Captain's Blog

  TRAVEL DAY 138 - Iuka to Fulton November 9, 2023 10.28 Hours/ 55.5 Miles     We inch ever closer to home and now we are about a month from crossing our wake and returning to where we started. With less daylight and longer runs, we start at first light. Throw in 3 locks and we anticipate burning a lot of fuel and daylight. Dawn      The Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway or the Tenn-Tom is a 234 mile artificial waterway connecting the Tennessee River to the junction of the BlackWarrior Tombigbee River system near Demopolis, Alabama.  2 boats left Iuka in the dark and we rounded the bend of Pickwick Lake past a working tug boat with all it's lights on and onto a 29 mile narrow rip rap lined ditch known as the "Divide Cut".   Divide Cut     3 hours or so into the journey, 7 other boats caught up to us as we approached Whitten Lock, the 4th highest lift lock in the US. As per normal for these locks, a tow was just entering and we were instructed...

  TRAVEL DAY 136 - Iuka to Florence, AL November 4, 2023 5.47 Hours/ 43.3 Miles     And now the River Rats are 2. Pau Hana and Runaway, started engines at 8 am and pulled away from the dock at Aqua Yacht Marina. An hour earlier, a number of bass boats were floating in the lake mist waiting for a "shotgun start" of some fishing tournament.    Tri State Water Border       Out of Pickwick Lake and onto the river, we motored to the Tri-State River Border. Here we floated at the intersecting boarders of Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama! A few quick pictures and we throttled up. This side of the lock was broader and virtually no current so 2000 rpm got me to 8 mph and some fuel savings.   3 States at Once!     Our flotilla of 2 moved down the Tennessee River for a side trip to Florence Alabama. Alabama, our 18th state! "Roll Tide, Roll!" The temperature warmed to the upper 70's. Being a Saturday there were bass boats everywhere, buzzing...

  TRAVEL DAY 133 - Grand Rivers to Paris Landing, TN October 30, 2023 5.63 Hours/ 44 Miles     Tennessee, our 16th state. The morning started cold and rainy. What had been temperatures in the 70's now included a forecast of frost warnings. Time to move south. I returned the rental car to Paducah by 8 am and the car company got me back to the boat by 8:35. Let's roll River Rats!   Prepping for the cold day on the lake     I moved the Troll out of the marina basin and into Lake Barkley. Steam hovered over the warm water and the wind picked up bringing a surprising set of waves. We moved a little down the lake and west through the canal that joins Lake Barkley with Kentucky Lake. Turning south on Kentucky Lake and the waves picked up again as they were pushed by the north wind.     Rough lake conditions     Most of the day was spent with a freshwater following sea. Piloting inside the boat instead of the flybridge with the generator hu...