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