River and More River

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Oct 28 Day 11 380 miles down, 270 miles to go.

We have joined up with another sail boat which is traveling about the same speed as we are. Sharpies Dream is a 32 ft Bayfield cutter and is from the North Channel on Lake Ontario. Pat and Dianne left on there trip around Sept 1. They sold their home and are headed for the Bahamas. They will make further plans when they get that far.
We covered 65 miles today, all under motor power. That’s the most distance we have traveled in one day. The little 10 HP Westerbeke diesel engine just keeps on chugging. We have been burning about 2 gallons of fuel per day. Some of the power boats that have been passing us burn that much in 15 minutes.
We rafted with Sharpies Dream off the river in a small bay just as it was getting dark. It was very shallow getting into the bay. A 44 ft Hunter sail boat tried to get into the bay but was not able to cross the sand bar because of its deep draft. Since it was dark and no other anchorages near by, the Hunter anchored on the edge of the channel. Of course as soon as he anchored a barge came up around the corner. Dianne was sure that was going to be the end of the Hunter. The Barge went by and we could still see the Hunter’s lights so all was well. I still don’t think I would want to be anchored that close to the barge traffic. Since the Hunter 44 didn’t make it into the anchorage, we were not able to accept his invitation to come aboard and watch the World Series.
Rick grilled up some chicken and we had chicken, mashed potatoes and salad, complete with cheesecake dessert, aboard Sharpies Dream. You meet the nicest people when you are on the water! WOW! We are now over half ways to Mobile and continue to enjoy every mile.

Critter count: Many birds to be seen, including a flock of about 20 Black Winged Pelicans which have a unique flying pattern. Shortly after becoming air born, they find a lift and simply soar upward in a circular pattern with out flapping a wing until almost out of sight, then find their direction and all soar together. Their 6-8’ wingspan enables them to soar like gliders.

I’m being bugged about some answers to the questions of the day, so here they are.
Day 1 - The Land between the lakes is between Barkley Lake and Kentucky Lake.
Day 2 - Tennessee is located south of Kentucky. It took us about 3 days to cross the State.
Day 3 - The Tennessee River actually flows north and dumps into the Ohio River which dumps into the Mississippi.
Day 4 - The knot meter on the boat reads the flow of the water by the hull. The GPS reads the true mph the boat travels. We have a 1 mph current against us so 5.5mph - 1 mph = 4.5 mph. .Near the Pickwick dam we had 2.5 mph current so we were actually going 5.5 - 2.5 = 3 mph. We are now going down stream with a 1mph current so we are going 5.5 + 1 = 6.5 mph.
Day 10 - As all you football fans know, Viking quarterback Bret Favre is from Mississippi!


Oct 29 Day 12 433 miles down, 217 miles to go.

It rained during the night. All is dry aboard Amber Lee. The 44 ft Hunter anchored near the channel was gone when we awoke. He is either motoring down the river or stuck on the front end of a barge going north When we left Sumpter Bay, where we were rafted with Sharpies Dream, Sharpie went aground trying to get back in the River channel. Amber Lee successfully towed Sharpie off the sand bar. On the next try Sharpies Dream got into the River channel and we were headed towards the next lock.
The weather turned very warm today. Sun block and shorts again. We arrived at the Demopolis, AL Marina at about 4:45 PM. We needed to wait for 30 minutes to get to the fuel dock. A boat from Sturgeon Bay was putting on fuel. We had talked to them on the radio. The are from Waupaca. It’s a small water world. We have seen also seen several boats from La Crosse. We decided to spend a day in Demopolis and rest up for the final push to Mobile. It was a little stressful at the helm yesterday as you had to be constantly watching for sticks and logs floating in the river. You hear a clunk when the prop hits one of them. Wayne holds the lead with 5 clunks and Rick with 2. We just don’t want to hear a big bang.
We will probably be off the internet until we get to Mobile in 4 to 5 days.

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Photos

Bald Eagle
He kept his eye on us as we passed

River Condo
Just drop over some time. You can get it at a cheap price.

Sharpies Dream
Dianne and Pat were happy to get pulled off the sand bar.

Comments

[emily Georgeson]

Having fun!
I am enjoying all your entries, thanks for sharing your adventures! I was particularly intersted in the GPS question. I would have never guessed that. Love, emily