Cruising the Tennessee River/Kentucky Lake
by Linda Brink
On Friday, October 7th, 2005, the crew returned to Kentucky to begin the next part of the journey to
the sea. We arrived at the Green Turtle Bay Marina at about 7:45 p.m. We unloaded the car and took stuff aboard. J.C. had brought equipment needed to repair whatever is needed
for repairing. It was a very cool night, and we all slept under blankets. This was a definite change from out last segment.
In the morning
there was a mist rising from the lake and slowly being blown by a soft breeze. We would experience this for several days with
cool nights and water and earth still warm from the summer heat.
The rental
car must be returned to the airports in Paducah, Kentucky. We used the
Courtesy Car from the marina in order to return. Since we were in Paducah, we shopped
for groceries at the Walmart Super Mart, and we bought about $120 worth of food.
Back at the
boat, Joy decided that the pantry needed to be rearranged. The top shelves are difficult to access so utensils and items not
often used were stowed there. A better arrangement of food was developed.
The town of Grand River, Kentucky was about
one mile
from the marina. It was the weekend of the Hunter Moon Festival so we were able to catch the courtesy trolley into town. To celebrate the event there were
booths of food or crafts for sale, children activities, a parade, and music in the evening.
We tried
to make a reservation at Patti’s Restaurant, the most popular and highly recommended eatery in town. The earliest reservation
for us would be 9:00 p.m. Not hardly, that’s close
to our bedtime! The Iron Kettle was recommended, which offered a buffet. The salad bar was about twelve feet long. Hot food
was placed on two old-fashioned stoves from the 1920s. Offerings included frog legs, Bar BQ ribs, pork cutlets, fried catfish,
chicken and dumplings, green beans, corn on the cob. Dessert was a variety of pies, brownies, and ice cream. This eatery was
also packed.
After our
delicious and filling meal, we should have walked back to the marina. But we didn’t. We took the trolley back.
On Sunday,
the next day work began in earnest to transfer the galley sink to a different through-hull outlet. The only way that this
could done was for Joy to go under water, find the unused thru hull and take off the cap. Of course, J.C. would have to simultaneously
replug the thru hull hole from inside the boat with new plumbing.
So Joy put on her wet suit, air tank, weights, face mask, and flippers. The water temperature
was about 72 degrees, and the air was cooler.
Joy found
that the visibility made it impossible for her to find the outlet. Everything was a murky green. So this mission was aborted.
J.C. then had to work on an alternate plan.
While J.C.
was thinking about Plan B, Joy and I go ashore to the marina laundry facilities. It was already in use, so we became part
of the line waiting to use the washers and dryers. We met many people while waiting in line. We learn that there are quite
a few Canadians, a German couple, and Americans who belong to the Great Loop group, and some are heading to a convention
in Alabama.
The German
couple had come across the Atlantic Ocean in a 41 foot trawler. First stop in American was Stewart, Florida before they
headed up the east coast. They were on their way back to Stewart and were finishing their year completing the loop. They would
ship their trawler back to Europe from Stewart.
I walked
into Grand River to explore the city further. There are antique, gift, and clothing shops. The main
attraction is Patti’s Settlement, which is a replica of an 1880s village. From a 1970s hamburger
joint and motel, it has grown. It contains gift shops, a miniature golf course, playground for children, animal
park, remote-controlled and coin-operated model boats, a wedding chapel and gazebo, game arcade, winding streams, and
fountains. It was a pleasant place to stroll and enjoy the time.
This time
we made reservation a day ahead so we were able to eat at Patti’s Restaurant at 5:00. The food
was delicious. It is no surprise that catfish is a popular food in this area, and it was described as delicious. The Hush
Puppies were the best ever tasted. J.C. was impressed with the bread made in flower pots. This time we do walk back to the
boat.
Today (Monday),
the crew took the Courtesy Car to Paducah for an errand while J.C. worked on a problem. Apparently
we got the #2 courtesy car. To begin with, the rear view mirror was not in its place. It was lying
on the floor. When the car moved forward, the steering wheel jiggled. After the wheels were checked, we continued our journey.
The jiggle stopped after the car warmed up a bit. When we arrived in Paducah, the person
seated in the back seat could not open the door. The rear door opened only from the outside. On the return trip to the marina,
we stopped to refill the gas tank. The gas cap was missing!
This was
the fourth day still in port working on repairs. Several other issues needed to be resolved: paint scrapes on boat surface,
alternator problem, and other miscellaneous items. Tomorrow we will be departing and getting on with the trip.
Wednesday
morning the eggs were frozen and the orange juice was slush. Will a refrigerator problem delay us again? J.C. decided to get
underway.
The Green Turtle Bay Marina is located
on Barkley Lake which is formed by a dam in the Cumberland
River. This dam was built about twenty years after the Kentucky Dam. Building
the dam that made Kentucky Lake was begun
in 1938. It was built by the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)
to control flooding of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and also to
generate electrical power.
The Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers run parallel
to each other, and they are divided by a strip of land appropriately called the Land between the Lakes. Much of this land
is used for outdoor recreational activities such as boating, hiking, biking, swimming, hunting, fishing, camping, bird watching,
and horseback riding.
We left Barkley Lake on Wednesday
and enter Kentucky Lake via a man-made water way. Kentucky Dam,
which backs up the Tennessee River, created a lake that extends for 184 miles. Today, the lake is quiet and peaceful—only
fishermen in their jonboats.
The schooner
headed south toward the Gulf of Mexico, but we go upstream. The lake is bordered by dense woods on rolling hills.
Many birds were seen: Turkey Vultures, Night Herons, Blue Herons, Kingfisher, and Osprey.
We were told
that the river is at the winter low level. As a result, sand bar areas are exposed; and the river’s edges are mostly
rocky. There were an abundant number of fishermen out in each and every cove or just off the main channel.
As we cruised,
a Monarch butterfly came up to the schooner for a few seconds, and then fluttered upward and moved ahead of us. The schooner
was traveling 7.1 knots (about 8 miles per hour.) Of course, the butterfly had a mission and a long journey ahead, and time
is on our side.
We began
to see osprey nests atop the navigational markers that are placed in the river near the channel. Osprey
were native to Kentucky, but by 1950, they had become nearly extinct due to the
widespread use of DDT. The chemical in DDT made bird eggs so fragile that there was a major decline in chick births. Beginning
in 1984 there was an effort to re-establish the population of nesting birds. By 2002 a survey revealed thirty-three nests
and 115 osprey, and we saw them frequently.
At mile marker
62.6, we left Kentucky and cruise into Tennessee. Our destination
was the marina at Paris, Tennessee, but it was found to be too shallow for
the schooner’s draft. We then anchored just opposite the marina entrance and outside the main channel.
As we sat
on deck and enjoyed the scene of rippling water, descending sun, motoring vessels, we saw a Bald Eagle plunge to the river
and grab a fish for dinner.
We have come
far enough south that we saw Black Vultures sunning themselves along with the more common Turkey Vultures.
J.C.’s
cousin Mr. Gore lives in Paris so he and J.C. met at the boat ramp for an evening’s
visit.
Early next
morning Thursday, we left Paris. It was a beautiful day—sunny, warm with a slight
breeze. We moved into a very wide area of the river, which was designated as a National Wildlife Refuge. Along with two other
areas, this refuge encompasses 52,000 acres of water, woodland, sandbars, mudflats, and farmland. We saw about a dozen turtles
lined up on a half-submerged log enjoying the day’s sunshine. We also saw White pelicans, gulls, Canada geese, Blue herons, and again Great White egrets.
We passed
a railroad bridge where only two spans remain standing. Directly upriver from the bridge on the port side was an abandoned
grain building, slightly submerged. The story goes that it was so well built that attempts to destroy it failed so it was
left standing.
At Johnsonville,
there were many barges tied up. Some had domiciles in Louisiana, which indicated their move up river to
a safer harbor from Hurricane Katrina.
In the mid-afternoon,
we reached Cuba Marina, which is
seven miles from Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. Entry into the marina was very, very narrow
so we were instructed to stay between the buoys. The schooner docked and took on fuel. The marina is situated in a wooded
area, which included tall pines, numerous sweet gums, oak, sycamore, and cypress trees along the river bank. Very few cottonwoods
were seen. There was a trace of color change in the trees.
A couple
from Canada in a homemade boat moored next to the schooner. They were heading to Florida, but were
going slow to wait until hurricane season was over—November 30th. They avoided huge insurance rates by agreeing
to stay away from Florida during that season.
While in
the marina, we again caught up on our laundry. We also use a courtesy car to drive into Hurricane Mills for dinner. As we
drive, we already see fog in the low-lying area. The Log Cabin Restaurant was recommended. We saw that this was Loretta Lynn
country. We had to pass on visiting her ranch and entertainment complex.
And so it
was. Fog. It was Friday, October 14th. We decided to go grocery shopping since we couldn’t
get underway. We had to drive to Waverly, Tennessee to the Walmart
Super store. We bought some supplies and some videos.
On our way
back to the marina, our courtesy car started to smoke and the smell was a burning odor. We stopped, turned off every switch
in the vehicle, let the smoke clear, and eventually went on our way. This was one of those unexplained incidents.
By the time
we returned to the schooner, it was 11:30, and J.C. didn’t want to start out
this late in the day. So we waited another day.
Since we
had a day to kill, Joy and I decided to explore the flora and fauna of the area. We followed along the rocky
river’s edge, followed a stream bed inland until we could cross by balancing on a
fallen tree that spanned the creek. We crossed a shallow inlet to an island, and checked out the raccoon, deer, and crane
footprints in the sand.
As we returned,
we had to again circuit a marshy area, which we later learned was a good place to find cotton-mouth snakes, but we lucked
out and didn’t meet any.
A huge 72
foot cruiser Mr.Chips
had docked next to the schooner. It was the same length as the schooner, but it seemed to rise out of the water and tower
above our heads. The owner from Chicago offered a tour of his boat in exchange for a tour of
the Spirit. We agreed and went first on the cruiser. It was brand new and very plush. The main living area included an open
deck seating area, an indoor entertaining area, an open kitchen, and a small office. Above was the pilot house, and below was a curved
staircase. We descended to one stateroom. Further down the curved stairs was
another bedroom, and finally at the bottom was the master suite which was under the living area above. Each stateroom had
its own head (bathroom facilities) and its own built-in television.
From the
outside deck, we descended stairs to the laundry facilities, crew quarters, and the engine room. The two crew members also
had their own head and TV. They had been hired to help escort Mr. Chips and owners
and friends to Florida.
On the first
leg of its journey, Mr. Chips took on $3200 worth of fuel. It was powered by two
engines, and it had power-thrusters for easier maneuverablility.
The owner joked about slowing down to an eleven knot cruise speed from the 22 knot speed after that first fuel bill
in Alton Marina north of St. Louis. The Schooner’s motoring
speed is about 5 to 6 knots. And the fuel bill now seems VERY reasonable.
That evening,
for supper we had Joy’s special meat ball sandwiches. Kendall and I watched the video Fat Man and Little Boy with Paul Newman. It was the story about the effort to build the atomic bomb near Los Alamos, New Mexico. We had an interesting conversation after about the “cold war” era.
By Saturday,
October 15th, the crew made ready to cruise. Again there was fog, so we waited, but not long enough. J.C. had to
sound his fog horn every two minutes where the fog was still heavy along the river. The
modern VHF radios have “nifty” features. JC could set the fog
horn to sound when it should (every two minutes) so
we did not have to time it or maybe forget it. Finally the day cleared
of fog and we motored on.
There was
a vulture atop a lone dead tree. As we passed he spread his wings out for either the cool breeze from the river, the warm
sun rays on his back, or both. His silhouette stood out against the light-colored sky behind him, and he held his pose long
after we had passed.
The river
channel became narrower and appeared more like a river than a lake. The channel extended pretty much to
each bank. There were many homes on both sides of the river in places, while there were still uninhabited, beautiful, and
scenic areas in other places. There were many cypress trees still alive and standing like sentries but abandoned on the beach
by a receding shoreline.
According
to Tennessee River Cruiser Guide by Fred Myers, at mile marker 127, we began to pass gray limestone
and shale ledges that were formed 150-350 million years ago. We were told to expect these the whole
length of our journey.
A little
further on, we passed Lady Finger Bluff, on which grows mainly gnarled cedar trees. They are the trees best suited for living
in crevices with little water. The legend here was that a woman in early times chose to leap to her death from the ledge rather
than be captured by Indians.
Upriver,
the river’s edges have become less rocky and seemed to be sandy. One side of the river would be low and sandy,
while on the opposite side would be the bluffs.
We don’t
see deer as expected, but we did see some cows. The first sauntered along the sandy edge, turned and walked up an embankment.
Pretty soon a younger heifer came to the river’s edge, had a swig of water, turned, and bounded back up a well-worn
path to the field above where other cattle were resting in the shade of the trees that lined the embankment.
Today Joy
tried her first hand at steering the schooner. She claimed it was easier than driving a car.
The schooner
anchored at mile marker 168.5 near Saltillo, Tennessee. Most times
that the schooner anchored, the bow would face upstream; but if the current was non-existent, then the bow faced the wind.
Each anchoring had different parameters.
Fog
again the next day, Sunday morning. Got underway about 9:00
a.m. This would be our last cruising leg in Tennessee. It was another
beautiful day. We spotted American coots, crows, bald eagles; and at each bridge, we noticed the colonies of adobe-type bird
nests of the cliff swallows.
We reached
Pickwick Dam, and we needed to enter the locks for the 55 foot rise to Pickwick Lake. There was
a 45 minute wait. When we finally entered the Lock our instructions were to tie up to the bollard on the starboard side, but
the wind was against us, and we couldn’t grab the bollard. So J.C. decided to tie up on the port side. That meant all
the bumpers had to be quickly moved and to reach the bollard on that side.
We looped
the bollard, but didn’t hold as the water rushed in and created a lot of turbulence. The turbulence pushed the stern
away from the side of the lock and thereby pushed the bow sprit into the cement wall of the lock. Kendall and Linda tried
to push the bow off the side, while J.C. and Joy tried to tighten up the line to the bollard. It was a losing battle, but
J.C. radioed the Lock Master to shut down the water outtake in order to give us time to tie up and secure. Fortunately they
did, and we were able to secure the schooner for the remaining rise of the lock.
After that
harrowing event, we entered a beautiful Pickwick Lake. Building
was going on around the lake, which reminded us of the Lake of the Ozarks.
J.C. entered
the Grand Marina for fueling and for mooring. After being tied up and refueled, the female
crew did the laundry chore while the male crew secured the boat. We took the courtesy car (this time a brand new Ford four-seater truck) into Counce, Tennessee and to eat
at the Rib Cage.
Fog
again on Monday. J.C. decided to stay another night before heading out. He would use the day to plan future stops along
the way.
The crew
met other people moored at the marina. They had attended the Great American Loop get-together, and these had moved north
to avoid the hurricane. The folks we met have trawlers on which they live full-time. We developed a camaraderie
with three couples: Clare and Bob Denny from Guntersville, Alabama, Leah and
Walt Olszowy from Buffalo, New York, and Helen
and Ted Brown from Wisconsin.
After talking
to these new friends, J.C. decided that he would moor the schooner here until hurricane season was over so the schooner had
to be moved to another boat dock.
The next
day we were invited by the Dennys to accompany them on their Pilgrim trawler Odyssey III to a cove upstream about four miles. Their 43 foot trawler was built in Ontario, Canada in 1984. They
had made it into a very comfortable home with a cozy parlor.
The waterfall
in the cove was 70 feet tall. It was not too big, but surprising in capacity since the only rain the area had received was
after the hurricanes Katrina and Rita. We spent a nice afternoon of quiet conversation, serene surroundings, enjoyable scenery,
and some delicious chili. J.C. and Joy had the opportunity to steer the trawler, which Joy claimed was easier than a sailboat.
Wednesday
was a workday. This time it was the alternator. While J.C. and Ken work on that, Joy and I drive into Savannah, Tennessee. We are there
to buy some goodies for this evening. J.C. had invited our new-found friends over for a little get-together. He
appreciated all the knowledge and wisdom which these folks had passed
on to him. We visited, enjoyed the appetizers, and watched the short clips of the building and launching of the Spirit of Independence.
It had been decided that the crew would leave on Friday and return home until after the Thanksgiving holidays.
The boat was secured, a rental car obtained, and the crew headed out early Friday morning for the twelve hour drive to Kansas City, Missouri.
