Running the Tennessee River- Part I

Kentucky Lake scenery

Bridge with channel span removed

Building flooded by TVA

We left Green Turtle Bay to continue our trip up the Tennessee River. Our plan is to run the river east to at least Chattanooga and perhaps to Knoxville, or somewhere in between. We would do this side trip and then join the other loopers at the end of October for the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, AL. That would give us the month of November to tool down the Tenn-Tom waterway to Mobile where we would complete our loop before making our way back to Louisiana around the first part of December. It had rained the last couple of nights we were in GTB and the forecast was for rain the next two days, so this was the day to move on. We were planning on going into an anchorage at Ginger Bay about 50 miles upstream, so we were in no hurry to get an early start. At the last minute we saw Ron and Jan aboard Jolley Tolley fueling up at the fuel dock. Jolley Tolley had just completed their loop at GTB a couple of days earlier and were eager to get to their home in Georgia for a post-loop party. They announced that they were going to go all the way to Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, TN. We decided to tag along and hurriedly got ready to shove off.

More Kentucky Lake scenery

We were just about through the Barkley Canal which connects Lakes Barkley and Kentucky when we encountered a large tow entering the canal. We were to the edge of the channel and bearing down on a fisherman in a small skiff who was also at the edge of the channel. Capt. Larry slowed down to not wake the fisherman, but the tow's prop wash caused him to loose control. So he sped up to maintain control and avoid a collision, much to the chagrin of the fisherman. We don't really feel sorry for boaters who put themselves in compromising situations and have things go wrong because they expect everyone else to deal with them. Kentucky Lake is beautiful and presents lots of small coves and bays for great anchorages. Parts of the lake are very shallow because hills, houses, and even towns were flooded when the lake was formed by the TVA, making it necessary to stay in the buoyed channel. We followed Jolley Tolley the 70-some miles to Pebble Isle for a rather uneventful, but scenic trip.

Loopers gather for dinner

Dinner on Bavarian Cream

Sunset at Pebble Isle

Jolley Tolley leaves in the rain

When we arrived at the marina, we found Boreas and Larry and Theresa Valentine aboard Lauren Grace already tied up. We had received several e-mails from the Valentine's during our trip, but had not seen them since Port St. Joe, FL. It was a great reunion! After the new arrivals got settled in, we had some drinks on the dock and everyone went over to the marina restaurant for a group dinner. The next morning it was raining, but Jolley Tolley shoved off, determined to make their party. The other three boats remained in port for better weather. The marina staff treated us all to free, fresh-baked cinnamon rolls and coffee which were absolutely fantastic. It was a good day for boat chores, so Capt. Larry changed the engine fuel filters and motor oil and did some other necessary maintenance, while Jane and Julaine borrowed the courtesy car and went to Wal-Mart to pick up some things for dinner that night. That evening everyone came aboard Bavarian Cream for a grilled chicken dinner. Everyone had a good time.

Socked in at Pebble Isle

River scenery, overcast skies

River house and lighthouse on cliff

It just gets better!

More river scenery

Dredging the river

Unique sign

The "big bend"

Docktails with John and Mary

We remained at Pebble Isle the next day while everyone else shoved off. We had to wait for our new ice maker to be delivered, and besides, the weather was not really great for traveling. Our ice maker arrived in the afternoon, but no other boats showed up that day. We had dinner aboard and watched another of Todd's movies. It's hard to believe that of the 60-some DVD's we started out with, there are only a few remaining that we haven't seen yet. The next morning we got an early start to make our way to Clifton, TN. We started with pretty decent weather, but as we proceeded it started to mist and continued pretty much the entire way. Along the way we passed some pretty spectacular homes that were built on the rock cliffs that border the river. We also came to the river's greatest bend which bends through almost 360 degrees of arc. It would only be about 2 miles to cross the land between the beginning and end of this bend, but almost 9 miles to travel the river through this bend. The town of Clifton is located approximately halfway through this bend. We pulled into the Clifton Marina where we were greeted again by John and Mary aboard Mary Frances IV. We learned that they were celebrating Mary's birthday and an anniversary in the next couple of days, so we invited them to celebratory happy hour at the marina's restaurant.

The next morning John and Mary left. We decided to spend an extra day in Clifton. We borrowed the courtesy car and went into Clifton to get some groceries and supplies. Clifton is an interesting town of about 800 people, but at one time it was a busy port. When Tennessee achieved statehood, a vote was held to determine the state's capital. Clifton lost to Knoxville by one vote! Clifton is a very quaint town and one of the few towns along the river that is actually located on and overlooks the river. If you are ever in the vicinity, we recommend a stop. We returned to the marina and spent an afternoon blogging, sewing, painting, and relaxing. Late in the afternoon Brandy IV rolled in and we helped them get tied up. We had dinner aboard the boat and turned in early.

Railed boat lift

River home with a view

Pickwick Lock and Dam, note current

Getting a lift

Tied up at Eastport Marina

Lake Pickwick

Happy hour with the seasonals

The next morning we headed down the river toward the Pickwick Lock and Dam. This would be our first TVA lock that would put us into Pickwick Lake. While we planned to continue up the Tennessee River, this lake is the head of the Tenn-Tom waterway that would eventually take us down to Mobile. So we would again pass everything from this point on. We had an uneventful, but scenic, ride down to the lock. As we approached the lock the channel narrowed and the current increased considerably. Fortunately, we were able to lock through almost immediately on our arrival and did not have to "hover" in the current waiting for our turn in the lock. Pickwick Lock and Dam is a huge structure that would lift us 54'. Since we were the only boat in the lock, we almost felt lost. We got into Lake Pickwick and made our way to Eastport Marina in Bear Creek. The marina is located in Iuka, MS, but across the creek lies Alabama. The marina accommodates transients, but does not cater to this segment of boaters. We tied up at the end of some covered slips and were greeted by a bevy of seasonal boaters with all kinds of questions about the loop. While we were somewhat of an oddity, everyone was warm and friendly and we were invited to an extended happy hour. We found the restrooms and showers very clean and new and there is a restaurant on the grounds. At $1 a foot including electric, we felt it sure beats anchoring out. We will likely stop here again on our return trip through Lake Pickwick. As one of the seasonal boaters put it, "this marina is one of the best kept secrets around here."

Coming into Florence

Bavarian Cream sans sail boat

The next day we made our way upstream toward Florence, AL. This was a relatively short 30 mile run for us and got us into the Florence Harbor Marina around noon. We had very pretty scenery along this section with high rock cliffs lining the shores. It was an easy and relaxing ride until we got to the marina. We arrived to find Lauren Grace and Mary Frances IV already there. They helped us get tied up along with the marina manager. When we got our hose down to connect to the water, we noticed that the sailboat next to us had their hose connected to spigot in our slip. We looked for another spigot, but the manager said that that one was about the only one in our section. Capt. Larry indicated to the manager that we needed to fill our tank, so the manager disconnected the sailboat's line. We attached our hose and proceeded to fill our tank. While we were filling a lady came out into the sailboat's cockpit and began talking to Capt. Larry. He proceeded to tell her about our trip and chatted with her while Jane filled the tank. When we were through, Capt. Larry disconnected our hose and went over to the sailboat to get their hose to reconnect it. While he was trying to reach for the hose, a man comes out and starts yelling at him to leave everything alone. Capt. Larry started to explain that he was just trying to put everything back when the guy got ugly. Capt. Larry got pissed off and told the guy to "go to hell," then told Jane to go to the office and tell them that we would have to have a hose Y-connector. This pissed the manager off, so he proceeded to the sailboat and told the guy that he was the one who disconnected the hose. The manager was told that "they didn't appreciate having their hose disconnected," and when the sail boater was told that he didn't own the water supply on a transient dock, they got mad and left. The whole incident was totally unnecessary and reaffirms some of Capt. Larry's opinions about sail boaters.

Is it moonshine or mineral water?

Finally we wanted to tell about an unusual individual we met along the way. We won't say where we met for his protection, but we met this boater who had played ball around Hammond, LA. When he learned about where we were from, he decided that we were "his people," and he started to do some really nice things for us. For breakfast, he fried us up a mess of thickly sliced, hickory smoked back strap bacon that was absolutely wonderful. Then he gave us a 3 lb. block of frozen catfish to cook on the boat. Finally he produced a Ball jar of moonshine that came from his granddaddy's stainless steel still, "you know, the good ones that won't make you sick." His hospitality to us was unbelievable and his stories were even better. We so enjoyed meeting this guy, that we may consider a return trip just to see him again.

Early morning "dew webs"

Lock "poop control" device