2018 Cruising Season

For this cruising season, we decide to head back up to the Tennessee & Cumberland Rivers.  The cruising is easy & enjoyable up there, and maybe, just maybe, having the boat in fresh water rather than salt water might make it easier to sell.

Demopolis Dam is a simple weir dam without

gates to control flow, but at high water, the water flow

becomes treacherous (note small fishing boat with

umbrella as sunshade)

We departed New Orleans the first week of May to cruise along very familiar territory of Mississippi Sound, Mobile Bay & finally north on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.  Since this was our 7^th or 8^th time along this route, we took little note of the scenery along the waterway.  Instead, we searched for sites we had not visited yet, which was made easier by moving our car northbound along with us.

Along a desolate stretch of the Tenn-Tom, we almost

expect to see Superman changing into his costume!

Sights along the Tenn-Tom

The Admiral doing what she does best!

One of many such markers in

Friendship Cemetery in Columbus

We traveled in very hot weather (98 degrees in the shade on the helm) up the Tenn-Tom to stop for several weeks in Columbus MS.  One trip we took by car was to visit Friendship Cemetery in Columbus over Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day).  This cemetery has the documentation to prove that the custom of decorating military graves, which began in 1866, began right here.  Another car trip was down to Aliceville AL, which had been the location of a very large German POW camp during WWII.  The museum was fantastic & the history of the town was fascinating.

Returning to our car in downtown Columbus MS,

 we are followed by strangers!

When we finally resumed cruising northbound, we stopped again at our favorite anchorage in Bay Springs Lake in northern Mississippi for a couple nights.  A quiet remote cove, crystal clear water, hot days for swimming, cool nights with low humidity to open up the boat, clear nights to view the stars!  We did a few boat chores (a very few), rowed the dinghy around the neighboring coves, grilled steaks, sat on the swim platform in the evening with an “adult beverage” letting the bluegill nibble at our feet, and just enjoyed the cruising lifestyle.  A perfect paradise!

Beautiful water & scenery at the northern end

of the Tenn-Tom

RV park at northern end of Tenn-Tom

really is "right on the water"

Kenlake State Park Marina on

Kentucky Lake

When we met up with the Tennessee River a couple days later, we decided to turn left to head downbound almost to the mouth of the river, & then turn upbound on the Cumberland River.  Along the way, we stopped at some marinas & anchorages familiar to us from our trip here in 2015, and then some new overnight stops.  Finally made Green Turtle Bay marina in Kentucky, only 30 miles from the Ohio River. 

This is a common stopping point for Loopers, as we did in 2015, and is actually on the Cumberland River but only 1-1/2 miles from the Tennessee River.  The land between the two rivers is known as …. are you ready for this?....the Land Between the Lakes.  It is a federal wildlife area with an open range for wild bison and elk herds, horseback riding areas, an animal rehab center, and all kinds of outdoor recreational activities.  As we drove our car through the bison & elk prairie, we got within mere feet of these magnificent animals.  One bison calf went to the back of a pick-up truck ahead of us & started eating the spillage of horse feed which the truck was carrying!

We made the run up the Cumberland towards Nashville, stopping at the nice new marina in Clarksville TN.  Spent a couple days in Clarksville waiting for the thunderstorms to clear, riding our bikes through town, finding a couple craft breweries, and enjoying their hospitality.

When we made Nashville, Sue found a small marina west of town called Commodore Yacht Club, where the people were very friendly, the cost was only $0.75/ft, and the beer was cold.  We stayed for three weeks seeing the sights, and having our great fabulous stupendous granddaughter from New Orleans visit us for a week.  We treated her to a very busy week, including returning to Land Between the Lakes, a day at the water park, a day at the zoo, and watching the Fourth of July fireworks from the Science Center located on a hillside.

We spoiled Maddy enough that we could now send her home.  We then jumped into our car to drive to Chattanooga for dentist appointments, and on the return trip, we visited two sets of old boating buddies, Clint & Leigh in their new house, and Roger & Laura, living in Nashville.  We caught up on each other’s activities & then sat around telling lies, er, I mean sea stories

At this point, we decided that it was time to get serious about moving ashore, to either Huntsville AL or Chattanooga TN.  We would take the boat back up the Tennessee River to Goose Pond Marina in Scottsboro AL for the coming winter (where we had been last summer) & start house hunting in earnest.  We headed back up the TN River, trying to anchor at a few more spots that were new to us.

We cruised upriver just above Pickwick Lock & Dam to anchor in Dry Creek, where we had stayed before.  Thursday night we had the cove all to ourselves, watching the full moon rise over the surrounding mountains to reflect on the calm water.  Just gorgeous!  However, on Friday night into Saturday night, the small ½ mile long cove burst alive with over 100 other boaters ready to party hardy.  Boats rafted up together over 12 wide & music was blaring everywhere.  So we fixed ourselves another “adult beverage” & watched all the people do crazy stuff all day.

At Florence Harbor Marina.  We had met the 

green-hull boat earlier in Mobile AL

By the time we arrived at the marina in Florence AL, we had been out for a total of 8 days without stopping at a marina.  For the past 10 years, that was the longest stretch we had cruised without taking provisions, & we found our fresh water tank empty and our black water tank full.  We stayed at Florence Harbor Marina for 2 weeks while we retrieved our car from Nashville, drove to New Orleans for doctor appointments, ate at our favorite restaurants, and received a visit from our first serious potential buyer for our boat.