Columbus, MS to Grand Rivers, KY

Total Miles Traveled since departing Grand Rivers, KY 2820 miles.

We have been very fortunate with weather and river conditions, so we stayed at Columbus one day for fuel and provisions, then on April 2^nd we cruised 57 miles, passing through 4 locks and anchoring near Fulton Lock.

We weighed anchor April 3^rd and cruised 24 miles passing through 3 locks to an anchorage at Bay Springs, MS.  Bay Springs Reservoir is one of our favorite places to anchor, stretching 9 miles long and several secluded coves.  With possible thunderstorms passing through, we anchored 2 days waiting for milder weather.

Jamie Whitten Lock, the northernmost lock on the Tenn-Tom Waterway, raising us 84 feet.

Bay Springs

On April 5^th we cruised 37 miles to an anchorage called Zippy Cove, another great anchorage between Bay Springs and Pickwick Lake.  Our friends Charlie and Robin (m/v Lower Place) keep their boat at a marina near here and have a house close to Pickwick Landing Marina.

Easter Sunday Breakfast

We weighed anchor on April 6^th and cruised 9 miles to Pickwick Landing Marina.  We stayed a few days visiting with Charlie and Robin, cleaning the boat, and catching up on a few maintenance items.  This is a really nice marina with a state lodge and restaurant close by. 

 

On April 11^th we passed through Pickwick Lock on the Tennessee River, our last lock heading north and entering Kentucky Lake.  Each lock from Mobile north has been raising us in elevation, Pickwick Lock drops us about 50 ft.

We cruised 53 miles to an anchorage at Beach Creek Island.

 On April 12^th we cruised 65 miles anchoring at Richland Creek on Kentucky Lake.  We had very windy conditions all day and night and this was a very protected anchorage.

 Hangin ten cruising the Tennessee River

We weighed anchor on April 12^th cruising 31 miles to an anchorage at Panther Bay.  We stopped at Paris Landing Marina to take advantage of an excellent fuel price, over a dollar a gallon less than a few marinas on Kentucky Lake.  I didn’t need fuel, but fuel prices seem to increase every week.

On April 15^th we cruised 19 miles to Ken Lake Marina, our friends Steve and Jan (m/v Forever Young) live close to the marina, so we stayed a couple of days to visit.

Steve and Jan took us to Extreme Bar Bingo night at Boyd's Tavern, established in 1798, Canton Kentucky's original speakeasy.  This was a really cool place.....and I won $25 on bingo......winning!

We departed the marina on April 17^th and cruised 10 miles to an anchorage at Duncan Bay.  We anchored 3 days breaking in our new Kentucky State fishing license.  Winner winner fish for dinner.

On the 18th, we dropped the dinghy and filled the stringer, big mistake coming back at sundown though, the bugs ate me alive while cleaning the fish.

On April 20^th we cruised our last 13 miles to our home port at Green Turtle Bay, Grand Rivers, KY.  We traveled 2,820 miles since departing Green Turtle Bay last August 2025.  We have logged 43,157 miles since starting our Great Loop in September 2015.

This will be my last post until we start our way south again in August.

Marathon Fl, to Columbus, MS

Total Miles Traveled since departing Grand Rivers, KY 2503 miles

We have covered a lot of water in one month, traveling 1054 miles from Marathon, Florida March 1^st to Columbus, Mississippi April 1^st.   We have had unbelievable weather and cruising conditions this year. 

We were in Marathon for three months without one day of fog, but on the morning of our departure, we were fogged in.  After it lifted, we traveled 51 miles to an anchorage at Little Shark River, the Gulf of America was almost flat the entire cruise.  

Approaching the 7 mile bridge at Marathon separating the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of America.

On March 2^nd we traveled 64 miles to an anchorage at Marco Island, then traveled 42 miles on the 3^rd to Ft Myers Beach, Florida and grabbed a mooring ball for a couple of days.  We had a great visit with our friends on the beach.

Dinghy dock provided for boaters on a mooring ball.

After hurricane Ian, all of these shrimp boats were tangled in a big pile on land, the storm surge picked them up and pushed them ashore.

On March 5^th we traveled 41 miles to an anchorage at Cape Haze near Charlotte Harbor, then on the 6^th traveled 40 miles to another anchorage at Sarasota, Florida.

With ideal conditions on March 7^th, we cruised the Intracoastal Waterway to Tampa Bay, then passed through the inlet and cruised the Gulf 53 miles to Clearwater Beach, Florida. 

We had an awesome time at Clearwater with our family during their spring break.

Farmers market at Clearwater

Clearwater's new waterfront concert venue at the 19 acre Coachman Park.  Covered seating for 4000 guests.

After spending a week with our family, we anchored 4 days at Clearwater waiting for a weather window to travel 86 miles on the Gulf March 20^th to Cedar Key, then 115 miles on the 21^st anchoring at Dog Island near Carrabelle, Florida.  We experienced some pretty rough seas the last 3 hours before arriving at Dog Island, we had a few 5 footers on the bow, slowing us down and causing us to arrive at our anchorage after sunset.

Sunset through the salt covered flybridge windows on our way to Dog Island

On March 22^nd we traveled 5 miles to C-Quarters Marina at Carrabelle for a couple of days to top off our fuel tanks, water, and stock up on groceries. 

Sunrise at our anchorage at Dog Island

Grocery run

We departed Carrabelle on the 24^th and traveled 91 miles to an anchorage at Pearl Bayou, then 66 miles on the 25^th to an anchorage at Destin, Florida.  The bays between these points are several miles long and wide, and were almost flat, so we decided to cruise longer days to take advantage of ideal conditions.

I guess the parasail boat captain thought it would be a good idea to pass them across the channel, what could possibly go wrong.

Canal connecting East Bay at Panama City to the Choctawhatchee Bay to Destin and Ft Worth.

On March 26^th we cruised 74 miles to Gulf Shores, Alabama and secured dockage at Homeport Marina.  We had dinner with our friends Kenneth and Susan on m/v Cra Sea Horse, and although it would have been nice to stay an extra day, the 27^th was a perfect day to cross Mobile Bay into the river system, so we traveled 80 miles to an anchorage on the Tensas River, a cut off of the Mobile River. 

We hit a wall of fog half way across Mobile Bay but it only lasted a few miles with 1/2 mile visability.

Entering Mobile ship harbor

We usually get held up in the Gulf Shores area waiting on the river conditions to improve from spring rains, but this year the rivers we close to normal levels and flow.  On March 28^th we traveled 60 miles passing through the Coffeeville Lock and anchoring out of the channel on the Tenn Tom Waterway, then on the 29^th traveled 72 miles to another anchorage along the waterway. 

On March 30^th we traveled 55 miles passing through the Demopolis Lock and anchoring in an oxbow at Rattlesnake Bend. 

The small white dot to the left is the International Space Station.  The ISS Detector App is great for tracking the space station, satellites, and planets.

On the 31^st we traveled 85 miles passing trough Heflin and Bevill Locks anchoring near Pickensville, Alabama.

We weighed anchor at daybreak on April 1st and traveled 28 miles, passing through the Stennis Lock at Columbus, Mississippi then continuing on the the marina.  The marina at Columbus has a courtesy car, so we drove to town for lunch and stocked up on provisions for the cruise to Green Turtle Bay.

There are 12 locks between Mobile Bay and the Tennessee River at Pickwick Lake, raising us from sea level to over 400 feet, only 7 locks to go.