Thursday - October 28, 2010

The conference is over and we are going to head home tomorrow for a week. Before we left Joe Wheeler Park however, we went and played a round of golf (well Brenda drove one of the carts) with Tom and Linda. it was a second Robert Trent Jones course which was more of a links style course. Tougher than the last but a good course. Some great views from the tees over the Tennessee River.

After the game, we dropped Tom and Linda off at the hotel and drove back to Aqua Marina. it took us about and hour and a half. We arrived at the boat and Brenda did the laundry and I put away the stuff we took to Joe Wheeler.

Talked to the service people today and found out somthing is wrong with the fishfinder module in my electronics system. it is being sent back to Raymarine and hopefully will be returned by the time we return form Canada. Tomorrow, the boat gets hauled out and the extra work gets done over the next week or so.

Wednesday - October 27, 2010

More sessions going up the east coast of Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. Each of the presentations was very good but at this point in time we have reached information overload. Time to go back to the boat. Pictures were taken of the entire group.

We had Tom and Linda over for a drink at 4 and then prepared for the final dinner.

All in all it was an enjoyable time and we learned a lot. Goodbyes were said to the people we traveled with for the past few months because everyone is going off in different directions - some like us going home for a bit, others to Chattanooga, others right down to Mobile. Perhaps, hopefully, we will run into them in Florida or along the way north in the spring.

Tuesday - October 26,2010

Sessions were on the trip form Mobile across to Florida and down to the Keys. There are two ways to get from Mobile to Florida, both involve setting out from Carabelle, Florida. The first involves going around what they call the Big Bend but it takes about 3 or 4 or more days depending on weather. The second involves an 18 hour run across the Gulf to Tarpon Springs or to Clearwater. Again you have to wait for a weather window of 24 hours but once you've done it, it is done. I think we will do the crossing as the former is through shallow water and I think my draft is too high.

After the sessions were over some of the people went into town to do some shopping. We stayed behind and read. At 6 we caught the bus into town to attend a country music concert arranged by the AGLCA. The group was called Nashville South and they were quite good. The warm up group was a father playing a guitar and his two 10 year old daughters playing the mandolin and the bass fiddle. It was all instrumental and the girls were quite talented. Another singer, Briana Davis was brought on who was also quite talented and who sang a lot of her compositions along with her mother and husband. All in all, it was a good evening.

Monday - October 25, 2010

Today we attended several sessions. Brenda attended sessions on traveling the Tenn-Tom Waterway and the from Mobile to down through Florida. I attended one on marine maitenance and started attemnding one on electronics before I decided it was too basic and then I joined Brenda for the Florida session. All were very informative and we picked up some good information. Tomorrow the Florida session will continue and discuss options for getting from Alabama to Florida - either going around the Big Bend or going across the Gulf. I think the draft on our boat is too great so we will have to go across which I think is an 18 hour trip.

The women then attended a separate session fro women in the afternoon and the men attended a separate session for them. Interesting and informative but I think they were more geared to people who are thinking about starting the Loop because a lot of it related to information given by current Loopers. One of the things among others that I commented on was diving under the boat to effect repairs. It amazed me how many people thought nothing of using a Hookah or air line attached to a compressor on board and diving under the boat with no experience. Of course, I pointed out that diving with compressed air is inherently dangerous even if in only 3 or 4 feet of water. I hoped a few people listened.

After those sessions we went back to the room and laid down for a while, then Brenda went out for a walk and I read. We then we went to a reception and dinner, sat with our cruising friends and had quite a few laughs. This rendevous is very good and has some good informative sessions. Lots of fun.

For those of you that are interested, we are staying at the Club at Treasure Island for at least two months starting December 1. Treasure Island is close to St. Pete's Beach and Tampa. We anticipate arriving around December 1 and returning home on December 10 for Christmas. I will be driving back after January 1 and Brenda will fly back sometime later in January.

Sunday - October 24, 2010

Today we went played golf with a couple of other Loopers, or should I say, I played golf and Brenda drove a cart. It was a course on the Robert Trent Jones Trail and it was an exceptional course. Great Day. Only problem, I had to join the private club which was the course. This was necessary in order to have a drink both on the course and after our round. The cost of membership was 25 cents. There are ways of getting around the dry county rules.

When we got back it was time to register for the Looper's rendezvous. We registered, bought a couple of shirts and received a whole bag of goodies. Then we went to the reception and introduced ourselves to the group at large by talking a little bit about ourselves, our boat and the trip so far. We were taped for possible inclusion on the website. Before we got up to talk, Brenda said she was not going to say anything - didn't like being taped, but then once she got up there, she took the mike and put her two cents worth in. After that, there were lots of introductions of the sponsors etc.

We then had wine and dinner and a general social time.

Saturday - October 23, 2010

We closed up the boat at Aqua, left the keys with the service people and drove north to Shiloh. Yes, another Civil War battlefield and spent about 34 hours visiting the interpretation centre and driving around the battlefield. When we left Shiloh we started driving to Savannah, a small town on the Tennessee River that we passed when we were boating down the river. As we were driving down the river, we passed a sign for the Catfish Hotel. We had been told this was an excellent restaurant and institution which specializes in serving catfish. Since we had not had lunch we stopped and both of us had a catfish meal. Brenda has always had an aversion to eating catfish but she decided to try it. Needless to say, it is a very tasty fish.

We continued on to Savannah, and then on to Joe Wheeler Park. Brenda had booked a cabin about 12 miles from the Looper rendezvous. When we arrived to check in, she overheard a conversation with another guest that the cabins were not very good, so when her turn came, she asked if there were any cancellations at the hotel located directly on the marina. Fortunately there was a room that came available and she grabbed it. So now, instead of being 12 miles away from the rendezvous we are right on site. As we were driving in, we saw these two turkeys by the side of the road.

When we arrived and had settled in, we went down to look for a couple of our friends and a big party was going on.

Tomorrow, 4 of us are going to play a round of golf at at course that is part of the Robert Trent Jones Trail - I think it is called Muscle Shoals but I will find out tomorrow when we get there.

Friday - October 22, 2010

lat - 34 47 24 Long 87 40 46; Fuel 113 gal; eng 486.45

Happy Birthday Joe!

We left Florence at around 8:30 with the intention of arriving in Aqua Marina around 1. Again it was cool in the morning but it warmed up to 30 by 11 and it was a again a beautiful cruising day - sunny and warm. It sure is nice her because it gets warm in the day but the nights are cool and nice for sleeping.

As we were cruising along a call came through on Channel 16 from Serendipity sho we had not heard from since we left Green Turtle Bay. We had a good conversation and passed one another as they were heading to Joe Wheeler where we would see them when we drive down tomorrow.

We continue on and did arrive in Aqua around 1. Makes it easy to calculate the arrival time when you are traveling at 9 knt or around 10 miles per hour and you have to go around 45 miles.

We got in and who was helping us tie up to the dock but John Haluska from The Emery El. We last saw him in Penetang and as we were leaving he was waiting for repairs on his boat. He finished the Loop as he is from Tennessee and Aqua is his home port. I asked him if he missed the journey and admitted yes and he was thinking of maybe doing it again. I can see what happens after finishing the trip, you start asking what next?

We went over to the repair shop to get some work done before we continue. As we will soon be going into salt water, I want to get the bottom painted, the hull waxed and the zincs changed. The bottom has not been painted for three years and since stuff grows on the hull a lot more quickly in salt water, I thought it would be prudent to refresh the bottom. I had some good recommendations from a few folks along the way about the marina and its service group. They certainly have a good parts shop and marina store.

The car rental people brought a car to us and Brenda and I went into town to do a little shopping. Tomorrow we head for Shiloh - another Civil War battle site and then over to Joe Wheeler. We can't check in until 4 so we decided to do a little touring.

Thursday - October 21, 2010

lat 34 34 54 long 086 33 61; fuel 129 gal; eng 477.39

We left Ditto Marina around 7:30 this morning. It was a cool but clear morning and once we got out on the river there was some fog. At first it was a little scary since it was difficult to see the marker buoys, but slowing down and using radar helped that. As soon as the sun got a little higher the fog disappeared. The trip down the river was quiet until I ran into some guys in a boat who had laid traps across 3/4 of the river. They had their little marker buoys everywhere. It was lucky I woke up quickly enough to see what they were doing. I avoided them all by going to the port and close to the shore and then radioed behind to warn others of the the traps.

We went through 2 locks today and Brenda and I are still perfecting our locking techniques - better than it used to be but still needs work. The last lock we did was an 85 foot drop, but I think going up is far worse than going down. The surge of water when going up really throws the boat around. Going down the boat seems to just stay still.

Got to Florence around 4 and who is yelling at the dock as we pull in but Q's End. They were staying in Florence before they went on to Joe Wheeler. We met with a few people for drinks at 5:30 and met a few new people including a couple from Ottawa. Unfortunately, I did not get their card. Anyways we will all get together at Joe Wheeler.

Wednesday - October 20, 2010

lat 045 34 80 long 086 04 76; fuel 142 gallonds, eng 472.30

Left Goose Pond about 9:30 after filling the water tank and washing the boat down. over night all these bugs gathered on the boat and seeming laid eggs in little sacks that stuck to the boat. I had to scrub them off with a brush since they were glued on. Anyway, I did get most of them and before we leave Aqua Marina the boat will be washed thoroughly.

Today we had a nice cruise along the Tennessee River to Ditto Marina. This is one beautiful river from the Ohio down to Chattanooga and I am sure it is even more beautiful as you go further up to Knoxville. Current carries us pretty quickly and we arrived at Ditto around 2:30. There were already a lot of Loopers here waiting to get into Joe Wheeler Park. Today we decided to go directly to Aqua Marina and rent a car to go to the rendevous. We booked a cabin in the park and while it will be more expensive, this works better since we can get back to Aqua in 2 hours whereasby boat could take 10 hours. This allows us to get back to Aqua on Thursday morning, and get ready for our flight home on Friday.

There was a birthday party held after we all docked. The skipper of Gypsea turned 80 years young. Amazing! Of course he has been a sailor all his life and that probably kept him young.

It looks like we will be staying at Treasure Island for the winter. Brenda has found a yacht club that wants Loopers to stay. It is about 1 mile to the beach and about 2 miles from the place we usually go to each winter. More on this when Brenda arranges the details.

Tuesday - October 19, 2010

Got up early in order to get a good start to the day. We wanted to travel about 85 miles today as we would have the current with us as we traveled down river. We left at 8 EDT which is 7 CDT as our destination was Goose Pond Marina in CDT. The current as we left was about 1.5 knt, so that the engine could be set to achieve a speed of 8.5 knot and we were going 10 knts. The hills had changed quite a bit from the time we traveled past them on our way up to Chattanooga - more colour in the trees. The trip was uneventful except that we traveled quickly and arrived at Goose Pond Marina at around 3:30. Coming up took us two days to travel from Goose Pond to Chattanooga. We went through one lock and we really traveled for a a while after that lock because of the current.

Our intention was to arrive at Joe Wheeler Park on Thursday for the Looper Rendevous which starts next Sunday. In order to make sure that I could get a space for Thursday to Saturday, I phoned the Park to book a spot. To my surprise< i discovered we had no reservation despite the fact that I had indicated to the AGLCA that I would be arriving by boat. I had expected that by indicating on the registration form that I would be arriving by boat that an automatic slip reservation would be made. Wrong assumption! I paid over $500 to attend and I knew that the marina would cost more but as I say, I expected them to reserve a slip for those committing to attend. Maybe I missed the section that said you have to book a space or maybe my expectations were set by my former work place - when I committed to a conference or a meeting the room was reserved for me. In any case, it is likely we we move on the Aqua Marina, earlier than we thought and rent a car and drive there which is probably about a hundred miles. I hope I run into the organizers of this conference to give thme my thoughts on the organization. Oh well, have to make some phone calls tomorrow to sort this out.

Good thunderstorm in the Marina after we arrived. Could see it coming while we were on the river. Thunderheads building up as we traveled and I hoped we would get into our slip before it hit.

Monday - October 18, 2010

We rented a car today in order to visit a Chickamauga, a civil war battle site along with the couple from Goncruzn III. It was very interesting and I finally understood the battle after reading about it several times. Once you see the battle site you can visualize the entire battle. I had a drive along with several stops and a very good interpretation centre which really did a great job. We spent about 4 hours there and then went to lunch in downtown Chattanooga.

The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and reading. We then went out for pizza withe the couple from Goncruzn III and Lady Bug.

Sunday - October 17, 2010

Still in Chattanooga. Went to the Tennessee Aquarium today and found it better than Chicago's. It seemed to be better organized and more descriptive of the the various animal exhibit. It also included more than fish but also wildlife that existed around the water.

We then caught the electric bus and went out to the local market which was really more of a craft market than a food market. In addition the firefighters' had a chili contest the purpose of which was to raise money for muscular dystrophy. You paid $6 and got 5 small cups of chili, one from each of the participating stations. Each of them was quite good, but Brenda and I agreed on the same one as being best.

After our chili lunch we then caught a regular bus out to the Verizon store. I had to arrange a new password so that I could receive my bills electronically. The trip out took about an hour and we saw quite a bit of Chattanooga outskirts. By the time we caught the bus back it was 5:30 and we went back to finish the aquarium and went home cooked supper and watched the ball game.

Saturday - October 16, 2010 (2)

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A few more pictures. Make sure you read the previous post for October 16, 2010.

Saturday - October 16, 2010

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Got up this morning, filled the water tank because we were running low. We originally were going to the aquarium, but our friends form Goncruzn III asked if we would like to go to Lookout Mountain. Since this was another sight we wanted to see, we went along. Chattanooga is a town of about 150,000 people and the transportation system is very, very efficient. We looked for number 15 bus, hopped aboard and within 15 minutes were at the base of Lookout Mountain. On the local map it looked like it was miles and miles away, but my reference system is Toronto, and as this is a much smaller city the distances are also far smaller. Anyway, Lookout mountain is about 2500 feet high and is a landmark of Chattanooga and the Tennessee River as you travel into Chattanooga. There are roads going up and people live all the way up to the top of the mountain. It is also the last mountain of the Appalachian chain also called the Great Smokey mountains in Tennessee. However, there is a tramway that takes people to the top of the mountain. The tramway is a national historic site and at times it is on a about a 75 degree angle as it goes to the top - quite an experience looking down the tracks. There are some incredible views from the top overlooking Chattanooga and the Tennessee River.

Lookout Mountain was the start of the decline of the the Confederate fortunes in the the Civil War. It is the site along with Chattanooga itself of a major defeat of the the Confederate forces by the Union. There is a lot of key sites and displays on the top describing the battles that occurred.

After spending about 3 hours going over the site, we went back down and had lunch at nice little pub at the base of the tram, then caught the bus back downtown. Brenda and I then went to do a little shopping for some nice bread and a couple of other things. We then stumbled on a little used bookstore which was quite interesting based on the fact that the best word to describe it is chaos. Books were everywhere but there was not consistent filing system. You just wondered around until you found what you wanted. In addition, the owner also had thousands of knickknacks and other stuff some of which I am sure have some historical significance. She also knitted and made rugs for sale. Apparently, she dyed the wool etc herself for her creations which were really very nice and original. She explained that that she had done crafts for years, but had quit for some time until her husband got sick and died and she started again. Part of the chaos was all the materials she had for her creations. Her original crafts were stuffed toys and she proudly told us that two of her creations were in the Smithsonian.

Brenda bought a rug for the boat and a knitted hat for winter, which was very attractive. I bought a couple of old civil war books for reference. When I was purchasing the books, the owner showed me her family tree and the fact that her grandfather who was born in the 1830's fought in the Civil War. Now that is close to 150 years ago. It makes you wonder how that person could be her grandfather, but she explained that her mother was born when her father was 60 years old. which was around the 1870's and she was one of the last of her mother's ten children. She was probably in her late 70's or early 80's. She herself had 18 grandchildren. She was very proud of the fact that she was one of the few living people that had a grandfather in the Civil War. A very interesting person and a very pleasant and nice person.

We then cam home, watched some football and the Philly baseball game in which Halladay was pitching. Al in all a good day.

Friday - October 15, 2010

Lat 035 00 48, long 085 36 29; Fuel 176; eng 458.36

It got very cold last night despite the fact that the day was warm. During the night you could hear dogs howling way off in the distance throughout the night. Apparently, I was told someone raises hunting dogs very close to where we anchored. In the morning we left the anchorage outside of Nickajack lock and traveled to Chattanooga. As soon as we left the anchorage we started going down a canyon. The hills on both sides of the river started rising up to a 1000 feet and covered with trees that were jsut changing colour. This continued all the way to Chxattanooga. Magnificent - something you would never see from the road. Lots of cottages and houses along the river but only a little industry. They do call this area the Tennessee River Grand Canyon. The river winds back and forth quite a bit and while the distance from our last nights anchorage was probably about 15 or 20 miles as the crow flies, it was a lot longer on the river about 55 miles.



We arrived in Chattanooga around 2:30 CDT or 3:30 EDT - we have crossed back into EDT having been on CDT since Chicago. Actually I liked CDT since all the programs we watched were an hour earlier than in Toronto. Anyways, yesterday, Brenda had the foresight to phone Marine Max in Chattanooga and make a reservation. This marina is right along the river wall just steps from downtown Chattanooga. A great spot and we are going to stay here for 4 nights. If we had not made a reservation we would have had to go through another lock and dock above the lock across the river.

Once we arrived we went up to the Tourist Information Bureau and picked up some brochures. For Laura, Alex and Lesley, there was a couple of big Civil War battles around Chattanooga and I am going to visit them. I'll bet you wish you were here!

Brenda and I went for a walk to dinner aroudn 7 and had a good dinner at a local pub.

Tomorrow we go the the Tennessee Aquarium.

Thursday - October 14, 2010

Lat 034 34 80; Lon 086 04 76; Fuel 190 gallons; Eng 451.21

We left Goose Pond at around 8:30 with no fixed arrival point although there were anchoring spots along the route and after the next lock. The terrain changed a bit, became flatter and more industrial. Passed several power plants and a nuclear plant that was started in 1974 but never completed. We came back into Tennessee and in fact tied up at the junction of the Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee border in a cove right after the Nickajack Lock. Tomorrow we are supposed to go through an area that is like a canyon. The trees are turning and it should be quite beautiful. We have booked a spot right in downtown Chattanooga and so it should be quite nice.

Wednesday - October 13, 2010

lat 34 34 44, long 86 33 77; fuel 197 gal; eng 445.12

At 8:00 I attended a board meeting for the Canadian Film Centre so we were a little late getting ready to leave. The other three boats were pulling out just around the time that I finished my call, so we rushed to get out of the marina. There was a lock about 15 miles up river and if we missed going through with those three boats it could mean another hour or two before we got through. So I stepped op to 8.5 knts and eventually caught up with them. We went through Guntersville Lock adn Dam with no problem. We are finally getting the hang of these big locks. Tie off at the middle of the boat as tight as possible to the wall and cinch the line to the middle cleat, otherwise you will be drifting all over the place. These locks are completely different from anything you run across on the Trent-Severn - bigger, deeper and more water action inside the lock. You also tie to bollards which float with the water so that is why you tie up as close to the wall as possible otherwise you bow and or stern will start drifting out. Make sure that you have good fenders because they do take a beating. We will probably pick a some more fenders in Chattanooga for the trip back downstream.

After the lock the scenery got really beautiful with hills dropping down into the river and the leaves beginning to change colour. We also saw some replica tall ships of the Pinta an Santa Maria. For those of you who are not up on history they are the ships that Christopher Columbus came to the new world.

We traveled as far as Goose Pond Marina which is a resort with a golf course and restaurant. Unfortunately we will only stay one night since I want to get to Chattanooga, hopefully tomorrow but we will see.

Brenda has gone off to identify trees and shrubbery. If you notice, I am posting this a lot earlier than usual. Problem is, after a few drinks and dinner, I just want to go to bed, so I am doing it earlier than usual.

We traveled as group today - the four boats I mentioned yesterday. This is a nice marina and well worth the stay - cost $ 25 which is pretty good.

Tuesday - October 12, 2010

Lat 034 46 69, long 087 13 17; Fuel 201 gallons, Eng 438.39

Filled up with fuel yesterday. Still had half the tanks left, which is pretty good since the last time I filled was at the junction of the Mississippi and the Illinois. We left Bay View marina at 9:15 and fell in behind another Looper who we followed all day. It was a very dreary day with lots of cloud cover. However the good thing there were no locks today.

This section of the river is very industrial with lots of electricity plants. Went through the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. This is apparently a flyway for migrating birds. All in All it was not a scenic part of the river except for a few parts

We pulled into Ditto Marina about 4. My slip entry left something to be desired. I did not correct the wheel enough when pulling into the slip and brushed the side of the dock. Fortunately it had rubber pads along the dock which protected the boat. As i made my mistake I heard what I thought was a lot of laughing at my failed efforts. I looked over to the right and there were a bunch of snow geese cackling away and it sounded jsut like laughter. You can see the SOB's above. Later on a few more Loopers pulled in, one, which we had not seen since Parry Sound back on Georgian Bay - Goncruzin III and two we had not met before - Gypsea and Magoo. Had the 5:30 over at our boat.

Monday - October 11, 2010

Lat 034 47 17, Long 087 40 44; Fuel 121 gallons eng 432.42

Left Florence this morning in a bit of a rush. It was learned that the Wilson Lock (named after Woodrow Wilson the 28th president of the US) could open for us in a half an hour. So ourselves and two other Loopers left the the dock to get out and make the lock. When we arrived we still had to wait a bit of time. I think the lockmaster tried to make us hurry so that there would be no waiting time to load. I could see on my AIS that there was a tow going upstream when we pulled out so that meant there would be a fill and an empty of the tub before we could enter and that takes time. Once we got in the locking through was uneventful. We learned a bit from the last lock through. Wilson Dam is 137 feet high and 4541 feet long and as a result there is quite a lift in the lock.

Wilson Lake is pretty with a lot of big homes located on it. Apparently it is the one lake that the Tennessee Valley Authority did not acquire all the surrounding land and as a result it was developed. There several anchorages along the lake but we decided to press on and get through Joe Wheeler Lock as the Wilson Lake is only 15 miles long.

We arrived at Joe Wheeler Lock which is only 72 feet high. Wheeler was a general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, fought a large number of battles in the Civil War and the Spanish-American War and ended up in Congress.

After exiting the lock we passed by Joe Wheeler Park where the rendezvous will take place and went on to Bay Hill marina where we filled up on fuel and got a pump-out. It is nice little marina but I scrapped the bottom of the boat when turning around to get into our slip. Apparently, the water levels are being lowered and the marina is not as deep as it should be. I likely will dive under the boat in the next couple of days to see how much damage to the keel and probably get it repaired along with fresh bottom paint at Dog River Marina in Mobile which has an excellent reputation among Loopers.

There are several people who have done or are doing the Loop at this Marina and we joined them for drinks at 6:30. Learned a few good points from our talk based on their experiences.

Sunday - October 10, 2010

lat 035 12 99, long 088 17 60, Fuel 134 gallons, eng 412.36

Happy Thanksgiving to all. This year we are going to celebrate US Thanksgiving since we will be done her at the end of November. I can't believe Laura made stromboli. She must have bought it.

Fog again this morning so we waited until 9:30 to start out. We traveled up the river to Pickwick lock and waited about 20 minutes for the lock to open. This is a large drop lock and fortunately we were the only boat in the lock. The water came rushing in to the lock adn Brenda was forced to let go of the line attached to the bollard because the stern of the boat was floating out from the wall which meant the bow was crashing into the wall. She forgot to cinch the line with a boat cleat. dThe boat floated free and was thrown around in the lock. Finally we moved back to the wall and Brenda threw another line over a bollard and cinched it around the cleat which kept the boat stable against the wall. No damage was done but lessons were learned.

We were going to stop at Pickwick State Park Marina but they were full. So we moved on down Pickwick Lake which really is the dammed up Tennessee River. There were only a few recommended anchorages on this lake so we pushed on to Florence Alabama and arrived a 5:00 - a really long day. The only reason we arrived at 5 is because I moved up our traveling speed to 9.7 knt rather than my usual 8. It get dark here around 6 and so we had to get to the marina before dark. Fortunately the scenery along Pickwick lake was nothing to write home about so it was good to get through it quickly. I understand it will improve after this.

Went to dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant in Florence

Saturday - October 9, 2010

Lat 035 45 023; long 088 00 44 fuel 149 gallons, engine 416.39

There was a ground fog around the boat this morning so we had to wait until the sun came up long enough to burn it off the river. The last thing you want is to travel blind on the river with the boats and tugs.

The first part of the trip was quite pretty with stone walls and little in the way of towns, houses or cottages. However as we went further south on the river, cottages or houses became the norm and the scenery was not as good as the first 40 miles of today's trip. Some of the houses were perched on top of a cliff so that there was quite drop to the water. Quite often you could see how much the river has dropped with the ladders not quite reaching the water by about 5 feet. The water Kentucky Lake, the Tennessee and the other lakes controlled by the Tennessee Valley Authority is regulated and they start dropping the water level sometime in the middle the summer. Right now it is about 5 feet less than the standard. Consequently you do have to watch your depths through a calculations that compare normal level above sea level at each dam to current level. This difference, then reduces the calculated depths along the route. Depths are not shown but rather height above sea level is shown on the charts. The difference between the sea level at the dam and that shown for any particular point on the chart is the normal depth for that point and then you adjust for the previously noted variance. If you don't understand this, it also took me some time also.

We met a couple of barges as we traveled along but the trip was rather uneventful. We originally wer going to stop at mile 171 but I didn't like the look of the anchorage and we went a further 20 miles to Wolfe Island, which is a nice little anchorage sheltered from the river. We anchored in 20 feet of water.

Once we settled in, we took the dinghy and traveled around Wolfe Island and a couple of smaller islands. Interesting thing is the water remains about 20 feet deep right to shore. There is very little gradation in the depth. I wanted Brenda to get out but she was unwilling to make the leap to shore.

When we got back, I put on the scuba tank and went under the boat. Sometime in the last few days, the dinghy tie up line got wrapped around the propeller and it had to be cut off. Fortunately the line was not very thick so it was easy to do and no damage occurred to the prop or the shaft.

Tomorrow we have a short trip to Pickwick Lock and Dam and then we will continue down the river towards Chattanooga.

lat 035 12 99 long 88 17 60

Friday - October 8, 2010

Lat 036 26 49 long 088 04 90; fuel 164 gallons; Engine 409.24
The day was clear and calm. The bass fishermen left at their normal time – around 6:30 . We left Paris Landing around 9:05 after doing some chores around the boat. Kentucky Lake through which the Tennessee flows is really very pretty with rolling hills and lots of trees.
As we journeyed along we passed the little sailboat that could – Spring Moon. We last saw them on the Illinois and they came into Paris landing. They left earlier than we did and while they don’t travel very fast, they eventually get to the same place. We also passed Sea Jay, a couple we met in Green Turtle Bay.
Moving down the river there were all sorts of bass fishermen. The bass boats remind me of little mosquitoes buzzing around. Those boats fly with their 250 hp motors. I guess all of them are in a bass tournament.
Around mile 96 we came into an industrialized area of the lake and at around mile 100 we came to the end of the Kentucky Lake back into the Tennessee River and the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge on both sides of the river. An immense expanse of water land to provide birds relief when migrating. The channel winds through the Refuge and while you may only travel one mile as the crow flies, the river travel could be 4 or 5 miles.
After traveling about 60 miles, we eventually stopped at Dansons Island at mile 126 an anchored for the night in about 25 of water. It is a sheltered anchorage behind the island and thus away from the main channel. About 10:00 and big tow came by on the river which is a good reason to be behind the island. There are a few homes across from us on the mainland which are quite big.
Despite the fact that the days are around 30 degrees, the nights get quite cool. I am going to haul another comforter out as Brenda is getting cold at night.

Close lat 035 45 023; long 088 00 44

Thursday - October 7, 2010

Woke up this morning at 4. The first of the bass fishermen were coming in for the start at around 6:30 am. I went back to sleep but woke up at around 5:45 to the roar of gasoline motors. Looked out the window of the boat and we were surrounded by bass boats. The first tier went out at 6:45 and the two other tiers went out at 7 and 7:15 respectively. Apparently there are some 350 boats in this tournement and the prize money for first place is a $50,000 bass boat and this is not a professional tournament. Just like golf professionals, very few bass fishermen get to the professional level and earn living at it. The boats are loaded with tackle, lures and rods. They carry about a dozen or more rods each with a different bait, so that is one is not working they go to the next.

Once the boats went out, I walked over to the golf course and played a round of golf. Nice course with some beautiful vies over the Tennessee River. Lots of wildlife and the course was loaded with deer.

When I came back, both Brenda and I had a little snooze. I went to the hammock on the upper deck.

Later in the afternoon, a couple who we had not seen since the Illinois River showed up in their 26 foot sailboat - Spring Moon. They came over for drinks together with another couple fwho are traveling in a 34 foot American Tug. Then we went to a buffet dinner at the local hotel - good price and we got a seniors discunt.

Wednesday - October 6, 2010

Lat 037 00 44; Long 088 13 57; Engine 403.48; 180 gallons


Today, I set up the Verizon wireless and that is how I am posting the last two posts. It seems to work well.

I don't think I told about our slip at GTB, but it was slip number 1. When we arrived I had to do a sharp turn to the starboard, avoid a Boat US tow boat tied up to the dock and then pull a sharp turn to the port to get into the slip. Anyways, I did it without hitting anything. The real issue was to leave the slip since the Boat US boat was directly behind us and the amount of room directly behind us was about the length of our boat (maybe about 3 feet more). Anyways, my departure plan was to back into the corner of the dock and use my thrusters to push to boat to port and hopefully avoid the dock. I think I could have done it. Brenda was a little bit worried so she went into the marina store and discussed it with them. They agreed we had the worst spot in the marina and they knew we would need help getting out. They came out and helped us move the boat just as I planned. However they helped move the bow of the boat past the dock by pushing it around. No problem - it worked. I suspect after this trip is over there will be no problem in docking anywhere at South Bay Cove, back in Georgian Bay. BTW, for those at SBC, I guess this is your last weekend, being Thanksgiving and all, we are still enjoying days of 25 degrees, but the nights are cool. Jill and Bill: Have a good winter.

We left GTB at around 10, traveled through the Barkley Canal over to Kentucky Lake which really is the Tennessee River. Kentucky lake apparently was formed in the 1930's as part of Roosevelt's creation of the Tennessee Authority during the New Deal to produce electricity. A series of dams was created, the first of which was the Kentucky Dam which created Kentucky Lake. Remember the Tennessee River flows into the Ohio River so a dam the Kentucky Dam backed up water to create the Lake.

We traveled down the Lake and it was extremely picturesque. Some of the trees are now changing colours. Lots of Bass boats out fishing. We would learn later when we came in for the night that there was a big bass fishing tournament taking place. Didn't run into too many barges and it was a nice cruise. Passed a few people that we had run into earlier and we had a discussion on channel 17 (N II Wishin, and Sea Estate). They left quite early to anchor in a bay. We continued on to Paris Landing State Park which is quite nice. It has a golf course, a hotel and the Bass fishing tournament was headquartered here at least for those around this area. We decided to stay for two nights so that I could play golf in the morning. The course is a 15 minute walk away.

The Bass Tournament was interesting. At round 3, all the people fishing returned to the marina to weight the fish they caught. The Tournament was primarily for amateurs and the proceeds were used for the US service men. The fish are kept in a tub of water on the boat when caught, pulled out at shore and kept in water until weighed. They are then taken to a large pontoon boat, put in another large tub of water, which is then taken out into the river and the fish are released.

We went for a walk after watching the weigh in and located the golf course. After returning from our walk, we ran into a couple that we met at Hoppies and at GTB. Had some drinks with them and decided to go to dinner tomorrow night since we were both staying for at least two nights.

Tuesday - October 5, 2010

The guy from the local marine shop showed up first thing this morning and we got all our oil and filters changed. The rest of the day, I cleaned windows and worked on the boat.

Windsong left this morning to visit some of the spots on Lake Barkley. At around 4 we heard back from them and they wer coming back into GTB. Unfortunately they did not have a good experience out there. The lake levels are low and they had some problems anchoring. Anyway, they came back and joined us for drinks and dinner. A very enjoyable evening.

Tomorrow we leave the GTB and move on down the Tennessee and Kentucky lake.

Monday - October 4, 2010

Serendipity and Q's End left for Nashville this morning. Quixote left for Aqua Yacht Harbor where they will leave their boat and list it for sale. The mechanic came over this morning to take a look at what was needed to change the oil and filters tomorrow. Our intention is to leave to travel up the Tennessee on Wednesday morning.

Finished waxing the boat this morning and just generally tidying up. Nothing much else was done.

Sunday - October 3, 2010

This was a day that The boat was washed completely down to get rid of the mud. The I waxed half the boat - the rest will be waxed tomorrow. Brenda went into Paducah to look at a quilt museum and enjoyed it. Watched some football and worked out the timing for our trip to Chattanooga and ultimately to Florida. As a result we have decided not to leave the boat in Chatanooga when we come back to Canada, but rather closer to the Tenn-Tom waterway so we can move down there quickly and get into the Gulf long before the end of November and ultimately to Sarasota around December 1.

Serendipity and Q's End are leaving tomorrow for Nashville. We are waiting to get our oil and filters changed on Tuesday and then we head down the Tennessee River by ourself. It will seem strange to be traveling on our own for a while. However, we will all meet up at Wheeler park for the rendezvous.

As a result of all of us going different ways we had a pre-dinner drinks on The Old Grouch for all our traveling companions. Windsong is going to take its time visiting some of the parks along Barkley Lake, Serendipity and Q's End are going to Nashvile and the owners of Quixote are selling their boat and leaving the Loop.

I have recently set up a picasa account to post more pictures. More details will follow.

Saturday - October 2, 2010

Well, didn't do any more work on the boat today. Six of us took the marina car and went into Paducah to shop for provisions and generally look around. I also picked up a Verizon computer stick that should allow more access to the internet since it ties in with the Verizon telephone system. Took a bit of time to arrange since they have a difficult time dealing with Canadians sho don't have an address in the US. Fortunately, my niece's address came in handy again and once that was given, I was hooked up. Now I just have to plug it into the computer and follow the instructions. Anyways, we bought a lot of food, a couple of books to get ready for the trip up the Tennessee to Chattanooga.

Padacah is an interesting town with lots of interesting art work. Along the river wall is a tow or three block mural showing the history of the city. Some of the buildings have interesting top to them and interesting outside wall covers. We had lunch at a local restaurant, but it was only marginal.

After 6 hours of shopping an looking we came back to the boat and just relaxed by watching a bit of the Ryder Cup and football games.


Tomorrow rest of the outside of the boat will be washed and the last of the Mississippi mud will disappear.

October 1, 2010

We are now settled into Green Turtle Bay. WEnt and had pecan pancakes for breakfast this morning at one of the marina restaurants. Delicious! I then started to wash the MIssissippi mud off the hull. I put the dinghy in the water and pulled myself around the boat and washed the boat with soap and water. I never realized how dirty the hull was because it had a fine layer of mud all around the hull such that you could not really tell that it was dirty. However once I started washing it was apparent. The Mississippi mud really sticks to the hull. It was a day long job but I finished. Tomorrow I start the upper part of the boat which has become dirty form our travels.

We went over and visited a couple on Tide's In who we had not seen since Michigan City and had a nice chat.

Brenda and some of the girls rented a golf cart and went into the local little town.

Dinner was at the local yacht club which is part of GTB.

Thursday - September 30, 2010

lat 037 06 50 Long 088 26 00; Fuel 189 gallons, Engine Hours 397.12

We departed this beautiful little anchorage at Cumberland Towhead about 9:00.The others had left about an hour earlier, we were just slower. We moved around the Island and on to the Cumberland River., which was completely different from the Ohio - narrower, not flowing as fast and prettier landscape. It was a gorgeous sunny day for a cruise down the river so Brenda and I sat up top to soak in the view. The Cumberland at the beginning winds through Kentucky passing a lot of little towns and lots of industry. This is the beginning of civil war country and there was some action between the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. Lots of place names reflect civil war generals. As we traveled down the river, we saw a bit more wildlife than we saw on the Mississippi or the Ohio. Lots of little birds and lots of turtles sunning themselves on the shore. There are quite a lot of stone quarries along the river. One of them looked like the oil sands wiht all sorts of loaders and big cat trucks moving the stone.

We arrived at Green Turtle Bay Marina about 12:30. GTB is a well known stop for Loopers to slow down for a few days after the trip down the Mississippi and the Ohio. It is a resort and full service marina (three swimming pools, exercise spa, restaurants etc.) We are going to stay here for a few days since I want to wash the boat, get provisions and change the oil and filters on the engine and generator. I have arranged with the marina to do that, although I could do it myself, I prefer to have people do know what they doing. So it looks like we will be here about 5 or 6 days.

Lots of boats in the marina and lots of loopers including several loopers who we met along the route but did not travel with.

We went to dinner at a restaurant called Patti's whose big claim to fame is a 2" pork chop. Brenda ordered one but ate about 1/3. Lots left over for sandwiches. Patti's is more than a restaurant though - it reminds me of Cracker Barrel but a bigger.