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LOG 9 6/24-7/19 WATTS
BAR LAKE DAY 64
TUESDAY 6/24/08 We spent the day organizing and packing for our shore excursion to Nashville,
with a bit of marina relaxing as well. Day 64: Docked at Blue Springs
Marina, Watts Bar Lake, mm 547.7 Tenn R, (GPS N 35.73609, W 084.66863) DAY 65-75 WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY 6/25/08-7/5/08 We left the WE BE BLEST III at the marina and rented a car from Enterprise. They came from Athens, TN to pick us up and then take us to their office to fill out
the paperwork. We left Athens and drove to Chattanooga for lunch and to tour
Raccoon Mountain, a TVA Pumped Storage Plant. In 1970-1978 the TVA flattened the top of Raccoon Mountain to build a dam and
create a reservoir. Water is pumped from the lower reservoir (Tennessee River)
to the upper one on the mountain during periods of low electricity demand. It
is stored there until power is needed, and then water is pulled from the upper reservoir, into a large concrete pipe and drops
almost 1000’ down inside the mountain to the turbines to generate electricity.
When power generation isn’t needed, the turbines/pumps operate in reverse, pumping water back up into the upper
reservoir. It’s a fascinating system. With
Gene having worked in utility generation, he was in awe of the 1000’ head. We
drove around the lake on top and toured the very informative visitor’s center.
The view of the Tennessee River from the center was spectacular. Leaving Chattanooga, we headed to Nashville for a 10-day land excursion to
celebrate our eldest son’s 40th birthday. Our youngest son and
family from Wisconsin also joined in the festivities. It was a great visit with
lots of Gramps and Grandma time. We shopped, went to the lake, kayaked, and of
course celebrated Daron's birthday. Day 65-75: Our land excursion
to Nashville. The WE BE BLEST III remained docked at Blue Springs Marina, Watts
Bar Lake, mm 547.7 Tenn R, (GPS N 35.73609, W 084.66863) DAY 76-83 SUNDAY-SUNDAY 7/6/08-7/13/08 After returning to the marina on Sunday, we unpacked, stowed all our shore
excursion duds, and clean laundry. A reverse of the college kids bringing their
dirty laundry home, we bring our laundry to our kids’ homes when we visit them from the boat! We used the rental car and wandered around Caney Creek and the Kingston area,
looking at another marina, taking a nature walk in the county park at Caney Creek, and then reprovisioned. We returned the car on Wednesday. Gene cleaned and polished part of the boat, while I worked on my book. Over the weekend, Polly and Larry Lanz, Loopers on POLLYANNA that we had met in Canada
in 2005, invited us over to their boat for happy hour. They live near Tellico
Lake about an hour away, but keep their boat in Blue Springs Marina. Ray and
Delilah West were also at happy hour. They have an old shrimp boat that is docked
next to us. SUNDANCER is a Katrina casualty that Ray purchased and is fixing
up. It never did commercial shrimping and has been a personal vessel since completion. On Saturday and Sunday, Gene and Larry helped Ray with some electronics projects aboard
while the three ladies visited. Sunday afternoon was the 9th annual Half Moon Festival in the bay
near the marina. Blue Springs is one of the corporate sponsors. Off and on between rain showers, we heard bluegrass, gospel, the SE Tenn Concert Band, and the Possum Hunters
(country). Usually 100 boats or so anchor near shore to listen, however, with
the rain, only about 30 were there today. Nonetheless, it was a great relaxing
afternoon. Day 76-83: Docked at Blue Springs
Marina, Watts Bar Lake, mm 547.7 Tenn R, (GPS N 35.73609, W 084.66863) DAY 84
MONDAY 7/14/08 It was time to anchor out for a few days.
Lines off at 1035 heading up the Tennessee River to the Clinch River for some cruising, anchoring and writing time. After last week’s many hot days with some cloudy and rainy ones, this week promises
slightly cooler temperatures and fairly clear skies. We motored into King Creek, an area that had provided wonderful anchorages
in 1997 on our pontoon trip. However, at that time, we saw a number of lots with
developer’s “for sale” signs and heard chain saws. In 2004,
while cruising on the Camano, we saw a few houses had been built, but now it is fairly developed and no longer provides secluded
gunkholes. In fact, the whole area around Thief Neck Island seems to be developed
as well. We did drop the hook at the north side of the Island. It was an open area, but with settled weather, we were able to enjoy the breezes. An OK anchorage for an afternoon and evening of writing and computer work with a good signal – much
better than the intermittant one in the marina. Day 84: 10.3 miles, Anchored on
the north side of Thief Neck Island, Watts Bar Lake, mm 554 Tenn R, (GPS N 35
degrees, 48.9 minutes, W 084 degrees, 39.45 minutes) start 1035, stop 1235 DAY 85
TUESDAY 7/15/08 Anchor up at 0935. We continued
up the Tennessee River checking out anchorages and headed up the Clinch River past Kingston.
Once we motored under the Rt 70 and I-40 bridges, we were in new water. The
Clinch narrows down, has heavily wooded rock bluffs, ridges and slopes. Boat
houses line the shore closer to Kingston. A development or two sports homes on
grassy slopes, stripped of most of the trees. There are few anchorages so we stopped behind an island at mm10.0 with a beautiful
view upstream of smoky hills and ridges. On the channel side of the island, Kudzu
encompassed a large area of trees and shrubs, creating unusual and eerie shapes. We stopped here because of the shallower water for anchoring. (Before that we were finding 25-30 foot depths.) However, there
was a new development on the shoreline close to the WE BE BLEST III. The slope
was stripped of trees, dried grass covered the lots, while streetlights and roads dotted and crossed the area. Actually, it looked like it had gone defunct with the market bottoming out. Up on the flybridge writing, I chose to sit with my back to the man-made works
and instead enjoy God’s handiwork upstream. However, shortly after we arrived,
heavy equipment began working at the shoreline and continued until 1900. The remarkable event at this anchorage was the current stopping completely
in the evening. Evidently, Melton Hill Lock and Dam must have stopped generation. No water flowed downstream. Earlier in
the day, it had really been zinging past the boat. Day 85: 22.3 miles, Anchored on
the Clinch River, off of Watts Bar Lake, mm 10, (GPS N 35.91874, W 084.43271) start 0935, stop 1234 DAY 86
WEDNESDAY 7/16/08 Anchor up at 0826 and we motored up to mm14.6 on the Clinch, just to sightsee
the new water. Most of the shoreline was developed on wooded slopes and bluffs. When we returned down to our last night’s anchorage, we did see some homes in
that development. Continuing back down the Clinch to mm4.5, we headed up the
Emory River, which is on the east side of Kingston. Again, we wanted to explore
new water. Near Kingston, it was quite developed, and then thinned out as we proceeded
upstream. At 1100, we stopped at mm4 for the night, a very scenic spot with several
misty ridges in the distance. As I began to write, hammering began near shore
– more construction! At least there was no heavy equipment. The search for the elusive peaceful scenic anchorage with mountain views continues! After lunch, Gene was concerned we were too close to a drop off near shore
and could blow into the shallow water. So we hoisted anchor and motored on upstream
to mm7.2 – an undeveloped area with a nice view of far off ridges. The
only evidence of man was a tower on a distant ridge … until we heard a vehicle on a road hidden behind the trees. Nonetheless, it was a good spot for writing and reading. Although today, the wind had quit and it was hot into the evening.
The last two days were very pleasant with light breezes and comfortable temps. Day 86: 21.5 miles, Anchored on
the Emory River, off the Clinch River, mm 7.2 Emory R, (GPS N 35.95502, W 084.50101) start 0826, stop 1300 DAY 87
THURSDAY 7/17/08 Anchor up at 1033. It had cooled
off last night and was very pleasant for sleeping. We motored up towards Herrimann
to mm 11.5 on the Emory to continue our exploration. We saw occasional smoky
ridges through the wooded slopes and high rock bluffs. Returning downstream to
mm5.1 on the Emory, we turned onto the Little Emory and motored up 1.5 miles to a low bridge that stopped our progress. This was developed with modest homes and mainly had pontoon, fishing, and ski boats. We returned to the Emory, cruised back to mm4 for our scenic lunch spot again,
and then returned to the Clinch, passed Kingston and back to the Tennessee River. We
found a lovely area off the channel at mm564.5, open to catch breezes, (The weather ws still settled.) with a great view of
multiple ridges, slopes, and bluffs. At last, the elusive anchorage evades us
no longer. This is it! We dropped the hook at 1519. To
cool off, I decided to hop in the water, and then cleaned the water line all around the hull.
There was a stiff current downstream. I held on to a line from the WE
BE BLEST III, floating on a noodle, and discovered that I could not swim against the current if only kicking my feet. I hung on to that rope! Back aboard, more
reading and writing – a very peaceful spot. Day 87: 26.3 miles, Anchored on
Watts Bar Lake, mm 564.5 Tenn R, (GPS N 35.83466 W 084.56144) start 1033, stop 1519 DAY 88
FRIDAY 7/18/08 We decided to stay another night. This
is a spectacular anchorage as long as the weather is good. The sunsets are gorgeous
– a bright red ball dropping behind the multiple smoky ridges. Last night
there was a full moon. This morning I hopped out of the sack at 0630 to enjoy the peace and tranquility
of sunrise on the flybridge. A hummingbird surprised me as it buzzed up on the
flybridge, around my head, then took off across the river. During the day, Gene
read and puttered while I worked on my book and did internet research for it since we had an excellent signal here. Tomorrow we will head back to the marina for a couple days. Chance
of rain on Sunday. Day 88: Still anchored on Watts
Bar Lake, mm 564.5 Tenn R, (GPS N 35.83466 W 084.56144) DAY 89
SATURDAY 7/19/08 Early evenings, the current had stopped here just as it did on the Clinch. Evidently, generation halted on the dam above Watts Bar Lake also. In fact during the night, the WE BE BLEST III even switched
directions and faced the opposite way. Either breezes or the rising Tennessee
must be causing that. Then during the day, the current returned as generation
resumed. Up again at 0630 to take in the sunrise and enjoy the quiet meditation time. Here’s a bit of what I enjoyed. Thank you Lord for a pleasant, peaceful and prayerful early misty morning …
birds chirping, heron squawking, dew dripping, fish jumping, waves lapping … even with the occasionally bass boat zooming
by racing to its hot spot. The full moon is still visible in the western sky while the sun begins to lighten
the east. As it starts its morning ascent, long before I even see its bright
yellow shape, a subtle reddish hue changing to orange appears behind the trees and ridges.
“I’m coming,” the sun announces. The sky continues to
lighten as the bright glowing yellow ball slowly peeks through the trees, rising, rising, and then bursts its way into the
misty morning. Thank you, Lord, for the gift and promise of a new day! LOG 10 7/19 – 9/5/2008 DAYS
89-137 ROAD
TRIPS & CRUISING THE TELLICO RIVER AND LAKE TELLICO DAY 89-101 SATURDAY 7/19/08 – THURSDAY 7/31/08 We hauled in the anchor at 1030 and headed back to Blue Springs Marina, needing
to pump out and refill the fresh water tanks. Ray had come to work on SUNDANCER
over the weekend in preparation for the next week’s departure. Gene, Roy
and Larry helped with some of the electronics. Storms were frequent during this week with high winds and even hail. We stayed in the marina since it was hot, but also because of the continuous fronts moving through. Not good anchoring weather. Ray and Delila came Sunday, 7/27 with the last of their supplies, provisions
and gear. They were ready to leave the next morning for their two-month maiden
voyage to Cincinnati, Ohio and back. We enjoyed a delightful evening and Bon
Voyage party celebrating and fellowshipping on the dock with them plus Roy and Elvie.
It was a bonding of boaters—new friends forging ties. Early the next morning, Ray and Delila moved SUNDANCER over to the fuel dock,
took a great big diesel and fresh water drink, posed for pictures, and then cast off.
We waved and celebrated their upcoming adventure and prayed for safe passages. During this two-week stay at the marina, we read, worked on my manuscript (Of
course! That’s why we’re up here on the Tennessee River.), used the
courtesy car to attend church, reprovisioned, and ate out with Roy and Elvie, even Ray and Delila before they left. One evening Roy, Elvie, Gene and I drove to Larry and Polly Lanz’s house (POLLYANNA). We enjoyed a delightful Mexican fiesta with Ken Bloomfield (neighbor and boater) and Ron and Eve Stob,
the original founders of the AGLCA—Looper’s organization. Of course,
the talk centered mainly on boating experiences and on writing since the Stob’s have written several books. Another day we joined Roy and Elvie for a trip to Oak Ridge and the very well
done Secret City display and Science Museum. Instead of recreating the wheel,
and with thanks to her, I’ll quote some of her log from ROY EL’ for this day’s activities and discoveries. This was a very informative and educational exhibit and tour, well worth fitting into
one’s travel plans. * * * Gene, Jan,
Roy & I took the courtesy car to see Oak Ridge, the Secret City. First we
went to the American Museum of Science and Energy. We read the entire story of
Oak Ridge from beginning to end. Then we took a 2 ½ hr bus tour where they took
us through all of the facilities. Oak Ridge was built in 1942 on 59,000 acres
as a major site of the “Manhattan Project,” a massive wartime effort that produced the world’s first atomic
weapons. There were three facilities, each identified by a code name. Y-12 Plant was built to separate and enrich the uranium 235 isotope from uranium 238. K-25 Plant was built to separate and enrich uranium 235 by a more economical method. X-10 was where a graphite-moderated nuclear reactor was constructed to
prove (on a small scale) the process of plutonium production for the large-scale production process complex in Hanford, Washington. At the time, the scientists were not sure which
method would create the most enriched uranium 235 or if it was feasible to process enough plutonium for atomic weapons. Since we were in the midst of a war and time was of the essence, the powers-to-be
decided to work on all three methods at the same time, using whatever process created the most fuel. Eventually we developed two atomic bombs. Dropping them on
Japan, one and then the second, led to the end of the war. The scary thing was that we only had the two bombs so we the, US, were very fortunate that Japan surrendered. We had no more aces up our sleeve.
The X10 plant
is now the Oak Ridge National Laboratory with six major scientific competencies including neutron science, energy, high-performance
computing, complex biological systems, advanced materials and national security. The
available jobs here require a PHD and three years experience in one’s field since earning a PHD. * * * Near the end of July, Blue Springs Marina posted a bottom-paint special on
their website. Gene priced the job for the WE BE BLEST III, compared it with
FLA prices, and we decided to take advantage of it. The bottom paint helps prevent
the growth of algae and barnacles on the hull, prop, and any underwater fittings. Since
ours is a lift-kept boat and not always in the water, the bottom paint (which is ablative—designed to be worn away)
lasted longer than boats always in the water. However, it was beginning to chip
off and soon in need of repainting. The marina estimated two weeks to complete the job. Since it would be difficult to stay on the WE BE BLEST III with no AC (actually no power at all), we felt
this was a prime opportunity to rent a car and see all our kids. So I pursued
car reservations and checked the kid’s schedules. We arranged to haul the
WE BE BLEST III on 8/6 and leave that same morning. Day 89-101: 12.4 miles, Blue Springs
Marina, Watts Bar Lake, mm 547.7 Tenn R, (GPS N 35.73628, W 084.66852) start
1030, stop 1205 DAY 102-103 FRIDAY-SATURDAY 8/1/08 – 8/2/08 In the meantime, the rains had passed and the weather had settled a bit, so
we decided to anchor out for a few days before leaving on our road trip on Wednesday.
We meandered downstream to mm544 past Half Moon Cut-Off. There was a small
island with a bird roost on it and we dropped anchor near it. It was good to
be out on the water again, watching the boat activity. A pontoon filled with
middle-schoolers wearing Mae-West life jackets made several trips across the wide channel and around the bird roost island—each
time with a different groups of kids. A sailboat ran aground just out of the
main channel and finally worked free with the aid of another boat. Some rain
moved through, but no storms, and our Bruce anchor held securely. I was finally able to put the reflections for my book in a proposed sequential
order. Hurrah! I felt like I was
finally making progress. Gene was still not inclined to fish on Watts Bar Lake
because of the fish advisories due to PCB’s and other contaminants. He’ll
wait until he is up on the Little Tenn River. Day 102-103: 6.7 miles, Anchored
on Watts Bar Lake, by Half Moon Cut-Off (little bird roost island), mm 544.0
Tenn R, (GPS N35.74550, W84.71313)
start 1130, stop 1235 DAY 104
SUNDAY 8/3/08 Wanting better phone and internet connections, we decided to motor upstream
past Blue Springs Marina where we knew we would find a good signal. I wanted
to upload my manuscript to my g-mail account. This is my off-boat storage in
case the WE BE BLEST III, along with computer, thumb-drive back-ups, and hard copies of my reflections, goes down. Thus, we hung out in the main channel for the afternoon while I took care of the internet business. Finally looking for an anchorage for the night, we tried several bays, then
settled on one the locals call Safety Harbor, a secluded wooded area. Day 104: 7.4 miles, Anchored on
Watts Bar Lake, Safety Harbor, mm 548.0 Tenn R, (GPS N 35.76333, W 84.68168) start 1010, stop 2018 DAY 105-106 MONDAY-TUESDAY 8/4/08 – 8/5/08 Monday morning and it was time to head back to the Marina, pack for our road
trip and prepare the WE BE BLEST III for her land excursion, “on the hard.”
We had been using up perishables since there would be no electric hook-up during the bottom work. Larry, the marina owner lent us a bin to store our remaining refrigerated items in the restaurant’s
cooler. Roy and Elvie had space in their freezer for our frozen food. We were packed, ready and enjoyed our usual happy hour on the dock with Roy and Elvie and any other boaters
who popped over. Day 105-106: 3.0 miles traveled, Docked at Blue Springs Marina, Watts Bar Lake, mm 547.7 Tenn R, (GPS N 35.73628, W 084.66852) start 1155. stop 1311 DAY 107-121 WEDNESDAY-WEDNESDAY 8/6/08 – 8/20/08 A road trip to see the family! With
our bags packed and piled into the dock cart, Roy and Elvie then loaded all our gear and Grandma’s surprises into the
courtesy car, while Gene and I brought the WE BE BLEST III over to the travel lift. Mechanics lined our Camano up with the wide straps, carefully lifted her out
of the water, and moved the WE BE BLEST III onto land. Suspended several feet
above ground, Gene was able to inspect and change some of the zincs. With our
floating home, now “on the hard” or “on the hill,” she was ready for a pressure wash and sanding off
of all the previous layers of bottom paint, followed by an application of two new coats.
Leaving her in capable hands, Gene and I headed to Budget Car Rental at the Knoxville Airport with Roy and Elvie. They would do some day-touring and then return the courtesy car. After getting the rental car, we began our road trip to see all the kids and grandkids. Our first stop was Nashville, son #1 Daron, Kayla and baby Gray—a B&B
stop since we had recently spent time here for Daron’s 40th birthday.
Then a short visit to Shelbyville, IL, Gene’s hometown to see his HS friend, a cousin and an uncle. We lunched with a priest-friend of the family in Beloit, WI and then spent time in Janesville, WI with
son #3 Neal, Becky, Brianna and Naleah. Good timing to enjoy the opening of the
Olympics since we are without TV on the boat. On to Texas to visit friends, then son #2 Greg, Priya, Naija and Nishta. We recognized 4 year old Nishta’s start of her formal education with an Indian
“puja” (prayer service in the Hindu Temple) and a party afterwards. We celebrated Gene’s birthday several times with each of the boys’
families … lots of decadence—cake, bars, ice cream, pecan pie, cinnamon rolls.
Yum! Gramps and Grandma enjoyed the walks, basketball, swimming, reading to the
kids, playing, bath-time and hugs with all the little and not-so-little munchkins. Of
course, Grandma brought her surprises for everyone. After a while, it was time
to feel the waves under us rocking the hull again and we headed back to Blue Springs Marina with another overnight stop in
Nashville at Daron’s. We covered over 3100 miles in two weeks on our Great
Family Circle, but all the hugs were worth it! Day 107-121: Road trip to see family; WE BE BLEST III On the hard at Blue Springs
Marina, Watts Bar Lake, mm 547.7 Tenn R, (GPS N 35.73668, W 084.66832) DAY 122-123 THURSDAY-FRIDAY 8/21/08 – 8/22/08 We left Nashville early Thursday morning after a momentary delay with the rental
car keys locked inside in the ignition. Fortunately, the passenger door, though
locked, was left slightly ajar while Gene was loading up. Remembering an earlier
lockout experience in the California Redwood forest, where AAA opened our locked vehicle, Gene used the same “spring-the-door”
technique and fairly quickly unlocked the car. Most likely, this saved us another
day’s rental fee had we needed to wait for AAA to come. We returned to the marina to find the WE BE BLEST III in the water docked next
to the travel lift. We motored her over to “our” slip on the transient
dock and hauled all our stuff onto the boat. The courtesy vehicle was available,
so we took it and the rental car back to Budget at the Knoxville Airport, then stopped to reprovision on our way back to the
marina. Now the WE BE BLEST III was piled with bags of groceries, books, clothes,
and other gear from our trip. Mail and a package waiting for us added to the
clutter. We attacked them for the rest of the day and the next trying to return
order to our vessel. Day 122-123: Docked at Blue Springs
Marina, Watts Bar Lake, mm 547.7 Tenn R, (GPS N 35.73628, W 084.66852) DAY 124
SATURDAY 8/23/08 It was time to head upriver. Gene
settled the bill with the marina for the slip and bottom paint job and we cast off at 1118 and motored upstream 23.7 miles
to mm575.8 where we anchored just downstream from the mouth of Little Paint Rock Creek.
Since the weather was settled, it did not matter that we were rather unprotected on the side of the river. Day 124: 23.7 miles, Anchored
on Watts Bar Lake, mouth of Little Paint Creek, mm 575.8 Tenn R, (GPS N 35.78916
W 084.46091) start 1118, stop 1436 DAY 125-129 SUNDAY-THURSDAY 8/24/08 – 8/28/08 Anchor up at 0904. Continuing
up Watts Bar Lake to Ft. Loudon Lock and into Ft. Loudon Lake. This is the first
lock and lake on the Tennessee River. Its headwaters are just upstream of Knoxville
where the Holston and French Broad Rivers merge to form the Tennessee River. We
had cruised up that far on the pontoon in 1997, but had no desire to repeat it on the Camano.
We chose more scenic and far less polluted waters of the Little Tennessee and Tellico Rivers. After leaving the lock, we turned to starboard up the Little Tennessee River
motoring to mm 19.2 where the Tellico River comes in, and then motored up the Tellico River looking for a scenic anchorage
to view the mountain ridges. We passed mm 5.5, a past anchorage on the pontoon, and continued up to mm7.5.
Ball Play Creek comes into the river on the port side and an unnamed creek (directly
opposite) goes to starboard. We anchored at the mouth of the unnamed creek. Looking across the Tellico River channel up Ball Play Creek, we had a view of several
misty mountain ridges in the distance. It was a wonderfully, scenic, open, yet
protected anchorage. Open, since we were at the junction of the river and two
creeks, yet protected since they were all fairly narrow and winding, and had no long straight stretches for wind and weather
to buffet the WE BE BLEST III. We had the best of both worlds—view and
protection, especially with the predicted rainy weather. Thoroughly enjoying ourselves, we stayed here five nights while the rain fronts
continued to move through. We had no storms or high winds, only nice gentle intermittent
rains. It was reminiscent of being in the camper listening to the raindrops on
the canvas and metal tops. Gene fished and explored our creek with the dink, while I finished my WAVES
article and began rereading and polishing my reflections for the book—10 per day.
This was my concentrated time to work on the book with few distractions—except of course to attend to the every
whim and need of my Captain. I also had to cook a catfish dinner for him that
we figured thus far has cost $44. Was that a gourmet meal? No, just a total catch of one edible fish at a cost of one out-of-state fishing license! We had no cell phone or internet connections here and we needed to leave before the 31st in
order to submit my WAVES article to the newspaper. Day 125-129: 49.3 miles, Anchored
opposite Ball Play Creek, mm 7.6 Tellico R, (GPS N 35.52685 W 084.20945) start 0904, stop 1601 DAY 130-134 FRIDAY-TUESDAY 8/29/08 – 9/2/08 After five days of hanging on the hook at our beautiful Tellico River anchorage,
the weather had settled with a forecast of clear days coming for the holiday weekend and so we decided to move on. We motored up Ball Play Creek to explore it, found a couple protected anchorages,
but neither as scenic nor without houses or power lines as ours had been at the junction (mm7.5). Then we motored up the Tellico River for about another mile, the deepwater channel narrows and snakes considerably,
with snags in the distance. We had seen enough, no better anchorages, so the
WE BE BLEST III headed back down the Tellico River. We had anchored at the most
scenic and protected spot in that area. Around mm5 the river widened considerably, we were back amongst the housing
developments and our cell phone and internet connections returned. We called
to touch base with family, I was able to send my WAVES article for publication, and then downloaded email. We thought we had spotted the areas where developers had removed trees on expansive
slopes back in 1997 while on our pontoon trip here from Wisconsin. Now they are
covered with homes, nicely landscaped. We did not see large barren areas—or
the roads that crisscrossed the clear-cut areas. The new developments were nicely
done, pleasing to the eye and not depressing as the clear-cut areas were in ’97. As we motored near Tellico River, mm1, a deck boat slowed near us getting our
attention. The Captain, Mike Boswell, on HAPPY OURS recognized our boat. Mike (who lived in the area up the Tellico River Four Mile Creek) knew we were on
Watts Bar Lake, but wondered what had happened to us since I was over a month behind in my log updates. Evidently, he was interested in doing the Great Loop, found our website, and had been following our logs. As I delayed updating the log, since I was working on my book instead, I wondered
if anyone even read them. Well, evidently, some do—this was my nudge to
get caught up. Thanks Mike! As the Tellico River joined the Little Tennessee River (LTR), we turned to
starboard up Tellico Lake (which is the LTR) and motored to mm28.6 across from Four Mile Creek (a different one than the Tellico
River creek). This was about as close to the Smoky Mts as we had traveled on
our pontoon in 1997. We had stayed here two days then, tucking back into the
creek at night while anchoring in the river during the day to enjoy the view. We
did take the pontoon a few more miles upstream to where we could see Chilhowee Dam. On this trip, we motored close to the inlet of Four Mile Creek and prepared
to drop anchor. However, I moaned, “We won’t have much of a view
here. Can we anchor farther out?”
The water in the marked channel was quite deep, over 30’, so Gene slowly picked his way over a shallower area
toward the opposite shore. We dropped the hook about ¾ of the way across in 15’
of water. WOW! What a phenomenal view of
the Smokies! Stretched across the sky from the left above Four Mile Creek, then
upriver as far as we could see, and finally to the right beyond the opposite shore lay bluffs, hills, ridge after misty ridge
of woods, and the hazy mountain range towering over the ridge on the right. In
the morning when the sun comes up over the hills, a blaze of diamonds on the water stream from the bluffs to the WE BE BLEST
III. Truly this in THE MOST scenic anchorage we have ever experienced. With the settled weather, we stayed in our open anchorage enjoying the view,
Gene reading books, and I working on my manuscript. I was “driven”
the last nine days, spent 8+ hours each day revising, polishing, and organizing. It
is taking shape. The Tellico River anchorage and this one were extremely productive
stops for me. With the holiday weekend, fishermen, boaters, skiers, and tubers enjoyed the
water with us. Exuberant youth accepted the challenge of climbing a rock bluff
and then jumping off about 40’ to the water below. This was a known spot
with a rope tied to a tree to aid scaling the rock face. In the distance, from Friday to Sunday we heard frequent gunshots, most likely
a shooting range. Occasionally coon dogs barked incessantly, probably on a hunt
with their victim up a tree. One morning we were awakened by what we thought
were gunshots very near Four Mile Creek. Later we decided it could have been
fireworks or firecrackers celebrating sunrise on the first of September. We decided
it was good to be anchored out here in the open, away from the shooting. Anchored where we were, far out of the channel, we “caught” many
unsuspecting boaters not paying attention to or not knowing where the channel was. They
would speed past us thinking it was safe water, only to stop suddenly when they spied the snags and stumps ahead, then turn
around and backtrack looking for the marked channel. “We caught another
one,” Gene remarked several times. On the warm days, the water was wonderfully refreshing, clear and in the 70’s. Gene dipped his shirt in the lake then put it on to cool himself. On the other hand, to cool off, I took my foam noodle with a line attached to it, then exercised in the
water, tethered to the boat so the current would not carry me away. The water
was not nearly as cold as it was in late Sept in ’97 when it took our breath away.
An interesting phenomenon was the warmer surface water was actually flowing towards the dam (upstream), while underneath,
the cold water released from the dam was flowing downstream. In essence, we had
layered currents flowing in opposite directions under our boat. We lingered on the flybridge our last night here. No bugs! Pleasant temps, no wind. It was so peaceful. We hated to go below for the night. This has been an exceptional five-day and night stay.
Once again, I asked myself, “What’s a girl from the big city doing here—and relishing the experience!” Haze and mist covered the mountains, night came, stars appeared. The night sounds filled the air. Soon it was time to say good-bye
until next time. Day 130-134: 18.7 miles, Anchored
off Four Mile Creek, Tellico Lake, mm 28.6 LTR, (GPS N 35.56654 W 084.12244) start 0905, stop 1300 DAY 135
WEDNESDAY 9/3/08 This morning Gene was troubleshooting the battery charger and combiner. It did not seem to be putting enough charge into the house batteries. After 10 days of anchoring, they were pretty low and not fully recharging.
Periodically the fridge trips off and the freezer begins to defrost. As
the charge returns, the fridge kicks back on. Fortunately we never did get a
total defrost, our food was still frozen solid. It’s time to motor again
and charge them up. Gene worked on the dink motor—carburetor problems and when fixed, we
explored 0.7 miles up Four Mile Creek to where Little Four Mile Creek joins it. We
came back to the Camano and towed the dink as we motored upriver toward Chilhowee Dam, past the abandoned train trestle to
a little beyond Tallassee Rec Area. Just shy of a mile from the dam, we anchored
and motored the dink almost to the dam. The water was crystal clear and COLD,
64 degrees. We could see the bottom in 9’ of water, however as we approached
the dam in the dink, the bottom came up dramatically and big boulders and logs were visible.
They seemed quite close to the surface. We had gone far enough! Cruising amongst the rocks and clear water was a bit disconcerting again. We had done it for weeks in Canada on the LOOP, yet had not gotten accustomed to it
here. We carefully picked our way back to the WE BE BLEST III, secured the dink,
and then continued carefully to the trestle in deeper water. My Captain breathed
easier as we returned to 15’+ depths. At 1630, we pulled into Tellico Harbor Marina for a pumpout. However, it was broken. Opps!
We did need to empty the black water tank. That will now be delayed a
day. We called Polly and Larry Lanz who live within walking distance of the marina. They came out to the WE BE BLEST III and we took them for a happy hour cruise on their
“home waters.” Since their boat POLLYANNA is kept on Watts Bar Lake,
they are not on Tellico Lake that often. It was a treat for us to show them around
and a treat for them to be on their lake. Back at the marina, we walked over to TELLICO LADY, a 50’ Marine Trader. Ken Bloomfield was aboard, Brenda soon arrived, so we all continued our boater’s
happy hour. Since it was getting dark, at 2025 we cast off and headed across and up the
river a little to a bay off Ft. Loudoun Point. Another settled weather night. The Fort was preparing for a re-enactment festival weekend and tents were already
set up. Day 135: 30.0 miles, Anchored
on Tellico Lake, off Ft. Loudoun Fort, mm 20.3 LTR, (GPS N 35.59397, W 084.20282) start 1130, stop 2040 DAY 136
THURSDAY 9/4/08 This morning finally with a good phone signal, I was able to call my sister-in-law
Candy and go over the 25 reflections that she had reviewed and proofread. Another
step closer to putting it together. We then motored to Coon Bay at mm13.3 LTR and tied up at the Stob’s dock
to visit Ron and Eva for the afternoon. What a delightful time talking boating,
LOOPING, writing and music. We had a mini-jam session with a guitar, autoharp,
hammer dulcimer, and lap dulcimer as they introduced us to their new loves, the two dulcimers.
Eva even gave me a few tips on how to pick the melody on the autoharp. After
several hours, we headed down their winding wooded slope to the dock, then motored to a bay off mm 12.0 LTR for the night. A small cruiser also anchored in the bay—to exercise their lab and wash
their boat. The dog never seemed to tire of chasing a ball when it was thrown
off the stern and he even climbed up the swim ladder! They pulled anchor and
motored closer to us to chat. His name was Mike Fink and we talked about Camanos,
Grand Banks, and Ft. Myers Florida. He mentioned he had a friend on the Caloosahatchee
River near Ft. Myers. During the ensuing conversation, we realized he was talking
about Pat Maurice, a boater in our Ft. Myers Power Squadron. This once again
proves that the boating community is indeed a small one. Day 136: 8.7 miles, Anchored on
Tellico Lake, Lotterdale Cove Rec Area, mm 12.0 LTR, (GPS N 35.66839 W 084.24393)
start 1133, stop 1655 DAY 137
FRIDAY 9/5/08 Still needing a pump out, we headed to Ft. Loudon Marina for fuel and to empty
our holding tank. After doing this, we idled over to the transient dock for a
few hours to use the courtesy van to reprovision. We docked between two boats
we had met earlier coming up here. FAILTE, a Nordhaven with Chris and Danny we
met at Midway Marina in Fulton, MS and AMALIA with Greg and Leslie on a steel Nordic-Tug-shaped trawler we first saw in Steinhatchee,
FL. While chatting, Greg mentioned names of other boaters we had met the on LOOP.
Another delightful stop making connections and visiting with boaters. Fueled up, pumped out, fresh water topped off and the larder stocked, we headed
back up Tellico Lake for more scenic anchoring. We’ll be watching Hurricane
Ike to see what he does to Florida. Right now, the whole state is in the five
day probability cone. Hopefully he’ll veer off east and miss the U.S. entirely—probably
unlikely though. At 1700 we pulled off to the side of the LTR at mm 17.0 where
we had a nice view of the mountains. After stowing the groceries, grilling chicken
and enjoying supper on the flybridge, my wonderful Captain helped me get caught up on this log. I was only 48 days behind in my postings! UGH! He read my hand-written entries while I entered them
in the computer. Much quicker. Perhaps
we should do it this way more often! “Huh!” he responded, uninterested
as I reread the log to him for corrections and additions. O well, perhaps I can
sweet talk him into it! Whew! At last caught up with the
log! Day 137: 25.5 miles, Anchored
on Tellico Lake, off channel at mm 17.0 LTR, (GPS N 35.61381, W 084.23971) start 0830, stop 1700 LOG 11 9/6/08 – 9/13/08 DAYS
138-145 OUR FAREWELL
TO TELLICO LAKE AND WATTS BAR LAKE DAYS 138-139 SATURDAY-SUNDAY 9/6/08-9/7/08 We stayed at the anchorage on the Little Tennessee River mm 17.0 (Tellico Lake)
for two more nights. There was a great view of the mountains, settled weather
for this open area and good phone and internet signals. I updated the log, caught
up on email and we called family and friends. Gene read while I swam and worked on my book.
Bill Fink motored by and stopped to chat, again offering his car. Days 138-139: stayed at this anchorage
on Tellico Lake, off channel at mm 17.0 LTR, (GPS N 35.61381, W 084.23971) DAYS 140-141 MONDAY-TUESDAY 9/8/08-9/9/08 We turned the corner and have headed downstream. Anchor up 0832. Good-bye Smoky Mountains. We have thoroughly enjoyed our 16 days of anchoring up here. We
will be back! Motored down 17 miles through Tellico Lake back into the Tennessee
River and over to Ft. Loudon Marina for a pump-out. Ft. Loudoun Lock, adjacent to the marina, was available, so we had our first
down lockage of our return trip. 72’ drop, solo and very smooth. Most down lockages are smooth. Motored to mm 562.3, turned onto Caney Creek and up the creek to the Roane
County Park. Anchored in the finger bay between the park and a trailer park. 20% chance of rain tonight – 50% tomorrow.
We’ll see if we have a rain day coming or not. Around 1900 the wind picked up and really began blowing the trees in our bay. The boat kited back and forth with the wind on our bow. This same front brought 50mph gusts to Blue Springs Marina 14 miles away plus 2-3 foot waves washing over
the docks. However, we were secure on our Bruce anchor and tucked into this bay. Later during the night, a storm with heavy rain moved through. Around 2300, I stepped out of the cabin into the cockpit. When coming back inside I evidently stepped on a 1" big bee/hornet that stung me on the side of my foot. I immediately woke up Gene to help me. This
was so painful most of the night it seemed like a war was going on inside my foot. 8
on a scale of 1-10. We iced it, no stinger in the flesh, began Benadryl. The villain happened to fly into the cabin when I came back in. Gene sprayed him good! We kept him in case I had any adverse
reaction to the sting. We did call an emergency number to see if there had been
any problems with big bees and needing immediate attention. This guy was big
and bad and did not like getting stepped on! The next day (Tuesday) the swelling really started so the Mate was on injured
reserve with her foot elevated most of the day. We remained at this anchorage. More Benadryl. Wednesday – the
swelling began to go down but iching came on like gangbusters. More Benedryl! Fortunately, I had no life-threatening allergic reaction. Later we remembered our friend, Nurse Betty had said meat tenderizer is good for bites and stings. We even had some aboard on her recommendation, but didn’t remember Betty’s
suggestion. Next time—if there is one—hopefully we will remember
because it will be in the first aid kit NOT in the spice bin! Days 140-141: 55.5 miles, up Caney
Creek at Roane County Park, mm 562.3 Tenn River (GPS N 35.86314 , W 084.59494)
start 0832, stop 1636 DAY 142
WEDNESDAY 9/10/08 Gene pulled anchor (Mate still on injured reserve!) at 1311 and motored only
10.8 miles to Safety Harbor, an anchorage close to Blue Springs Marina. Surprisingly
we even had an OK phone and internet connection. Most of the bays around here
have poor signals. We had now been at anchor 19 nights straight—a record
for us! We planned to go into Blue Springs Marina in the morning for two nights
and then continue heading downstream. Day 142: 10.8 miles, Safety Harbor,
Watts Bar Lake, mm 548.2 Tenn River (GPS N 35.76040 , W 084.86281) start
1311, stop 1440 DAYS 143-144 THURSDAY-FRIDAY 9/11/08-9/12/08 Anchor up at 0915 and we motored only 2.4 miles across the river to our usual
slip at Blue Springs Marina. The Mate was off injured reserved so I worked on
laundry while Gene began trouble-shooting the battery charger, since it did not seem to charge well. He tried it on shore power and it put out 30 amps. He tried
it on our generator and it only put out 12 amps. Then he called Professional
Mariner, the manufacturer of the charger for information. Gene was informed that
generators often do not have “clean” power. They recommended putting
a load on the generator, ie AC or fans, before turning on the battery charger. Voila! Output 30 amps! Such a simple fix. That will certainly cut the recharge time for our house batteries while at anchor. Friday we used the courtesy car one last time and reprovisioned. That evening we had a heavy Hd’O happy hour on the dock to bid farewell to Roy, Elvie, Larry and
Polly. Another Larry and Dino joined us.
They are from Pine Island, FL but keep their 40’ Carver up here away from salt water, sun and hurricanes. Their goal is to come up here to their boat five times per year for two weeks each
time. Days 143-144, 2.4 miles, Blue Springs Marina, Watts Bar Lake, mm 547.7 Tenn
R, (GPS N 35.73628, W 084.66852) start 0915, stop 0945 DAY 145
SATURDAY 9/13/08 Today was haircut day for both of us.
I did Gene’s and then he trimmed mine. Gene did the Mate’s
work and washed the outside of the boat while the Mate worked inside, fixing his lunch, because when the key is off at our
next anchorage, he will immediately say, “Feed me!” With the regional fuel shortage here (most gas stations in Kingston and Knoxville
were out of fuel) we decided to top off our tanks before leaving. Larry, the
marina owner, said his distributor is out of fuel. Thus Larry is only selling
his remaining fuel (1400 gal diesel) to boaters traveling on the river—not local boaters. Most marinas on this lake are already out of fuel. We’ll
see what is available downstream. Hopefully this will be a short-lived shortage. We’re told it’s regional. We said our good-byes and cast off at 0115 heading toward home. We had a good summer on Watts Bar and Tellico Lakes—beautiful areas to boat—we’ll be
back! Our plan is to meet Daron, Kayla and Gray next Saturday at Chattanooga. We have ample time to slowly meander down and find some new anchorages. We’re still on Watts Bar Lake tonight at Sunset Bay (faces west) with settled weather and a nice
breeze. The Captain did not disappoint me—the anchor was barely wet before
the Captain said, “Feed me!” Day 145: 9.8 miles, Sunset Bay,
Watts Bar Lake, mm 537 Tenn River (GPS N 35.70375 , W 084.73669) start
1315, stop 1430 |
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