We left Green Turtle Bay on Monday, October 5 for Grand Harbor Marina on the other side of Pickwick Landing Lock, a distance of 190 miles. We did this section of the trip in 4 days. Between the two marinas, we anchored out 3 nights. All three anchoring experiences were different, but successful.
The first night we anchored at Standing Rock Creek. It was a wide, shallow bay off the Tennessee River. We pulled in and dropped the anchor in approximately 7 feet of water. The wind was light and there was no current so we were not concerned about dragging the anchor. We saw blue herons fishing near the shore, about a half dozen big turtles sunning themselves on a rock, and 2 deer that came to the water’s edge to drink from the bay. Peaceful. As evening drew near, we sat under the bimini watching a glorious sunset! We also watched small silver fish jumping out of the water all around the boat. Then Carey mentioned that the winter pool (water depth) is 5 feet lower than the summer pool and not knowing the pool level we wondered if we would wake up in the next morning and LeeLoo would be stuck in the mud. Fortunately, we woke up in 7 feet of water!
On Tuesday, October 8, we traveled 60 miles to our anchorage for the night which was called Lick Creek. It was a small deep creek that branched off of the Tennessee River for a mile or so. We could have anchored further up the creek but chose to drop anchor, in 12 feet of water, about a half mile from the entrance. We could see the Tennessee River from our anchorage. Because it was a narrow river with heavily wooded banks, the bugs were bad. We have realized that the screens need to be put up as soon as we anchor to keep the bugs outside! We expected to see more animal life, but other than seeing a couple of federation squirrels and a big snake swimming towards the boat (which freaked Nancy out!), we did not see anything. It was a peaceful night except for several small, local fishing boats passed us going up and down the creek.
Wednesday, October 7, was a short cruising day so we slept in an extra hour in the morning. It was only 40 miles to Swallows Bluff anchorage. This anchorage was behind an island off the main river. We dropped anchor in 12 feet of water and the river currents held us in position all night. We anchored near an island where wild goats were reported to be living, but we did not hear or see them. That would have been cool!
Thursday, October 8, was also a short cruising day, approximately 50 miles. We left at just before 8:00 a.m. in order to allow time to lock through Pickwick Lock. It turned out to be a difficult travel day because the current became strong as we approached the lock. Earlier in the day we were cruising just under 8 miles an hour and had to increase engine power in order to maintain that speed as we approached the lock and dam. When we arrived at the lock, we had a half hour wait . . . not bad for waiting times at locks. We locked up 55 feet with another Looper boat. The current in the lock was very strong and it felt like it was all we could do to keep the boat under control. Once out of the lock the river was calm and we cruised about 5 miles to Grand Harbor Marina.
LeeLoo docked by a Pilgrim 40 Trawler at Grand Harbor Marina
The Tennessee River is absolutely breathtaking by boat. The fall colors are just starting and there are many places where there are rocky bluffs. There were places along the river where we saw eagles, hawks, and hundreds of white pelicans. We saw eagles swoop down in the water, grab a fish in their talons and fly away. We saw a lot of big turtles sunning themselves. We saw the beauty of nature that you would never see from the shore. Along the shore, we would go for miles and there were no homes, then we would get to an area with lots of homes, most either high up on the bluff with steep stairways going down to shore or up on stilts so flooding would not damage them. We even saw a herd of cows come to drink in the river! All in all, it was an amazing experience.
Today, Friday, October 9, we are in Grand Harbor Marina. There are a lot of other Looper boats here, most bigger than LeeLoo! We borrowed the marina courtesy car this morning and drove to Shiloh National Park and then into Savannah, Tennessee to find a grocery store. So far, getting access to a courtesy car has been pretty easy. We just have to remember to sign up for it as soon as we arrive! We plan to spend two more nights at Grand Harbor Marina and then move on to Florence, Alabama to a marina.
We left Racine, Wisconsin 3 weeks ago today to begin the Loop. It is hard to believe that it has only been 3 weeks. We should tell you that the weather here in Grand Harbor Marina today is 86 degrees! Jealous?
Wow 3 weeks already!! Where does the time go? Glad it has been a piece of cake so far.
ReplyDeleteWow 3 weeks already!! Where does the time go? Glad it has been a piece of cake so far.
ReplyDeleteNancy you are brave out there with the snakes.
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