give her instructions on which transmission to engage. For instance I will say “Port forward” and she will engage the left transmission lever for a count of “one thousand” and then disengage. WB’s large propellers move the boat quite a bit even in a time span of one second. She is extremely competent at this manuevering. Problem is, I was not so
competent in the instructions I was giving, hence no anchor or chain.
Instead of deployinig this setup we went in the creek and rafted up with One Eye Dog for that night and the following night on the Tensas River.
When we got to our current marina I called Bobby’s Fish Camp which was near the mishap area. Asked if theey new any fishermen who would search for the anchor and chain for a $500 reward.
As you can guess, we were pretty depressed that night. How to lift our spirits?
YEAH BABY! We watched the video of the 2013 National Championship! Oh yeah, 2 bottles of Taittinger helped relieve the sting a bit too. Funny, the next day when we got up and were chatting with April and Larry on One Eye Dog they were complaining about the noise coming from shore durinng the night. Uhhh, don’t think it was coming from shore.
We did get a bit of good news yesterday. While we were back in Louisville last week, I dropped off oil samples from our 3 diesel engines to Whayne Supply, a Caterpillar dealer. They have a lab that examines thse samples.
Once we got close to Mobile Bay, a major shipping center, the landscape changed a bit.
At the bottom of Mobile Bay we finally entered the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW) and made our way to the Wharf Marina.
After a grueling 3 days covering over 250 miles we were ready to get off the boat. Very nice area around the marina.
After dinner we strolled around the area and found this place.
Got back to the boat by 7 PM and fell asleep by 8:30.
Whisky Business Blog 
OMG, So sorry you lost your anchor! Did a link expand or break, or was the bitter end not attached to the boat? I had to cut my chain rode because the anchor got hung up on a cable in the party cove. I had 3/16 chain and lost 100″ and the anchor. One difficult bolt cutter job! But that was on my 44’Regal many years ago! Three major storms sure can change your plans! Good thing you are so flexible! Ill have a bourbon for you tonight!! HaHa!
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Hey Joe, it was attached via a 3 braid nylon line and the line broke once all the rode played out. Good news is, a fisherman found it and now I am hoping he can get it up.
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