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

     The overall plan for this cruise was to get to the Tennessee River and do some cruising in the areas of Knoxville, TN, Chattanooga, TN, possibly even Nashville, TN, on the Cumberland River.  We planned to go up the Tenn-Tom and probably return the same way.  Beginning in late-May, we hoped to cruise a few weeks, return to Houston and work a few weeks, and go back and forth as work and other conditions would permit, returning to Houston with the boat in September or October.

     On Trip 1 we covered 1,514 miles, went through 24 locks, and increased our elevation from sea level to 814 feet above sea level.  We spent 3 weeks on Trip 1, but only two of those weeks were really moving a significant distance toward a goal.  The others were ‘lay’ days, or layover days, for doing chores, or sightseeing, or visiting friends and relatives.

     We went to Galveston, TX on Saturday, May 23, the day before Angela’s birthday.  At the end of the fourth day of the cruise, we were in New Orleans, LA, in our slip at the Orleans Marina out at West End on Lake Ponchartrain.  So, we went from Houston to New Orleans in 4 days.  This involved three locks on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) and two locks used in crossing the Mississippi River.  Total miles in 4 days was 475, counting side trips to Offatts Bayou in Galveston and Lake Charles, LA at the casino marina.

     After two and one-half ‘lay’ days in New Orleans, we went to Biloxi, MS and then Dog River, just south of Mobile, AL, arriving Saturday, May 30, the eighth day of the trip.  At that point we had reached the number of hours on the engines when an oil change was due, so we changed all the oil and oil filters.  Also, we did some laundry and changed all the Racor filters.  We filled up with diesel for the run up the Tombigbee River, and we didn’t buy fuel again until Demopolis, AL, Mile 219 on the River.

     We covered the 451 miles of the Tombigbee River and the Tenn-Tom Waterway in four days, arriving in Iuka, MS—Aqua Yacht Harbor on Yellow Creek—late on the night of Wednesday, June 3.  We stayed there two nights and did some shopping in the marina courtesy car (van).  The 451 miles, plus about 15 miles from Dog River to the beginning of the river, included several distinct sections.  The lower river was deserted above Mobile due to flooding and bank erosion.  There were two locks and no marinas until Demopolis.  There was a fuel stop at Lady’s Landing, approx Mile 80.  Cell phones worked only occasionally.

     In the next section, the Tombigbee River was straightened and locks were installed to form the Tenn-Tom Waterway.  There were 10 more locks to get through the upper river and the canal section.  Most were 30 or 40 feet in lift with inside dimensions of 600 by 110 feet.  The uppermost lock, at Bay Springs, had a lift of 84 feet.  Then came the Divide Cut, about 30 miles long, where the builders cut through the mountain to connect the Tenn-Tom to the Tennessee River. 


     It was 387 miles from the intersection of Yellow Creek and the Tennessee River, near Aqua Yacht Harbor, to the Dam at Ft Loudon Lake, the lake at Knoxville.  We covered that distance in 5 days, but we stayed in Chattanooga one day for repairs and sightseeing.

     The Tennessee River was wide at our first entrance into it and also above each dam.  The first dam was Wilson, which raised us 93 feet, the highest lift of any dams on this trip.  Then we passed through Wheeler (48 feet), Guntersville (40 feet), Nickajack (40 feet), Chickamauga (48 feet), Watts Bar (59 feet), and Ft Loudon (72 feet).  We spent the afternoon of Saturday, June 6, with my sister and her friend, shopping in Boaz, AL, which was thrilling.  Sightseeing in Chattanooga included seeing the Tennessee Aquarium, which was well done and well worth the time and admission price.  We also saw “Everest” at the IMAX theatre next to the aquarium.

     Weather was hot, unusually so for the first part of our trip.  Texas and Louisiana were in a drought condition, while Tennessee had had 50% more rain than usual.  We began in the 90’s for highs, and Tennessee was only slightly better at 88, 89, and 90.  But, on June 8, on our way from Chattanooga to Knoxville, the high was 65 degrees in Chattanooga and it rained all day.  The nice thing about Tennessee was the cool breeze, if and when it came; and the fact that it cooled down at night.  Humidity was high everywhere we went.

     Part of the challenge of cruising, and the rewards of doing it well, lie in the planning of the trip.  A couple of points here for our boating friends, for whom this summary is written.  We read about a couple who agreed to always wear shoes when outside the cabin, recognizing that if your feet are injured, you really can’t do much on a boat.  We paid attention to this rule or agreement, and the more general rules like holding onto handrails while moving, etc; and I’m very grateful that we had no injuries or accidents.  They could happen, and the doctors and hospitals are far away on a trip like this.  Some vicious animals (probably spiders) bit me on my right foot, repeatedly, causing swelling and severe itching for most of the trip, but amputation was not considered necessary and the swelling did go away.

     We needed to get a prescription filled and did so in Boaz, AL.  Another prescription was inadvertently left on the boat when we returned to Houston.  We almost lost a pair of prescription eyeglasses, which would have been hard or impossible to replace on the trip.

       We did without charts on the Tenn-Tom, although we had the Rumsey book, which is excellent, and the Quimby’s guide.  (We inquired about charts in Mobile, but they were unavailable.)  We bought the Tenn-Tom charts at Aqua Yacht Harbor for the return, and we bought the charts for the Tennessee River there.  That was a good decision, for the Tennessee is so large at times that you can’t see which direction the river channel runs and you can’t see the next marker.  We also bought a cruise guide by Fred Myers for the Tennessee River, which really made the trip better for me because it explained a lot of what we were seeing.

     We had no fishing gear, so if we had decided to fish we would have had to buy the gear or bring it to the boat from Houston.  The limited use of cell phones has been mentioned, and the limited fuel stops - these should be well thought out before the trip.  Almost all marinas accepted M/C and Visa credit cards; a surprisingly high percentage accepted AMEX as well.  Some cash for emergencies would be advisable, and don’t expect overnight FedEx deliveries - 2 or 3 days would be more like it.  Diesel oil was not available at the marinas; you have to get it elsewhere, such as Wal-Mart.  Bug repellent was essential.  I used several anti-itch products on my right foot.  Think through what you might need in these areas; it’s hard to get to a store when you need to.

     We found 50-amp, 220-volt power at most marinas, but not all; and we use different cables for the 30-amp, 110-volt situations, such as we found in Chattanooga.  So we moved shore power cables a lot, and we used our 30-amp adapters.  At Dick’s place  we adapted to 15-amp power; that’s all that was available.  I knew about this in advance and had the necessary adapters, which was nice, because I’m not sure where we would have found them in Knoxville.  (No West Marine stores in Tennessee.)  We also have three 110-volt cables, which helps if you have to run one cable more than 50 feet to get to an outlet.

     We made videotapes of this trip, so anyone who is interested can see some video footage of this area.