Grand Harbor Marina, MS to Wilson Lake, Six Mile Creek, AL

September 16^th, 2015
Wednesday
Miles Traveled 53.8
Total Miles Traveled 255
Day 7
 
We left Grand Harbor Marina about 9:30 this morning heading back to the Tennessee River on Pickwick lake mile marker 215.3. 

At mile marker 236.6 we passed under the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge.

 

We were a few miles from Wilson Lock and we could see a tow on our AIS (Automatic Identification System) approaching the lock.  We called the lock operator on our VHF radio asking instructions for locking through and were told to proceed at normal speed.  When we arrived at the lock, the tow was still waiting and the chamber doors were closed.  We were instructed to wait at the auxiliary lock wall, and an hour and a half later, we entered the lock.

                                                 Auxiliary lock wall is to the far left.

 

Doors Closing behind us...hang on to your hat!

 

This is the exit gate, this is the first lock of this type we have seen, when the lock is at lake level, the top metal structure lowers down to the concrete support and the boat exits over the hand rail at the top.

 

 

We have been through locks on the Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, Allegany, and Cumberland Rivers and this lock by far is the worst lock we have ever encountered.  When I called the lock operator and informed him we were secure, the flood gates opened and we were in for a ride.  It was all I could do to keep the port bow of the boat off of the wall, I had goose bumps hearing the rub rail crawl up the concrete wall, Moni had to come up front and help as the water was coming into the lock from behind us pushing the boat forward.   Needless to say, it didn’t take long to raise us to the lake level.  Of course we were polite and thanked the lock operator for his help as we have to come back through the lock when we continue the loop.

 
The construction of Wilson Dam began in 1918; a year after the United States entered World War I. The federal government built two nitrate plants at Muscle Shoals for the making of explosives, and Wilson Dam was constructed to supply the electricity needed to power the plants. TVA acquired Wilson Dam in 1933.  The main lock at Wilson is 110 by 600 feet. With a maximum lift of 100 feet, it is the highest single lift lock east of the Rockies.  Wilson Dam is a hydroelectric facility and has 21 generating units with a net dependable capacity of 663 megawatts.

We found a nice quit cove in Six Mile Creek on Wilson Lake to spend the night, can't wait to see what tomorrow brings us.  Oh yes, we will be sleeping with one eye open as we saw the Loch Ness Monster today.