TRIP 1 LOGS
May 23-June 14, 1998
Houston, TX to Knoxville, TN

Houston, TX to Galveston, TX, Saturday, May 23, 1998

     We had planned to make this trip in 1997, but one of the gasoline engines in our 38-foot boat melted down and changed our plans.  I grew up in Tennessee and had long wondered what that river looked like from the water, whatever river I happened to be crossing at the time.  After we got the diesel-engine boat in 1997, a cruise to Tennessee was my first priority.  We wrote daily logs and sent them to family and interested friends via email over the internet.

     Angela and I left Clear Lake after noon on Saturday, May 23, 1998 and cruised to Galveston, TX.  My son, Chuck, saw us as he drove over the I-45 bridge (Causeway).  We were approaching the bridge and then went under it to get to the channel for Offatts Bayou. We checked out The Landings (apartment marina) and found a slip, so we took the slip instead of anchoring in Offatts Bayou.  Chuck beat us to the slip and helped us to get settled in there.

     While launching our new dinghy from the afterdeck hardtop, I dropped my prescription sunglasses into the water just off the port side, aft quarter.  Chuck dived for them but could not get down far enough; it was 14-15 ft deep.  Robert Shilling, Sunshine Yacht Service, came down from League City and dived for them.  In less than a minute he had them out of the water.  Fortunately I saw where they went in, and they went straight down, because Robert found them right where I thought they would be.

     Around 6pm, we met Dick and Joyce Slaughter from Alvin, TX, who were spending the week at a beach house in Galveston.  Mark and Cindy Snowhite brought their dinghy in from NORDIC, anchored in Offatts Bayou.  We went to Yamato's Japanese Steakhouse on 61st St for dinner and to celebrate Angela's birthday, which was May 24, the next day.  My daughter, Darby, joined us later.  We also dined with friends Judy, Teresa, and Cavin; and a good time was had by all.  Angela was then "plenty nine", she said.

Galveston, TX to Lake Charles, LA, Sunday, May 24, 1998

     On Sunday we left The Landings and motored over to Galveston Yacht Basin and filled up with fuel.  A little after 9am we were in the Intracoastal Waterway heading east.  I wanted to go offshore but the weather forecast called for 4-6 ft seas, which is a little more than I wanted for the day.  We were in our slip at Players Island Casino Marina in Lake Charles, LA by 6pm.  At High Island, TX we stopped to change the Racor filter on the port engine.  That solved the problem we were having which seemed like the engine wasn't getting enough fuel.  However, the starboard engine continued to run hotter with lower oil pressure than the port engine.  We planned to get that looked at in New Orleans.  (The CAT mechanic spent the previous Wednesday and Friday tuning up the engines but did not have time to change the thermostat, which was his next recommended step.)

     About 7pm our friends, Bob and Sue Simmons, met us at the boat with Wayne and Joe, Sue's two boys.  They liked the boat.  We ate a fine Louisiana meal at Bob and Sue's new house in Sulfur, LA and came back to the boat.

Lake Charles, LA to Avery Island, LA, Monday, May 25, 1998

     On Monday, May 25, Memorial Day, we left our slip at Lake Charles at 9:15am and cruised down to the Calcasieu locks, where we waited at least an hour.  These locks were a real waste of time.  Further down the ICW, we made it through the Leland Bowman lock at 5:30pm, after another hour wait, and found Shell Morgan, our usual fuel stop, closed apparently for Memorial Day.  My notes said they were open from 6am to 6pm, so we had hurried to get there before 6.  Anyway, we bought fuel at Tesoro's, also in Intracoastal City, at $0.53 per gal for diesel.  They took my check but said next time it would be cash only.  Their hose and nozzle were very large and heavy, and it was hard to get a tank full without any loss of fuel.  The people there were very nice, as they are at Shell Morgan.

     We looked at various anchorages and settled on Bayou Petit Anse, which leads up to Avery Island, where the famous Tobasco Sauce is made, and also to Delcambre, LA.  We found a nice little bayou and anchored about 9pm, cooked some chicken, and went to bed.

Avery Island, LA to New Orleans, LA, Tuesday, May 26, 1998

     Tuesday, May 26, I don't know what got into me.  I got up at 6am and pulled up anchor at 7am. I didn't know then that we would go all the way into New Orleans that day, but I did get an early start (Angela got up about 7 after a well-deserved sleep, and brought me some cereal and juice-what a good wife!).  We got into Morgan City about 10am and wasted another hour at the Bayou Boeuf lock there.  The Atchafalaya River was high, and there was a change in elevation through the lock.  Berwick Traffic Control, a part of the US Coast Guard, which operates a VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) in this area, said the water had been high for a few months.  (There are only a few VTS's in the nation, and Morgan City is one of them, due to the many channels that cross here and the strong currents in the Atchafalaya River.)

     We wanted to see some friends in Houma, so we stopped there and had a cup of coffee, but our friends were out of town.  So, we pulled out of Houma about 3pm and headed east.  We were surprised to see that new, high bridges that do not need to open for traffic on the ICW have replaced the “twin bridges” in Houma.

     We had read about people spending the night at the Boomtown Casino, which is right on the ICW just west of Harvey Locks.  I called them and they have no facilities off the ICW, but said we could tie up to the bulkhead on the ICW next to their parking lot.  That was not an attractive option for us.  We decided to go ahead and go to New Orleans since our timing would put us at the Industrial Lock after curfew (our first time here we waited over two hours for "curfew", when the bridges are kept down for rush-hour traffic.

     We got to Harvey Lock at 6:15pm or so and waited another hour there.  The lock raised us 14 feet to the level of the Mississippi River (compared to 5 feet in our last passage).  We went downriver past Canal Blvd and the French Quarter to the Industrial Lock.  We were delayed at least another hour, and then we were told we could lock through with a towboat and his six barges (3 long and 2 wide) of gravel.  We were to follow him in.  At the last minute a "lightboat" came rushing up between where we were waiting and the gravel load (there are no places to tie up so you just have to use your engines to maintain your position until you are told to go into the lock).  He aimed at a "dolphin", a large concrete piling with steel plate around and over it, and threw his engines into reverse at the very last minute, and revved his engines way up--he might have hit the dolphin, I'm not sure. I am sure he wouldn't have cared if he did.

    The gravel load went into the lock, and as he went further into the lock, he slowed so as to not hit the far gate (we were above the canal by 8-9 feet).  The light boat (which is a small towboat) fell in behind the gravel load and took the right side.  He would rush at the gravel towboat and reverse his engines at the last minute, and he did this over and over, which was really stirring the water in the lock.  I was holding back, trying to stay out of the turbulence, maintain control of the boat, and get into position on the left side.  The gravel load then threw his transmission into reverse and starts revving to slow down or stop, so there was more turbulence.

     Angela and I were getting ropes ready and jockeying for position, not hearing the radio, when another "light boat" came into the lock and took a position behind us.  His behavior was the same as the others, the noise was deafening, the turbulence was unbelievable, and we were bobbing around like a cork.  Plus, it was hot and humid, 9pm at night, and we were tired.  We got one scratch in the fiberglass on the port side, which was probably not too bad; but it was an uncomfortable experience for sure.

     When the water went down, the lockmaster held us until last.  The light boats roared out of the lock and passed the gravel load-apparently they were late for dinner.  We passed the gravel load and went through the Florida Avenue bridge behind the light boats.  They went east on the ICW, and we went north towards Lake Ponchartrain.  At the L&N bridge we were stopped by a train for at least another 30 minutes.  Then we went on through and under the remaining bridges and into the lake.  The Industrial Canal is highly industrial, occupied at least in part by crazy people and highly smoky plant sites, many of which were hard at work, particularly at shipbuilding and repairs to ships.  The economy seems strong for such activities, as we had noticed in Morgan City.  Our spotlight did not make a dent in the shore lights here, and those shore lights tended to be in our eyes and hindered good vision rather than helped.

     Once into the lake we turned to the west and cruised up to West End, home of Orleans Marina, where we had reserved a slip.  At 11pm we were into the slip, at 11:30 we had the shore power and water connected and lines secured, and at midnight we had a bowl of soup, a shower, and bed.

     Since leaving Clear Lake in League City, TX, we had traveled approximately 475 miles, counting our side trips to Offatts Bayou and Lake Charles and our anchorage.  We ran 440 miles in three days, averaging 147 miles per day, and passed through 5 locks and numerous bridges, most of which did not need to open, or opened quickly.  Running hours, from the hour meters, were 38 for the main engines and 53 for the generator.  We hadn't filled up yet, so we didn't know fuel consumption at that time.  We planned to stay here three nights and depart on Friday, May 29.

In New Orleans, LA, Wednesday-Thursday, May 27-28, 1998

     On Wednesday, May 27, we cleaned the boat and the air conditioning filters.  We hired a cleaning service to wash the outside, Angela cleaned the inside, and I changed the two remaining Racor filters.  Our friends, Glenn and Elaine Sheets, drove down from Baton Rouge to meet us and Glenn's brother, Kim, and his wife, Dina.  We all went to dinner at a nice restaurant nearby.  It was nice to see them; we had a nice evening.

     Thursday, May 28, we met with Rich Vanek, our rep in LA, for lunch and a visit to the local West Marine store.  Rich was going on a 10-day boat trip beginning that Saturday.

     We began talking to the local Caterpillar dealer either Tuesday or Wednesday.  The overheating in the starboard engine was perhaps getting worse, and Charlie Bolton, with CAT in Houston, had suggested we change out the thermostat next.  Our main contact was with a man named Witt, who kept telling me he thought he could arrange this work but he was not sure when.  We finally made an appointment for 1:30pm on Thursday.  The mechanic didn't come, and we were on the phone with Witt all afternoon.  Finally a new appointment was set for 6:30am Friday, May 29.

New Orleans, LA to Biloxi, MS, Friday, May 29, 1998

     I got up at 5:30am to meet him.  He didn't show.  By 7:15am Witt and I were talking, and he promised a different man by 9am.  Johnny showed up at 9am and finished by 12:30pm.  We fueled up and left the marina.  The engines came up to full temperature, and the starboard engine was as bad as before, or worse, since Johnny put in a 180-degree thermostat (our port engine apparently had a 160 degree thermostat).  This had not been discussed in our conversations.  On the phone with Witt, he said they don't stock 160-degree units.  I called Houston and asked for Charlie Bolton to call me back, anytime, night or day.  He had told me to call him.  Witt also said he would be in for half the day Saturday if I wanted to call and ask any questions.

     We got into Biloxi, MS just before dark, and got tied up in our slip.  The Pt Cadet Marina is adjacent to the Isle of Capri Casino, which is a large operation.  The marina personnel were not  helpful.  We ate at the Casino buffet, which was quantity rather than quality, as remembered; and then we returned to the boat and went to sleep.

Biloxi, MS to Mobile, AL, Saturday, May 30, 1998

     Saturday, May 30, we left about 9am and headed to Mobile, AL.  At 10:30am two events happened which we now think are not related, but we're not sure.  First the autopilot went awry, turning us to the left for no apparent reason.  We switched it to manual.  Second, the starboard engine temperature alarm went off, which had happened several times as we tried to see how high we could run that engine without triggering the alarm; but this time the temperature went up more significantly than before.  We shut off the engine and proceeded on one engine.  I thought that we had lost the water pump impeller, which has happened to us before, and for which I had a spare.  We called Mobile, Pascagoula, and Biloxi looking for mechanics, but none could be found until Monday.  I spoke to Witt.  After the engine cooled down, we anchored, about 11:30am. Angela fixed lunch, and I changed the water pump impeller.  This was much harder to do than I had expected; getting the impeller out was hard and getting the new one in was hard.  I spent a couple of hours in the hot engine room. 

     The new impeller looked much like the old impeller, both in the pump cavity and on the tabletop.  I now believe the exchange was unnecessary.  What probably happened was a transient piece of plastic covered the water intake for a short period of time and then floated off when we turned off the engine.  In any event, no real improvement was noted, other than we could use both engines again, which I think would have been possible anyway.  I found a place on the engine to check the water pump discharge that did not involve too much work.  Next time I hope I remember the way to test the pump to see if it is working before I take it apart.  Live and learn, right?

     The autopilot did its crazy thing several more times.  We thought we were in the Bermuda Triangle.  It occurred to me that I had recently moved the toolbox and I might now have it too near the compass that controls the autopilot.  I didn't know where that compass was located.  So, I moved the toolbox and had no further problem.  Still, being curious, I returned the toolbox, and still had no further problems!  Maybe we were in the Bermuda Triangle!

     Other things were happening which made us wonder.  The channel through here (south of Pascagoula, MS) is a series of straight lines, sometimes running east (our desired course), and sometimes running southeast, northeast, etc. to avoid islands and wrecks and shallow areas.  There are very few markers, so you're glad to see one because it verifies where you are.  We kept coming up to places where our charts and previous trip notes said there should be a marker, but there was not one.  It was a strange day.  We arrived at Dog River at 5pm and filled up with fuel.

     We picked up a FedEx package, which was left for me at Turner Marine Supply.  The price on their diesel pump was $1.30.  They were closed, and had told me over the phone they had no diesel.  Dog River Marina charged $1.10 for diesel and $0.65 per foot for a transient slip.  Grand Mariner charged $0.50 per foot for a slip, so we stayed there.  Also, they had a restaurant, and the others did not.  The people there were nice.  They told me their diesel price was less than $1.00 per gallon, depending on how much you bought.  Angela washed 4 loads of clothes and towels while I changed the oil and filters in the two main engines.  It was a hot day in the engine room for me!  We had dinner in the restaurant from 9:30 until 10:30 and then turned in.

     At this point we had come approximately 661 miles in 50 running hours, using 992 gals of fuel costing $824.  (We didn't start with a full tank, so some of that fuel went with miles that occurred before this trip, but we probably won't notice it by the time this trip is over.)  Averages were: 1.5 gals per mile, 13.2 mph, and $0.83 per gal.

Mobile, AL to Old Lock No 1, AL, Sunday, May 31, 1998

     We covered 115 miles on Sunday, May 31, 15 from Dog River, just south of Mobile, AL, to the port itself (AL State Docks are Mile 0.0 on the Mobile or Lower Tombigbee River), plus 100.0 on the Tombigbee River.  We anchored at the old cut-off leading to Old Lock No. 1, which was okay for an anchorage except for the bugs.  We looked around after dinner, and the boat was full of little bugs, which probably came in through small openings in the doors, drains, etc.  They seemed to be attracted to the lights, which is probably why experienced sailors go to bed at dark and get up with the sun.  That's what we did next, close the stateroom door and go to bed.

     Getting into this channel was not as easy as we thought it would be.  The river is apparently down, or low, so there was not as much water over the bar as we had read about in our guidebook.  But, we made it.  The guidebook, incidentally, is the Rumsey book; they do a great job with a lot of history, diagrams, and local color thrown in.

     We started the day with rain, which was generally welcome in this area, since they had been so long without it.  We got pretty wet, but could see well enough to go on out into the bay.  Another tip, if you're coming this way: the spoil banks along the Mobile Ship Channel were one-half to 1 to 2 to 3 feet deep, not like our 8 feet or more depth in Galveston Bay.  It was imperative to find a dredged cut into the ship channel.

     The lower river was populated with bass boats and other small fishing boats.  Also, since it was Sunday, there were people out on the sandbars with tents, picnic gear, floats, fishing gear, etc.  Some of these groups were just a family; others were 25-30 or more people at one site.

     One big impression we got was how isolated this area is and how far it is from any cities or communities of any kind.  The cell phone was unable to get a signal through, and the occasional house was more of a camp and not too elaborate at that.  Plus, it was hot, with a strong wind, or no wind, at times.  Floating debris was everywhere a hazard to boaters like us.  Indeed, the cruise guide says the major hazard to cruisers is hitting something at high speed, causing a prop and/or shaft problem.

Old Lock No 1, AL to Demopolis, AL, Monday, June 1, 1998

     On Monday, June 1, we pulled up anchor at 7am and headed out into the river.  We planned to be at Demopolis Yacht Basin, Mile 216.7, for the evening.  This was the hottest day yet of this cruise.  The overheating problem continued (if that's what it was--I thought of getting a new sending unit and temperature gauge FedExed to me from New Orleans and installing them to see if that clears up the problem.  I called Witt at the CAT dealership.  He had missed me and was glad to hear from me, as I was happy to be talking to him again.).  The tachometer on the starboard engine quit again; we've replaced the little shaft that's connected to the tachometer and  Glendinning engine synchronizer 2 times since we bought the boat.  Looked like it needed it again.  This section of the river is more isolated than the lower section.

     We arrived at the Coffeeville Lock and Dam at 9:16am, called them on channels 13 and 16, the two they are supposed to monitor, got no response, and gave the appropriate horn signal, three blasts--no response.  We waited and tried the radio again-no response.  At 9:45am or so we heard the lockmaster call a towboat, so we called the lock again.  No response.  The lock all this time was open, in the down position, ready to receive us; but you cannot enter without permission.  We checked for light signals on top of the lock, and found them; but as far as we could tell they were both off, red and green, and they stayed that way.  Finally the lockmaster called us on the radio and invited us in.  We asked what the delay was all about, and he said they were having a crew change.  I informed him of our wait and our efforts to contact the lock.  He apologized.  In fact, after we got ready to exit the lock, he apologized again, saying he was trying to send off some data, he was busy, and maybe his radio wasn't working right, hope we have a good day, etc.  We wished him the same and moved on.  That delayed us over 40 minutes.

     As we went upriver from Coffeeville the river was wide and deep, 35 or more feet deep.  Approaching Demopolis, the river became shallower, 20 feet max, which is probably why the Demopolis Dam was built at that location.  Bank erosion was everywhere apparent; and some structures, including homes and mobile homes, have been destroyed by erosion apparently unexpected by their builders.  Concrete was rarely used to stop erosion; gunite and riprap were occasionally used.  Buoys were not really necessary except where there were shoal areas.  Day marks were on the banks, but none of these markers were lighted.

     We had a delay at the Demopolis Lock because there was a tow and barge string already in the lock going up, so we waited while that locking was complete and the lock water level was brought back down for us--maybe 40 minutes or so.  Then we went in and up approximately 40 feet.  2+ miles later we pulled into the Demopolis Yacht Basin and began fueling up.  We were particularly low on the port side, from which the generator had been drawing fuel continuously for the past 32 hours.  By their gauge, I put 205 gals in the port tank and 160 in the starboard tank, which seemed reasonable at the time.  Inside the office, I was charged for 309 gallons.  The attendant said, in response to my question about whether the inside readings matched the tank, that the inside was what they went by.  308 now looks reasonable to me.

     Angela cleaned the boat, again, to get rid of the bugs; and I helped after changing the oil and filter in the generator.  A captain making a delivery offered to pick up some oil for me in town, since the marina didn't have any, and he brought back 10W-40 weight instead of the 15W-40 weight I requested.  I needed to find out if it's okay to use this in the diesels.  I've always used 15W-40.

     We showered and went to the local marina restaurant, but it was small and smoky.  We used the marina loaner car (van) and drove to town.  The meal was pretty good at Ellis V, although Angela's baby back ribs were too fat and she sent them back, choosing stuffed shrimp instead, which I had.  The owner wouldn't let us pay for her dinner, which was more than nice of him; and the other people in the restaurant were very friendly.  I asked for a pay phone to call the office and get my voice mail messages.  They said to use their business phone.  I said I didn't want to tie it up too long.  They said it was too late for anyone to be calling anyhow. It was 9:40pm.

     At this point we had covered 893 miles, using 1300 gals of diesel, costing $0.85 per gal on average.  This is about $0.50 less than we averaged last year on our trip up north, which included buying fuel in Canada at $1.75 per gal.  Average fuel consumption was 1.46 gals per mile, which was somewhat inflated.  Our average speed was 12.9 mph, slightly lower than our overall speed on the trip in 1997.  We had gone through two locks on the river, raising us 72.5 feet, and 5 locks on the ICW.

Demopolis, AL to Pickensville, AL, Tuesday, June 2, 1998

     My sister, Martha Ann Cooper, lived in Birmingham, AL; and we agreed to meet in the Aliceville/Pickensville, AL area for dinner on June 2.  Marina Cove, just above the Tom Bevill Lock and Dam, was the marina we chose, and we got up at 5:30am and pulled out of Demopolis at 6am in order to get there on time.  The Visitors Center at the Tom Bevill dam closed at 5pm, so we planned to meet at Marina Cove at 3pm.  The boat named US Prime pulled out ahead of us, but Angela passed them a while later.

     We tied up and plugged in at 1:30, checked in, showered and dressed, and were ready for them when they arrived.  Martha Ann's friends, Jo Anna White and KeithMitchell, came over with her.  We went through the Visitors Center until after 5pm.  It was built to resemble three existing antebellum mansions in this area, circa 1830-1860.  It was attractive.  Also, included in the center is the 185-foot snag boat, MONTGOMERY, built about 1920.  This was an interesting side trip for us.  I'm glad we did it.

     After just sitting on the boat and visiting for a couple of hours, we decided to go eat; and we found out just how isolated we were.  Pickensville has a blinking yellow light and one, maybe two restaurants (we saw only the one).  The marina recommended Cristy's Cafe (bar-be-que), so we motored on down there.  They obviously were smoking their meat in the restaurant dining area because it was so smoky you couldn't see across the room.  We wisely chose take-out and went back to the boat for a great meal.  Martha Ann and company left about 9:30pm.  It was great to see them.  And, we thought we might see them again.  After we had traveled another 4 days, up the Tenn-Tom and then up the Tennessee River, we would still be about the same distance from Birmingham, so we could meet in Guntersville, AL, which was where Jo Anna was raised.

     On the day we made two locks for a height change of 60 feet (30 ft each).  This brought our elevation to 134 feet above sea level, and the lock total to 9.  We traveled 90 miles and did not fill up with fuel (diesel was $1.20 per gallon).  Cell phones didn't work in that area.  The lakes were pretty, and we were seeing more trees right down to the water's edge and less bank erosion.

Pickensville, AL to Iuka, MS, Wednesday, June 3, 1998

     Captain Dave at the Cove Marina suggested I turn over the o-ring on our starboard engine sea strainer, in case it had become flat, lube it up with Vaseline, and tighten the cover down tight, to eliminate any possibility of air getting drawn into the water flow.  He said he had a problem like this before.  On Wednesday, June 3, between 6 and 7am, I did that.  It seemed to help, but did not solve the whole problem.  I also planned to tighten the bands around the raw water hoses for the same reason.  I also worked on the raw water impeller cover and eliminated a small leak there. 

     We pulled out about 7am.  US Prime stayed there that night, too.  They left before us, and we caught up with them at the first lock of the day.  That dam was named John Stennis (formerly Columbus) Lock & Dam, lift 30 feet.  13.8 miles later we both went through the Aberdeen L&D, with a 30 ft lift, also.  13.6 miles later we went through the Amory L&D (formerly Lock "A"), and 5.2 miles later we went through the Glover Wilkins L&D (formerly Lock "B").  These lifted us 30 and 25 feet, respectively.

     14.7 miles later, we got separated from US Prime.  He always went 11mph, so we usually had to go slow or wait for him.  At the Fulton L&D (formerly, you guessed it, Lock "C"), we went up with a tow and 7 barges.  There was only room for one pleasure craft in the lock, and US Prime wasn't there yet.  Lift was 30 feet.

     The next lock was John Rankin L&D (formerly Lock "D"), upstream 7.4 more miles, with a 30-foot lift.  We went through by ourselves, having run off and left the barge tow.  At that point we had tentatively planned to get a slip for the night, but that 84-foot-lift lock was calling me.

     8.3 miles after Rankin we went through Montgomery Lock & Dam (formerly Lock "E") with a 30-ft lift.  5.2 miles later we were at the "Big Bopper", Jamie Whitten L&D (formerly Bay Springs L&D--the lake is still called Bay Springs), with a lift of 84 feet.

     We went through 8 locks that day- 6 @ 30 feet, for a rise of 180 feet, 1 @ 25 feet, bringing the total to 205 feet, and the Big One - 84 feet more - to top out our day at 289 feet in elevation change.  Adding the 134 feet we'd already gone up, that put us at 423 feet above sea level.  Our lock total was now 12 on the Tenn-Tom plus 5 on the ICW or 17 for this cruise.

     At 8:30pm, after a 141-mile day, we tied up at Aqua Yacht Harbor on Yellow Creek, very close to the Tennessee River.  Yellow Creek is a backwater of Pickwick Lake, so we were at the end of the Tenn-Tom.  We traveled 451 miles from Mobile, AL to there in four days, Sunday through Wednesday.  That was a 13.5-hour day, but it put us in position to get groceries and sit out a rainy day on Thursday.  The marina was very nice, and the man who initially helped us tie up was from Houston, TX.  His boat was the former "Mutual Funds", which used to dock at South Shore Harbour Marina - a 53' DeFever.

     Our mileage was 1,124 at that point.  Running hours were 89, and generator hours were 124.  The area was beautiful, with deep water, lots of trees, and hills.



Lay Day, Iuka, MS, Thursday, June 4, 1998

     On Thursday, June 4, we used the marina courtesy car (van) and drove to town for groceries.  We had a choice of Iuka or Corinth, MS; and we chose Corinth because they had a Wal-Mart there.  At the Green Onion Restaurant, I had the buffet for $5.00 including tax.  In addition to meat loaf and baked chicken, I had fried okra, lima beans, green beans, brussel sprouts, dressing and cranberry sauce, plus cole slaw, and the best peach cobbler I've ever tasted.  A few of the people there had heard of Houston.  Angela had an order from the menu, which drove the price up; with tax and a diet coke the meal was $15.

     Wal-Mart was a different story--almost $300 including 12 gallons of 15W-40 oil for the diesels-$5.97 per gal, compared to $9.40 at the marina in New Orleans.  Most of these marinas didn't have the diesel oil, so it was good to stock up.  We also stocked up on groceries and bug repellents, at least enough to get us to Knoxville.

     Rain threatened all day, and between 12 and 1pm it did rain hard.  It sprinkled at other times during the day.  A stalled cold front was expected to clear through the area, which did happen later that night.

     We unloaded the van and turned in the keys, re-stocking the boat's pantry and other storage areas.  I worked on tightening the hose clamps and putting silicone sealant around the sea strainer cover and the back plate for the raw water impeller cavity.  (None of this helped, by the way.)  We ate a pretty good meal at the marina restaurant and turned in.

Iuka, MS to Decatur, AL, Friday, June 5, 1998

     Friday, June 5, we were awakened by thunderstorms and lightning around 4am.  The electricity in the marina went out, so we went back to sleep without it.  Our plan was to get fuel as soon as they opened, 8:00 am, and then depart.  The captain of US Prime, who arrived in the afternoon Thursday, advised me to always get fuel before tying up for the night, so you can leave anytime you like the next day.  (He also passed on this bit of wisdom: experience is learning from your mistakes, and research is learning from the mistakes of others.)  I got up at 6:30am and turned on the generator.  At 9am the power in the marina came back on, and we fueled up and left.  The thunderstorm was a strong one, with downed trees and power lines and reports of no power from hundreds of miles around.  The fuel we bought that morning cost $1.119 per gal for 333.6 gallons.  The price of diesel was increasing.

     The trip from Aqua Yacht Harbor on Yellow Creek to the Tennessee River was just a few miles.  The River was beautiful with green water, rocky cliffs, hills, and lots of trees.  Also, there were a lot of small boats, which was a little surprising.  Floating logs continued to pose a threat to us, and the substantial current reduced our speed.  We bought the charts for the river, although so far we'd done all right without them.  Also, I got the charts for the Tenn-Tom.  We might use them on the way back.

     We went through Wilson L&D, a 94-ft lift, about 1pm.  We're old hands at this now.  The upper door was unusual, though.  It retreated vertically downward to let us out.  We got to the Joe Wheeler L&D about 3pm and were told we had a 2-hour wait.  Sometimes they move quicker than that, but this guy was neither courteous nor helpful, so we looked for a place to tie up or anchor.  The wind was picking up, and the weather forecast was not good: chance of hail, 80mph winds, and rain.  The tie-up opportunities, at one of two "dolphins" used by barges, looked like a risk to the boat, so we anchored.

     A towboat with 6-7 barges was tied up to the guide wall when we arrived.  We believe he was the second part of a "split load"; and his load, 9 barges, had already been sent up through the lock.  He was waiting to go up and tie onto his 9-barge load.  A large Sea Ray, which had been at Aqua Yacht Harbor the night before, came up after the tow went into the lock.  He asked permission to tie up to the guide wall, and the lockmaster said okay.  Also, I believe he called him 'Joe', like he knew him.  I never knew anyone could tie up to the guide wall below the lock; I wish the lockmaster had suggested it or told us it was okay.

     We tried to get the lockmaster on the radio to check on timing, with no success.  We heard him talking to a tow above the lock, saying he was going to lower the lock and pick up two pleasure boats.  We started pulling up anchor, and we discovered a problem with the rope.  We have always had to have Angela get her arms into the rope locker and help the windlass pull in the rope.  It pulls in the chain okay, but not the rope.  We had ordered some new parts for the windlass and had hoped the problem was solved, but it was not.  This time the rope was hanging down in the rope locker, plus two other ropes--i.e. we had a loop?!  Angela couldn't get it out, so she manned the helm and I tried.  With a lot of pulling, I finally managed to get the loop out and began pulling the rope in.  Angela was using the remote switch for the windlass, and I was pulling. It was raining, and the wind was blowing.  Occasionally I would open the hatch cover to communicate with Angela, so I was getting wet and so was the forward bunk.

     The lock gates began opening, and Angela radioed the lockmaster that we were having trouble with our anchor but were getting it up and coming right away.  We pulled the rope/chain splice in, which is a place the windlass always stalls; but the windlass wouldn't pull in the chain.  I would pull and pull, and get 4-5 feet, and then pull again.  Eventually we got it all in the well, and we called the lockmaster to tell him we were on our way.  The lock doors, or gates, were closing; we wanted him to stop closing them and let us in.  We called him on channels 14 and 16, and we gave him the standard 3 blasts of the horn.  He wouldn't respond or open the gates.  The Sea Ray went up without us.  Finally he answered us and said he waited as long as he could, but we felt like two more minutes would have been enough for us to get in there.  As it was we had another two-hour wait.

     We were pretty upset.  When the lock came down, it contained the 9 barges of a "split load".  The lock people pulled that load out with a winch and cable and tied it to the guide wall to wait for the towboat, which was still in the upper pool.  The lock gates closed, and the lock filled up again to go get the tow.  The lock was empty at this point.  I called the lockmaster, which had changed, due to a shift change, to a very nice lady.  I asked to be let into the lock and ride up while it was empty.  I have seen this done on other locks.  She said she couldn't do that.  I told her we had been waiting 2-3 hours at that point.  We had to wait until the tow went in, down, and out to tie onto his load; and then he slowly moved away from the lock.  By the time we were up and out, 4 hours had passed; it was 7pm.

     We needed to go 30 miles to get to Decatur, which is where I wanted to stop so we could get into Guntersville at noon the next day and meet Martha Ann and Jo Anna.  Angela was impressed with the logs we were seeing, especially after leaving this dam.  She suggested stopping before dark at an earlier marina, and there was only one, ten miles away.  I said "yes, dear", as I usually do, and called the marina on the phone.  They said they had no transient slips available for the weekend, so we pushed on for Decatur.

     We made good time and arrived at the Southern RR bridge just a mile from our marina at 8:50pm.  The bridge was only 9ft above the water, and they were working on it.  Also there were several trains.  After the bridge tender had promised us a 15-20 minutes delay and then said it would be 30-40 minutes more, we decided to eat.  Angela prepared salads and brought them up to the bridge.  Then she prepared the pasta dish she had been planning, and we ate that.  After a two-hour wait, the bridge went up and let us pass.  Fifteen minutes later we were in our slip with shore power on.  The two guys who helped us tie up were very nice.  There were several loud drinking parties going on, and Steve invited us to join them, but we just wanted to go to bed.  It was after 11pm then, and we wanted a shower and sleep.

     It had been a long day, beginning with the lightning at 4am.  We had covered only 93 miles in 10 running hours, but it had been 14 hours since we left Yellow Creek.  The generator ran 16 hours, since we turned it on at 6:30.  The anchor windlass wouldn't pull slack chain into the well; so there was something wrong with it, to be fixed later.

Decatur, AL to Guntersville, AL, Saturday, June 6, 1998

     On Saturday, June 6, we got up and left the marina at Decatur at 7:40am so we could meet Martha Ann and Jo Anna in Guntersville.  We went through Guntersville L&D (Lock and Dam), 40ft lift, bringing our lock total to 20 and our elevation to 604.  The weather was overcast and rainy.  It was 59 degrees F at Decatur that morning.  We arrived at the marina at noon and filled up with diesel, the most expensive yet at $1.449 per gallon.  We met the owners, Buddy and Kathy Alred; and we asked them if they knew Tom and Ann Caywood, which of course they did.  Tom and Ann stayed there a couple of months in 1997.  Our slip was the one next to the now-defunct Harbor House Restaurant.  My FedEx package was there, too--COD. 

     Martha Ann and Jo Anna arrived as we were plugging into shore power, so we finished up and went to lunch at the Holiday Inn 3 miles away - nice view of the lake.  Next we got a treat; the ladies from Birmingham took us to BOAZ, AL.  As you no doubt know, Boaz is the factory outlet capital of the world, or Alabama; and it's right down the road 30 miles or so, right after Albertville.  (We did not go through Arab, AL in case you wondered, but we were close.)  There we shopped and shopped, and we got a prescription filled, and we went to K-Mart and got some supplies, such as film.  The sun came out a bit, and it turned out to be a nice afternoon.  On the way back we ate some Italian food, and Martha Ann and Jo Anna left us at the boat around 9:30pm to go back to Birmingham.

Guntersville, AL to Chattanooga, TN, Sunday, June 7, 1998

     On Sunday, June 7, we left at 7:30am and headed for Chattanooga.  Since Jo Anna had grown up in this area, we knew some of the spots she remembered on Guntersville Lake; and it was enjoyable to look for them.  This lake was formed by construction of the dam from 1935-1939.  It was second largest in the TVA system, with a length of 76 miles.  In places it was 2 miles wide.

     At 12:30pm we went through the Nickajack L&D, 40ft lift, and into Nickajack Lake, built in 1967.  This lake is 46 miles long and resembles a river more than the others.  It contains the Tennessee River Gorge, or the "Grand Canyon of the Tennessee".  It was beautiful, and we had good weather for          
filming the high hills on both sides of the lake. The river is usually 40-50 feet deep above a dam, maybe even 60 or so feet deep; but it gets less deep rapidly as you move upstream.  Not so with the Nickajack.  Since it is mainly river channel, we saw depths of 70-80 feet, and read about depths of 135 feet; and the deep water lasted for a long time.

       One surprise was the number of people out using the waterway, for fishing, picnicking, swimming, etc.  Of course, it was Sunday, when most people have the day off from work.  There was a lot of use of the Tennessee River by recreational users.  Angela said she wanted to go fishing.

       This L&D was built to replace another L&D constructed in 1913.  There is a marina at the site of the old power plant and old L&D, but we saw no signs to slow down, no no-wake signs.  The operator of the marina called us on the radio and told us to slow down; she complained of our wake on the radio.  We apologized, saying we saw no signs and sincerely believed we were too far away from them to bother the marina.  This is a big consideration when you are moving at planing speeds.  What surprises me is the number of boats tied up on the river; the owners must take care to protect them from passing wakes.

     At the upper end of the lake, we passed alongside the Interstate highway.  In previous years I have driven here by the water on the way to Knoxville.  I wished at the time that I could be on the river.  Now that dream had come true.  A few miles further along we came to the downtown area of Chattanooga, with it's famous  Aquarium,
bandstands, Riverwalk, etc.  It was not a large town but did look nice from the river.  Next was the Chickamauga L&D, 48 ft lift; and the size of the lock was 360 ft by 60 ft.  The others on the TVA and Tenn-Tom had been 600 by 110, but Chickamauga and the others upstream were all the smaller size.  A downbound tow was in the middle of a split load, so we had to wait with 5 other pleasure craft for about 45 minutes.

     The Chickamauga Marina was just upstream of the dam, so we were at the fuel dock by 6:45pm.  Of course, the fuel dock office closed at 6:30pm.  So we made ourselves comfortable, found shore power (30 amp), and fixed dinner.  This marina is home to the local Carver dealer, and I went there to get some repairs done.  It was not convenient to downtown, and no restaurants were nearby.

Lay Day, Chattanooga, TN, Monday, June 8, 1998

     On Monday, June 8, we fueled up and checked in with the Service Manager.  We got the Glendinning repaired (number 3 repair) with a new flex shaft and an alignment; now we had a starboard tachometer again.  The anchor windlass clutch was loose (I forgot about that $110 wrench!), so we got it working as well as it ever had.  That was the reason the windlass wouldn’t pull in the rope/chain.    We got the CAT mechanic out and took him for a test ride.  He didn't know what to do, but went back to his shop to work on it, including calling Wisconsin Power.  We got a generator mechanic out to check out the generator and adjust the valves.  The yard mechanic swapped the alarm sending units from starboard to port and vice versa, since there were no new, alarm-sending units in town.  (That did not solve anything.)  I checked the water levels in the batteries and added water as necessary.


     Otherwise, Angela and I went to town, had a late lunch at Big River Grille, and went to the Tennessee Aquarium.  It was good, better than I had expected, and well worth the time and the cost.  The 138,000-gallon fresh-water tank is the largest in the world.  There are other large tanks there, too.  They said there were over 9000 animals in the building, unless any of them were eaten or escaped, that is.  It was very well done.

     Next door, "Everest" was showing at the IMAX movie, so we went to that.  Then we had dinner at the same restaurant and taxied back to the marina.

Chattanooga, TN to Knoxville, TN, Monday, June 8, 1998

     On Tuesday, June 9, we needed to go 131 miles to complete our trip, so to speak.  Our goal was to get to Ft Loudon Lake, and 131 miles would put us at that point.  Our planned dockage was 2 miles above the lock.  This area is technically Lenoir City, TN.  Knoxville is another 50 or so miles upstream, but that trip is like a side trip from this base of operations for us.  We planned other side trips, such as a few days on the Tellico River, a few days on the Clinch River near Oak Ridge--all from that base.

       We got up at 6am and left the marina by 6:40am.  (This is a change from our cruise last year.  Then, we got up at 6 or 7; but we showered, shaved, ate breakfast, talked, etc.  We were underway about 9 or 10am.  I couldn't figure out why it was so late when we got anywhere.  Now we just get up and go and do all that other stuff while on the go!)  It was overcast and cool, and the weather changed to very cool, very rainy, and dark and windy at times.

     We went through the Watts Bar L&D, 59 ft lift, at 10:15am.  Floating debris was the worst here, above the lock, and to a lesser extent all the way to the next dam.  The channel definitely began to narrow at the approach to Ft Loudon Dam, and depths went down to 20+ feet.  We went through the Ft Loudon L&D at 3pm.  This one was slow, and full of floating debris.  The lift for this lock was 72 feet.  The lake elevation was 814 feet above sea level.  We fueled up and got into a slip at Ft Loudon Marina, a very nice place.  Slip rental was $15.

     Our total fuel usage for that trip was 2,224 gallons costing $2,219.  Total miles were 1,514.  Average gals per mile were 1.47. Average speed was 12.4 mph with 122 running hours.  We spent 18 days on the water, with no movement on 4 days-2 in New Orleans; 1 in Iuka, MS; and 1 in Chattanooga. Dividing 1,514 miles by 14 days yields 108 miles per day.

     We planned to move the boat two miles upstream to a friend's house for free dockage, see my mother, brother and his wife and two small boys, and a couple of friends in the area until June 14 when we flew home to Houston.  I was so grateful that we arrived safely and in good health.  It is so important to try and be careful and take care of ourselves when cruising.

In the Knoxville, TN area, June 9-14, 1998

     Our activities for the remainder of Trip 1 included moving the boat from the marina to our friends' dock and trying to get the shore power right, moving the boat back to the marina to get it professionally washed, taking two 12-mile or so boat trips up the river and back, and washing clothes and shopping.

     We had stayed at this marina because of the laundromat, and it was otherwise a very nice and well-run marina.  We washed clothes and cleaned the inside of the boat on Wednesday, June 10.  I swapped the temperature gauges at the helm.  The starboard one had a problem with the threads on one post, so I used the new one (FedExed from CAT in NO, LA) for the port side.  Of course, it was not a flush mount, like the rest of the gauges.  (The o-rings ordered from CAT in New Orleans were left out of the shipment, and the new sending unit had yet to be tried.)  We met my mother for lunch at Calhoun's at the marina (good ribs and bar-b-que) and watched it rain until about 4:30pm.  At 5:30pm we motored over to our friends’ house (Dick and Sue) and tied up to their boat dock.

     The shore power didn't work, and we began learning about that.  What we learned was (1) the ground on the shore power must match the ground at the generating plant- Dick had to reverse his to get us a good ground, and (2) when our light came on saying, "reverse polarity", it could also mean "open circuit".  This took several days to learn about and revise and reconnect.  Since Dick's two outlets were good for 15amps each, we connected down from two 50-amp circuits to two 15-amp circuits, hoping to run one air-conditioner and the refrigerator and battery charger.  We got it working for Friday night, and then it wouldn't work for Saturday.  Then we got it working again, hopefully for the duration.  Dick, bless his heart, promised to check it for us.  He and Sue were great hosts and friends.

     Thursday, June 11, we used Sue's car and went shopping.  We went to Wal-Mart, Boaters Paradise, Auto Zone, Wendy's, and the gas station.  We picked up a new bilge blower to replace one that had gone out en route, a week or so earlier.  We also went to my mother's and took her out to dinner.

     The cleaning service we finally contracted with consisted of some employees of Sea Ray, which has its corporate headquarters here along with two or more of their manufacturing plants.  These guys work four 10s for Sea Ray Monday-Thursday, and clean boats on Friday.  So, Friday, June 12, we took the boat back to the marina and tied up there for a few hours so they could wash the boat and polish the chrome.  With the marina's permission, we were tied up and using their electricity and water for several hours.  (We wanted to be sure and leave there with water in our tanks, too, because there was no drinking water at the dock of our friends.)

     While the pros were washing the boat, I installed the new bilge blower.  The air cleaner for the generator had come in, and I changed that, also.  After we were all through, the Sea Ray employees showed us the big boss' boat, a Sea Ray 560, which the CEO kept at the marina.  It was new, big, and nice.

     Friday night we went on a boat ride with Dick and Sue proceeding upriver towards Knoxville.  The large, riverfront estates were a surprise; they were so numerous and so large.  Taxes and electricity are inexpensive here, and so encourage these large homes, I would think.  Also, there's more money in Knoxville than I knew about.  There is a lot of construction on waterfront lots here; Dick said an acre lot on the water goes for $200,000 or so.  

     Saturday, June 13, we made about the same trip with my brother and his wife, Will and Tammy, and their two small boys, plus my mother.
                      

     I think the boat ride was a little long for boys of that age, but it was great being with them.  It was a beautiful day, with enough wind for sailboats and hot power boaters, and with blue sky and a clear view of the Smoky Mountains.  We saw an osprey nest, built on the platform provided for that purpose, above the green day marker on the Tennessee River.  In it were two adult osprey and two young ones (eagles).

    At the end of the boat ride on Saturday, we dropped everyone off at the Ft Loudon Marina, and we loaded all our baggage into my mother's car.  We did not want to carry anything up the hill to Dick's house--it's 150 feet above the lake with a 3-to1 slope to the path.  Our legs are much stronger from going up and down that hill a few times.  It was interesting to reflect that the lake was elevation 814, and that was 814 feet above the water at home (Houston).  Dick and Sue's house, at elevation 964, was at least 930 feet above our house at home.

     We moved the boat to our friends' dock to leave it there for two weeks.  The return to Houston was midday on Sunday, June 14, 1998, the end of Trip 1.