Sunday, June 3, 2012

Back on the River



The plan is to be at Kentucky Dam Marina on Wednesday.  We have a total of 220 miles to go in five days so we can take our time.

Missy and I went to town for coffee and then took the rental car back. We pulled out of the marina in Florence just after 10 AM so now Aye Sea No Snow is back on the river cruising.

Wilson lock is just a mile or two up stream from Florence Alabama.  Wilson lock is the highest lift lock east of the Rocky Mountains with a lift of 93 to 100 feet and so it became a must do before we headed downstream toward Kentucky Dam.  The lock tender had the doors open waiting for us when we arrived so we pulled right in and locked through by 11AM.



Wilson Lock upper gate drops.  Very unique.

We then spent a couple of hours exploring the homes and coves above the dam.  Skip Jack was headed downstream so we timed our cruise to get back to the lock after the tow had finished going through the lock.  This area of the river had some very deep water, up to 150 feet in places.  The coves run 40 to fifty feet deep with lots of places on the water.


Preparing for a lakeside wedding.

Rachael takes the Helm!




After Skip Jack had locked through we pulled in behind three other boats to go downstream.  Shifting Colors, Casper, and Formulator.  The crew on Formulator had a really hard time grabbing the Bollard!

They dropped their line on first attempt, went around in the lock to have another try, then almost backed into Aye Sea No Snow as the Captain got confused.
Missy prepares to drop bumpers as we enter the lock.

The Crew of Aye Sea No Snow!

The Crew of Aye Sea No Snow had things well under control and we felt so bad for the people on Formulator.  Once the doors closed and we started down we had a spectacular water fall from the upstream gate.




I have video of the waterfall but I need Josh's help to edit it.  The Wilson lock was definitely worth the trip.


We pulled out of Wilson at 2:55 and met the tow Lexington waiting to lock through up stream.  We then cruised at 9 knots to get to Grand Harbor Marina by 7PM.  There we a ton of boaters out on the lake enjoying the beautiful day.

We timed things perfectly so we had access to the courtesy car to go into town.  Counce Tennessee is not really a town.  Just some gas stations, a Dollar General, and a few restaurants on the highway.  The restaurant we googled was not open, the next restaurant we went to based on a sign on the highway was destroyed by last year's tornado, so we took the recommendation of the desk clerk at the Hampton Inn to go to the Broken Spoke.

Very nice restaurant with live music and ambiance. Adam, our server was a little nervous as it was his second week.  The owner came around to every table to say hi and then joined the due on stage to sign.  Darrell would love this place.

Back to the boat for a couple of rounds of Yahtzee.  The three of us have so much fun constantly.  Rachael and Missy get to laughing about the silliest things.  Their latest habit is talking with a southern drawl.  Very entertaining for the Captain.




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