Day on the Cruise: 180
From: Joe Wheeler State Park Marina, Rogersville, AL
To: Grand Harbor Marina, Iuka, MS
Statute Miles: 63.4 SM
Time: 7.0 Hrs
Cumulative Miles: 4,712.0 SM
On Board: Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut
Tonight we are back at Grand Harbor Marina in Mississippi where we stayed on the way to the Rendezvous in October. We are officially off the Tennessee River now. Grand Harbor is on Yellow Creek which connects the Tennessee and the Tenn-Tom Waterway.
Our departure this morning was at 6:50, right at first light. It was about 20 minutes before sunrise, and we could just start to see the buoys around Joe Wheeler. It was weird getting the fly bridge ready in the dark. I turned on the spreader lights on my radar mast and that gave me enough light in the fly bridge enclosure to see to turn on the electronics and the instruments.
It was also very cold this morning. So, we layered up with sweatshirts and jackets and gloves. I am not a fan of this cold weather cruising. But, no fog again this morning! Yea!
We took the lead today and in less than 20 minutes we were at Joe Wheeler Lock. I had called the lock on the VHF at 6:20 and found out that there was no traffic. So, upon our arrival, I expected to cruise right into the chamber, because his last locking according to the Corps of Engineer's web site was an upbound at 4:00 this morning. But it was not to be. He had to fill the chamber which took about 15 minutes. Anyway, we were out of Wheeler Lock at 7:47 AM headed to Wilson Lock.
 |
| Leaving Joe Wheeler Marina Before Sunrise |
 |
| Approaching Wheeler Lock before Sunrise |
 |
| In Wheeler Lock at Sunrise. A Beautiful Cloud Formation! |
 |
| Sun Gypsy in Wheeler Lock |
The ride on Wilson Lake was good in the early morning light. We got no bump in speed from the Wheeler Dam current that we could tell, and we averaged about 10 mph to Wilson. The Lake also had some floating debris that we dodged, but no where near the amount that we saw a couple of weeks ago.
Wilson Lock was ready for us and we drove right in, arriving at about 9:10 AM. The lock down took just 30 minutes, and we were on our way to Grand Harbor. Once we got out of the canal leading to the lock, we picked up a nice bump in speed from the current coming out of Wilson Dam, and we reached 11.5 to 12 mph going down river. Yes!
Pickwick Lake grew very wide as we passed under the Natchez Trace Bridge, and we were heading directly into a stiff breeze for the remainder of the trip. The lake was complete with white caps, but the waves were only about 1' or less, and all was good.
Finally we turned off the Tennessee River into Yellow Creek and arrived at Grand Harbor about 1:50. Done for the day after a very early start. We filled up with fuel, got a pump out, and backed into our slip. We were glad to see other loopers here at the marina. "Freya", "Pazza Bella", "Ka-Jen", and "In My Element" were all here. We have traveled with all of them at one time or another. Our first meeting with "Freya" was at Oriental, NC back in April, and here we are in November and we are still seeing them. This is one of the cool things about doing the Loop!
Susan "just had" to wash the boat, so she did. I was, frankly, very tired, and opted to listen to some football on this Saturday on the internet. We have zero TV reception here at Grand Harbor on our HD antennae.
There was a Captain's Meeting for the 6 looper boats late this afternoon to decide where we go from here. Four of the boats want to leave tomorrow to head down the Tenn-Tom. We and Sun Gypsy want to lay over a day to rest from an arduous three days from Chattanooga, so it looks like we will leave here on Monday.
Dinner tonight was at Freddy T's where we ate last time. They came and picked us up. It was very crowded, being a Saturday night, and we enjoyed it again as we had in October. Definitely a recommend when staying at Grand Harbor! During dinner, our son Ben kept us updated via texts on the score of the Auburn-Arkansas game. Thanks Ben! When we got back to the boat, the good guys had prevailed 38-17!
Tomorrow we will stay here at Grand Harbor. Daylight Savings Time goes off tonight, so we get another hour of sleep!
Thanks for Reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment