Saturday, October 20th - End of This Leg

We departed at 0800 for Aqua Yacht Harbor, Iuka, Mississippi.  Today’s trip will be 42 miles and no locks.  The morning was pretty calm and sunny, which was great considering how bad yesterday had been.  Arrived uneventfully at Aqua Yacht Harbor and found out from Dock Master Jason what slip we were to leave JULI-IV in.  These docks are huge. 

We pulled into our slip and prepared the boat for a month or so stay.  We retrieved the dinghy from the car and assembled/inflated it.  I had to test it by rowing it around between the docks.  I now see where Jessica got her rowing ability.   We tidied up the boat and made ready to depart back to Kansas the next day. 

 We will return during December to continue the trip down the Tom Bigbee Waterway to Mobile Bay and then a side trip to Lake Pontchartrain and New Orleans. 

Total Miles This Period:  811
Total Miles For This Journey:  1822
Total Lock Thru’s Thus Far:  17

Friday, October 19th, Depart For Florence Alabama

We departed Ditto Landing at 0730, headed for Florence Harbor, Florence, Alabama. This is how the morning looked as we started out.

 This day would be 78 miles, with two locks, and a drive by at Joe Wheeler State Park Marina, where the Fall Loopers Reunion was being held on the forth coming weekend.  Our course to Florence was generally in an East to West direction.  One hour after getting underway we had a 25-35 mph wind directly from the West.  The wind had about 65 miles of water with nothing in the way except for us.  We fought 2-4 foot head seas all day long.  We tried to take pictures of the waves but they did not come out very well. Luckily, none of were afflicted by sea sickness.  Shortly after noon we made a drive through at Joe Wheeler State Park Marina and waved to our friends Matt and Colleen.  They called us on the radio and wanted us to stop and visit for a while, but conditions were too rough to dock and we still had two locks to get through.  (A not so fun fact, I talked to Colleen today, on 1 November.  They live on the water in New Jersey, on the Toms River and their home and garage and vehicles were pretty well destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Their other boat had been hauled out by the marina and was safe.  Our thoughts are with them.)    We were directed right into the Joe Wheeler Lock and dropped 48 feet.  As they opened the lower lock doors two foot seas immediately started rolling into the lock.  There were 13 large pleasure boats waiting to lock up river and they were scattered for 3 miles trying to keep out of each other’s way and out of the way of a tug that was going to go through ahead of them.  The lock master told them they could expect a 2 hour delay.  That is a long time to try to hold position in 25-25 mph winds.  We still had 18 miles to go to the next lock.  Still fighting head seas, we called our arrival to the next lock and were told that we had an hour and 45 minute wait, as they had just finished locking up the first cut of a multiple cut tow.  We went to the auxiliary lock wall and tied off.  Darkness was falling as we finally got into the lock.  This one dropped us 93 feet. 

A view back into the 93 foot lock.

  The winds had died down and we made good time, in complete darkness the remaining 4 miles to Florence Harbor Marina. 

The Harbormaster had told me to be careful turning in off the river as she earlier had to tow one boat off the sandbar.  We made it safely into our assigned slip and found out that:  1. there was no restaurant, and 2. No showers accessible.  In spite of the calm seas in the marina we were still rocking and rolling.

Thursday, 18 October, On to Ditto Landing Marina

We only needed to go 44 miles to get to Ditto Landing Marina so we held off departing till 9:30 as we still had to pay the Marina people as they had gone home before we got there last night. There was a bait shop/grille a couple hundred yards away that we decided to try for breakfast.  They had a kitchen complete with grill so I asked for some scrambled eggs and sausage and the lady said I could only have a breakfast biscuit with scrambled eggs and sausage.  They were not a real kitchen and only warmed up pre-made stuff from one of the pre-made food stuff companies.  These were the kitchen staff waving goodbye to us.  We dined in fine fashion anyway then returned to the dock to pay our bill.  

 

 

 They were in no hurry to collect our money as smoking and joking had precedent.  Soon we were underway.  Arrived at Ditto Landing about 3:00 and went to the fuel dock to refuel and find out where we were supposed to park for the night.  “Manager Nick” was not at the dock at the moment so his assistant started up the gas pump, but before he could begin, Joe checked the fuel fill inlet and determined that the fuel hose had come off once again. (Remember I said more on this later, well it is now later)  We had to disassemble the starboard wall of the interior once again.  This time we took the wall panel completely off.  Apparently, the Carver Boat Company, when building these boats decided to cut each fill hose off 2 inches too short.  We estimated that 4 inches per boat over a production run of 10,000 boats = 40,000 inches of $10.98 per foot fuel hose.  This saved them $36,600.00 and caused us much aggravation.  Once we had the wall panel completely off and the hose correctly repaired, Joe went into cleaning mode vacuuming up about 5 pounds of mud dauber nests that were inside the wall. 

Notice how lovely the weather is, we are all bundled up like it is the middle of winter.

 

Finished fueling and moved into out slip for the night.  “Manager Nick” arrived and I asked him if he would honor our free night slip for the 104 gallons we had bought earlier last week.  He thought and thought and thought, checked the sun, and determined if he said no, we still had time to go somewhere else and spend our money there.  All was good.  Total miles today:  44 and one lock

Wednesday 17 October, Depart for Goose Pond Colony

We had to wait to depart because Marine Max did not open till after 8:00 and we needed a pump out and a lot of fuel.  Gemini Dream pulled out about 30 minutes ahead of us and they were going to try to make it to Ditto Landing Marina (130 miles).  We said goodbye and hoped to see them later in the week.  We left at 7:30 and went a ½ mile down river to the Marine Max Fuel Dock so we would be ready when they showed up for work.  There was no one there but the pump out machine was in working order so we hurried and pumped out.  As I was finishing that task, a 50’ houseboat was making its way toward the dock which had no more room.  The Captain asked if he could tie up alongside of us as he had one dead engine and thought the other one might quit at any moment.   We made room for them just as the Marine Max Fuel Man showed up and filled us up with another 130 gallons.   We departed right at 8:00 with 85 miles to go to reach our planned destination. Only one lock to go through today.  We were aided by a 1 ½ mph current that helped us make about 10mph.  We encountered a couple of odd boats docked at residences along the river,  Joe wants to buy one and live on it, but I would not stop.

 

 

 

  When we got to the lock we had a hour or so wait.  Once through we pushed on to Goose Bay Colony Marina arriving just at sunset.  Joe caught this amazing sun ray picture right before we pulled into the creek that led to the marina. 

This marina was one that we had stopped at several days previously.  We utilized the facilities (laundry and showers) and turned in.  Total miles today:  85 miles.

Tuesday, 16 October; Chattanooga

We arose at 7:30, a late start for us, tidied up things around the boat, and breakfasted on pancakes.  The Tennessee Aquarium opened at 10:00, so we joined up with Matt and Colleen and got in the ticket line.  Tickets were $28.00 each, however, they accepted our military discount and reduced the price to $25.00.  The Aquarium consisted of two huge buildings, one was the “Ocean” building and the other was the “River”.  

 

We started out in the Ocean building which had many different venues. I will let most of the photos speak for themselves.

 

 

 
 Now, this one I cannot let speak for itself, Joe, (remember his kissing the buzzard) felt compelled to get up close and personal with this penguin

The exhibits were well designed and flowed effortlessly.  We finished the Ocean building in time to break for lunch.  We walked a couple of blocks to the Big River Grill and Brewing Company.  It really was “Big”. It took up almost half of an entire city block.  While dining, we noticed that across the street was a “Free” City Electric Shuttle Bus that would take you along a route that covered the entire downtown area.  One item big on our list was to go see the “Chattanooga Choo Choo”.  This shuttle took us there electrically.  I really love being green. 

 

Although the Chattanooga’s Terminal Station was significant in its role of the train era with it’s “Track 29”, little was known about the first Chattanooga Choo Choo. Only after Glenn Miller's orchestra made the catchy song popular in the late 1940's did the name become world famous.

 Introduced in 1941 by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the song was featured in the movie "Sun Valley Serenade" and performed by Tex Beneke and the Modernaires. Harry Warren wrote the original music score, while Mack Gordon takes credit for the rhythmic words. The Chattanooga Choo Choo song traveled fast throughout the circles of Europe during World War II, and today it is an international favorite.  The Chattnooga Choo Choo Terminal Site is the home of the Hotel bearing the same name.  You can even check into one of the rooms that is located in original Pullman Sleeping Cars in the Terminal Station.

We greenly returned to the Aquarium to see the “River” Building.  I was really looking forward to this since we are intimately connected to the river ecosystems on this journey.   This is an Aquarium view of the “Grand Canyon” of the Tennessee River. 

 This 26 mile long gorge is very beautiful and our photos do not reflect the wonderful colors present at this time of year.  

 We returned to the docks and Matt and Colleen had a surprise waiting for them.  The “Free” City Dock that they had tied up to was no longer “Free”.  It was under contract to Marine Max for management and fee collecting.  Much laughter was heard by some.We had another task to accomplish before we went to dinner and before we set sail on Wednesday morning.  We needed to reprovision with a few necessities, such as drinking water.  The only grocery store in the area accessible by us (walking) was Buhlers Grocery.  This store catered to the local downtown residents and carried such staples as Chitterlings and my personal favorite;  Chicken Feet.  We borrowed Matt’s rolling cart and loaded it down with important stuff and returned to the boat.  Dining this evening was at the “Blue Water Grille”.  Dinner was exceptional.  We then turned in for an early departure.

Monday, 15 October; Goose Bay Colony to Chattanooga

We departed at 0630, and the sun was not up yet, but we had a long way to go, 85 miles including one lock.  We had agreed to travel to Chattanooga with  “Gemini Dream”. (Matt and Colleen). They had purchased a 42 foot Trawler specifically for the Loop.  They are retired Army Employees from New Jersey and we had much in common with them. They promised us that Colleen would bake us an apple pie during the run to Chattanooga. As soon as the sun got above the horizon we were traveling in and out of medium fog.They had departed after us, but soon passed us and reported that they were in heavy fog about two miles ahead of us.  By the time we got to where they had been it had lifted and turned into a beautiful day.  We needed to stop for fuel at Ditto Landing Marina (Huntsville, Alabama).  As the marina manager, “Nick” started to fuel the starboard tank, fuel splashed out of the engine room vent onto his leg so he immediately stopped.  We determined that the fuel tank hose had pulled off of the fuel fill fitting and any added fuel would go directly into the bilge.  So, we partially disassembled the starboard interior wall of the boat to get at the hose and fitting.  It was barely accessible and we managed to get the hose back up on the fitting and reassembled the interior.  More on this subject later. Topped off with fuel (104 gallons) and I noticed a sign that you get one free night transient slip with the purchase of 100 gallons or more.  I asked Manager Nick if we could use the free night when we came back through in a few days and he said he would think about it.  We departed for Chattanooga, now well behind Gemini Dream with the goal of making it before Marine Max Marina closed (7:00 P.M.) We sighted several more Bald Eagles;

 

Fortunately, Joe was not at the helm. This would put our eagle count to 14 and we would not see another eagle the rest of this leg.

Now, what we  had forgotten about was that between Huntsville, Alabama and Chattanooga, Tennessee, we jumped into the Eastern Time Zone and lost an hour.  I had made a reservation at Marine Max (at a Loopers Discounted rate) and was determined to get there before they closed at 7:00.  We had talked to Gemini Dream on the radio and Captain Matt said that he was saving us a spot on the “Free” City Dock.  We needed to run at 18 mph for about two hours to get there and as we were two miles from the marina the port engine died.  The fuel flow meter for that engine had been giving us an odd reading for the last 45 minutes.  Marine Max called and told us where they wanted us to dock.  We restarted the port engine to dock and it ran ok.  Apparently when we were up on plane, the fuel tank pickup would not pick up fuel when we got below 25 gallons in that tank. Much to our surprise we were at the “Free” City Dock and Gemini Dream was docked three boats in front of us.  Here is Matt from Gemini Dream welcoming us.

We hooked up our shore power and met fellow Loopers that had filled up the dock.  Next thing we knew, Colleen brought us 4 pieces of the apple pie she had baked, it was delicious.  We departed for an exploration of the Chattanooga waterfront which is adjacent to downtown Chattanooga.We were right next to the Tennessee Aquarium which we decided we would visit on Tuesday. 

Went to dinner with Matt and Colleen at a fine  restaurant called “Sticky Fingers Barbeque”,
located four blocks away.

 

Had an uneventful dinner (other than our photogenic waitress. 

 

We agreed that the six of us would meet in the morning for a tour of the Tennessee Aquarium.

Starting Part III

OK, so we have been at sea for 6 days now and I am finally capable of posting some great stuff, not the sealant.  We packed up the car on Monday morning, 8 October, and departed to pick up Joe and Rene.  Fortunately, they did not have much stuff because it would not have fit.

Enroute to the Marina, we had to stop once again in Metropolis, Illinois, home of Superman.  Well, we could not stop Rene and Beth from making us take their pictures. 

 
Arrived at Green Turtle Bay Marina Monday afternoon, where JULI-IV has been parked for the last 4 months.  We moved her to the store dock, in the only available slip in the marina; it was full of Loopers chilling out. (really chilling out, it frosted the next two mornings).  We dined at the Commonwealth Yacht Club Restaurant (Remember, this is a "Dry" County and you must bring in your own beverages, that they then will sell to you. To conserve funds the ladies only had one bottle
of champagne) this evening.


We were waited on by Brittany.  Just earlier in the day, a member of our group had stated that he was dumber than a box of rocks, so we introduced him to Brittany,

She proceeded to tell us that she had been in two previous relationships with persons that were clearly at least the equal to or more dumber than our box of rocks.  I shall not reveal the details of the ensuing conversation.

TUESDAY

Joe and I picked up a rental car and drove to Iuka, Mississippi (186 miles one way) and dropped off the mountaineer for later pick up. (this is where we will leave the boat for the next leg at the completion of this one).  A beautiful drive, however it consumed 8 hours of boating time. Fortunately, Rene and Beth made productive use of the time and reprovisioned and washed the boat,



 and were waiting on the bridge with champagne in hand when we got back. 

We discovered that we had a broken battery cable clamp on one of the inverter batteries and someone had to climb into the engine room to repair it.

We dined at world famous "Patties 1880's Settlement" that evening.  Their specialty is the grilled 2" thick pork chop.  It was adequate and there were three doggie bags that went back to the boat.

WEDNESDAY

We departed Green Turtle Bay at 0630 on Wednesday morning, headed to Pebble Isle Marina (71 miles away)  It was cold, windows were shut.  In accordance with our policy that all crew members function as helmsperson for a one hour shift rotation, we indoctrinated Rene into Helmsperson duties.  By the end of her second shift, she was certified to be competent enough to steer in the presence of anyone other than Joe.  The day was otherwise uneventful and we arrived to Pebble Isle Marina around 1630 hours.  It was an excellent facility with an amazingly delicious seafood sampler plate.

THURSDAY

Once again departed at 0630 for Clifton City Marina. (63 miles away) Another cold and sprinkly day.
First eagle sighting of the trip. Suddenly, from around the bend in the river, a monstrous ship appeared.  It was the "Delta Mariner".

 It was only moving at 12 mph, but it was so big (380 feet) it looked like it was going to kill us.  It is a ship used to transport space vehicles from Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, to Cape Canaveral, Florida). It had earlier this year missed the channel bridge span on the Tennessee River and tore out an entire section of the highway bridge.


 Enroute, the "Black Pearl" (a 42 foot power catamaran) came running up our backside and asked to do a slow pass.  (This is where we slow down to 5 mph and they slowly pass so as to not kill us with their wake.)  Arrived at Clifton City Marina around 1600 and settled in.  Another great facility.  There were four Looping Boats and crews there.  An impromptu gathering was held at the outside marina television set to watch the Vice-Presidential debates.  Results from the group were mixed.  Also present was the "Black Pearl" and crew.  They were a "hired" delivery crew, delivering the boat to the owner in Sarasota, Florida.

FRIDAY

Departed at 0645, headed for Aqua Yacht Harbour, Iuka, Mississippi. (59 miles)  It rained most of the day.  Many more eagle sightings.  Went through the Pickwick Lock (55 foot lift) with a boat named the "Loopy Kiwi".

 Turned out that they were actually from New Zealand and were here in the USA specifically to do the Loop.  He kept talking on the radio to "Jade" another boat that was looping.  He and his boat were from Brazil.  We arrived at Aqua Yacht around 1630, refueled, and moved to out assigned spot.
There, we had barely tied up when "Phil", Captain of the "Loopy Kiwi" showed up and delighted us with his special accent.  Steve, another New Zealander came down the dock and also visited for a while.  This was the marina that we had prepositioned the car at, so Beth, Rene and I departed for the nearest Walmart to get some stuff.  Apparently, Friday night in Savannah, Tennessee, is a great social night.  Most of the people from 100 miles around were in the store, clogging the aisles and just visiting.  We safely returned to the marina with our stuff.

SATURDAY

Started out once again at 0630 for Bay Hill Marina. (70 Miles)  This was the best weather day so far.  Sunny, got to 81 degrees, and not much wind.  We went through two locks today, Wilson Lock (93 foot lift) and Joe Wheeler Lock (48 foot lift).  At the second lock we finally determined the best method and life was simple.  We were undecided about to stay the night, but after I called to see if Bay Hill had space available, it was a done deal.  "Lisa" the Harbourmaster said there was a great discount, plus, it was "Karaoke Night".  Joe immediately started practicing his finest Billy Joel tunes (Beth made him quit).  As we pulled into the marina, we noticed this boat lying at the dock.

It was in pretty sad condition.  Lisa, the Harbourmaster, met us at our assigned slip and kept a running dialogue going for 30 minutes with none of the rest of us getting to say anything.  She told us that the sad looking boat that we had noticed was once owned by both Charleton Heston and the Late President Gerald Ford.  Being doubting thomases, we looked it up on the internet (where everything can be proven true)  and it really was true.  This marina was located right on the river and used massive barges as breakwaters and entertainment center.  The Karaoke Night was held on the top of one of the barges.  Now, we were in northern Alabama, on a Saturday night.  It was special.  One of our friends from Lake Perry made a special guest appearance as singer.  See if you recognize her.

SUNDAY

Left Bay Hill around 0615, headed for Goose Pond Colony Marina. (91 miles)  Passed the Tennessee Valley Authority Nuclear Power Plant.

We locked through the Guntersville Lock (40 foot lift) with another Looper Boat named the "Gemini Dreamer II".  We needed to do about two hours at 17 mph to get to the marina before dark.  Arrived about 1745 and threaded our way though the 1/2 mile lock 3 1/2 foot deep channel, to the dock.  Once secured, several other loopers greeted us.  One of which was the Loop famous Tom Conrad, otherwise known as the "weather muse" for the Gulf of Mexico Crossing weather advice.  The boat "Gemini Dreamer" joined us and we agreed to cruise together on Monday to Chattanooga.

Continuing On!

WEDNESDAY

Arose at 0530 this morning only to discover that we were fogged in.

JULI-IV was extremely dewy so we tested our sham wows.  They do not work well unless they are wet.  We had met another couple tied up for the evening and told them that we were going to Nashville and planned on staying at the Rock Harbor Marina.  They told us that is where they kept their boat for the past year, it was really outstanding and the owner of the marina, "Arch" was the best.  They had a newer 43 foot Carver Aft Cabin, (which you can barely see in the photo above) so we wondered if we could afford this place. The fog cleared off by 8:30 and we departed upriver onto a sea of glass.

It stayed like this for two hours.

We arrived at the Rock Harbor Marina about 3:00 p.m. and headed to the gas dock to refuel.  A marina man appeared and asked us what we wanted. I told him that we had called earlier in the day to reserve a slip for the night and we needed fuel, ice, and a pump out. The posted gas price on the pump was $4.99 per gallon.  After I saw that, we really had to pump out.  I asked him if his name was "Arch" and he said yes, and added that he was Wynonna's Ex, the good Ex not the bad one and had two children with her.  I thought this was quite a tale as he was pretty nondescript and the marina was not in the best of shape. He went on to add that he had to leave early as he had to go to the hospital to see George Jones, who is ill.  I thought it really is getting deep here.

(More on the marina in a moment.)  We finished fueling, icing and pumping and Joe went in to pay.  Arch had told us that since we were staying the night he would knock off .25 cents per gallon on the fuel. We took on 91 gallons so it was quite excellent. The pump outs (2) he normally charges $25.00 each for, but he forgot to add them to the ticket so he said just forget it.  He provided us his business card which indicated his full name was Arch Kelley III.  Immediately I leapt to the internet to check out his story.  Amazingly enough, it was all true.  Here is a picture of them in their prime.

We had planned on going to a show of the Grand Ole Opry on Wednesday evening but all of a sudden there was no show scheduled, even though a week ago there had been.  Arch told us just to go to the downtown entertainment district next to the Ryman Auditorium, original home of the Grand Ole Opry, and just go door to door listening to all the different music being played live.

The marina was in pretty poor shape, as the major flood on the Cumberland River two years ago had thoroughly ravaged the place, the water had risen 53 feet and pretty much destroyed everything.  They are rebuilding slowly and it will be much better by end of this season.   

On to downtown.

We summoned a cab for the 5 mile trip to downtown and were dropped off at the "Legends" Bar. Across the street was "Rippy's" which featured barbeque and music.  We dined, then it was back across the street to The Ryman Auditorium.

There was a Coming Out show for a new Nissan Vehicle and the lot was full of them. Mr. Ryman was watching over all this.  And Joe was watching him.

After visiting with Mr. Ryman it was off to live, loud music.

Beth and the star singer of one of the groups really hit it off and she was demonstrating to Beth the proper way to hold the microphone.

 

 Some of the nostalgic items on display.

A cab ride back to the marina and we made ready for the departure back down the Cumberland River to Green Turtle Bay Marina for Memorial Day Weekend.

This was what we saw as we departed the marina. There was a tug with barges just emerging from this.  I asked the tug pilot how thick and far this fog went and he said it was near zero visibility for about a half mile.  We turned on navigational lights, set the fog signal to "under way" and slowed down and closely monitored the chart plotter and radar and kept going.  It was nearer to a mile before we came out into the clear.  Quite nerve racking. On one of the islands there was a volleyball net set up on an interesting court.

 If you stepped out of bounds you were really in deep.  This is the place that we had stopped for lunch yesterday, very nice.

We entered the Cheatham Lock and my trusty crew had us secured in a matter of moments,

  but the Sea Ray following us took about 30 minutes to attach themselves to the lock wall.

  We stopped off the river in a backwater near Dover, dined and retired.

Awoke to this view at 0530.

Continued on arriving back at Green Turtle Bay by 2:00 p.m. Checked in and went to the Yacht Club for dinner. You can see why this place is named "Green Turtle Bay"

Thus far on this segment of our journey we have traveled 591 river miles.

Have a safe, happy Memorial Day Weekend.  We will be back home in Kansas Tuesday.