Captain's Choice blog: Tennessee River and September stats

The Tennessee is TERRIFIC! I think we had to experience the Mississippi to really appreciate the Tennessee. It is so beautiful, fall is in the air and the leaves are just starting to change.

Friday morning we left Green Turtle Bay and took the Barkley Canal to the Tennessee River and headed south. The Barkley Canal is at the top of the Land Between The Lakes. To the west you have Kentucky Lake and east you have Lake Barkley. These lakes were formed by damming the Tennessee River (west) and the Cumberland River (east). They have already lowered the lakes to winter pool, which is 5 feet lower than the summer pool. The navigation channels are plenty deep, you just need to remain cautious when entering and exiting anchorages...as Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffet sang," just keep it within the navigational beacons. Between the buoys I tell you".
Friday night we anchored at Dry Fork Bay in 11 feet of water. Very nice anchorage with herons and bald eagles flying around. Last Call and Horizon Chaser were also anchored there so we got together on our boat for "boattails".

Saturday morning we headed to Pebble Isle Marina...home of the infamous free coffee and cinnamon bun (there are lots of infamous food/places on the loop). What we didn't know is they do not have them on Sunday morning and with all of the loopers there (about 15) they decided they couldn't let us leave in the morning without having a bun. We met gold loopers Robert and Linda from Errante' who are doing the loop for a 2nd time and had a nice time meeting some other loopers that we had not met previously.

So after getting our cinnamon buns on Sunday we were off for an anchorage at Double Island. We tucked in behind the island in 20 feet of water, great anchorage with a view of the cliffs and homes in front of us. We could also watch the boats and tows go by from our vantage point. We got there early enough that Mark went for a swim and I did some sketching. After dinner we sat on the back of the boat and watched the herons and fish jumping in the water. Staying at anchor is just so peaceful, quiet, serene. There is so much simplicity to it and yet it evokes the deepest thoughts of gratitude and blessings that we are able to experience this wonderful adventure. We thank God daily for letting us live this dream of doing the loop. So far it has been everything we thought it would be and more.

We traveled 43 miles on Monday to Wolf Island and anchored in about 18 feet of water. The day started with fog but it cleared out and got quite warm. Anchor down and in the water to cool off, that's the beauty of anchorages! We were the only boat here and it was another beautiful spot with herons flying around and have I mentioned the butterflies? They are everywhere on the rivers and flit and flutter around the boat.

In keeping with the country music theme, we were reminded of Brad Paisley's "Mud On the Tires" as we went by a fisherman gathering fish on a line Tuesday morning. "Catfish in a trotline" is exactly what this fisherman was doing...a trotline is a heavy fishing line with baited hooks attached at intervals by means of branch lines called snoods. These baited hooks can be left unattended and are used for catching crabs and catfish. This particular fisherman had a bunch of catfish on the snoods as we made our way to the Pickwick Dam and Lock. After a 50 foot lift we were on Pickwick Lake...WOW...absolutely beautiful with homes on the cliffs overlooking the lake. Sunshine, blue skies, beautiful scenery, on the water ...it doesn't get any better than this. We are now anchored (with 1 other boat so far) in Zippy Cove which is right at the start of the Tennessee-Tombigbee
Waterway and will be heading to the town of Florence tomorrow further up Pickwick Lake.

                          September Stats   Loop to date
Days Looping            30                      140
Travel Days               13                        84
Miles Traveled        646                    3,483