Decatur to Bay Springs Lake

Thursday, March 22, 2018-

We huddled down in Decatur, AL, at the Riverwalk Marina for two nights.  Winds on Wednesday were even worse than on Tuesday...30 mph gusts.  The temperature reached in the lower 50's...but it sure didn't feel like it!  Maggie and I got out for two brief walks and she loved it.  Me?  I was ready to come back in the moment we stepped out!

So this morning we woke up to a chilly 30-something...but no wind.  We pulled out of the marina, short wait for the Southern Railway Bridge as a train came through, then off down the Tennessee River.  We had about an hour wait at Joe Wheeler Lock as a tow was being moved through so we tied up to the auxiliary lock wall at the suggestion of the lockmaster. 

We tried hailing Wilson Lock when we were about 1/2 mile out...no answer.  Kept trying when we got close, still no response on 16, 13, 14 or phone.  Two towboats ahead of us seemed to have as little info as us as one called us to say, "we're as much in the dark as you are."

There were also two tows below the lock and absolutely no action in the lock.  We had one call from the lock and they said they would put us on the list.  We anchored at the closest cove on the RDB for the wait.  Around 5 PM we decided we wouldn't be able to get through before sunset and went back up the lake a little ways to a good anchorage for the night.

Friday, March 23, 2019 -

Hailed Wilson Lock when we were ready to pull anchor around 7 AM.  No answer.  After several tries we decided we needed to be "in their face" and left the cove to go down to the arrival point where we called again.  Finally a response...and "come on down to the long wall and wait for the green light."  An hour and 15 minutes later...after the lock had been emptied and a PC brought in for the upward ride... we got a signal to enter the lock. 

This was THE WORST experience we've ever had at a lock and it was totally because of the lack of communication.  We understand priorities in tows, etc.....but when they won't tell you what's happening, that's not right.

We traveled, finally free of Wilson, from there to around mile 417 on Bay Springs Lake and are anchored in the first deep cove on the right. 

Safe, still

Tuesday, March 20th, 2018

Just a note to let you know we are safe and sound from last night's storms. We did have a siren sound for tornado watch and had some rain, some Thunder and lightning. We may see more damage as we head down the river today.  More later...

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 -

We didn't see any damage as we came down the river today.  But we DID see waves of 3-4 ft. for 2 hours yesterday afternoon  while we came thru Wheeler Lake and into Decatur, AL, Riverwalk Marina.  Gusts were up in the 20mph range and the temperature kept falling.  By the time we got to Riverwalk we were exhausted AND frozen!  With today's weather calling for wind gusts 30mph...and it's a chilly wind, even though the thermometer reads in the low 50's...we decided to spend an extra night here and see this front through.  We're enjoying a lazy day. ;-)

Sewee to Goosepond

Sunday March 18th 2018

Well the adventure has begun! Cruisers know that cruising is an adventure, not a big vacation. And we had our first Adventure this weekend.   It all started on Friday morning. Wayne noticed that his leg was itching, and asked me to see what it look like. It looked like shingles. 

Now we've been told that shingles isn't contagious and I found sources that go further to say "unless you come in contact with the lesions). Dermatologist, internist, pediatrician...all said the same thing. So... We went to visit David and family during the time I had shingles about a month ago. David got shingles a couple of weeks later... And now Wayne. Just saying! 

So we left Sewee Creek Saturday morning and made it down to Chattanooga in time to go to an ER. We called Lyft and who should show up but Sam, the driver that had taken me to a walk-in clinic back in September of last year. Sam recommended Memorial Medical Center and took us there. We checked in only to realize it would be a 3 hour wait. We decided to wait until Sunday morning to visit the when the wait time should be less. Called Sam and he took us back to our boat home for the night.

This morning Sam picked us up and we met Joe, Sam's husband.  I couldn't get the Lyft app to see Sam's car... So they ended up taking us to the hospital, coming back to pick us up, and dropping me off at the pharmacy near the boat so I could get Wayne's meds for, yes, shingles. Thank you Sam!! 

Armed with steroids, antivirals, and pain meds, we left Chattanooga Waterfront front at 12:30 p.m. 

There's a storm a-brewing tomorrow afternoon in areas we will traverse. We are anchored tonight at Burns Island, mile 420. Got through Nickajack Lock before a tow was coming up stream. Tomorrow we hope to be in a covered slip at Goose Pond Colony Marina by the time the severe storms (that is winds,rain, and hail) begin.

Monday March 19th, 2018

We left Burns Island at around 8:10 and went through several big downpours of rain before the skies cleared up a bit.  We took on fuel when we got to Goosepond and are now safely tied up in a covered slip...ready as we'll ever be for the severe weather expected this evening.  We borrowed the loaner car and picked up a few groceries, then Maggie and I took a nice hour-long walk.  That pup's a good walker!  She needed it, too.

Sewee Creek

We had another good day on the water today. A little cool this morning, but it warmed up nicely during the day to about  high 60s. (I ended up in short sleeve shirt! ). We had an easy tansit through Fort Loudon lock and Watts Bar lock.. to an anchorage at Sewee Creek, mile marker 525.5, around 5 p.m. It's a nice quiet place right now as we're sitting on the back deck. We're anchored in about 9 feet and let out about 30 feet of chain. It's a place about like Bashi Creek, maybe a bit wider. 
We got a nice push coming out of Watts Bar... Almost up to 11 miles per hour! 
Maggie's enjoying the trip so far... Probably because we kept her up on the bridge for a lot of the day. 

Tomorrow we hope to make it through Chickamauga lock and have reservations at the Chattanooga Waterfront. You may notice I'm blogging daily?  I finally found a good blogging app for my Android phone and can record from my written journal for the day! Don't hold me to a daily schedule... But surely I will do better than last trip. :-)

Off to the Panhandle of Florida!

So...we had planned to leave on Monday, but it was a bit too cool.  Left Concord around noon and (after fueling up at Ft. Loudon Marina and filling up with water) we are anchored near mile 604 in a little cove that should give us some protection from the wind this evening.  Tomorrow we hope to make it down to Watts Bar Lock.

Home...

Saturday, December 24, 2016 -

We got home Wednesday, December 14.  Our friend Ben picked us up at the marina around 3 PM. Somehow, I haven't thought much about the blog since then.  For one thing it took us a few days to rest up.  We'd spent six nights in a row on the boat...and as I walked through Kroger that afternoon to pick up the few groceries needed, my legs felt a little like jelly.  ;-)

We're in the swing of things now.  Well, as much as we've ever been, I'd say.  Looking forward to the next few days as we travel over to see Dave and family.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Hope to see you all soon....

First Class Harbor above Watts Bar Lock to Caney Creek

Just a little update on our last night at Chattanooga dock: You know we had our hearts set on pizza, but the PapaJohns people didn't know what the "docks in front of the aquarium" meant...and required a physical address for delivery.  Last time we were in Chattanooga...a couple of months ago...we ordered from them but we were at the docks right below the marina's office.  Ah, well, we won't hold it against them.... ;-)

Monday, December 12, 2016 -

It was raining as we pulled out of Chattanooga and headed for Chicamauga Lock.



Fortunately for us, the rain that morning dried up around 10 and afternoon we had a beautiful ride up the Chicamauga Lake.  We stopped at Shady Grove Harbor for fuel and were ready to see if we could make it all the way up to Watts Bar Lock.  We did!!!  Went through the lock and had just enough time to get to the nearby first class harbor and anchor.  We felt like we'd had a pretty productive day: over 60 miles, 2 locks, and a fuel stop.  Here was our home for the night...

And these are some of the pictures from today...

As we got nearer to the lock we also were getting closer to the Watts Bar Steam Plant and it's STEAM....

Our view from inside the Watts Bar Lock...

And finally, our view of the steam from the upper side of the lock as the sun began to move down...

Tuesday, December 13, 2016 -

The day began as usual.  We had coffee, breakfast, caught up on news and mail, while waiting for the 7:30 AM sunrise.  We had a weather alert for this area about heavy fog, but saw none where we were. We took our stations for bringing up the anchor: me on the bridge and Wayne working with the anchor.  Wayne went inside to start the engine........and it started but stopped after a few seconds.

Knowing there is usually a problem with fuel getting to the engine when this happens, Wayne went down and changed the main filter and a smaller filter.  It still wouldn't start.  We ended up calling our friend, Ben Birdwell, who kindly drove down to the nearby (deserted) Watts Bar Resort.  It was raining by then, just to make thinks even more exciting.  Wayne picked Ben up in the dingy and they were able to fix the fuel supply issue with a process called "bleeding" off air in the fuel line.  Thank you Ben!!!

We ended up having a short cruising day because in the late afternoon it started raining again and causing fog.  We are anchored in Caney Creek for the night and are prepared tomorrow for getting home!