Loop Trip Leg 5: Tenn River Part 2

Nov. 3 - Wednesday

It is raining this am so the decision is to stay put for another day. We were to start down the Tenn-Tom but I need one more day of rest as my cold is better, but we don’t want to run in rain as it is hard to see and the first day is a long run. Tomorrow will be the start of Leg 6 - 450 miles of Tenn-Tom Bigby Waterway, 250 miles from Mobile Bay to Carrabelle, FL and then 175 miles across the gulf to Clearwater, FL.

Nov. 2 - Tuesday

The mechanic comes aboard this am but can’t do anything about the engine – he doesn’t charge us for his time. He says it is an air problem in the fuel line but couldn’t easily find it. I stay in bed all day trying to rest. Cold is getting a little better, but not much.

Nov. 1 - Monday

The first item of business this a.m. was to get wine – no wine sales on Sundays. So up and at the store at 8:00 a.m. Then we took off for Grand Harbor Marina in northern Alabama. This is the starting point for the Tenn-Tom waterway to Mobile Bay. We are having yet another mechanic come aboard to look at the starboard engine again so we need to get the boat to this marina. He will come aboard on Tuesday am so we move the 45 miles. I’m taking lots of cold pills so my nose doesn’t run like a faucet. We arrive early afternoon – great speed as the current is with us. No locks today which is a help. But I’m exhausted by the time we reach the marina so I go right to bed. Friends we will be traveling with can see that I’m not doing well.

Oct. 31 - Sunday

This was a quiet day. We stayed in Florence and did grocery shopping. I am catching Dave’s cold so I rested today - something about sharing all that we have. There were no Halloween treats on the dock today. We did watch more Loopers come in and said hello to some from the rendezvous.

Oct. 30 - Saturday

Belle of Cincinnati

We got a late start due to fog – really thick this am. The temperature outside was 39° – even getting the lines and the power cord on board was work. Dave stayed on the fly bridge while I did all the deck work – we have a heater so the fly bridge isn’t so cold. We went to Florence, AL. On the way downriver we passed a river boat – sort of cool looking. We again went through the Wilson Lock but had no trouble – locking down isn’t as hard as locking up.

Dave laid around in the afternoon while I went to the Helen Keller Museum – very interesting experience. We had a quiet evening until about 8:00 when friends (Dick is 80 years old and Pat not much younger) from Gypsea pounded on the boat that they needed help – a large power boat was coming in with only one engine (this is really late for someone to be traveling) – the captain was single handling the boat. We grabbed shoes and headed down the dock – the guy didn’t even have lines out – the boat was 50+ feet. But he came in very well and we didn’t have trouble holding the boat to the dock till he got lines to us. Then a second boat followed him in – a small Mainship about 36 feet – but the two men on this boat had just bought it and this was about their second day of using it – they were trying to get to Kentucky Lake. Their docking wasn’t so good. So we had some excitement today after all.

Oct. 29 - Friday

Dave spent the day resting while I did boat / house maintenance. Not an exciting day. I did get some back logs posted – but reception here wasn’t good at all. Our Sprint card is the pits! Others have Verizon and lots of bars while we don’t. We are ready to give up on Sprint and buy a Verizon air card.

Oct. 28 - Thursday

We are staying at Joe Wheeler for a few extra days – we had hoped that most of the 40+ boats would leave and head further down river (but this didn’t happen). Dave caught a cold during the rendezvous and wasn’t feeling very well today. But we had to switch out a fuel transfer pump that wasn’t working so we could move fuel between tanks. Unfortunately, we had difficulty with some parts and spent most of the morning finding replacement pieces in the small town of Rogersville, AL. We were very lucky a local boater came down to the marina to see if anyone needed a ride to town. He spent about 1.5 hours with us on getting parts. What a wonderful thoughtful person – very patient with many boater needs. Dave spent most of the day resting while I cooked. We went to Tide’s In for dinner and spent the evening talking about the next few weeks moving down river. We will meet up with Pam and Stephen and travel together till Fort Meyers, FL.

Oct. 25 - 27 - Monday - Wednesday

The days were pretty well planned out. There was a breakfast each morning (always the same), sessions to attend to learn about the various legs of the Loop from The Tenn-Tom Waterway to Portsmouth, VA, lunch, cocktails and dinner provided (the food wasn’t very good and by Wednesday people weren’t coming to eat). Some sessions were good, a couple ok, and one speaker shouldn’t have been speaking. Because of our boat location (we were about 3 blocks from the rest of the Looper group and all by ourselves) we didn’t have the informal social activities that others had. This was disappointing. Tuesday the excitement was the weather – there were tornado warning and we were given instructions on where to go – they even had to make arrangements for all the pets that were aboard many boats. We were lucky and the tornado touched down further upriver near Chattanooga. Dave did go back to the boat and put out extra lines as we were at the end of the dock and only tied on one side. We bounced around a lot on Tuesday. We had friends aboard for dinner on Tuesday night while Loopers went to a concert. By Wednesday night we were glad to be quietly aboard the boat.

Oct. 24 - Sunday

We are at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama. The Looper Rendezvous starts today and ends on Wednesday night. We did laundry in the a.m., tried to take a bike ride but found the park to be way too hilly. I couldn’t get up the first hill – had to walk my bike the last 100 yards. After about hill 10, I gave up and said I was heading back to the boat. What we road up we got to ride down and visa versa – but these hills were steep and way to much work for me. We did meet up with many friends we have met and attended the first cocktail / dinner / reception. This week will be interesting. From my perspective the rendezvous got off to a very shaky start – there were many details that could have been better planned. The conference coordinator in me started to show in the coming days – and it didn’t get better. My evaluation of the Rendezvous gave many suggestions as to how to improve the whole program (but no one called to chat – guess they didn’t want to hear constructive suggestions).

Oct. 23 - Saturday

Another cool morning with temperatures at 47º so we had to bundle up as we pulled anchor and headed to Joe Wheeler State Park Marina. We got a pump out and then were told where we would be docking. We were not happy about the dock – the T at the end of permanent sailboat dock. We have no other Loopers near us. It is about a 3 block walk to the lodge where events will take place for the next 4 days. This is not what we had signed up for and even the check-in people said that the slip assigned by the marina wasn’t what we got. We found out later that if you complained loud enough, you could get to the transient slips and be with all the Loopers. We secured ourselves and settled in – winds were not bad tonight so it was ok. We did have front row seats as other boats arrived all day. But we were not close to any of them except when they went to the pump out dock.

Oct. 22 - Friday

Lazy start to the day – had a nice breakfast and then just took it easy in the morning – it was in the high 30’s over night so the air was still chilly until about 11:00. It was good to warm the cabin with hot breakfast smells. In the afternoon we took out the kayak’s and had a great time seeing more of the bay and exploring narrow channels. As we returned to the boat our friends from Tide’s In arrived by dinghy – they were out exploring the area also. Dave took time to clean the water line from his kayak and I cleaned the stern hull – from the swim platform. We were tired and the air got cool after dark so we spent the evening inside retiring early as we don’t like to use battery power for lights.

Second Creek Anchorage

Dave kayaking in Second Creek

Oct. 21 - Thursday

While some Loopers stayed at Ditto Landing to rent cars and see Huntsville about 4 of us took off and headed down stream towards Joe Wheeler State Park. The other three boats we were traveling with turned into Joe Wheeler and we continued on another 2 miles to Second Creek for an anchorage. We didn’t have to be in Joe Wheeler until Saturday and we needed some quiet time before the rendezvous. We had been told that the anchorage would be full, but we found it to be empty. We got the prime spot and easily anchored. We had a great evening sitting on the back deck watching the stars. Dave had hoped to see a meteor shower but the moon was almost full so that didn’t happen. We didn’t see any wildlife come to the shore tonight either. I’m still waiting to see deer and bear!

Oct. 20 - Wednesday

We moved from Goose Pond to Ditto Landing (which is just outside of Huntsville, AL). Today we passed a very interesting site – a sanctuary for the endangered Grey Bat (a cave near the water just upstream of the Guntersville Dam. This cave has between 20,000 and 45,000 bats living in it annually – it is used for breeding purposes. We didn’t see any bats and we didn’t hear any bats because they migrate to cooler caves in the hills in September. How can this many bats be an endangered species?

We arrived last today – lots of Loopers coming from a number of places and converging on this marina. The marina has new docks, cheap dockage fees and relatively cheap fuel. We were one of about 15 Loopers on the transient docks. We were among lots of friends -- Friendship, Tide’s In, Gypsea, Blue Yonder, and more! Pam and Stephen (Tide’s In) had just finished a bike ride and we asked where they went. Turns out there is a Publix at the end of a five mile bike trail. A really nice Publix! Dave says you can tell a good grocery by the number of Mercedes in the parking lot – there were two. I also learned that Dick's 80th birthday is today (there is hope for the rest of us!) I asked Pat if there was something he would like from Publix (she said fresh orange juice). We did a quick 10 miles in 45 minutes round trip – great bike path – to the store.

We couldn’t get much as we only had 1 backpack. I did find the seafood dip that we like and Dave found great deli meats. We returned to the boat with Dick’s birthday present (Loopers try and give things that are useful and don’t take up extra space). Dick was very happy with the juice. At 5:00 the cocktail party was aboard Gypsea – Pat had a birthday cake and everyone brought appetizers. We got most of our dinner aboard Gypsea. There were about 20 – 25 people on this DeFever 46 and it wasn’t too crowded. Everyone had a great time. About 7:00 everyone disappeared to their own boat and the marina was not so rowdy any more – but as everyone was at the party no one complained.

Grey Bat Cave

Oct. 19 - Tuesday

I’m feeling a little better – the headache isn’t as bad. Talked with Diesel Don about engine again, but while he gave a suggestion, he couldn’t work on it. I cleaned some fenders and we retaped the fuel line in multiple places. We’ll see if this does any good at all. The day slipped by quickly. Dave filled water tanks and we prepared for our trip down river to Joe Wheeler State Park near Rogersville, AL.

Oct. 18 - Monday

Layover day in Goose Pond. We needed to restock and do laundry. We said good-bye to some Looper friends and hello to others who came in today. We sort of have a good group that we meet up with and then separate for a little while. We have settled into a daily routine. We have layover routines which usually include some type of boat cleaning, house cleaning, laundry and shopping. We are grateful for the courtesy cars available at the various marinas (no mater what shape they are in). Dave washed one side of the hull (the dock side). Days pass very quickly with routines. If I could just do the log daily! I wasn't feeling well all day so we really didn't do much. Poor Dave had to find his own dinner tonight.

Oct. 17 - Sunday

We were up early to get started on our return trip to Goose Pond in Scottsboro, AL. The engine is working ok if we prime the Racor Fuel Filter before starting it. There has to be some sort of vacuum build-up which means an air leak somewhere in the line. We went through 1 lock this a.m. again having to wait for the lock attendant who indicated it would be 25 minutes. He was off somewhere having coffee – we saw him actually walking to the lock after we arrived. The day was uneventful – the scenery is just as beautiful as it was going upriver, but we travel a little faster going downriver with the current. We arrived at Goose Pond about 2:30 and tied up only to be greeted by our three other DeFever friends (Omega, Tide’s In and Sea Dog) – all bigger boats. I wish there was a way to take a picture of all of us, but unfortunately not. We were having cocktails on the back deck about 5:30 when over the trees I spot an air balloon. It was great. Pam and Stephen from Tide’s In joined us and we watched the balloon touch down on the water and then again on the golf course. What a way to end the day.

Alabama Shoreline

Hot Air Balloon in Goose Pond Marina

Oct. 16 - Saturday

We got a fairly early start after a nice hot breakfast. Matt and Andrew stayed aboard last night and most of today as we traveled down river to Hales Bar (Gould, TN). We did stop for a pump out before leaving – nice to have extra hands to throw lines. The ride was beautiful and Andrew and Matt took time at the wheel. We had to pass a swimming regatta of about 30 swimmers. The Coast Guard Auxiliary was out to make sure boats moved through the area at no wake speed. Thus we were going slow for about 5 miles. The day passed quickly with guests aboard. We talked, Matt took a lot of pictures and when we arrived at Gould, TN – more family joined us for lunch. By 3:00 everyone left and we cleaned up the boat, prepared for a longer run tomorrow and had a quiet evening.

Linesman Matt

Fall Colors

Helmsman Andrew; Navigator Barb

Swimming Regatta on TN River

Oct. 15 - Friday

We finished cleaning inside as family is coming aboard this evening. I had to pull out bedding and linens for the forward stateroom – anything not used on a daily basis is always stowed away. I spent the afternoon making more food for the weekend. Dave cleaned outside a little. Most of the Looper boats left this a.m. and we thought we would be the only ones on the dock – but about 3:00 a whole line of new Loopers arrived. We met Pat and Dick Danly on a DeFever 46 from Holland MI – small world. We helped them tie up and then finished our guest preparations. Family (Nephew and his son) arrived at 6:30 – had a nice dinner and then played UNO (it has been a long time). The Nina and Pinta replicas arrived in the afternoon and we walked down to see them.

Pinta in Chattanooga

Nina in Chattanooga, TN

Bluff Dock full of Loopers

Oct. 14 - Thursday

Hallelujah in Chattanooga, TN

Today was work on boat day – we tried to transfer fuel but the fuel transfer pump wouldn’t work – ordered a new one (life of boating). We walked to the art district but there wasn’t much there that we hadn’t seen on our bikes or meals. In the afternoon we road our bikes to the north side of the river (across a walking bridge) to a mini Whole Foods grocery store. They had some of what we like to get at Whole Foods, but not as big a selection (good thing as we only had our two backpacks). We did get some good steaks, chicken and cheese. Dave took a bike ride on the bike trail again today (this is a great trail) while I worked on the web site. I also started cooking for the upcoming weekend (potato salad and dessert).

Oct. 13 - Wednesday

Today we were sightseers: did the electric trolley out to the Chattenooga Choo-choo. This wasn’t what we expected; it is a hotel that uses train cars for hotel rooms. They did have a pretty garden area but we returned to the waterfront earlier than expected. We then did the Chattanooga Aquarium – wow what a great place. We did the River Experience (fresh water) in the morning (lots of walking in this aquarium). We ate lunch and then did the separate building which housed the Ocean aquarium in the afternoon. Dave relaxed a little and then we had cocktails aboard Tide’s In (a 48 foot DeFever) with Steve and Pamela. We went out to dinner with Mike and Vicki from Drifter (gold Loopers) for pizza – it was great food and excellent company. We hadn’t had a good pizza (or any pizza) in months. What a great day – the city of Chattanooga is an excellent tourist destination – I suggested it to ALER (a national reading association I used to support as conference coordinator). The city is clean, there are lots of activities to do -- shopping is good and the local people very helpful.

Oct. 12 - Tuesday

We had a great nights sleep and took a 16 mile bike ride in the morning. The Chattanooga bike trail was wonderful (pictures of how fancy this trail is). We went all the way to the Chickamauga Lock and Dam. The bike / walking path is well used by the local population. All along the river walk there is art work – depicting recreation along the river (see Dave with “The Racer”). We enjoyed all of it – the industrial parts, the city parks, the swamp lands and the Univ. of Tenn – Chattanooga campus. We relaxed in the afternoon (in other words, we were tired from bike riding). I tried to work on the website, with very little success. Looper friends we met in Charlevoix, MI came in so we had cocktails aboard Friendship with Shell and Penny and two other couples. Spent the evening planning a menu for relatives arriving on Friday.

Dave with 'The Racer'

Swamp Along Bike Trail

Chattanooga Bike Trail

Bamboo on U of T-Chatt Campus

Oct. 11 - Monday

Engine room work – I tightened up fittings on the starboard engine that connect the fuel line to the fuel lift pump and then onto the main fuel filters. The engine turned over fine – I was able to get them a little snugger. Dave is a great teacher, but he doesn’t fit on the outside of the starboard engine so he demonstrates on the port engine and I then crawl back and do what he demonstrates. I need to loose more weight! Or shrink my body for the 12 inch space that I have to work in.

We left the dock at 8:30 heading into Chattanooga – the engine ran fine. We had a good run and the scenery was outstanding! We are in the area of the Tenn River called the Grand Canyon of the Tenn River. We wove around various mountains – Raccoon Mountain and Lookout Mountain were impressive. We went through narrow passages and more residential areas. The homes along the river were huge! Way over 3000 sq ft. Some had boat houses that would match our former home in Grand Rapids. Chattanooga was busy. We arrived and couldn’t get onto the assigned dock so moved further upriver to the long city peer known as the Bluffs. We were able to tie up on the farthest northern end of this dock, under the walking bridge that goes across the river. It was 110 steps up from the boat to the street but the incentive was the ice cream shop at the top (we shared a milkshake – first in a long time). We were in a safe place and we were greeted by many of our Looper friends! We were told to get to the visitors center quickly so we could get all information and coupons for restaurants. This afternoon the walk was great! We learned about a bike trail that we could ride. We hosted 8 aboard Hallelujah for cocktails and then went to an Italian restaurant (Tony’s) in the art district for dinner. Dave actually was able to walk a few miles today with no problems J Another great day!

The pictures show haze, but actually there was a forest fire over a ridge that caused the overcast skies for about half of our trip upriver. We could smell the fire for miles -- didn’t hamper our close up scenery though.

Oct. 10 - Sunday

We traveled today to Gould, TN – upriver towards Chattanooga. We started well and were relieved that engines turned over and ran smooth – until about 10:00 a.m. when the first air burp occurred. Shortly after that the starboard engine almost died when we were hit by a wake. We turned around to head back towards Goose Pond but the engine started running fine. We went about 7 miles south and then made the decision to continue north – so we saw the same 7 miles three times today. We had one lock – bet you are all getting tired of these locks but this is the last one before Chattanooga. This lock master wasn’t the friendliest and wouldn’t acknowledge us until we arrived at the lock. So we had to wait 30 minutes for him to open the doors (at least he was constant and did the same to all other craft locking through that we heard on the radio). All this time we are listening to small burps as air runs through the fuel line. We got through the lock and hoped to anchor, but we needed to be in a marina in case we needed more assistance. So we went to Hales Bar Marina – got tied up before 5:00. Long day with extra miles. We have a plan for what to do tomorrow with the engine - didn’t feel like cocktails tonight as we just needed to unwind. The scenery is better today as the pictures show. Dave says I need to do less water and sky. Today was overcast and last night was cold. We are into a true fall season of cool nights (has been in the upper 40’s at night) and warming into the 70’s during the day.

Thus, travel has been easy as we are not really hot. The river system is very easy going with very little current (about 1 mile per hour) so we make about 8 knots speed. We have also been lucky – no barge traffic since leaving Great Harbor – very quiet. At most we pass a few pleasure craft and a few pass us as we are a slow turtle. We mostly see fishing craft – lots of fishermen on the river with really fancy bass fishing boats. Turned in early so we can work on engine in the am when it is cold.

Fall Leaves south of Scottsburo, AL

More Shoreline in AL.

Mountains in TN

Oct. 9 - Saturday

This is preparation day for moving. We again tried to transfer fuel but couldn’t get the pump to work. We filled water tanks, did grocery shopping and secured all deck equipment so that we could travel tomorrow. We were treated to meeting a new Looper couple on Omega – a 50 foot DeFever today. We had cocktails with Bill and Charlene aboard their beautiful yacht. Wonderful couple who gave us great information about traversing the Tenn-Tom Bigby waterway - good anchorages and marina stops. We hope to see them when we reach the FL Keys in January. What a way to end a wonderful stay at Goose Pond. We ended the evening with final prep work. Of course we had a good dinner with fresh food! We are becoming spoiled with good food – I really do have time to cook! But we are not gaining weight – in fact our cloths are getting bigger – Dave is wearing a belt to hold up pants and I’ve started wearing some cloths that didn’t fit when we started this adventure. Guess the daily work on the boat and all the stairs we do is good exercise. We really haven’t used the bikes and kayaks that much yet.

Oct. 8 - Friday

Woke up to DieselDon knocking on the boat – 7:30 is early. I grabbed bathrobe and yelled to Dave to put on pants. Welcomed him aboard and then dived for aft cabin for cloths. Dave went with him to the engine room and explained the problem. Don popped out of engine room with a fuel line in hand and immediately stated what the problem was – an o-ring connector had gone bad – the one put on in Alton, IL (we could literally see the deformed o-ring in the fitting. We went over 600 miles with no glitch and then the rubber o-ring gave out. Don replaced the connector with a proper fitting and tightened the fuel hose to the fuel lift pump and was gone by 9:00. The engine started right up – let’s hope this solves the fuel air leak problem. We then started to transfer fuel to the side tanks only to have the transfer pump stop working – it is always something. We were again invited to cocktails and out to a Mexican dinner with 12 Loopers. Had a great dinner with a great group of loopers (meeting and getting to know people with a common interest is so exiting). Then we were treated to a wonderful desert at Ray and Patsy’s house (the Goose Pond Harbor Hosts). They are incredible people who really do go the extra mile to make Loopers welcomed to Goose Pond Colony Marina. We had a wonderful time talking about Looper experiences and eating Key Lime Cake (I need to get that recipe!). Don’t know where the day went, we didn’t do to much exciting today but were tired when we returned to the boat. Need to be up early tomorrow.

Oct. 7 - Thursday

We were the last boat out of the marina – engine wouldn’t start again. I had to replace the tape again. No mechanics at this marina. I called ahead to find out which of two marinas to go to for service – One in Guntersville or Scottsboro, AL. Both marinas indicated Goose Pond (Scottsboro) so we traveled 44 miles north to Goose Pond. The trip was exhausting mentally with worry that the engine would just stop running completely and today we had one lock (Guntersville) to go through. You have to know that in a lock you must shut off engines, so we prayed but everything went well. We locked through with Felix and Drifter with no problems – smooth lift of 39 feet and engines turned over easily. We saw old friends heading downriver – Prime Time passed us just after we locked through and we talked on the radio for about 10 minutes, then passed other Loopers we have met along the way. The scenery was great – more hills and more fall color. Everyone said that we would enjoy Chattanooga if we got there. Goose Pond is a Looper Harbor and we were met by Ray Whitney the Looper harbor host. Wow what a wonderful man! We were invited to cocktails aboard SeaSea with about 5 other Looper boats. We met a lot of new people. But more interestingly, there were three DeFevers on the dock at one time.

Fall color and Limestone Hills

Mountains are getting higher

We were the smallest at 44 feet, then a 48 foot (Tide’s In) and a 60 foot (Sea Dog). Again we felt small. We talked to DieselDon on and off all day and he will come aboard tomorrow so we will spend a few days here so he can work on the engine fuel line. We went to dinner at the Goose Pond Restaurant (The Docks) with 8 other Loopers (5 boats). Had a good dinner but it was a little expensive. We were out late – not our usually evening routine. Will work on the boat tomorrow.

Oct. 6 - Wednesday

Up early but when we went to start the starboard engine it wouldn’t turn over. OK, what to do? We ended up taping the fuel line (again!). We didn’t want to stay in this small marina and there were better mechanics further upstream. We will have to again have someone aboard. No locks today but 43 miles to Ditto Landing which is just outside of Huntsville, AL. Lots of twisting and winding of the river today – we are weaving around small mountains (hills). Scenery is really getting more colorful with fall leaves. The tape is holding today and the engine is running ok. But we were exhausted because of worry most of the day – would we make it? We did by 4:00 pull into Ditto and get tied up. Felix came in just after us – along with Drifter a gold looper (finished the loop in 2007). The evening was quiet – cocktails aboard Hallelujah. This was the cheapest marina yet - $21.00 for a slip. Clean, new docks and bathrooms – very nice marina personnel.

Hills going upriver towards Chattenooga

Fall Color Beginning

Oct. 5 - Tuesday

Oh My Gosh!!! We were up and ready to leave – called the lock and he said to start up the narrow canal and he would be ready for us. This lock is unbelievable! It was so overpowering we were sure that we would have tons of problems. Wilson Lock is a 93 foot rise. It took 45 minutes to go from bottom to top but the ride was so smooth that we just sat on the railing and gently pushed to boat off the walls when needed. I can’t even imagine the amount of water it took to fill a 600 foot long lock that goes up 93 feet. By 9:30 we were out of the lock and into Wilson Lake which is very small (15 miles long) and mostly a residential shoreline. We continued to the next lock, Wheeler Lock which was only a 48 foot rise – again had a very smooth ride up in about 15 minutes. It was still before 12:00 so we explored a little of Wheeler Lake which is very beautiful. We will anchor in this lake and also attend a Looper Rendezvous in a few weeks. But after eating some lunch we continued upriver to another very small marina in the back country – Bay Hill Marina.

Wilson Lock Doors

Wilson Lock, Florence AL

A local Looper met us as we pulled in and invited us for cocktails on another dock – but unfortunately we never found the party. There was no where to walk, but I was able to get some mailing done as the marina manager would take letters to the post office. We had a quiet evening and turned in early as tomorrow would be a longer run.

Oct. 4 - Monday

Hallelujah & Freedom at Florence, AL

After a quick stop at the gas dock to get a pump out (not really an easy trip due to wind pushing us off the gas dock) we are off to Florence AL. The currents were a little stronger today. A barge coming upriver was going faster than we were so we slowed down and turned down river to let the barge pass – better to pass than to have a barge overtake you – also not as embarrassing. We then followed the barge for about 15 miles till it pulled over to a power plan (carrying coal). We had an uneventful run into Florence which has a small marina but very friendly people. Because we are now into winter season down here – the marina is not usually open on Monday but the owner came down to help us get checked in and docked. We had to tie up in front of a rather large ship “Freedom”. We don’t look so big next to this 100 + foot yacht. The river on the way up is getting hillier (southern end of the Appalachian Mountains). We met a Looper couple aboard Felix (a 40 foot sailing catamaran carrying it’s mast). Nice couple – but no cocktails today so we had our own onboard. Walked around the marina and along the park but not into town. Turned in as tomorrow we are to do two locks – one is 3 miles from this marina and it is the largest lock on the Tenn River.