AGLCA Rondevouz

We woke to fog on the last day of our run to Joe Wheeler State Park (Rogersville, Alabama) for the AGLCA Rondevouz and Reunion.  The harbor was filled with bass boats waiting for the fog to lift so they could get out and begin the competition. 

By 9 am, the fog cleared and once the small boats raced out, eight cruising boats in the harbor headed out towards the Wilson Lock.  With a 93' lift, the Wilson was the highest single lift lock in the world when it was built in the 1950's.  Currently, it ranks 6th after five other locks in the Pacific Northwest.  It's quite impressive. 

The doors are massive, it's fun just to watch them close.  Okay, you'll have to turn your computer on the side to see them ... seems I used to put "portrait" oriented pics in the blog, but this one won't turn the right way. 

We came into beautiful Joe Wheeler State Park with five other boats.  AGLCA volunteers on the docks were ready to direct us all in, grab our lines, and welcome us to the event.  Very efficient.  A total of 57 looper boats were at the event.  The lodge was also filled with folks who attended by land.  Three days of seminars, lunches and dinners are included with registration.  The event is well sponsored by marinas along the loop who provide breakfasts, wine receptions, and goodie bags.  Name tags identify each of us by name, boat name and home port, along with a ribbon to signify our "loop status".  Gold for those who have completed the loop, white for those currently looping, and blue for those in the planning stages.  Just walking the docks was an event, checking out all the boats and meeting fun and amazing people who were as crazy about looping as we are.  On the Looper Crawls, boats were opened up for visiting and we toured some beauties including a spacious 44' Endeavor Catamaran, a crazy fancy 50' Searay, and a couple of expertly preserved older trawlers.  Our favorite, however, had to be Sea Biscuit, a 38' 1962 steel Chris Craft Roamer.  Her owners had spent 10 years restoring her and she was perfect both inside and out.  We also met a couple from Australia, who had come to America and bought a boat just to do the loop and were close to completion. 

Here's the view of our dock, seen from the deck of the lodge. 

 and this is the view from our back deck.  As you can see, Joe Wheeler Park is gorgeous and the weather was fabulous. 

We had more fun than we had ever expected and were so glad that we had finally attended a Rondevouz.  Last night it was over and we left this morning .... next destination:  Chattanooga.



Tennessee River Cruising

We left Green Turtle Bay Marina with Eschaton (Jack and Nan plus their dog and 2 cats aboard) and went on a short cruise to anchor for the night.  The shoreline along this stretch is lined with beautiful cliffs, sand beaches and forest. 

There are dozens of embayments that provide quiet isolated anchorages. We turned into Sugar Bay, one of the best, where we had anchored in '09. 

It was like old times as we anchored the boats together, launched the dinghys, and headed to shore for a hike through the woods.  

After weeks of perfect weather, the next day brought cool temps and rain.  When cruising, you have to take the good with the bad, so we drove inside where we could stay warm and dry.  We came upon this homemade raft making its way along with a very small outboard motor.  You have to admire their determination.  

 

Lucy climbs up on top of the frig, under the counter whenever the engine is started.  She doesn't have quite as much spirit of adventure that she had during our first loop.  When we land at a marina or anchorage, she goes out onto the deck, looks around and seems to say "well, this isn't my yard" and then goes back inside.  She came out and joined us for a while during the rainy days. 

We stayed at a couple of new marinas and one of our old favorite marinas as we made our way south on the Tennessee.  With the nighttime temps in the low 30's we appreciated the electricity to run the heat.  The marinas on the Tennessee are so inexpensive (still $1/foot) and so friendly.  They really seem to appreciate your business and go out of their way to make boaters feel welcome.  At Clifton Marina they remembered us from 2 years ago, even though we had only stayed one night.  Clifton is the kind of place where when you go in for a burger, they make you feel like they are cooking dinner just for you.  We also have been surprised and pleased to run into several of the Loopers that we had met during our first loop who, like us, couldn't give up the cruising life and were heading south for the winter. 

After 2 days of rain, the sun came back out, and the daytime temps have improved.  After the Pickwick Lock, there are some spectacular homes on the shore. 

We met this man who lives on this unusual cruising boat.  We didn't get a tour of the inside, but can imagine how comfortable it must be.  It's a Jay Benford design, built of steel in Guatamala. 

Boaters following the Great Loop route follow the Tennessee River for about 200 miles and then turn off onto the TennTom Waterway.  This time we are following the Tennessee for another 300 miles to Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a stop at the AGLCA Rondevouz along the way.  The shoreline in this section of the river reminds me alot of the upper Mississippi, with more houses and more boats, even this late in the year. 

Lots of action in the marina we are in tonight, music in the bar, and a bass fishing contest with 150 boats participating began today.  After a month aboard, we have settled back into the cruising life and are enjoying it immensely.  We're glad to say it's as much fun as it was the first time around, perhaps not quite the excitement, but maybe a bit more relaxed so far this time. 

Green Turtle Bay

We've had a great week at Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers Kentucky.  I apologize to the readers because I've taken very few pictures and not much to report, so this will be a quick read.  This is the land entrance to the Marina and Resort.  Along with 450 boat slips, there are 80 condos, health and fitness center, 2 restaurants, full service boat yard and great ships store over acres of wooded hills and trails. 

Kentucky Lake, 184 miles long, was formed when the north flowing Tennessee River was dammed in the 1940's.  Twenty years later, Barkley Lake was formed by damming the Cumberland River.  The two beautiful lakes run parallel to each other and are connected at the north end by a free flowing canal.  The Land between the Lakes National Recreation Area is the pennisula that was formed.  If you  check a road map of western Kentucky, you can get a visual idea of the amount of water and the 3000 miles of shoreline that form this recreation and water sports mecca.  Green Turtle Bay is a Looper favorite so we've met lots of new friends and had a little social hour the other night with crews from about 12 boats attending. 

One event that occurred here was a "first time ever" for the captain.  We had a very small leak at the rear of the transmission and actually hired a mechanic from the marina to fix it !!!  Steve said, "I could get used to this" as we had breakfast at one of the on site restaurants while the work was done. 

Today we rented a golf cart for a few hours and toured all over both the Resort and the town.  After lunch and a trip to the grocery, we're watching a little football.  We have cable TV and great WiFi and the bathrooms and laundry have been completely redone in excellent fashion since our last visit here in 2009.  We only stayed a couple of rainy and cold days then, so this long, sunny visit has been a great opportunity to fully appreciate this area.  I leave you with this sunrise seen from the back deck and best hopes for the Vikings on Sunday Night Football. 

Tonight Nan and Jack join us for tacos and tomorrow we depart to the south (but going upstream) on the Tennessee River. 

Kentucky Lakes

The last time we went by the St. Louis Arch, it was cloudy and cold, the worst possible for taking pictures.  80 degrees and sunny this time.   There are no places to stop in St. Louis, so the view from the River was as close as we got. 

Hoppies Marine Service is the last marina for fuel or dockage for at least 225 miles so almost everyone stops there for a night.  Built on top of several barges and right on the main channel of the Mississippi, Hoppie's has its own charm, but little in the way of amenities.   The cleats, however, are more than adequate. 

After Hoppies, the next recommended anchorage is 110 miles downstream.  The last time we traveled this route, we made this stretch in record time with the aid of a fast current that we attributed to abnormally high water.  It seemed like the current was just as fast this time, even with low water, but we left at first light anyway to make sure we had enough daylight.  Here's the sunrise as we departed.

Ten hours of driving so Steve actually let me take the helm for a spell.  We passed many large tows going in both directions.  Fortunately the River is quite wide here and there's room for all.  In this picture you can see three of them and they are all moving. 

With the water down, wingdams were clearly visible. 

Here's an interesting chevron shaped "wingdam", another attempt to control the waters of the Mississippi, but certainly could take out a prop or outdrive if one were to stray out of the channel during high water when they are can't be seen like this. 

As we neared Mile 0 on the Upper Mississippi, where the Ohio enters it, we approached this long S curve.  If one were to stay on the Miss, this is how most of the Lower Miss looks.  Steve's new electronic toy is an AIS receiver.  Working through the VHF radio, it alerts us to commercial watercraft within VHF radio range.  Each little black triangle seen on the chartplotter represents a towboat.  The Ohio is BUSY.... if you click on the triange, it tells you the name of the boat along with direction and speed.  Quite fun and useful little gadget, actually.  Note also our speed of 12.3 MPH, pretty fast for an 8 mph trawler. 

When we turned into the Ohio, upstream, it was like putting on the breaks and we were barely making 7 mph.  We passed this cargo ship on the Ohio.  300' long, we had never seen a ship like this on the rivers before.   

This is a view of the Olmsted Locks, still under construction on the Ohio.  When complete, they will replace 2 older locks that will be removed.  It's a massive project that can't possibly be shown in one photo, but this one shows the locks (structure on left) and part of the dam (white structure on right). 

After about 50 miles on the Ohio, we turned into the Tennesee River.  We had taken the Cumberland River last time, so yippee, a new waterway.  We went by Paducah, Kentucky, no marinas here, but check out how high up that flood wall is, way up by the trees. 

After a short pleasant cruise with much less current on the Tennesee, we approached the Kentucky Lock.   With a 57 foot lift, this is a very high lock.  This lock carries all the local towboat traffic so cruisers often have to wait hours to lock through, but the lockmaster kindly let four of us pleasure boats lock through in front of this tow. 

After we cleared the lock, we took a turn to starboard and docked at the Kentucky Dam Marina, a huge marina, with good prices, great WiFi, and even cable TV.  It's a very sleepy little place, however, so tomorrow we are moving to Green Turtle Bay Marina for a week stay.  We are meeting our old buddies, Jack and Nan aboard the intrepid Eschaton, their 37' Gibson that took them around the Great Loop.  We've traveled over 900 miles in three weeks, so are ready to slow it down a bit and enjoy the Tennesee River. 

Glorious Grafton

We've made to another "destination" on this cruise, Grafton, IL, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.   But first, to backtrack at little, wanted to post this picture of Lock 19 at Keokuk, IA.  At 1200' long, it's twice as long as all the other Mississippi locks.

A "double" tow (15 barges and one huge tow boat) can all fit into this lock without breaking in two like they do for the normal 600' locks.  Here's a double waiting at the door for us to exit.  As you can see there's alot going on here, an open train bridge above, the tow waiting, and the little Shingebiss sneaking out. 

The river is full of upstream double tows and we waited 1-2 hours for almost every lock over the next couple of days.  The only other pleasure boats were the duck hunters and fishermen who had Asian carp jumping in their wakes.  Guess the carp are migrating up the Mississippi, but not nearly as plentiful as on the Illinois.  We heard 'em bumping up against our hull in this peaceful anchorage above Hannibal, MO. 

The next morning as we rounded the corner toward Hannibal, we saw this amazing bank of fog ahead of us.

Surrounded by blue sky, it looked like a fluffy cloud that had dropped from above. 

After a mile or two of driving by radar at a very slow speed, the fog cloud lifted and we were greeted by this beautiful bluff. 

Our final anchorage on this leg was also very peaceful and calm, with this panoramic view.  Note the entire double tow can be seen. 

The bluffs are back, the weather remains sunny with highs around 80 and lows around 50, and as we  are just north of the St. Louis area, we are seeing more pleasure boats.   These boats are replicas of the Nina and Pinta and are traveling the river systems.  I spoke briefy to one of the captains in the laundry room today.  He told me they have already done the Loop three times and were up the Mississippi and to Hudson, WI last summer.  We hadn't ever heard of them before, but they were doing a brisk business giving $8 tours of the boats and said they gave 10,000 tours in Hudson. 

Almost all Loopers stop at Grafton Harbor as it marks the end of their Illinois River cruise and the start of their experience on the mighty Miss.  It's a good place to reprovision, do some laundry, and fill water tanks. We did all that today along with a Looper Social Hour with crew from Inconceivable and Blue Line.  It's great to again sit around and talk boats and cruising the loop. 



from Hannibal

The weather took a turn for the worse as we cruised to the Quad Cities.  Pouring rain, so we were driving at the lower helm.  I went out to place the fenders for Lock 14 and oh dear, the bimini top on the flybridge had blown down and looked trashed.  After a dismal lockthrough, we pulled into Safe Harbor where Looper buddies, Tom and Diann have their condo and adjacent dock.  Readers might recall them from our Great Loop Adventures.  It was great to see them again and be so warmly welcomed into their first class harbor and gorgeous condo.  Tom and Steve went to assess the damage to the bimini, it wasn't as bad as first appeared and Steve thought he had a way to fix it.  We all took a ride to the grocery and hardware store.  Diann is a great cook and she served us a delicious dinner and breakfast the next morning. 

Steve and Tom went to work on the bimini and Diann and I did a little yoga.  More rain was forcasted and after a week of travel days, we decided to take a break and stay another night.  Bimini repaired and all relaxed and refreshed, we went to dinner at the Lindsay Park Yacht Club, joined by Tom and Diann's neighbors and good friends, Ron and Carol Lee.  Great fun, great food and lots of good conversation.  We bought fuel the next day at about $1 more a gallon that we had paid on our Loop.  We passed by Muscatine the next day, one of our favorite stops on our previous fall trips, but their harbor is too shallow to get into. 

On to Burlington where again our usual stop did not have enough water for our shallow 3' draft, so we stayed free at Big Muddy's Restaurant dock.  The next morning, SUN came out. 



The Fort Madison Bridge (trains on the bottom, cars on top) is one of the few bridges we have to  request to be opened.  



We passed by Navoo, a huge historic Morman temple and early settlement.

We stayed at the Keokuk Yacht Club, a fun little place with very narrow entrance.  

Tonight we are anchored above Hannibal, MO because their Municipal Marina is being dredged.  The weather was in the 60's today, but sunny and calm.  It was a long day, 55 miles and three locks, at 2 of them we waited over an hour.  I uploaded these pics while we waited for one, so I'm going to post this now, let Steve have the air card, and will have more pics when we get to Grafton.  Should be there in two more travel days.  This part of the River is pretty desolate with towns and marinas few and far between.  The banks are still lined with trees and a few cabins, but the bluffs are gone and the scenery is rather monotonous.  The good news is that the downstream current is giving us a another couple of miles an hour.  Last fall when we brought the boat home in an unusual fall flood, it took away at least three miles an hour.  So with our base speed of 8 mph, we are traveling about twice as fast as we did last fall.  Downstream is GOOD.