Week 16: September 19-September 25

We continued to enjoy our relaxation week at Green Turtle Bay. Thursday was spent in the pool and cleaning the refrigerator in anticipation of provisioning on Friday for another week or more.  We were still waiting for the electronics mechanic to work on the AutoPilot and were advised that he would be there on Friday.

Friday came and so did the electronics mechanic.  He checked the existing system and found that the compass that is connected to the system was broken, actually sounded like a baby’s rattle when he shook it.  That meant a new compass, new connections, etc.  He left to pick up the part and would install it later in the afternoon and then we needed to take the boat out for not only a test drive but to calibrate the AutoPilot.  While our steering still needs some adjustment (parts will be ordered), it was nice to see that with the AutoPilot on, not only does the boat go straighter but it is also easier to steer using the wheel on the AutoPilot.  This should make piloting the boat much easier for Peter.

Yes, the six of us went shopping to provision for the upcoming week.  We ate on our boats, using up more of our older food but went out for a few drinks at the Thirsty Turtle pub in the marina.  They have live music on Friday and Saturday nights and we were delighted that it was a band that played classic rock.  We all enjoyed the collection of Tom Petty, Stephen Stills, The Beatles, etc.  There was a large looper turn out for the band.

Saturday was our last full day at Green Turtle Bay.  While we knew that the pool was waiting for us, laundry also needed to be completed since the availability at different marinas is questionable.  These machines worked well, were close to the boat, multiple washers and dryers, and open 24/7.  Part of the day was used for getting ready to leave on Sunday – a review of our travel plan for the next nine days to get to Chattanooga, and the rest of the day was used to enjoy the facilities.

Sunday brought us another nice day.  We have been fortunate with the weather and hoped it would continue since we didn’t build in any weather/rest days.  Chattanooga is having a “Wine Over Water” festival that begins on Friday, October 4^th and the marina had been booked solid for weeks.  We were able to make reservations for October 1^st but need to leave on October 4^th so that meant 9 straight travel days and five locks on the Tennessee River.

We left the marina and traveled the canal that connects Lake Barkley to Kentucky Lake.  After traveling the rivers with good waters, we were surprised to see the waves and wind on the lake.  Kentucky Lake is larger than we thought and the Tennessee River runs through it.  We will be traveling on the Tennessee River until we arrive in Chattanooga. 

Peter experimented with the AutoPilot and was enjoying the more relaxing aspect of steering for the first time in years.  Our first stop was Paris Landing, a small state-run facility – we are now in Tennessee.    The marina was under construction but everyone was nice and we still had restrooms but the showers were part of the state park and not in such great shape.  This is not the first time that we have experienced this.  Peter generally looks at the facilities when he checks us into the marina and tells me that things are fine or not worth it and when to use our own on the boat. This was primarily a boat-use facility.

The next morning we left and since AutoPilot is new for Peter, he turned it on as we were leaving the marina.  Since AutoPilot is now connected to our Garmin ChartPlotter, it takes over the steering according to the waypoints I entered for the first of the next three travel days and Peter was having a difficult time getting out of the marina without getting too close to the rocks by the shore.  I said he should turn off the AutoPilot but he was determined to get out of the marina and continued to experience major difficulty until he used the bow thruster to reverse our course.  Eventually I convinced him to allow me to delete the waypoints programmed in the Garmin and finally he had control of the steering and was able to straighten out our route.  Later that day, he agreed that my theory on what happened was correct.  We shared this with our buddy boats when we arrived at our next stop, Pebble Isle.  They agreed and one said – you can steer the boat or the AutoPilot can steer the boat but you cannot do both.  Unless you change the AutoPilot to Standby and then you can steer when it is on.  Obviously, this will be the last time that mistake is made.

We stayed in Pebble Isle Marina, another small marina that also appears to be under some construction.  Since we are now beyond Labor Day, many of the marinas are practically “closed” and posted “winter” hours.  Since the weather has been so warm, even hot, thinking about winter hours is hard to comprehend.  However, the marina had a courtesy car but there was little available in the town. We did take a ride to town just to see if we missed anything on Google Maps and we did find a small hardware store so that I could purchase the small florescent bulbs I needed for the head. Most of the light bulbs were replaced before we left except the florescent bulbs and the small bulbs for the battery run lights. We have five of these battery run lights on the boat and two have gone out already so we just switched them into the stateroom since we need those for reading. I’ll look for these the next time I get to Walmart.

Peter was interested in going to the Civil War Museum but we were there on a day it was closed. We did venture into the Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park. There were some replicas of the bunk houses used by soldiers and a few cannons on display but it appears that the park is used more as a campground than a historical site.

Another day, another marina, and we stayed at Clifton Marina.  This marina touts the best hamburger on the river so we figured we needed to eat at the marina and test out their claim.  We had a great dinner since there were 12 loopers for dinner but the reviews about the burgers were mixed.  Maybe there were too many people for them to control but two burgers went back for being overcooked (ordered rare/medium rare and they were well done) and the second batch wasn’t much better.  Peter, who likes all his beef rare, actually got what he asked for but I think he was one of the few.  Mine was OK but still overcooked.  Since the company was so good, most of us dealt with what was served.

The next day we needed to lock through the Pickwick Landing Lock & Dam. While this was not the highest lock we have had to deal with, it was one of the most turbulent. I was having difficulty holding the line on the floating bollard and there was little that Peter could do to help except use the thruster to keep the bow in. We seriously thought that we would not be able to keep the boat secured but did manage although my arms felt like they were ready to fall off. Very happy that we will not need to go through this lock again.

After getting through the lock, we stayed in Pickwick Landing Marina that was also connected to one of the state parks.  The park had a lodge that served a buffet and they would have picked us all up but we decided to just stay on the boat and eat. This was another marina that was a semi-boat-use facility. Restrooms were fine but the showers were a significant distance and not worth the walk.

When we leave on Thursday, we will be heading to Florence, AL, our first stop on our side trip to Chattanooga.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•