Log 46
Day 135
Friday, October 03, 2008

The shores of the river are now rocks and getting higher

This is a shot out the back of the boat as we picked up our speed to catch up with Footloose and go through the Guntersville Lock.
This hill rises 550 feet about the river
This is really cool boating.

You can tell Signal Point Marina decided not to spend a lot of money on their office area...but the folks were very friendly


8:40 AM CDT
Location: Signal Point Marina, Guntersville, AL

Weather: 63*clear, and a little windy; forecast is for sunny and 83* and light winds

Side note...(click here) to see our current location

I watched the debates last night and did not go to sleep until after 10...crazy. So I didn’t wake up till almost 7 this morning. It’s been a while since I woke up and it was light out. This morning we are sitting at the end, on the outside, of a long covered slip at Signal Point Marina. If you check out the picture I included of the office at this marina, I don’t really have to explain the condition of the marina. To say we were among a group of hillbilly boaters, would be an understatement.

Yesterday...at 7:30 we fired up the engines and pulled away from the dock, but before leaving the marina we stopped at the fuel dock and did a self service pump out (every place should have one of these). We quickly did this because I wanted to keep with Footloose...a boat who had just left and heading the same direction we were heading. My thought is that we would travel together to the next lock (about 14 miles up river) and be able to lock through together. I did not want to be too far behind him in case he got to the lock and they locked him through and we had to wait for the next lock. As it turned out, this was a great decision because when we got to the lock they had just let out a south bound pleasure craft...so we just pulled into the lock without any wait. Behind us just a little ways, were two pleasure craft who had to wait for the next lockage.
The river continues to be very scenic and the hills and mountains are getting more dramatic. The pictures do a reasonable job of showing this. No doubt this is some of the best boating you can have. Deep, fresh, water...beautiful scenery...and lots of marinas. The guide books are correct when they describe the beauty...and they still say the best is yet to come. Our marina is old and not the best maintained, but the folks are very friendly and very helpful. They have a washer and dryer (which Deb used yesterday, and is there as I write this) and a courtesy car which we will be using later this morning. Not the fanciest place...but not bad either.

Today...we are getting ready for friends of ours (Chuck and Holly Mory) to join us for a few days. They arrive at Chattanooga at about 1 and we think they’ll be at the boat by 3 or so. They will travel with us from here to Chattanooga (about 120 miles by river) and go home next Wednesday. Chuck is a former customer (Oscar Meyer) and a guy we hired several years ago to replace me as President of Power Logistics in Europe. Deb and I love spending time with Chuck and Holly and look forward to the next few days. Before they get here, we need to clean the boat, and go into town for groceries and replenish our supplies.

Because Chuck is an early riser, and we end up spending a lot of the early mornings talking on the back deck, I am not sure how many logs I’ll do while they are here. So it may be a couple of days before my next post.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 45; Day 134; Oct 2; Huntsville, AL

Log 45
Day 134
Thursday, October 02, 2008

5:10 AM CDT
Location: Ditto Landing Marina, Huntsville, AL
Weather: 54* and clear; forecast is for sunny and 81* and light winds

This morning is the coolest morning we have had since we left Michigan last spring. I had to turn the heat on in the salon...and that is where I am sitting because it’s too cool to be in the helm area yet. We did sleep with the windows open last night for the 2nd night in a row, which is very rare for us, but Deb and I agreed that the first night was good, so we tried it again and it was fine. The weather is supposed to warm up from here and extended forecast (for the areas we are cruising) shows days in the 80’s and nights in the upper 50’s with no rain, for the next 10 days. We have had near perfect cruising days for weeks now.

Yesterday...was very pretty, but the views were not as dramatic as the last couple of days. We left Joe Wheeler and in a couple of hours we were going by Decatur AL, and under the I-65 bridge. From there we entered a 15 mile section of the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge which they say is 34,500 acres and the southern most wintering ground of Canada geese. Much of the ride (67 miles) felt more rural and you could also see in the distance a mountain range near Huntsville, AL. We also went by (although you could not see it) several miles that bordered the Marshall Space Flight Center where NASA was formed in 1958.
We arrived at Ditto Landing Marina about 2 pm, and I was happy to see a nicer marina than I had expected. It was nothing special, but certainly nothing wrong with it either. It is owned by the city of Huntsville, and you can always tell a marina owned and operated by a city or state. They are not the cleanest; not the most progressive; and the help is not in a hurry to do anything. After tying up HQ Deb and I took a walk around the marina to pay for our slip and just walk a little. We stopped by a boat called Footloose, a couple from Colorado who we met at Green Turtle Bay Marina. They are heading up to Chattanooga as well, and I’m sure we’ll see them along the way. Back at the boat we spent our time on our computers, and for dinner we had tuna helper (Deb and I actually like it) and watched a new program I had recorded called “worlds toughest fixes” where they film a guy helping folks repair some of the biggest things that need repairing. Last night they fixed the pressure chamber in a 747...good program.

Today...we have 25 miles and Guntersville lock to go through to get to Guntersville, AL, and Signal Point Marina...our slip for the next couple of nights. The guide book says “nothing you have seen yet on the Tennessee prepares you for the view as you leave Guntersville Lock”. That’s quite a statement; and based on what we have seen so far, is something to look forward to. Most everyone you talk to says the Tennessee from here to Chattanooga is the most dramatic part of the river...can’t wait.

Side notes:
· Slip fees really vary in this area. When we were at Aqua Yacht Harbor we paid $66 for the night...here at Ditto we paid $22. At Joe Wheeler they charge $300 per month...at Heritage Harbor we paid $750 a month...in Key West they charge $2100 per month.
· Fuel cost is similar. In this 450 mile stretch of the Tennessee we have seen a low of $4.09 (where we will be fueling up in a couple of days) to $5.25 where we will be tonight. The good news is we are going slow and getting great fuel mileage, so we don’t have to get fuel each day. In fact we have not got any fuel since we left Green Turtle Bay...8 days ago...and we have used 193 gallon since that point. As I was watching news coverage this morning (while writing this log) one analyst predicted oil could go down to $50 a barrel. If so...it will be interesting to see if the price of fuel at the pumps goes back to where it was when oil was $50 before.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

This is a look at Ditto Landing Marina

Below is a shot as we came into the marina and the Cumberland Plateau mountain range
This was our slip at Joe Wheeler Marina...we will be back here in a couple of weeks and staying for a week
Typical afternoon for Deb and I on the back deck with dueling computers
Much of the time this was the type of view I had as we were heading to Huntsville, with the Cumberland Plateau mountains in the distance

Log 44; Day 133; Oct 1; Joe Wheeler State Park

Log 44
Day 133
Wednesday, October 01, 2008

4:50 AM CDT
Location: Joe Wheeler State Park Marina, Rogersville, AL
Weather: 58* and clear; forecast is for sunny and 75* and NNW winds at 10-20

One great thing about getting up early is plenty of time to do the log without being rushed to finish it before having to get the boat ready to head out for the day. While this log is not very long most days...it takes longer to write it than you might think...or I normally think. Many times I’ll start, then quit, then come back again, and extra time helps with that. This morning I have plenty of time and it is a nice morning to do it. Still dark out, but we are sitting directly in front of a lodge (Joe Wheeler Lodge) and the light from the lodge gives the helm area a light glow.

Yesterday...we had to get ready in a hurry to leave the dock and head for the lock. As soon as I finished the log, I called the lock on the ship to shore radio and asked the status of locking up. He told me they were just locking through a double (meaning it was a large barge and they had to take it through in two different pieces. The barge pulls into the lock...they unhook half the barge...the tow backs out of the lock...they raise the first half of the barge up and pull it out of the lock with cables...they lower the lock again and then the 2nd half of the barge goes in, and then they raise it up. The tow then pushes the 2nd half out...hooks up again with the 1st half, and pushes on. This can take up to 2 hours to accomplish this) and they had another double coming up the river. I asked if we get there in a hurry could we get through ahead of the next barge and he said “possibly”. So I woke up Deb and told her we had to leave now, or wait 3 hours...we agreed to go right away. It only took about 10 minutes to leave the slip (I think that’s a record for us) and it was a 2 mile run up a narrow channel to the Wilson Lock. As I headed up the channel I called the lock at 7:40; we were in the lock at 8:10; they lifted us 80 feet; and we were leaving the lock at 8:35. The next lock (Joe Wheeler) was about 14 miles away and I had hoped to get ahead of the double barge that had locked through ahead of us at the Wilson Lock, but the barge was about 8 miles ahead of us by the time we came out of the lock and I knew, even if I ran hard, we might not get to the lock in time for them to lock us through ahead of the barge...so we just took our time and enjoyed the beautiful morning. By about 10 we were close enough to the lock to call them and they said it would be about 2 hours so we tied to one of their outer walls and waited. At 12:10 we entered the lock and at 12:30 we were pulling out.
It was only about 3 miles from the lock to our slip at Joe Wheeler State Park, and by 1:30 we were tied up. Like many state operated facilities there was lots of confusion and little organization. There just does not seem to be any sense of urgency. So after walking around talking to people who worked there and looking for answers on who we pay...and what slip is ok to park in (seems simple...but it wasn’t) we finally were settled in at 2:30. From there is became our normal routine. Organize the boat; emails; internet searches (for who knows what); planning our next days cruise; and relaxing. Dinner consisted of pork chops that Deb did on the stove (even with a restaurant just a few feet in front of us at the lodge we still eat on the boat) and we watched a pre-recorded “Raising the Bar”...which is becoming a show we really like.

Side notes:
· The water leak we had remains to be ok. Although it could probably stay the way I fixed it, I plan to re-do the repair (so any vibration will not cause an issue) when we get a day when we are not cruising
· The cruising yesterday was just as pretty as the last few days of cruising. When we came out of Wilson Lock it was awesome, and the same when we came out of Joe Wheeler Lock. In each case the dams that they have made have created huge lakes and they are wide; deep; and very pretty. No doubt some of the prettiest waters we have been in...and they say it gets better.
· The leaves on the trees are just starting to show a little color. This part of the country will be unbelievable when they really start to turn.

Today...we have about 60 miles (with no locks) to go to our slip at Ditto Landing Marina in Huntsville, AL. I have a feeling this is not much of a marina...or a stop...but it fits with our schedule so we need to stop there. I’ll report on the condition later. The weather looks to be very good. A little cool, and a little windy, but not bad at all.

Well the sun is just starting to brighten up the eastern sky and it will be light soon so I need to get things ready for the day.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 43; Day 132; 9/30/2008; Florence AL

Log 43
Day 132
Tuesday, September 30, 2008

6:15 AM CDT
Location: Florence Marina, Florence, AL
Weather: 62* and mostly clear; forecast is for sunny and 81* and a 0% chance of rain

This morning it is much improved from a fog perspective, verses yesterday morning. Actually it’s pretty clear out. We are still in this high pressure pattern that continues to give us great sunny days. I looked at the long range forecast for our area, and for the next 10 days it promises more of the same (although a little cooler).

Yesterday was very pretty and a great cruise. We untied the lines (after washing the boat and cleaning the bugs) about 8:45 and traveled 51 miles and arrived in Florence at 1:30. The cruise here was beautiful; easy to navigate; and uneventful. Florence harbor is small (a little bigger than Clifton), but very nice. Getting in and out is not a problem at all, and Terry the manager is very helpful. They have a courtesy car to get to town and when we checked in we decided to take the car and run to Wal-Mart (to look at a new camera, because Deb is having trouble with hers) but later decided not to go anywhere and took the keys back. Instead we took the time to work on catching up on emails; paying bills; and working on cruising reservations. (Oh...and following the DC situation on TV. I guess this is just a mess we’ll have to work ourselves out of over time. I’m trying to decide whether to put the for sale sign on the boat now and come home and go back to work. Nah...I’ll just stay out here and help the economy by buying goods and services from all these marinas. That should help). For dinner we cooked some great Mahi Mahi on the grill, and watched the end of Drop Zone...a move I taped earlier.

Last night was one of those scary moments you don’t like on a boat. At 12:05 both Deb and I woke up to a noise that sounded like a pump running (when you live on a boat you are always listening for noises that should not be there). I jumped out of bed and went to the power panel and turned off the water pump...and the noise stopped. I thought...come on...not another water leak. I took off a panel behind our bed and checked the leak we had before...dry as could be. I then got in the engine room and found the problem. (NOTE: I need to backtrack a minute. When we bought the boat I had them install 2 water filters on the boat. One in the back that would filter the water if we hooked up to dock water directly coming into the boat. That’s the filter that broke a fitting a week ago. I also had them put a filter on the boat’s water pump so it would filter any water coming out of the water tank...guess what?) When I had Deb turn on the water pump I could see water squirting out of the water filter. The exact same side, and the exact same fitting as the last water issue we had. So, like before, I laid there a few minutes trying to figure out how to fix this, and with a couple of fittings I bypassed our second water filter and fixed the problem. We turned on the water pump...and all was fine. The entire fix took 50 minutes and at 12:55 we were back in bed. Once Deb gets up this morning I need to go back down there with the wet vac and clean up the water in the engine compartment. I also need to get a different fitting for the pump...although it is fixed I am not happy with the way the water lines are run now and I want to tighten them up so we don’t have another issues down the road.

Today we have 21 miles and 2 locks to go through to make it to Joe Wheeler State Park...our home for tonight. The first lock is Wilson Lock...I think the largest we will ever go through...80 foot lift...just 2 miles up river from here. You never know how long it will take to get through these locks, so not sure when we get there today. As soon as I finish this log I’m going to give Wilson Lock a call and check the status, so we can decide when to pull out.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 42; Day 131; 9/29/2008 Aqua Yacht Harbor

Log 42
Day 131
Monday, September 29, 2008

6:50 AM CDT
Location: Aqua Yacht Harbor, Iuka, MS
Weather: 61* and very foggy; forecast is for sunny and 82* and a 0% chance of rain

Another very foggy morning (as usual..the picture does not do it justice). The water is still so warm (86*) and these 60* nights cause a lot of fog on the water and low lying spots. But that said...it is a beautiful morning. The sun is just coming over the trees and it will burn off this fog and a very nice day is in store. The problem this morning is “bugs”...there everywhere inside the helm area. They are those very small “nat” kind of things and they are all over. During the day you don’t notice how many of them there are and then at night when we sit in the helm and watch TV they are attracted to the light. Then during the night we have those pest strips that put out an oder that kills bugs, and in the morning those dead bugs are everywhere. This is the worst it has been.

Yesterday...was another easy, and great, cruising day. It may get boring to read this each day...but it does not get boring to do it. We went 71 miles in 7 hours. As we approached the Pickwick Lock the river continued to narrow and the current picked up a little bit as well. About 4 miles out I called the lock master and asked for lockage...he said he would empty the chamber and “keep on coming”. It took about 20 minutes for us to make the 4 miles...and for him to empty the chamber. We idled the last 1/2 mile or so and as we got to the lock the doors opened. It took 20 minutes for him to fill this huge chamber and lift us 55 feet. I have 2 pictures to show what it was like when they opened the doors to the lock. We were now in Pickwick Lake and it is as pretty as any lake you’ll see (although they say it is even prettier farther up the Tennessee). About 7 more miles and we got off the Tennessee River and went on the Yellow River to our marina for the night...Aqua Yacht Harbor. Although not as nice as I remember it...still a nice marina. The afternoon was spent reading (Deb) and watching NASCAR and enjoying a margarita (that would be me). By the way...great race and the car I picked to win the race (#48) won...so I was extra happy. For dinner we had a great piece of Tilapia that Deb fixed on the stove. We also watch the first episode of Survivor that I had recorded last week.

Today...looks to be another great weather (once this fog burns off) and cruising day. We are heading about 50 miles up river to Florence, AL. We will be heading a little further South on the river, and then head north as we make our way up to Chattanooga, where we will turn around and head back south.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Here is our slip at Aqua Yacht Harbor

The fog at Aqua Yacht Harbor this morning as I wrote this log
A shot of Pickwick Lake as we came out of the lock.
Another shot of Pickwick Lake...just awesome.

Log 41; Day 130; 9/28/2008 Clifton, TN

Log 41
Day 130
Sunday, September 28, 2008 (Bob and Deb’s anniversary...29 years)

6:30 AM CDT
Location: Clifton Marina, Clifton, TN
Weather: 64* and very foggy; forecast is for sunny and 84* and a 0% chance of rain

It’s so foggy I can hardly see the boats across this very small harbor. We have not had fog in a few days, and I don’t think this can last long because I don’t think there are any clouds in the sky, and the sun should be up in about 15 minutes. We may have to wait a few extra minutes to leave this morning...but not long.

Yesterday...was another great cruising day. We fired up the engines at 8:15...left the dock by 8:30 and traveled the 64 miles and arrived at 3:30. It was a picture perfect day both weather wise and scenery wise. I have included two pictures that were very typical of what we saw along the way. In some places the river was very wide (still part of Kentucky Lake) and much of the way the banks were high and rocky. As I traveled along I could really get a picture of how the Tennessee River flowed through here before they flooded this area to create Kentucky Lake. It’s amazing to me that there are 212 miles between the dams that created this area. Can you imagine the discussions that took place in the early 1930’s to make this all happen? Speaking for Deb and me...sure glad they did, because this is awesome. (Side note: this is at least the 4th time I have traveled this 212 miles up the Tennessee...but I can easily say I never saw it from the point of view I do today. Could be; 1) we were always going fast when we went through here before and now we are going slow. 2) I was working each other time we went through here, and my mind was on work. 3) I’m older now, and have more of an appreciation for these kind of things. The real answer is probably all of the above).
Clifton Marina is a very nice little spot. I say little because it is just a small harbor cut out of the bank, but it looks fairly new, and nicely maintained. The people could not be nicer, and are willing to get you what ever you need. When we arrived Cindy was waiting for us at the dock to help us tie up. She waited while we got situated and told us about good places to eat and said she would give us the keys to a car to use while we were here. She even said she starts at 8 in the morning...but if we need her to, she would be happy to come in early to get us fuel before we leave. And to top it all off, the fuel is some of the cheapest we have seen in some time ($4.09 a gallon with Boat US discount). Too bad we don’t need any.
After tying up, and organizing the boat...Deb got her book and found a cool shady spot on the dock, and I did some cruising work and watched the NASCAR race on TV. For dinner we ate the other 1/2 of the catfish meal we brought home last night. Not quite as good as in the restaurant...but damn close.

Today...we head 42 miles to Pickwick Lock and then another 12 miles to our marina in Iuka, MS. We will actually be located where Mississippi; Alabama; and Tennessee all come together. We have been to this marina a few times...and it is one of my favorites.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Along the way we saw lots of homes built on the hills like these. The white house in the middle looks like it is 5 stories tall

A lot of the banks are high stong like this
This is the entrance to Clifton Marina...very nice stop.