Side Trips

Friday, October 26, 2012

An early start had the Irish Attitude heading towards Chattanooga. Bob and Ivy on Karma were traveling with us. A cold front was expected from the west and a hurricane named Sandy was beginning its trek up the east coast. The current was fighting us again as we traveled up the TN River. The shore was every changing from rocky bluffs to industry and back again. Few homes could be spotted along the way. A large yacht did pass us heading down river. The crew was headed for Knoxville. They were delivering the boat for the owner, a Tennessee Vols fan.

Cold front chasing us

Yacht Freedom

Amazing rock formations

Ditto Landing in Huntsville, AL was our first stop. Shirley and Tony off of Headquarters were in the slip next to us. They invited us aboard and we ended up ordering JETS pizza! Yum! a taste of Bay City.  The next day was windy, 35 mph! It’s a good day for laundry and maintenance.  

 

 

Classic lines (are you interested Del?)

Sunday, October 28, 2012

 
The Tennessee widens to Guntersville Lake after the lock and dam. It’s a beautiful region with homes to match. Goose Pond Marina Colony Marina in Scottsboro, AL was our destination. The winds were strong making the entrance shallower then predicted. Dock hands were there to catch our lines making the experience smoother.  We used the courtesy car and Dan guaranteed we would be driving 100 mph by the time we left the drive. He was correct, the speedometer pegged out and stayed there of its own accord!  Ivy and I went into town the next day to check out the unclaimed baggage store. Lots of items from clothes to IPads but nothing I had to have. It’s amazing what people leave behind!

Full Moon Over Goose Pond

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Mike and I were getting antsy and decided to move on towards Chattanooga. Karma decided to leave also. The further we traveled the higher the bluffs became and the more beautiful the homes.

 

 

The plan was to anchor out but both boats pressed on making up for the weather delays. We passed through the gorge that we had heard so much about. People said it was the like the Grand Canyon. ?? Honestly, I was not as impressed with the gorge as the bluffs down river. The river was over 175 ft. deep in some places but the sides were not rocky, just steep.

 

The Gorge

It turned out to be a rather scary Halloween. We pulled into Chattanooga just after dark. The full moon from last night was nowhere to be seen. I had called earlier to get docking instructions since all personnel would be gone by the time we arrived. In the dark there did not appear to be room for 2 boats so we rafted to Karma after they had tied to the dock. We were exhusted but Mike and I sat on the back of the boat relaxing. The up came the moon! It was a huge, bright, orange harvest moon! Perfect for Halloween!

 

AGLCA Fall Rendezvous @ Joe Wheeler SP, AL

October 19-25, 2012
The fall rendezvous, October 21-24, 2012 at Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, Alabama….. This is the only date and location on our schedule so far. Purposely! After years of scheduling it has been nice (and a little foreign) to just be out there with no plans. We arrived a few days early, to get settled in and were directed to our slip. The wind was blowing and it was a tight fit. Luckily six fellow loopers waited on the dock to assist us in! Look at all the AGLCA burgees! Sixty boats attended the rendezvous! Surprisingly, we knew many of the loopers and recognized many of the boats names of others. Our dock was dubbed the party dock! As I mentioned before, the state parks down south are full service. A hotel, cabins, conference center and restaurant, marina and campground were all on site. Some of the people attending were still in the planning stage and took advantage of these services.



Loopers in every direction!

The AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Assoc.) has two conferences every year, spring and fall. The fall agenda has seminars on the loop from the Tenn-Tom waterway, around Florida and up the east coast to Norfolk, VA. The spring conference will pick up from there, continuing up the east coast, through Canada, the Great Lakes and down the rivers (we just completed). There were also seminars on boat maintenance, cooking in your galley, electrical systems, ‘suddenly in command’ and buying or selling your boat. Loopers could

The rendezvous officially began Sunday night. After dinner, introductions were made by way of loop status; current, completed or planning. Ron and Eva Stob, authors of “Honey, Let’s Get a Boat…” sat at our table. They founded the AGLCA in 1999!

Ron Stob & Tom Conrad's 'weather parrot'

Lisa and Jim Favors on Kismet

Mike, Me, Don and Anita

Jim, Joy, Deanna, Dick, Judy and Mike

Bob and Ivy

 

Mike and I stayed an extra day as some of the crowd dispersed. We planned to head up the Tennessee to explore Chattanooga. The last night, Anita suggested a potluck on 600 dock. Everyone was in and it was a great way to end the rondezvous. Our good friends from Limelight, Anita and Don were heading the other way towards the Tenn-Tom waterway. (Don’s hip had been bothering him just before they left Wisconsin and Anita feared surgery may sideline their trip.) We said our good-byes, hoping to catch up with them down the river.

Hotel in background

Jackets II and Took the Plunge swap stories

Potluck!

Day is done






 

 

 

 

Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee Rivers

Tows and Barges

You might have noticed that I have not included many pictures of the multitude of tow and barges we have seen along the rivers to date. It seemed like a good idea to combine my pictures in one post.

Prior to this trip we had no idea the magnitude of product that was moved by barges. Semi-trucks and trains are the norm at home. Barges are much more efficient. One tow w/15 barges can transfer the same amount of goods as 2.25 trains w/ 100 cars or 870 semi-trucks! Wow! Barges transfer coal, scrap iron, sugar, grain, petroleum, salt, fertilizer and more.

Tows in different regions monitor different VHF channels, but 13 is common. The further south we traveled the more difficult it became to understand everything the captain was saying. Garble, garble, garble, garble on the two. That is all we needed. Confirm, on the two, we respond. Same navigational rules as home apply. One whistle, you pass on port. Two whistles, you pass on starboard.  

Below are pictures I have taken since entering the Illinois River. We have passed tows in the Great Lakes and even in the Saginaw River near our home port. They push freighters not barges. We respect them and give them a wide berth but do not converse via radio or by whistle (horn). It’s different on the rivers. Possibly because there are so many pleasure crafts or because the rivers snake around or maybe it’s the current. When approaching a tow it is proper river etiquette to call the captain and ask which side he would like you to pass on. They know the river and its shoals. A barge does not turn on a dime.

A week after leaving Hoppie’s Marina we heard a barge had broken loose and was heading towards the sleeping boaters. Quick action by Hoppie, Fern and family prevented any damage. We heard a barge had taken out a buoy the day before causing this tow to run aground, dislodging a barge. Hoppie jumped in his John boat and guided the barge to the shoreline. Fern and her daughter had all the boats power cords unplugged, woke up the boaters and assisted them in casting off their lines.  Everyone was safe but no one slept well after that. Below are pictures I have taken since entering the Illinois River. 

1st tow on Illinois River

Tows and their barges are larger on the Mississippi

Staging area on Ohio. (Barges are 'parked' waiting to be
 picked up by a larger tow or one headed to the same port)

 



Oops!

 

30 Barges! The largest tow we have seen





Tow to Toe!



Limelight (31' Tiara) near front of barge gives a better prespective

Close up of Tow



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Florence, Alabama

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Limelight and Irish Attitude were all set to continue up the Tennessee River to Florence, one step closer to the rendezvous. Mike was checking the engine room prior to leaving and found a broken bolt. It turns out it was from the coupling on the port engine that connects to the prop shaft. This meant a trip to town. That is easier said than accomplished here in the middle of nowhere. Don and Anita went on ahead as it appeared we may be staying over in Grand Harbor another night.  Don told Mike to stay out of that engine room! Once Mike returned it took only a few minutes to replace the bolt but it was now nearly 2 pm.  What the heck, let’s go! We traveled the 50 miles to Florence on plane, slowing occasionally for stationary bass boats. Most of the bass boats seemed to be involved in a tournament and were racing back to weigh in. They passed us going over 60 mph, sounding like mosquitos buzzing by. Hence, when one was approaching us I would tell Mike, ‘skeeter on port side’. A few miles upriver we found there nesting ground, Florence Harbor Marina! Mike did an excellent job maneuvering around the boats racing in to make their flight time. We were too busy entering the harbor to get a picture.

Leaving the Florence Harbor

Ava, the owner recommended a restaurant and even gave us a lift when she closed for the day. Joy and Dave from Miah, joined Anita, Don, Mike and I for dinner at Ricatoni's Italian Restaurant. Florence is a nice area with a busy downtown.

We spent only one night here, leaving after the 120 bass boats took off the next morning. There were enough boats heading to the lock upriver that it was necessary to leave in flights (like the bass boats!).  We joined the 12:30 flotilla. Mike broke rank and pulled out ahead of the others but allowed them to pass just before the lock. We all locked through with military precision, almost. Wilson Lock has a 90’ lift and was by far the most difficult to enter due to the strong current. Unfortunately I did not hook the bollard on the first or second try. That was nerve racking but Mike got me close enough for a third attempt and as they say, ‘third time's a charm’! Comforting or not, we were not the only boat having difficulty. Funny… whenever we are experiencing a difficult moment I look up to find a Great Blue Heron (Janie?) observing us. I take comfort in her presence but she is camera shy.

 

Strong current on Wilson Lock
compared to normal current at Wheeler Lock!












 

I had to lighten the picture
so the Heron was visable
(3rd rung on right)

 

 

 

















 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ten boats crossed Wilson Lake heading to Wheeler Lock. The wait was over 1 hour since a tow was approaching the lock from our direction. This is a slow and tedious process and it appears that the tow and barge are not moving. Again, commercial traffic has top priority. We dropped anchor and road out the strong wind and waves waiting our turn.

The only item on our agenda to date has been making it to the AGLCA rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park. After exiting Wheeler Lock and entering Wheeler Lake our destination was only a few miles ahead on the RDB!