Oct 27 Joe Wheeler Marina back to Aqua Harbor Marina

Oct 27

We stayed at Joe Wheeler Marina an extra night since Saturday was just a nasty day - windy and rainy.  Nice relaxing day on the boat reading a book and then watching college football on TV.  It wound up being a good decision as there was a fair amount of damage in the surrounding counties from heavy winds as the leading edge of  that cold front passed through.

Sun breaking through at nightfall after the front passed 

 Every once in a while you get really lucky with lock passages and yesterday seemed to be ours.  We had a long day planned to travel back down the Tennessee river to Aqua Harbor Marina. About 65 miles plus we needed to get through 2 big locks - Wheeler lock (down 45’) and Wilson lock (down 93’).  Made a call to the Wheeler lockmaster at 7:10 right after shift change and first light to discern the status.   Said he had a tow coming his way upbound with about an 8:30 arrival and he could get us through if we got there by 8:00.   So, we very quickly did our morning flybridge setup, got the engine checked and running and let go the lines.   Arrived at the lock a few minutes before 8 and the gates were open, the green light was on and in we went.   All our locks from here to the gulf will be downbound  so virtually no turbulence in the locks – just a nice smooth easy decent.  Quite the opposite of going upbound and the turbulence you get as water gushes in to fill the chamber.  15 miles down  Wilson Lake we arrived at that lock where following a short 5 minute wait the gate was lowered and in we went. All alone again.    Having traversed so many locks with multitudes of other looper boats rafted together I almost felt guilty making these locks transport us all alone.  

Heading into the Wilson lock

Secured at the front of the lock

Hard to get a feel for the scale of this lock, but each horizontal line in the concrete is 5' apart

Finally  opening the lower gates to let us out

 As we exited the lock we noticed a large number of bass boats around.  Even for a Sunday it seemed like too many and as we passed by Florence Marina we understood.  Big tents were set up at the marina all covered with Bassmaster’s logo’s – a fishing tournament was in progress. We continued to see bass boats as well as have them buzzing around, behind, and in front of us for most of the day. Finally about 2:30 they all seemed to come flying back past us at once – I guess headed back to the marina for a 3:00 weigh-in.   Other than passing an upbound 3x4 tow “on the two’s” not much else happened for the remainder of the trip.  Weather stayed overcast and cool all day.  Colors are starting to show along the shores of Pickwick lake. 

Scenic little anchorage with a little waterfall

 Back at Aqua Harbor Marina, topped off with fuel and tied to the transient dock by 4:00.   Plan to stay a few days as Martha chipped a tooth and needs to see a dentist and then some more nasty weather with heavy rain, thunderstorms and wind expected for Wed. and Thurs.   Things turn better but much colder starting Friday so that looks like our next travel day.  That will start our next section - the Tenn-Tom Waterway  - which will eventually drop us off in Mobile Bay.

Journey for Oct 27

Oct 25 Decatur Al to Joe Wheeler State Park

Oct 25

The weather prognosticators have been saying to expect some rainy weather and cooler temperatures starting today and despite a very nice “red sky at night” yesterday we woke up to a heavy cloud cover with radar showing rain arriving shortly. 

Red sky at night, sailors delight??? I don't think so...

  We had planned for a short travel day down to the marina at Joe Wheeler State Park.  It’s the site of the AGLCA fall rendezvous.  We attended last year by car so bypassed it this year.  Heard they had a good crowd and a good time.

Just a little over 3 hours cruise today so by leaving  Ingalls Landing at 8 we could be at the marina a little after 11 and hopefully get in before the heaviest rains started.   That plan worked perfectly!!  We had some occasional drizzle and light rain in transit but nothing too bad.  It even let up while we docked.

 I’m not a big fan of boating in the rain but it has it’s advantages.  Pretty much no one else is out except for an occasional work boat.  Leaving Decatur we  had a ship cross our bow which is unusual since we mostly just see tows.  This was the R/V Rocketship making its way to a dock.  Did some internet snooping and learned it is used for transporting Atlas V rockets from Decatur to Cape Canaveral.

R/V Rocketship arriving back at Decatur

 We also passed the tow William Neckel again today.  He was the one Martha passed yesterday.  He had a bigger tow today – assuming he had some additional barges attached overnight in Decatur. Went from a 2x2 to a 3x3.

Passing the tow William Neckel again.

 It is one of those cool damp fall days where temps are staying right at 60 all day.  Forced to wear long pants, socks and shoes, and a sweatshirt to stay comfortable on the flybridge.

Too rainy for outside pics - time for some selfies!!

 I guess one of these days I really should try piloting from the lower helm where it’s dry and warm.   It’s nice to be in a marina hooked to shore power where we can run the heat to take the chill off things.  This state park is pretty elaborate with a marina, hotel, conference areas, restaurant, pool, etc.   Todays dinner special – Prime Rib Buffet!  No cooking on board tonight!!

Heading into the marina at Joe Wheeler

Journey for Oct 25

(only 60 more days until Christmas)

Oct 24 Ditto Landing Huntsville AL back to Ingalls Landing Decatur AL

Oct 24


We left the boat at Ditto Landing and got a rental car for a trip home. Took the long way home and stopped in Chattanooga so see which loopers were around and for a BBQ lunch. 

Nina and Pinta replicas hogging up the Chattanooga visitor docks

Got home OK and was relieved to see that after being away for 4 months there were only a few chores waiting for us.  We were able to catch up with friends while watching a Clemson football game and then enjoying a dinner out.   Did a little binge TV watching catching up on F1 races. 

Never get tired of the sunset views from the back of our lake house

But honestly, after a few days I was getting bored and fidgety to get back to the boat.  So here we are – at it again. I should mention that while we had the rental car we did some exploring in Huntsville.  It’s got a very vibrant craft brewery industry.  There’s one area in town where 5 breweries are lined up virtually side by side.  A few more scattered around the downtown area and then several taprooms specializing in craft beers.


Breweries aside, back on the water the Tennessee  continues upbound to higher elevations through a series of additional locks but we’re as far up as we’re going and will now be heading downstream all the way to the Gulf of Mexico – down some 556’ to sea level.  The railroad bridge in Decatur has a 9’ clearance and has to open for us to pass but due to maintenance work it is closed from 7AM until 5PM. 

Decatur RR Bridge - no getting through without a lift

  So, we planned our departure from Ditto Landing to arrive just before 5 to catch an opening and spend the night back at the Ingalls Landing free dock.   Left Ditto at noon planning for a very leisurely cruise.  Started our trip running at 6.5 knots but ETA on the GPS was too early so we slowed it down to 6 knots, then 5.5, then 5, then finally to 4.5 for the last hour.  Better to just float down the river than idle around in front of the bridge with an early arrival.  Pretty much had the river to ourselves all day with the exception of one tow we passed and a couple of bass boats out fishing.  We were hoping there would be some more fall colors in the trees but it’s still pretty green with just touches of yellows and browns. 

Flock of birds (pelicans??) as we passed Wheeler Wildlife Refuge

We have company at the dock as Loopers Salty Paws are also tied up for the night.  Checked out Decatur’s only brewery Cross-Eyed Owl Brewing (XEO for short). They had an interesting IPL - India Pale Lager.  A nice easy day with a relaxing end was a good way to get back into the swing of things.  Big day for Martha.  While driving the boat she hailed a tow and arranged for a pass. 

Martha setting up to pass on the "One Whistle"

She also took the helm for docking duties making a  180 degree pivot in the channel and laying the boat smoothly alongside the dock while John franticly tended to the fenders and lines.

Journey for Oct 24

Oct 16 - 6 Month Looperversary - Decatur to Huntsville

Oct 16



WOW!!  It’s another Looperversary already!!  We’ve now been at this for 6 full months – half a year!! We have covered 3600 miles to date.  We’ve touched 14 states plus Canada so far - SC, NC, VA, MD, DE, NJ, NY, MI, IL, MO, KY, TN, MS, and AL.   Really just FL and GA to go but it’s a long way around FL.  A few rough days where we asked ourselves “What have we gotten ourselves into”? But then the next day the sun comes out and the water beckons and off we go and start another day. Some days start a bit odder than others – like today - where we watched a  3 man crew swap out a porta potti off their barge.  Bringing it off the barge via a johnboat and returning with a fresh one.

We figured if these guys could travel in the choppy river we shouldn't have any issues.

One of Decatur's employers 

Just a short trip today. Woke up and a cold front had passed through overnight with a bit of rain. The front also brought windier conditions than we normally like, but the trip was mostly in protected inland rivers so no chance for big waves to develop.  Plus, the wind would be at our backs.  Traveling in moderate winds isn’t so much the problem, but docking can be an issue if we’re getting winds on our beam.  High winds pushing on the side of the boat and the flybridge enclosure can overpower our bow thruster and push us where we don’t want to go.  Not fun in a marina full of expensive boats.  Neither is it fun when you’re pinned against a dock trying to leave which was our initial situation.  We finally managed to push off without damage and that really was as much drama as we had all day.  Leaving Decatur required us to hail a railroad bridge and get a lift. That was done quickly and was the only short delay we encountered.  The rest of the trip was through the tail end of Wheeler lake which is in essence the Tennessee River.   We’re still going upstream so of course are still fighting a slight adverse current.  Very scenic with rolling state park lands on both sides. 

 Still waiting for more fall colors to start showing up.  We made it to Ditto Landing in Huntsville, AL where we have dockage for a week.  Then we’ll start our downstream trip to Mobile.

Journey for Oct 16

Oct 15 Florence AL to Decatur, AL

Oct 15


We were planning for a little later departure today but saw another boat leaving the docks at first light (7 AM) and listened in on their conversation with the Wilson lockmaster who mentioned shutting down the lock after they went through for the day for maintenance.   So we made a speedy departure along with another looper boat and thankfully the lockmaster was kind enough to wait for our arrival before closing the gates.

Getting ready for our speedy predawn departure

 The Wilson lock chamber is not the biggest we’ve been in – the ones on the Mississippi were bigger, but this one has the highest lift at 97’ which really makes you feel insignificant when at the bottom and looking up.  

Entering Wilson lock.  That's a 50' trawler tucked on the right wall

  We crossed 15 miles on Wilson Lake and then had the Wheeler lock waiting for us with open doors.  By 10:30 we were done with locks for the day and were cruising at an overall elevation some 556’ above sea level across Wheeler Lake. 

Wheeler lock with it's 57' lift  wasn't quite as formidable

 Scenery is mixed.  Some natural areas, some residential development, and some commercial and industrial.  Even passed right alongside the  TVA’s Browns Ferry Nuclear plant. One weird sight along the way was what looked like a marshy island from afar, but as we got closer it was a huge flock of cormorants floating together.  We passed  near enough to disturb the entire flock and send them flying off to regroup again.

Flock of cormorants taking flight

With the day off to a good start we checked out our anchoring options and ETA’s and decided rather than anchoring we would head for Decatur,AL and the free dock at Ingramm Landing .    We arrived around 2 PM and had the entire place to ourselves. Got tied up just in time as a quick rain downpour pass by.  Drawback here is no power, no water, no wifi. But it’s free with newer and secure docks. With rain and shifting stronger winds expected overnight it still makes a better choice than anchoring.  Easy Lyft ride into downtown for a craft beer sampler and dinner at The Railyard.  It also sets us up for a fairly short day tomorrow to Ditto Landing Marina in SW Huntsville.

Journey for Oct 15

Oct 14 Aqua Harbor Marina to Florence Harbor Marina

Oct 14

An extra night at Aqua Harbor Marina gave us time to regroup our thoughts about our next bit of travel.   All along we had been saying we were going to take a side trip up to Chattanooga because it was the closest location on this side of the loop to our home in GA.  Now that we’re at the intersection of the Tenn river and the Tenn-Tom the 260 mile trip upriver to Chattanooga just doesn’t look as appealing. It would be 7 long travel days going through 5 big locks to get there.  Then a week’s trip home and repeat the trip back downstream and suddenly we’re into Nov.  So, we’ve altered the schedule and will make a 3 day mini trip up the Tenn. and park the boat and head home.


Our buddy boat Cat and Dogs who we have been traveling with virtually since day one of our loop adventure is going to continue on.  We will miss our time with Russ and Jax.  Always helpful and cheerful and ready at the docks to grab our lines.   So many wonderful dinners together.  SOooo many craft beer samplings at every brew pub we could find.  It was great having fellow loopers to recount the days adventures and misadventures, plan the next few days journey and compare notes on weather, wind and waves.  We will sorely miss their companionship.  We are hoping to catch up to them somewhere in Mobile or along the panhandle, but it will certainly feel odd traveling solo for a while.


Today we were hoping for a decently early start as we have reservations in Florence, AL. and about a 5 hour cruise. One of the pitfalls of the cooler weather that came through is it generates some heavy morning fog.   We were stuck at the dock for several hours waiting for it to burn off. 

Stuck in a fog bank

Visibility maybe was 100'

Same picture after the fog started lifting

 Gave us time to cook up a hearty breakfast and then we finally got moving around 9:45. Sadly watched as our buddy boat turned to starboard and disappeared southbound behind a bank of trees as we headed eastward.  

Cat and Dogs heading south

The trip up Pickwick Lake was wonderful.  It’s a beautiful tree and cliff lined lake with clear water and very little development.  Trees are just starting to get a touch of color although everyone says it’s been so dry this year they don’t expect a very colorful fall.   Temperatures quickly climbed into the mid 70’s with plenty of sunshine and nary a breeze so the waters were very calm.   Our trip today was tow/barge free other than a small one crossing our path as we exited the creek out of the marina and onto the lake. We were able to run a leisurely pace despite our late start and still arrived at the Florence marina by 3:30.   Dinner on board – it’s Monday so the brewery and restaurant I had hoped to visit in Florence  were both closed.  We’ll have to time our return trip for later in the week to give them a try.  

Journey for Oct. 14

Oct 12 Clifton Marina to Aqua Harbor Marina

Oct 12

After the rain stopped last night a cold front blew in and showed itself with some clear sunny blue skies but with temperatures when we departed at 8 AM at only 45 degrees.  With the isinglass all zipped up the flybridge was more than comfortable – even getting a bit warm as the day worn on and temps climbed into the lower 60’s.  It does make it finally feel a bit more fall like.

Cool sunny morning with mist coming off the water

 We continued our travels up the Tennessee river.  A light northerly breeze just couldn’t offset the downbound current so travel again felt a little halted even running at higher rpms.  The day was mostly meandering river but with an odd topography.   One side of the river would be eaten away earthen banks while the other side was often a solid limestone shelf.     Primarily rural woods with occasional settlements of houses built on stilts high off the water - a testament to the water levels that can be experienced historically with the spring floods.  

Made it to the Pickwick dam and lock mid afternoon and then had to wait about an hour while they brought a tow down.  Pretty impressive lock with a 55’ lift.  Our small flotilla seemed lost in it. We'll hit  a few more upriver with even higher lifts.

We finally were through by 4 PM and then made a mad dash for Aqua Harbor Marina before their 5 pm closing.  We are definitely in the south - at the point where Tenn, Al, and Miss join.  Low and behold our looper friends Charlie and Robin from The Lower Place greeted us at the dock and helped us tie up.  This is their home port.   Had a nice dinner at the on-site restaurant with them, Russ and Jax from Cat and Dogs and Larry and April from One Eye Dog.

Group dinner

Full moon rising over the water

Journey for Oct 12

Oct 11 Pebble Isle Marina to Clinton Marina

Oct 11

We rolled the dice today about making it a travel day and decided to head out at first light 7AM.   The weather forecast has been calling for a cold front to move in during the day with rain on the leading edge.  It was going to be another long 8 hour day and some 60 miles to our next destination – Clifton Marina.   Timing was everything since the rain was forecast to start somewhere around 2 or 3 which would be right about the time we arrived at the marina.  The weather held and other than some light rain the main deluge didn’t arrive until we were tied up in our covered slip staying nice and dry.

Not a bad start to the day - weather still holding up OK

The Kentucky lake is now well behind us and we’re traveling upstream on the Tennessee river proper. Overall a decent day with overcast skies, moderate temperatures, mostly light breezes and some decent scenery.  A few bends showing off layers of limestone cliffs eaten away by millenniums of river erosion. 

Limestone cliffs

Your "Where's Waldo" picture - can you spot the bald eagle in flight

  Several waterfowl wildlife refuges so plenty of areas left in natural states with an occasional section here and there with waterfront homes or RV parks. Not really much in the way of towns along the river.    There must be an upcoming bass tournament in the area as we were besieged by bass boats most all day flying up and down the river.  It was crazy as we left Pebble Isle Marin at first light.  Apparently there was a shotgun start tournament close by as multiple boats in quick succession went zooming past us at full throttle  trying to be the first one  to their secret fishing honey hole. I’m always amazed with the speeds they travel and with how little boat surface contacts the water that those things don’t flip over.

My Martha says there best not ever be a Martha 6

Journey for Oct 11

Oct 10 Duncan Cove Anchorage to Pebble Isle Marina

Oct 10

 Left our very nice and protected anchorage right at 8 AM after  a fitful nights sleep.  Light breezes and plenty of moonlight.

GPS plotter shows we  swung a full 360 degrees overnight at anchor

  A long day running fairly hard to get in 60 miles and make our next destination – Pebble Isle Marina.  It took a full 8 hours of running at 7 knots to make it to the marina by 4PM.  They like to close at 4 but we got there just in time and then needed to fuel up, so they wound up staying a bit later to make sure we were topped off and  secured for the night at the transient dock.   Had a fairly stiff southerly breeze all day kicking up a light chop but mostly the wind on the bow and a slight adverse current  just seemed to be pushing against the boat and slowing our progress.


We made it through the land between the lakes and then into the lower part of Kentucky lake which is in Tennessee.  There’s a little more development along this section but still not too bad. It really is a pretty lake and scenic area.  The water is a bit clearer than on our home turf at Lake Hartwell.   I think it’s primarily due to the soil.   We have that red clay soil that erodes into the water staining it after every rainfall while the soil here appears mostly sandy brown and rocky which keeps the water clearer.  


Not much of particular interest during the days travel.   Passed an old railroad bridge crossing from before they flooded the valley.   Left some of it but imploded the center section to provide an open area for boat traffic.  Then right next to it was some sort of building listed on the charts simply as “Abandoned Docks”.   Not sure why it wasn’t torn down before they filled the lake – it just looks eerie now all vandalized and unused. 

Imploded missing bridge section 

"Abandoned Dock" per the navigation charts 

 We saw virtually no debris through this section until we came to a very significant deadhead floating in the middle of the channel as we approached the marina.   It reminded me of the imaginary sea serpents with its head and 2 humps sticking out of the water – Nessie (Lock Ness monster), Chessie (Chesapeake Bay monster) and I guess this was Tessie??  (Tennessee River monster).  I just know it would have ruined our day if we had hit it.

Journey for Oct 10