Monday, October 19. We had a short cruise to Goose Pond Colony Resort, about 40 miles upriver. Our final destination was Chattanooga, Tennessee. We must be adopting the Looper lifestyle because we did not originally plan to make this side trip; we heard from many Loopers that the Tennessee River Gorge on this side of Chattanooga is beautiful. On the way to Goose Pond, we went through Guntersville Lock with a lift of 39 feet. Goose Pond Marina was back a shallow and windy creek, but the facilities were nice. One of the Loopers borrowed the courtesy car and shuttled 16 Loopers to a restaurant at a nearby town for dinner. As good as the facilities were, we had not internet.
Tuesday, October 20 - We traveled approximately 50 miles to an anchorage called Cedar Mountain Creek. We were traveling with 4 other Looper boats and together we passed through Nickajack Lock, another 39 foot lift. This is the highest point we will reach on the Tennessee River; from this point forward, all locking will be down. As it turns out, locking down is easier than locking up because there is far less turbulence when the lock chamber is being emptied compared to when it is being filled.
Going through the locks has gotten easier since we now know what we are doing. Below is a picture of a floating bollard, which is along the lock wall. As a boat comes into a lock, Nancy's job is to capture the bollard with a line that is tied to a cleat which is just out the pilothouse door on LeeLoo. Carey's job is to stop LeeLoo as close to the bollard as possible without hitting the wall! We have both gotten good at our jobs! As the lock chamber is filled or emptied, LeeLoo travels up or down tied up to the bollard. Once the lock through is complete, the doors open, a horn is sounded, and it is safe to untie from the bollard. The boats who are in the lock file out of the lock and continue on their way.
There are often two choices to tie up to a bollard - a high and a low. We have found we have greater control if we tie to the low bollard.
Once we cleared the lock, 3 Looper boats tied up to a nearby free pier at a county park. Sum Escape and LeeLoo continued on to Cedar Mountain Creek where we rafted together for the night. Rafting is where the larger boat sets the anchor and then the smaller boat ties up to the larger boat. We all took a ride in our dinghy to explore the shoreline. We had dinner with Tom and Julie on the aft deck of Sum Escape and then played cards. It was a restful evening because we didn't have to worry about the anchor dragging.
Wednesday, October 21 - We woke up to fog so we delayed departure for one half hour. Once the fog cleared, the sun came out and the river was beautiful. Our arrival in Chattanooga was a bit confusing because the marina did not answer the radio and the directions we received by telephone were unclear. We tied ups to the commercial dock and then learned we had to move LeeLoo to a different dock. Because the marina in downtown Chattanooga is directly on the river, there are very few conventional slips to pull into, rather, you have to parallel park the boat on a long face dock, This can be challenging because of the river current. When we talked to the office about staying a second night, it was suggested we move to a conventional slip that was off the river. This turned out to be a perfect slip in which to dock LeeLoo, although we were not near any of the other Loopers.
For more than 40 years, we have driven through Chattanooga on our way to Atlanta to visit Carey's family. For 40 years, we have driven along the Tennessee River as it winds its way into Chattanooga. It was very exciting to be on a boat on the river, looking up at the traffic on the road that we have driven on for over 40 years!
Thursday, October 22 - The city of Chattanooga has a beautiful waterfront and it is a very walkable city. We spent the day walking - just under eleven miles and over 25,000 steps! We made up for no walking while being anchored on LeeLoo! In the morning we walked to a local - and we mean local - grocery store. We also went to the Tennessee Aquarium in the afternoon, where we saw an amazing display of all kinds of jelly fish! Then we took the free electric shuttle bus to the other side of the river and found a Walgreen's and a Publix supermarket for a few more groceries. We walked back over the river on a pedestrian bridge. Very cool!
Friday, October 23 - We left Chattanooga with Mazel Tug. Our destination was Racoon Creek, about 60 miles downriver. We locked down through Nickajack Lock, which was uneventful. Racoon Creek was a large, but shallow, lake off of the Tennessee River. We anchored in 7 feet of water near Mazel Tug (Ralph and Linda). We dinghyed over to Mazel Tug for docktails and, while we were there, we saw a bald eagle attempting to catch a duck for dinner. The eagle would swoop down in an attempt to grab a duck and the flock would scurry away. We don't know if the eagle was successful, but it is not a sight you see every day.
Saturday, October 24 - We were preparing to leave when Ralph on Mazel Tug reported problems with his alternator overheating. We stood by until it was clear that Boat US (Sea Tow) had dispatched a boat to come for him. There was no cell service and no one to contact via the VHF radio, so Ralph used a satellite communicator to contact Boat US. Once we knew a rescue boat had been dispatched, we departed for Ditto Landing (10 miles from Huntsville, Alabama) where we were a week ago - and we were last able to update the blog.
Sunday - October 25 - The day was spent at Ditto Landing cleaning LeeLoo inside and out (was she ever dirty)! The Tennessee River is really beautiful, but full of mud that cakes on. We also ended up getting spots of tar-like substance on the outside of LeeLoo, so that took some extra scrubbing. But, now she is beautiful again! Tomorrow we are renting a car for 3 days. We plan to go to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville and then continue on to Atlanta so we can visit with Carey's dad, his sister and her family. The weather forecast is for rain for the next few days so it will be a good time for a visit!
The pictures are awesome, you guys look great!
ReplyDeleteIt's been great following your adventure It sounds and looks amazing. Thanks for your thorough descriptions and the beautiful pictures
ReplyDeleteAm loving the details and the pictures. There was never a doubt in our minds that you would both become proficient at maneuvering the locks.
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