Total
Miles Traveled 3039.2
We departed Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina at Iuka, Mississippi
on June 15th. It was a busy
month catching up on preventative maintenance and a little waxing on the
boat. We really enjoyed our visit with
our boating friends on Priorities and The Lower Place during our stay.
Our last lock on our cruise north from Florida was only
about 6 miles from the marina. As we
entered the Tenn-Tom waterway a tow was only a half mile behind us. By the time we arrived at the lock, the tow
was about two and a half miles behind us and we were able to lock through ahead
of him. We traveled a total of 68 miles
and anchored behind Double Island on the Tennessee River.
We have seen the results of major flooding from the
excessive rain earlier this year.
We passed this tow loaded down with sand and gravel.
A few miles later we passed the dredge, each conveyor loads a different size of material to each barge.
Great cruising conditions on the Tennessee River.
Someone must have purchased a new dock....or someone is missing one?
On June 16th we traveled 60 miles and anchored
in a large cove on Richland Creek. This is
an open body of water exposed to wind from most directions, but we have had
great weather with highs in the 80’s, lows in the 60’s, and calm winds at
night. We weighed anchor on June 17th
and traveled 54 miles to one of our favorite anchorages on Kentucky Lake, Sugar
Bay. We anchored here for two days.
Although we could have stayed at Sugar Bay a week, we
were anxious to get back home to see our family and friends and traveled our
final 15 miles to Green Turtle Bay Marina where we’ll spend the summer. Since leaving Green Turtle Bay Marina September
30, 2019 we have traveled 3039.2 miles.
The Commonwealth Yacht Club at Green Turtle Bay conducted
their annual American Flag Retirement Ceremony on June 19th. This event normally takes place Memorial Day
weekend but due to the Covid-19 pandemic the event was delayed.
The US Flag code states that, “the flag, when it is in
such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be
destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.” Thus, when a flag is torn and tattered beyond
repair, it’s time for it to be retired.
A flag ceases to be a flag when it is cut into
pieces. In addition, it is easier to
completely incinerate the flag, if it is cut into smaller pieces. A flag should never be torn up like an old
bed sheet. It should be cut up with
scissors or shears in a methodical manner.
The corners of the flag should be stretched out over a table top and
someone should cut the flag in half, vertically, careful not to cut up the blue
star field. Then, place the two halves
together and cut them in half, horizontally.
You will end up with four pieces of flag, one being the blue star
field. The reason the blue star field is
not cut is it represents the union of the fifty states and one should never let
the union be broken.
We replaced our worn flag while in Florida and kept the
old one for proper retirement, I’m glad we were able to participate in the
ceremony at Green Turtle Bay.
The Yacht Club Members, marina residents, local Cub Scouts, and a local Veterans motorcycle club participated in the ceremony.
This will be our last blog for our 2019-2020
adventure. We will be in this area until
October 1st, and then we will start our new adventure south for the
winter.