March went out like a lion

For the second Friday in a row, a violent weather system passed through the Mid South.  The state of Arkansas suffered extensive damage from tornados, specifically in the capital city of Little Rock, the town of Wynne just west of Crowley's Ridge, and the delta town of Earle.  Here on this side of the Mississippi River the town of Covington got hit hard, as did a chunk of McNairy County.

Here in Memphis the mood was tense as the sirens blared several times throughout the evening.  I'd taken a few precautions such as charging up my phone, making sure the batteries in my flashlight were good, and even grinding some coffee in case I had no electricity the next morning.  But in the end, we were spared.

By yesterday morning the sky was clear, and I looked forward to a pleasant sunny paddle.  It was still quite breezy, however, and that prompted me to stay in the harbor for all but a few of my 60 minutes in the boat.  The wind was swirling all over the place but seemed to be primarily from the west-southwest.  I stayed in the shelter of the trees along the bank of Mud Island and paddled a pretty good strong tempo.

The wind got even stronger as the day went on yesterday, and by mid afternoon it was screaming.  It finally abated overnight and had shifted to the south-southeast by this morning.  It was time for my Sunday long paddle, and conditions were ideal for a trip around the Loosahatchie Bar, with plenty of sunshine and a river level of 26.7 feet on the Memphis gauge.  I paddled out of the harbor and enjoyed a nice tailwind during the long paddle upriver.  There were no barges or riverboats moored along the bank, so I had no interruptions like I did the last time I paddled around the Bar.  Conditions were a bit bumpy during the paddle back downriver because a barge rig had just moved through heading north, but I kept the boat moving and completed the 12.6-mile (20.3-kilometer) circuit in about one hour, 55 and a half minutes.

I'm now thoroughly worn out and ready for a break tomorrow.  I'm still waiting for the orthopaedic clinic to call me to schedule my M.R.I., and I hope maybe they'll do so tomorrow.

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