October 16th A very hard day

We pulled up the anchor at Pickwick Landing State Park and were underway by 7:00 without any fog. The night had stayed warm and we were enjoying a beautiful morning on the lake, as a tiny chris craft passed us (first pic). Our plan is to go about 80 miles to Joe Wheeler State Park, but we have 2 huge locks to go through. We got to the first lock in plenty of time, around 1pm, but when I radioed the lock master he said it would be another hour and a half because a barge was locking though. So we ducked into Florence marina to refuel. As we did so, 2 other loopers (Once Around and Moonstruck) came back to the marina. They had been waiting for over 2 hours at the lock and when they heard my call to the lockmaster, they realized it would be some time before getting through the lock. So, by about 3pm, our 3 boats were in Wilson lock (2nd pic). This is a huge lock, lifting us up about 100 feet. And, after having gone through 147 locks, this  was the hardest one yet. Twice, Christine lost the line holding us to the lock. The turbulence in the lock was so strong, I could not hold the boat steady in lock, but we made it though.


Then, the race was on for us to catch that barge before getting to the next lock, which was only about 8 miles away. We did not make it. The barge was just making its approach to the lock and the tow captain told us to stand down, which of course we did instead of getting crushed by the tow. Of course, this was not a normal tow, it was too long for the lock, so the barges had to be broken into 2 sections. This meant that it would take another 3 hours for the tow barge to lock through. We got permission from the lockmaster to tie up at a wall near the lock and we waited, and waited, and waited. It was 4 pm and the sunset would be at 6:18 pm. It is very risky to be out in the dark on water we have never been before. We watched the chamber being filled and lowered several times. The next pic shows where the water goes as it leaves the lock chamber—it is piped through to an outlet and creates quite a water show. And we were right next to it. Finally, we got into the lock at 7pm. It was already dark.

We locked through and made way for the Joe Wheeler State park in the dark. It was only 2 miles away, but it took nearly an hour to lumber along in strange waters. Moonstruck led the way with a huge spotlight once we arrived at the inlet. We crept into the marina in pitch dark found the closest empty slips and just put up there for the night. Other boaters poured out onto the docks to help us, as they understood our predicament. We ended the day safely after being underway for more than 12 hours, and then we collapsed into a nicely welcomed night’s sleep.

October 14-15 Stopover at Clifton and then Pickwick Landing State Park

We stayed an extra day at Pebble Isle to reprovision.  I worked on the dripless shaft seal on the port engine, which had become a dripping seal instead of dripless.  We secured a courtesy car and shared it with the Spirit of Whitby who were from the United Kingdom, but doing the Great Loop.   The morning of 10/14, we had some of Andy’s cinnamon rolls for the third time (first pic – but I missed the roll).  Andy cooks the rolls for boaters every morning and supplies coffee as well.   We were off for a full day and made it to Clifton marina.  We just docked up and stayed on the boat for a short stay.  The next day, 10/15, we got underway to make it to Pickwick Lock and Dam, where we locked up about 60 feet to Pickwick lake.  It was late in the day and we found a good anchorage at Pickwick Landing State Park (next 2 pics).   Very relaxing, nice fall weather, and quiet.

October 12-13 Pebble Isle

We got underway a bit late. We found that the mornings were usually fogged in till about 9am. The weather is changing, with warm days but cold nights, the temperatures usually drop below the dewpoint and we wake up in a fog bank (first pic). So, we hiked around the grounds of this state park (next pic). The state park system of Tennessee appears to be well thought out. And, they had the help of the Tennessee Valley Authority to build some great recreational areas. As we got underway, we could see the mountains starting to rise and the color of leaves changing on the banks of the Tennessee River (3rd pic). We passed an abandoned dock that must have been constructed before the lakes flooded out the river (next pic). We reached Pebble Isle marina, now about 100 miles south of Kentucky. We started to see some of the same loopers as we pushed on toward the looper rendezvous, which will be held later in the month (last pic). Again, the looper code of conduct is to meet on the dock at 5pm with your own cocktail and chat till about 6:30. Then, everyone scatters to their own boats.

October 11 Onward to Tennessee

We were ready to get underway again.  It is great to rest, but there is still that sense of excitement to start the engines, throw off the bowlines, and see what is around the next bend in the river.   While getting ready, I noticed that minnows liked our boat for some reason, as there were thousands swarming around the stern of the boat (first pic).   We started through the Barkley canal and entered Kentucky Lake right as a large tow barge was passing, and we ended up following the “Anna Louise” all the way to Parris Landing (next pic).   As we cruised near our destination, a river boat passed us with someone playing a pipe organ!  Huh? A pipe organ?  Yep-see the next pic.   We arrived at Parris Landing State Park and walked to the lodge and around the grounds.  We were in Tennessee at the sound end of the Land between the Lakes.

October 10 Last day at Green Turtle Bay

It was a good stay at Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, Ky – but we would not leave until having a German made dinner cooked to order.   A sign hanging outside a house on a country road proclaims this place to be Sugar and Spice (first pic).   Here you can buy culinary items, baked goods, and other arts and craft items that decorate the house (next pic).   But the highlight of the experience was Marlyn, the owner.   You can call early in the day and request her to cook a meal for you.  She only serves 8 to 10 people per night.  And she makes German meals from scratch.  We had six different kinds of meats cooked German style.  She serves you and then sits down for a chat while you are eating (next pic).  She has an amazing story that we will write about in more detail later.  Along with homemade breads and desserts, this was truly a different dining experience.  

October 5 – 10 Sanctuary at Green Turtle Bay in Kentucky

The atmosphere at Green Turtle Bay marina in Grand Rivers, Kentucky was exuberant. There were other loopers ahead of us that had stayed here for several weeks ! After progressing through the rivers of the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio and Cumberland, it was time to hole up for awhile in safe harbor and at a nice marina. The first pic shows Kevin on board the Irish Rover next to us. He plays a tune on his bagpipe every evening at 6pm. We secured a courtesy car from the marina and explored Paducah, Kentucky which is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River. This is still a working town, but it has preserved much of its historic flavor. One impressive new exhibit was a ¼ mile set of paintings on the concrete waterfront wall that explained the history of the town (2nd pic).


The next crew of Blueskies arrived for a 2 night stay, Dick Martin from Louisville, Kentucky and a relative of Christine’s. Luckily, Dick is a professional photographer and we expect to get a few good pics from him later on. We took a day trip around Barkley Lake and Kentucky Lake (next pic) . The weather was perfect for a trip around the lakes, and so, our timing to arrive at Land Between the Lakes worked out well (night pic of the marina). After a couple of days, our sixth set of crew departed Blueskies (last pic).

October 4 Cumberland River to Kentucky Lakes

The fog was so dense in the morning, we could not get underway until after 10 am.  Luckily, we only had about 33 miles to complete this passage of the loop.  After the large working rivers of the Mississippi and the Ohio, the Cumberland river seemed like a small stream (first pic).  It was actually very scenic and we encountered only one tow barge along the way.  At the end of the day, we arrived at the Barkley Lock and dam (next pic).   This is huge lock and it took us up about 60 feet and put on the lake where we docked at the Green Turtle Bay marina with some other looper boats who have been here for about a week.

Oct 2-3 Completing the passage

We pulled the anchor early in order to finish our journey on the Mississippi and start up the Ohio river. The current on the Ohio was against us and slowed us down quite a bit. The first pic shows us at the confluence of the Mississippi river and the Ohio river. We were able to anchor on the Ohio river above Lock 53 for the night. We took the dinghy ashore and hiked along the riverbanks for daily exercise. That night, we were rocked by the wakes caused by passing tow barges, as dishes and glasses were rattling around in the boat. The next morning we got underway late—the warm days and cold nights created heavy fog in the morning.


The next pic shows lock workers building the lock with wickets.  When the river flow is high, they take the wickets down and lay them flat on the river bottom, then all boats float over them.  When the river flow is under 15 feet, the raise up the wickets (one by one) to create the dam and boats then have to lock through. We lumbered up the Ohio river to the confluence where the Cumberland River and the Ohio meet. There we anchored in a perfect location, peaceful and where no tow barges would create wakes. We were still 3 of us travelling together through this passage and we took the dinghy to visit our neighboring boat and had dinner. But just before that, we went ashore for a hike. The dinghy motor stirred up the Asian carp and a large fish flew into the dinghy and landed right in front of Christine. I never heard her blast out such a cry of panic since we have been together. The next pic shows the anchorage at Cumberland Towhead Island.

Sept 30 – October 1 On the rivers

These were the days we made passage on the Mississippi (218 miles), the Ohio (60 miles) and the Cumberland Rivers (30 miles) to arrive at Green Turtle Bay on the Kentucky Lakes. The first pic shows the eddies on the Mississippi that are created by weirs placed on the bends of the river to divert the current to the middle of the river. There was tremendous turbulence throughout the entire trip on the Mississippi. For the first night, we were able to go up the Kaskaskia river (Sept 30) to a lock and dock up safely (2nd pic at that lock).


It was getting cold at nights and we noticed the leaves starting to change color (3rd pic). We continued to be fascinated by the constant flow of a working river (next pic), yet there were many stretches of woodlands on the riverbanks as we passed further downstream from the bigger cities. We stayed in Little River Diversion Channel (Oct 1) the night at anchor with 5 other boats who were making way to the Kentucky Lakes.

Sept 29 Down the mighty Mississippi

We headed out of Grafton early in order to make the mileage down the Mississippi River (first pic) to Hoppies. We have 2 locks to go through and a busy area around St Louis (2nd pic). Two other boats joined us at the Alton Lock, the Irish Rover and the LoveShack, and we travelled together the entire day.


It was striking how the Mississippi is such a working river. We encountered many tow barges and there were many refineries along the way. Most of the tow barges were hauling coal to the larger cities for for power generation. The tow captains were constantly talking to each other about their position on the river and how they would pass each other. Most of the time the upriver barges would beach on the riverbanks and let the downriver barges pass through. The current on the Mississippi river is about 4 knots and it is difficult to control a vessel going with the current. We arrived at Hoppies, which is a barge on the river and the last stop to get fuel for more than 300 miles. The owner, Fran Hopkins, gives a daily briefing about the river conditions and what NOT to do on the river if you want to make it (last pic). A good meal at the famous Blue Owl and a tour of the small town of Kimmswick, and we were ready for the next leg of the trip.

Sept 28 One more day in Grafton

We could not get the old sea water pump out from the starboard engine without taking off the engine mount and jacking up the engine.  So, it took most of this day to complete the repair.  We fueled up and got as much water as possible in order to start the 350 mile stretch down the Mississippi to the Kentucky Lakes.