Guntersville Lake, Bridgeport Island, AL to Nickajack Lake, Williams Island, TN

September 20^th, 2015
Sunday
Miles Traveled 43.3
Total Miles Traveled 441
Day 11

Another great morning on the Tennessee River, we were only underway a couple of miles and crossed under the Seaboards System Railway lift bridge, we had over 30 feet clearance so we didn’t have to call them to lift it higher for us.

 

We crossed the Alabama Tennessee state line just past the 416 mile marker; this ferry didn’t appear to be operating on Sunday. 

 

 

The river started to narrow and the opposing current increased as we were approaching Nickajack Lock and Dam.

 

 

We  waited about 20 minutes before entering the lock chamber.  While tying up, 4 boats from Georgia entered the lock with United States Power Squadron burgee’s flying.  They were also heading to Chattanooga but had much faster boats than us.  Maybe we’ll see them tomorrow.  This was our view after leaving the lock and entering Nickajack Lake.

 

The view cruising up the Tennessee River to Chattanooga was awesome, here are a few pictures to give you an idea of its beauty. 

 

 

 

 

We passed the Raccoon Mountain pumped storage facility.  The Raccoon Mountain project is TVA’s largest hydroelectric facility. Water is pumped to the reservoir on top of the mountain and then used to generate electricity when additional power is needed by the TVA system.  The plant works like a large storage battery. During periods of low demand, water is pumped from Nickajack Reservoir at the base of the mountain to the reservoir built at the top. It takes 28 hours to fill the upper reservoir. When demand is high, water is released via a tunnel drilled through the center of the mountain to drive generators in the mountain’s underground power plant.

 

I don't know why we seem to attract aircraft, but this guy circled around us a couple of times, then took the plunge behind us.

 

 

We see all types of boats on the river, this couple seemed to be having a nice afternoon.

 

 

Our AIS alarm helped us again, this tow was around a sharp narrow bend in the river, we pulled back at idle and waited for him to come into site, then waited for him to pass.

 

 

 

We are anchoring tonight behind Williams Island, just a few miles from downtown Chattanooga, TN.