Grand Rivers, KY to Iuka, MS

Total Miles Traveled 193

Follow our Track

We had a great time visiting family and friends this summer, our grandkids are now all teenagers and young adults so we really appreciated being able to spend time with them.  We enjoyed anchoring out with them too; they really enjoyed fishing, swimming, and kayaking. 

We managed to pull up some interesting objects while anchoring this summer.  One of them was a keeper, a 25 pound Danforth anchor that I'll use for a stern anchor.

A passing storm

Sophie's 13th Birthday

Our friends from Indiana, Darin and Linda, stopped by as they were completing a cruise from Knoxville, TN to Evansville, IN.  The Tennessee River and all of its connecting lakes, is one of the most beautiful bodies of water we have cruised on.

We did have an unforgettable experience though.  On July 12^th we were awaken at 3 a.m. with someone pounding on our boat yelling the “pier is on fire”!   Our friends Bob and Deb were spending the weekend with us so waking up from a dead sleep to all of the commotion was a very stressful experience.  Our slip was on the opposite end of the pier from the fire, but only 7 slips away, by the time we were awaken the whole end of the pier between us and shore was engulfed in flames.

My first thought was to get everyone safely to shore but we were able to disconnect power and our lines and leave our slip.  The wind was blowing very hard and an approaching storm was coming which was fueling the fire.  As I ran around the front of the boat I could feel the heat traveling in our direction.  I noticed our friend’s boat a few slips down from us was still dark so I ran down to their boat, beat on it as hard as I could yelling at them to get up.  I ran back to our boat and everyone thought I was already on the fly bridge and was pushing the boat out….sure glad they didn’t leave me.

Since we were in a slip, I had all of the boat instrumentation powered off.  I started the engines and backed out of the slip but had no radar or chart plotter in the blackness of night.  On top of that, I forgot to put my glasses on with all of the confusion.  I was able to keep the boat away from the other piers and boats until we had everything powered up and was able to leave the marina to an anchorage a couple of miles away.  We were fortunate that the storm held off until we had our anchor set.

We have heard that a newly purchased houseboat was the source of the fire but it is still under investigation.  Thankfully no one was injured but 11 boats were lost in the fire.

Bob Williams took this video while we were leaving the marina.

https://www.facebook.com/1289341117/posts/10218552908915832/?sfnsn=mo&d=n&vh=i

Green Turtle Bay marina was full before the fire so we had to find another marina to spend the remainder of the summer.  We moved to Prizer Point Marina on Barkley Lake, about 25 miles from Green Turtle Bay.   Our friends Steve and Libby on m/v San Souci keep their boat here and we are both on the same pier.

We also participated in a Trump Parade on Kentucky Lake, I don’t know how many boats participated in the event but it stretched several miles and ended with a giant raft up in the afternoon. 

We returned to Green Turtle Bay for a couple of weeks on September 12^th to prepare for departure and to visit our friends at the marina, it’s amazing how fast the summer has slipped by.  We departed Green Turtle Bay October 5^th and traveled 38 miles to an anchorage on Kentucky Lake at Panther Bay. 

You can see the silhouette of our boat on the shoreline. 

 The next morning we traveled 48 miles and anchored behind an island at Rockport Landing.  The nights have been cool, and so far the early morning fog has burnt off not long after sunrise.  When leaving Rockport Landing we had a clear sky but after traveling a few miles we entered a valley between two hills,  and fog.  

Fortunately by the time we arrived at the valley, the fog started to break up and we were able to continue at a slower speed.  We arrived at the Clifton Marina that afternoon and met another Looper m/v Aquarius II.

Pickwick Lock has started dropping Pickwick Lake level to winter pool.   Kentucky Lake has already dropped about 4 feet, so the additional water being let out of the Pickwick dam has caused a considerable increase in opposing current.  We have lost about 2 mph at our normal engine rpm.  We departed Clifton Marina with clear skies on October 8^th planning to get though Pickwick Lock well before dark.  After traveling only a couple of miles we encountered another fog bank, this time we decided to pull out of the channel and anchor until it cleared.  

We waited two hours before it lifted, delaying our arrival time at the lock to 5 p.m...  After locking through we were able to anchor in a cove on the Tenn-Tom Waterway, about 2 miles from Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina just after sunset. 

We arrived at Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina around noon on October 9^th.  We will stay here through Sunday and wait for the remanence of Hurricane Delta to pass.

Iuka, MS to Grand Rivers, KY

Total Miles Traveled 3039.2

We departed Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina at Iuka, Mississippi on June 15^th.  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.

But we have also passed some very nice homes along the river.

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 16^th 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 17^th 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 19^th.  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 1^st, and then we will start our new adventure south for the winter.